Noel stared at the king without blinking. He had been asking himself the same question ever since he started feeling suspicious toward the king. What if... the king was truly a lycan? Would he keep swearing his loyalty to the crown or... what would he do?
The previous crown was the one who assembled the Royal Lycan Hunter. Those members of the team were chosen from knights and military officers who were talented and had the same views as the late King William Hannenbergh. Many of them had a personal hatred for the werewolf race.
Noel for example. His younger brother was slain by lycans during a mission. He was all he had in the world and since his death, Noel made it his life mission to kill as many lycans as possible. He volunteered to become a member of the team.
In twenty or so years, he had killed many members of the enemy. He was involved in almost all lycan related missions. And seven years ago he was even appointed as the captain of the Royal Lycan Hunter. His decision would reflect the decision of everyone in his team.
If Noel was supportive of the king, then they all would do the same. If not...
Nicholas already said in the big meeting with the noblemen and the government's higher-ups yesterday that he would understand if some people decided that they didn't want to stay loyal to a lycan king, and there would be no consequences if they rejected him.
They could go back to their estate and lived as usual. It's just that, they would no longer become the citizens of Riga. They could swear loyalty to other kings. Easy.
However, those noblemen were wealthy and had their own estates. It was easy for them to leave. The lycan hunters were just common soldiers with elite training and responsibilities. If the king decided to kick them out of Riga, they would have nowhere to go. The best they could do was become a rouge group or mercenaries.
Nicholas understood that. He didn't wish to let Noel and his team go. However, he also couldn't keep them around him if they would see him as part of the enemy.
"Your Majesty," Noel started speaking. "How do you see lycans now that you are one yourself?"
He didn't beat around the bush. Nicholas appreciated it.
"Being in this situation is a wake-up call for me, to be honest." The king replied calmly. "Before, my hatred for the werewolf race was blind. I hate them for the sake of hating. I was raised to think of them as the enemy, the monster."
"Now?"
"Now, I understand that there are bad lycans and good lycans. Just like us humans."
"I see." Noel looked at Nicholas attentively. "Tell me, Your Majesty, did you fight with a big white lycan in the meadow near the royal villa two months ago? It was after Princess Karenina's birthday party."
Nicholas chuckled when he heard Noel's question. He was impressed by Noel's sharp analysis. The Royal Lycan Hunter captain seemed to already put two and two together. Did he also suspect that Duke Ariam Romanov was a lycan?
"Why did you ask?" Nicholas didn't immediately answer Noel's question. He wanted to probe what the captain already knew.
"Well... I have my suspicions, Your Majesty," Noel replied, smiling. "Your answer will determine my response to your question."
Nicholas realized Noel knew more than what he would let on and perhaps the lycan hunter wanted to be sure that Nicholas was really not part of the enemy, even though he was now a lycan himself.
"Yes. You are right," Nicholas decided to be honest. "I was in a fight with someone. However, it is none of your business. It's a personal matter."
He hated Duke Ariam Romanov with all his heart but he couldn't let Noel bring his team and attack the Romanov's residence if Noel found out the duke was a lycan and the one fighting with Nicholas back then.
He couldn't risk Sophie's and the boys's safety if the Royal Lycan Hunter came there and attacked.
"Thank you for replying to my question truthfully, Your Majesty." Noel nodded and spoke firmly, "I have served the crown for a long time now. Your family has been nothing but gracious and kind to me. So, of course, I will never bite the hands that feed me. I will stay loyal to you."
Nicholas looked at the man with relief. He was prepared to let go of Noel, and perhaps his entire team if they didn't want to serve a king who was also a lycan. However, now he didn't have to. Keeping them by his side would be beneficial for him and for the kingdom.
"Thank you, Noel," Nicholas smiled. "I really appreciate it."
That night, Nicholas ticked off another less thing to worry about. Slowly, he would take care of everything one by one and prepared Riga to be a place where his children could live in peace and safety.
***
"Ahh... it's been so many years," Sophie smiled widely when she saw Wolfstone Castle from the opened carriage window. The building looked exactly as she remembered. "I see several new trees."
Leland nodded. "Yes."
Luciel and Jan were eager to get out. They had been cooped up in the carriage for days during the journey and wanted to immediately settle down.
They stopped by several towns before Hastings but since they only stayed there for sleep, the boys felt like all their four days were spent inside the moving carriage without being able to move around much.
They could actually transform into their wolf forms and run by the carriage if only they traveled at night and sleep in the daytime. However, Leland wanted to avoid attracting any attention. It was fine if he traveled with his men at night, but people would be suspicious to see a woman and children in the group if they insisted on traveling when it was dark.
Besides, Sophie's health would be affected if she switched her sleeping schedule just to make traveling easier for the boys. In this case, Luciel and Jan should be the ones to adapt to their mother's needs.
So, now, after four days of travel, the boys were giddy. They wanted to leap from the window if it was allowed. Jan was much better and almost as active as Luciel who was giving his mother his best puppy eyes.
"Can we get off first? This is our place of birth, right? We were born here six years ago? Right?" he asked Sophie so many endless questions.
The woman chuckled and nodded. "Yes."
Duncan opened the carriage door right at the same time and he was surprised to see a shadow flash past him immediately. It was Luciel, followed by Jan who was calmer.
"We have arrived, Alpha and Luna," said Duncan respectfully. He missed this place too. Hastings was a much more quiet town compared to Livstad and he loved exploring the area around it when he was here.
"Thank you, Duncan," Sophie replied. "Please, keep an eye on Luciel and Jan. We can get off the carriage ourselves."
Duncan bowed his head a little bit and said, "Yes, Luna. I will go and check young masters."
He left the door open. Leland got out of the carriage and reached out his hands to help Sophie go down.
"Thank you," said Sophie sweetly. She took his hands and got ready to step down from the carriage. However, before her foot touched the ground, Leland had pulled her into his arms and carried her lightly to the castle entrance.
"This is our first home," he said in his deep voice. Sophie batted her eyes, hearing his solemn words. She wrapped her hands around his neck and watched his beautiful side profile attentively. She wanted to know what he was trying to say.
Leland smiled faintly and turned to look at her. Their faces were only inches from each other. Sophie had been with this man for many years now, but she still felt the butterfly in her stomach when she saw him.
"I believe humans have this habit of carrying their bride to enter their home for the first time... after they got married," Leland continued.
Sophie heard that too. In fact, when she married Nicholas, that was what the man did. Even though they had stayed in her hut before their wedding, he still did it after the wedding ceremony. It was a simple gesture that held so much meaning.
Now that she realized Nicholas was royalty and must have been used to luxury, having him carrying her to their 'home', an old and shabby hut by the forest, made Sophie feel so touched. She was wondering what was in Nicholas' mind when he did that.
Did he really consider the shabby hut as home?
"We are not newlyweds," Sophie said with a chuckle. She touched Leland's chin and smiled in glee. "Only newly married couples do that."
Leland shrugged. "We didn't do it back then because..."
At that time, their marriage was 'fake'. It was a contract that was not based on love. Sophie didn't love Leland, and he only wanted to bind her in marriage so he could get an excuse to imprint her and mark her as his mate, for the sole purpose of protecting her.
He didn't do the newlyweds tradition because it was weird to do it in a fake marriage. However, now that they were truly in love and their marriage was as real as it could be, he wanted to do the tradition since they were now back at their first home together.
"I agree with you," said Sophie with a big smile. "Let's enter our home together. I miss this place."
Leland smiled and kissed her lips dotingly. "Hmm..."
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