Extra Chapter 1
1408 Words
“A-A-Achoo!” Leonard sniffed and cleaned his nose. Joseph who was nearby glared at him for disturbing him. Joseph sat on a chair, relaxed with a comic in hand.
“Why are you glaring at me? I just sneezed. The least you could say is bless you”
“You’re disturbing my concentration”
“I bought you that comic!”
“So?”
“You’re probably just jealous that someone is thinking of me and no one cares about you”
“......what?”
“They say if you suddenly sneeze, someone’s thinking of you”
“Don’t humans randomly sneeze?”
“Don’t wolves sneeze too?”
“I give up. You’re an irreconcilable i***t”
“I hope it’s someone pretty”
“Like the prince?”
“Huh? W-W-W-What are you saying?!”
“I know you have a crush on him. He’s your type, isn’t he?”
“Is not! My type’s more of the sarcastic tsundere who’s secretly an M”
“Those only exist in your head”
“Eh, really? Then why am I looking at one right now?”
“........I’ll kill you, you little s**t!”
Joseph dropped his comic and launched at Leonard. Leonard cackled and evaded him, weaving around his store while he ran from his best friend.
When Tristan and Emily walked into the store, Leonard was back at the counter, Joseph’s hands around his neck.
“Welcome. Sorry, I’m just trying to snap his neck back in place. His big head broke it, you see”
“What a convenient excuse, Joseph” Emily says, chuckling.
“Y-Y-Your highness! Welcome”
“Let go of the poor guy now Joseph”
“Ah! I forgot”
Joseph dropped his hand and scuttled back to his place. Leonard coughed and rubbed his neck, trying to breathe properly again.
Tristan’s face darkened and Joseph felt a chill run down his spine. He walked towards the counter, passing Joseph who flinched and cowered and stopped in front of Leonard. He reached out and softly caressed the other’s neck.
Leonard froze in place, too frightened to look up.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes” Leonard replies in a quiet voice.
Emily looks at the both of them in their awkward pose and looks over to Joseph.
“Let’s get out of here” she whispers over to him. Joseph nodded and walked over to Emily, the both of them escaping.
“I know he’s your best friend but you two should really be careful with how you play. He’s a wolf and you’re a human”
“There’s no need for alarm, your highness. We’ve been at this for a very long time. Even if it looks like he wants to kill me, he won’t actually hurt me. I’m not that weak, your highness. I can use magic too”
Tristan’s face darkened even more. He dropped his hands and moved backwards a bit. Leonard wondered what he said wrong.
“Just.....please, be careful”
“I would. Thank you for your concern. Is there anything I can do for you today?”
“Yes. My father has some interest in the things you’re selling. He can’t really roam about so I’m going to get him a gift”
“Okay then. Please feel free to look around. If you need a special recommendation, I have something I think your father would love. It’s my dad’s favorite too”
Leonard dug around his counter and brought out a worn leather book. He cleaned it and handed it to Tristan. Tristan surveyed it with confusion, looking back at Leonard. The latter just smiled, encouraging him to open it.
Tristan opened it and it wasn’t anything he was expecting. It was rows and rows of confusing aged scripts he couldn’t read despite being old himself.
“What’s this?”
“Writings of an old civilization. I found it in the elf kingdom. They have numerous copies but this one is the most common. It’s the best for a beginner hoping to study ancient scripts like this one. I’m sure his majesty would enjoy this”
“Y-Yeah”
Tristan knew his father to be a big nerd. Giving him such a book would make him an even bigger one. He could almost see them during dinner; his father chatting excitedly about his new book. He shivered in anticipation.
“I’ll buy it”
“Okay. Do you want anything else?”
“I don’t know. You choose”
“In that case, I have something perfect for you, your highness. Please hold on a minute”
Leonard disappeared into the backroom for a few minutes. He came out carrying a white square box with a red ribbon on it. He smiled as he handed it over.
“A….collar?” Tristan asked with confusion.
“Yes. this one is more of a gift. I think it looks really cool. If you don’t want it, I can understand. I don’t really mean anything by it”
Perhaps Leonard didn’t know but Collars were used by non-werewolf races for their werewolf partners, like staking a claim. It was a common valentine gift. But Leonard was someone who travelled the world. There was no way he didn’t know, right?
“Where did you…..erm…… get this?”
“I saw it on sale during a dwarven festival and it looked cute so I just thought I would buy it”
Tristan left the shop even more confused than he entered it. Joseph, after seeing he had left, entered the shop. He was surprised to see Yasmine hanging on the counter, laughing out loudly while Leonard squirmed.
“What’s going on here?”
“Oh, you’re back. Guess what, I dared Leo to give Tristan a collar and he did”
“He did what?! Why the hell would you agree to that?!”
“I just wanted to know if…….”
“And he collected it?! What’s wrong with all of you?!”
Yasmine just rolled over with laughter, holding her aching side.
“Should I just tell him it’s a joke?” Leonard said guiltily. Joseph remembered who the prince truly was and knew it was a bad idea.
“It’s better if he doesn’t know. Your highness, truly you don’t know when to stop”
“I’ll never stop, muahahaha!”
Back to the present, while Tristan was sorting the things Yasmine sent from Sienne to their new residence, he found an old white box and a spiky red collar in it. He remembered how he got it but he still couldn’t comprehend the reason why.
“Hey, Leo?”
“Yes babe?”
“Why did you give me this?”
Seeing the item, Leonard began to sweat heavily. His excuse was flimsy back then but it wasn’t like he knew what to say now! That Yasmine, she did it intentionally!
“It’s cute?”
“Hmm, is that so?” Tristan took it out of the box and wore it on his neck. It was a tight fit but nothing a little magic couldn’t fix.
“How do I look?” Tristan asked with a grin which was immediately upturned when he saw Leonard with a long tail of blood trickling from his nose.
“Hey! Are you alright?”
“I’m fine. You look really good!” Leonard gave a thumbs up.
“No, seriously, babe are you alright? Leo!”
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ANNOUNCEMENT!
The Wolf Prince's Lover is being continued!
I'll upload the next season's synopsis and prologue soon. I'll also try to update regularly so please follow, share and vote for my book. As usual with love from Grey!
- Writer
