"Luna!" Max's eyes lit up when he saw Sophie walk down the steps of the royal palace, going toward the carriage that was waiting for her in the palace courtyard.
The carriage was old and simple, one that she would use from now on to avoid getting any attention from other people.
Beside her, was the king of Riga himself who looked like a commoner with his simple clothes made of the cheapest material in brown, but somehow couldn't even lower his charisma.
Nicholas had not cut his hair for weeks and now it fluttered with the wind, making him look a bit rough. However, this new look actually made him seem more manly and mature.
"Max!" Sophie was all smiles when she saw the lycan standing near her carriage. "You came here."
"Yeah, His Majesty told me you are in need of an assistant," Max said. He glanced at Nicholas. "I need a change of scenery and after the peace between humans and lycans, a lot of us are actually thinking of living closer to humans and start blending in. This will be a good opportunity for me to do it."
Sophie remembered Max was one of a few lycans in the pack who showed a lot of interest in human culture and civilization. He and Duncan were often sent to do missions among humans. Max also took the boys to school when Luciel and Jan were still studying in Cow Dung in Hastings.
So, it was understandable that Max was interested in helping Sophie with her business in the city center. Sophie truly appreciated the gesture and thought Max would be a perfect assistant for her. However, she wanted to make sure that Max had asked Lucas' permission.
"Have you talked to Lucas about this?" Sophie asked.
"Yes, Luna, I did," said Max with a grin. "Eh... I mean Lady Sophia."
He quickly pressed his lips and shook his head. Max had mistakenly called Sophie 'Luna'. Old habit died hard. Sophie only laughed it off and waved her hand to motion to Max that she was not offended.
"Shall we go?" Nicholas asked them. Both Sophie and Max nodded. Sophie took the carriage while Nicholas and Max took their horses. They went to the city center where Sophie's shophouse was located.
Luciel and Jan watched their parents leave the palace from their grandmother's window. They were getting ready to study. The boys exchanged glances and smiled at seeing Nicholas and Sophie seem to spend more and more time together.
"Do you think they will remarry?" Luciel asked Jan.
"I hope so," Jan replied. Before he could continue his words, suddenly he shrieked in pain. "Aaw!"
A little white wolf had bit his ankle fiercely. Jan widened his eyes in surprise. He took little Jack by his nape and lifted him to his eye level. His younger brother bared his teeth and gave him a displeased expression.
"I am sorry, Jack, but father left and he hurt our mother so badly," Jan told Jack seriously. "Do you think I want that?"
Jack howled impatiently and tried to struggle to free himself from his brother's grip. Luciel and Jan looked at each other and sighed. Of course, little Jack would not want to see his mother be with another man. He was too little to understand what was going on between his parents.
He only knew that Nicholas was a stranger who was hovering around his mother so much lately. Initially Jack allowed that and didn't think too much about it because that stranger seemed to know his brothers well and his presence was accepted by his family.
However, after so many weeks and he didn't see his own father, while this stranger got to be around his mother more and more, little Jack became frustrated.
And today, suddenly he heard his older brothers talk about their mother remarrying....?
Remarrying who? That stranger guy???
NO!
"Howwwlll...!!!"
"Awoooo..!!"
'Mommy! Don't go with that stranger uncle...! Why do you spend so much time with him???'
Only Luciel and Jan could understand their little brother's cries. Queen Marianne who just entered her study with two servants carrying books was surprised to see the sight of a little white wolf being held by her grandson, fussing and kicking, and howling.
Jan and Luciel felt bad about their brother. However, they didn't want to say anything. Jack was too little to understand at this point. It was different from their situation eight years ago.
When they were born, the only father they knew was Leland and even though they immediately knew he was not their biological father, they knew he was their father and he loved them.
Now, their father was gone and there was this other man that they didn't know, who suddenly entered their family. It was not easy for them to accept it.
"What's wrong?" Queen Marianne asked in a panic. She could see the little wolf was kicking and crying. "Is he sick? What should we do?"
She knew the female twin was sick and didn't move much or made a lot of sounds. So, the queen was worried that the male twin would be sick too. She didn't want Sophie to become more distraught than she already was.
"Come here, sweetheart..." Queen Marianne took Jack from Jan's hands and hugged him gently in her embrace. "Are you unwell? Do you want milk? Do you want to rest?"
Jack pursed his snout and looked away. He threw Jan an angry gaze.
"He is fine, Grandma..." Jan commented. "He is just upset."
He approached Jack and rubbed his head lovingly. "I am sorry, okay. I will not talk about it again."
Jack rolled his eyes and snuggled his head in Queen Marianne's arms. Seeing the little wolf calming down, the queen felt relieved. She believed Jan that Jack was just upset and not sick.
"I am so glad to know you are fine," the queen muttered. "Your mother has suffered enough. Let's not add to her problems."
Luciel, Jan, and Jack all took deep breaths and silently agreed with the queen. The last thing they wanted to see was their mother suffering.
***
Sophie was very happy with her meeting with the builder and the designer. She discussed her needs and her vision for her tavern with them and they immediately made plans and agreed on the work needed to transform her shophouse into a nice tavern and a home upstairs for her and her children.
Max was surprisingly able to pick up all of Sophie's plans and vision and worked together with her to plan the shop renovation and other things to prepare to open her business.
He promised to oversee the renovation and represent her in dealing with the supplier as they started to prepare for the tavern opening. Sophie felt so grateful to have him by her side in this new venture she was starting.
The meetings for the day went well and she was glad about the results.
"Do you want to eat out?" Nicholas asked Sophie after she locked the shop and then gave the keys to Max who would start immediately overseeing the renovation on her behalf.
He added, "You will open a tavern. You already have the best location and after the renovation, you will have a nice property to accommodate your patrons. Now, don't you want to research your business by visiting other similar establishments to make a comparison?"
"Ah, you are right," Sophie said. She didn't remember when was the last time she went to eat out in taverns or diners. After she married Leland and had a good life as a 'duchess' and the luna of his pack, she never lacked anything.
She had enjoyed the best food, and luxury life, and never had the need to go out and eat in taverns or restaurants. Even when she and Leland traveled, for example, to have a short getaway just the two of them, usually Leland would hunt and then they cooked their food together.
"That's a good idea," Sophie said. "I like that."
"Very well, we can go to this tavern over there, not too far from here. Right now they are the busiest tavern in town because they don't have worthy competition," Nicholas explained. "Their wine is good, but their food is so so. I am sure if you can serve good food, in addition to the wine, people would choose to go to your place than theirs."
"I hope so," Sophie said with a smile.
She could cook very well because when she was young she was forced to work as a maid in her aunt's home. She did a lot of cooking and cleaning and became good at them.
Her cooking skills were pretty good and she had some secret recipes for dishes that would surely sell in her establishment. Not to mention Nicholas already offered to send his royal cook to train Sophie's kitchen staff to produce the best food in town. She felt quite optimistic about the prospects of her tavern.
"Just get on my horse," said Nicholas. "It is faster to go there by horse. Plus, they might not have a space for parking if you take you carriage."
"Ah, okay." Sophie looked at Nicholas' horse and then her carriage. She had not ridden a horse for a long time. She actually missed it.