Chapter 10

-Trynnian-

Could have gone worse, could have gone better. I actually left the study alive, so that’s more than I was expecting. I have to get Kit out of the castle, or the king. One of those is significantly easier than the other, and seems as I don’t plan on murdering the king anytime soon, I need to sneak Kit back with his family when they come.

I didn’t know they were coming. When I checked the prisons earlier, the wolves were still chained up, and it was awful. They were so incredibly thin and sickly, with wounds all over. They don’t deserve that. Nobody deserves that, even if I do hate werewolves.

Well, with the exception of one wolf. He deserved to be treated like that, but he’s dead, so it doesn’t even matter anymore.

Pushing my thoughts aside, in case I randomly start crying, I focus on the one wolf in my life who makes me smile. Heading back to my room, I don’t make it very far before I run into one of my brothers.

Riccaro.

The brother closest to me in age. He’s always been jealous of our oldest brother’s position of crown prince, and he makes it known that he doesn’t accept me into the family. I try and walk past him, but his vice-like grip lands on my arm.

“Aw, did daddy hurt you? That’s not a very nice bruise,” he purrs, the sound polluting my eardrums. “Riccaro. Can I help you in some way?” His grip tightens, and it’s beginning to hurt quite a bit.

“Sure you can - you can take that savage with you when you leave my home for good. You never belonged here, and never will. You’ll never truly be part of this family.”

If my other brother said that, it’d hurt. But, Riccaro has been saying this since I was a small boy, and although it hurt at first, I eventually realised it was true, and that made it sting less. Now I just don’t care. My mother wants me here, so I’m here.

I rip my arm from his grip, smiling politely into his raging eyes. “Please don’t call my husband a savage, it makes you sound ignorant and uneducated.” I make sure to tell that to myself, considering all the bad things I thought and said about Kit.

Speeding away from the prince, I lock myself in my room, before going to inspect my face in the bathroom. The bruise isn’t awful, but my eye has definitely looked better. Oh well, now my bruise matches my violet eyes.

I used to come up with fake stories, for whenever the king got angry at me, or Riccaro beat me. But, they don’t deserve that protection. Not when it puts Kit in danger. When my mother and husband eventually get home, gasping at my bruise, I immediately tell them what happened.

Kit holds my hand gently, worry creasing his eyebrows. I just smile as best I can, whilst rage and sadness fill my mother’s eyes. “How could he do that?! To his own son!” The queen crosses her arms, deciding that this is the final straw when it comes to her own husband.

My mother has power. Anyone who thinks otherwise, is stupid. She was the crown princess of a neighbouring country, which is significantly larger and more powerful than Karlisle. Princess Cordiana’s younger brother ruled the country in her stead, when she became Queen Cordiana.

She doesn’t have to put up with the king’s behaviour, which is why he does everything he can to stay on her good side. She could leave, and the king of Karlisle could do nothing about it.

“We should move back to my home country,” my mother says. I stand, giving her a gentle hug, encouraging her to calm down.

“Mother, we can’t just leave. Well, no, we could. But that’s not the point. We need to sort things out between Karlisle and the werewolves. This war has to end, the prisoners from both countries need to get home, and we need peace.”

She sighs, stroking my hair. “You’re right, I’m being too impulsive, BUT, if he ever hurts you again, we’re leaving immediately. I will not stand for anyone hurting my son. That goes for you too,” she says, eyeing up Kit.

He visibly blanches, folding himself back into the sofa. I take his hand again, rolling my eyes at my mother. “Kit, you’ll get to see your dad next week, that’s great isn’t it?!” He perks up again, smiling shyly before suddenly crying.

My mother pats his leg in understanding, whilst I bend his head to my shoulder. “What if they blame me for failing to protect the wolves?” He says quietly, once the tears have stopped. His head is still on my shoulder, and my fingers continue to comb through his hair.

“You did nothing wrong. There’s nothing to blame you for. You did your best, and when things got messy, you stayed by their side. Your family would be very proud of you.” And if they aren’t, then they’re clearly pieces of shit.

He nods gratefully into the crook of my neck, his damp eyelashes gliding across my skin with every blink.

After a while, my mother gets the kitten out to help cheer Kit up. It works like a treat, and soon he’s laughing and smiling as the little creature attacks his hand with tiny claws and teeth. By the end of the session, his hand is torn up with hundreds of tiny gashes, but apparently he doesn’t even notice.

Kit scoops the now-tired kitten up in his massive hands, the animal looking even smaller in his palms. Carefully placing her back down on her little bed, Kit leans down to place a tiny kiss on the kitten’s forehead, and my heart literally bursts at the sight.

With my mother gone, and the kitten safely put to bed, as soon as he stands up again, I wrap my arms around his neck, leaning in for a kiss. If I move slowly, he has time to move away or stop me from kissing him, whilst he decides what he’d like to do.

Kit decides he’d like to kiss me, judging by the way he presses his lips to mine, and I tangle my fingers in his soft hair, grinning as I feel his arms snake around my waist.