The King of Werewolves

Conri. I was in the fields playing around with my cousin. His wolf nipped playfully at my side and I rolled a second too late. I growled as his wolf transformed into a gangly teenager. “Don't worry, you'll learn soon enough Conri.” He knelt down and ruffled my fur, earning a growl from my wolf. Laughing, he stood up and turned to leave. Not liking the bitter taste my defeat had left in my mouth, I lunged at his back but he just turned and slammed my small form to the ground. “Relax, Conri. You don't have to be agitated about your defeat. You're just thirteen years old. I'm sure you'll grow up to be way stronger than me,” he ran his hands through my fur and my wolf whined pitifully, finally accepting our defeat. I whined again as I nudged his hand and he smiled at me. Just then, his smile turned sinister and his fingers elongated to claws. Before I could make sense of what was happening, his claws sank into my brain, effectively crushing it and I howled in pain, the horrible sound reverberating through my brain even as I woke up. I panted as I surveyed my surroundings, sweat dripping down my body. I slightly relaxed when I saw the familiar cracked walls and thatched roof. Holding my pounding head in my hands, I tried to control my breathing and the acute fear that ran down my spine. “Breathe Conri. It was just a nightmare,” I repeatedly said to myself as I removed a white shirt from the rack of clothes hanging beside my bed. I needed to go for a run badly. My hands were shaking and tremors passed through my body, making me shudder at intervals. I ran for hours, pushing my body to the limit while trying to get the horrible images of my nightmare out of my head. After circling the pack border three times, I freshened up before making my way to the palace to report for work as dawn approached. Walking into Kent's room, I ignored the usual pang of pain that threatened to consume me everyday. This was my room but it had been redesigned to suit my cousin's taste while I lived in a dilapidated mud house close to the border. I bowed as he yawned and stretched on the king sized bed, taking in his surroundings before his eyes landed on me. “Hello, dear cousin,” he smirked. He always greeted me like that every morning, as if to remind me of what he stole from me. “Your Highness,” I spat out, clenching my fists behind my back. He smiled as he sat up in bed. “Go fetch me a coffee now, would you?” I inhaled deeply, praying for the strength to make it through the day without strangling him. It was basically the same prayer I made everyday. “Oh, and while you're at it, make me a muffin. I always liked the way your mother made them and I'm sure she taught you.” His words halted me in my tracks and I wanted to kill him as the memory of my parents' death slammed into me with full force, but I held myself back at the last minute. I began working on the muffin in the kitchen, trying to ignore the whispers around me. Most of them were surprised that the Prince's valet was working in the kitchen. Just then, a delicious smell teased my nose and I stilled. It was someone's scent and for the first time in thirteen years, I felt the familiar stirring of my wolf. “Carter…?” I mentally called him. “Yes Conri. I'm here.” Relief washed over me for a few seconds until he growled, “Mine.” I turned and made eye contact with my mate and I growled possessively when I spotted the dark bruise forming on her cheek. I forced myself to stay still and concentrate on the task at hand if I didn't want to see her dead, just like my parents. *** Eleven years ago, I was playing with Kent on the fields, my parents watching us from the safety of the cabin they built for vacations. My father was the King of all werewolves and sometimes, the work was so strenuous they needed a getaway. I remembered seeing my parents go into the cabin and seconds later, it caught fire. I could have gone to rescue them but I just stood, frozen, as I watched my uncle, Kent's father and my father's elder brother come out of the cabin. “Seize him,” he shouted and my parents’ personal guards put a silver collar around my neck. I looked to Kent for help but he just turned his face away. They took me to the dungeon where they injected wolfsbane into my system and I could still remember the pain that laced through my entire body as my wolf was poisoned. *** I was brought back to the present when a voice sounded beside me, “Do you need help?” I realized that I had crushed an egg in my palm. She gently opened my palm to release the shells, softly wiping it away with a towel and I tried to ignore the tingles that ran through my entire body. By the time I was done baking, I learnt her name was Keira. Since then, going to the palace was easier since I got to see her. Soon, she began visiting me at home and she didn't seem to mind that my house was falling apart. We fell in love and were happy. I started planning to run away with her, not wanting to leave anything to chance. If my cousin found out about us, he would take her from me. And he did. On the night Keira and I had planned to run away together, I was outside my house nervously waiting for her when the palace warriors came to tell me that I was being summoned by the prince. My heart thumped violently in my throat as I followed them. “Ahhh, my dear cousin. Were you going for a late night trip?” I fell to my knees when I saw Keira on the ground, bleeding profusely. “No,” I crawled to where she lay unconscious, tears streaming down my face. He snapped his fingers and the guards took her away to the dungeon. “Let's make a deal, cousin. Continue being my loyal valet and on my coronation day, I'll let her go and the both of you will be free to go anywhere you want.” I didn't even contemplate before I agreed as I controlled my temper. The coronation day was just a month away and I would do anything he wanted just to keep her safe.