The Shadow Twin

Chapter 9 - Can a Wolf be a pet?

----Leigh POV----

Someone was shouting close by and then someone else told them to be quiet. The voices got lowered but continued with the argument they were having. I slowly opened my eyes and when they had adjusted to the light Kaylen and Rylee came into focus. Behind them Kayden and his mother, that where standing close to the door, arguing, came into focus as well.

“She’s awake!” Kaylen stood up and sat on the side of the bed, looking down at me with a worried look.

“Are you okay? What do you remember?” She took my hand and gave me a small smile. Rylee where still in his chair, but he where now leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees. My eyes landed on Kayden and the way he where now leaning against the wall beside the door with his arms crossed against his chest, trying really hard to not look at his mother.

“You were going to shoot her!” He looked at me in surprise and then pushed himself away from the wall.

“Unknown wolfs aren’t allowed on our grounds. I’m sorry if it upsets you, that we have laws against that.” His voice was neutral, like he was trying hard not to yell at me with his family present.

“I don’t care about your laws, I told you not to shoot her.” I glared at him, and he clenched his jaw shut.

“Why is this wolf so important?” Rylee gave me a questionable look as I turned to face him.

“She’s my wolf, that’s why.” His questionable look faded, and he looked at me with surprise instead and the same could be said about the rest of his family.

“You have a wolf?” Kayden’s voice made me glare at him again.

“Yes… Sort off. She’s a wild animal and not a pet. I found her in the woods when I were a kid and she have been following me around ever since.” Kayden shook his head at me and gave me an angry glare.

“And you didn’t think we needed to know this? We could have prevented what happened if you had just told us about the wolf.” His eyes turned into slits, and he started shaking a bit, like he was fighting himself, not wanting to do something that would make the situation worse.

“I didn’t think she would follow me to this place. This is not her home, the forest behind Aimil’s castle is. And she has NEVER gotten this close to another human before. She stays away from everybody but me. She usually stays far away from buildings as well, so I didn’t think she would get this close to the castle. Had I known she where here I would have told someone, but I didn’t know.” I glared back at Kayden with the same intensity he was looking at me with. I was not going to apologize for what I did, not in a million years. Kayden turned and walked out of the room with an annoyed expression on his face, but I didn’t care.

“I’m sorry about my son. He still needs to learn how to not be so self-centered. How’s your arm, hon?” The Queen gave me a small smile as she stepped up to me. I moved my arm and a small wave of pain rushed through me body.

“It’s fine. Guess it’s not as bad as it seems.” I gave her a small smile before looking down at my right arm, that were covered in bandages. Lying about my arm might bite me in the behind later, but I wasn’t going to have them worry about my wellbeing any more than they already had. I tried to get up and Kaylen grabbed a hold off my other arm as I did. Dizziness and fatigue hit me, and I clung to her. Not my proudest moment, but I didn’t want to collide with the floor. Then my stomach growled and told everybody that I was hungry, which got Rylee grinding from ear to ear. Kaylen shoot him a deadly glare, while trying hard to hold back her own smile. The Queen did a perfect job at hiding her own amusement and looked at me.

“Perhaps we should get you something to eat.” She gave me a small smile before turning and walking out the door. I followed, clinging to Kaylen as we walked towards what was hopefully the kitchen.

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The King, Julien was sitting by himself at the dining table in the room next to the kitchen, reading though a stack of papers, when we entered the door.

“What have I told you about reports at the dining table Love?” He looked up at his wife and gave her a small smile.

“I didn’t think, the people that wasn’t here, would mind.” He shuffled them together and then put them in a bag, he had placed on the chair to his right. He then placed the bag on the floor and looked at me, as I sat down on a chair with Kaylen’s help.

“How are you felling?” He gave me a small smile, but his eyes looked worried.

“She’s hungry. Other than that, she’s fine.” Rylee told his dad before I could and he sat down on the chair, to his dad’s left. Rylee then started placing different kinds of food on his plate. I didn’t get why the table where fully stock with food when it had only been the King at the table. Kaylen sad beside me and started placing food on her own plate.

“Where’s Ryder?” She looked at her father for a second before turning back to picking out food. I slowly started doing the same, since it was costume, to just do that. I had been used to getting the scrabs or leftovers that Aimil and her family didn’t want or where able to eat on a tray outside my room. So, I wasn’t use to this kind of behavior.

“He left to check the surroundings with Kayden. To make sure they didn’t miss any Wolfs last night.” Rylee looked up at his father at that.

“They left without me? I was supposed to go as well. It’s been forever since the three of us did something like that.” Rylee looked disappointed and then he started eating.

“Since when do you like hunting down Darkmoon Walkers?” Kaylen glared in his direction.

“The Darkmoon Walkers? Who’s that? Someone I need to stay clear of or?” They all looked at me with an expression I couldn’t decipher. The King cleared his throat and looked at Kaylen with a face, that told her that she shouldn’t have said that. She then turned to me, ignoring her father.

“They are sort of our enemies. They did something horrible many years ago, something we don’t talk about. They… Train Wolf’s to help with attacks and that’s what happen last night. As long as you stay inside you are safe, but if you do go outside, please bring someone and don’t go far. We were lucky last night, but we might not be as lucky next time, so let’s hope there won’t be a next time.” She gave me a small smile and started eating.

“So that’s way Deryn tried to shoot my wolf last night? And the laws against wolves that Kayden mentioned? Because your enemies use wolves against you?” Kaylen nodded and gave me a small smile afterwards.

“You have a Wolf Leigh?” The King gave me a one of does look, that I wasn’t able to decipher, and I shook my head.

“She’s not mine as a pet would be, but she has been following after me every time I went outside for years. She doesn’t like other humans though or to get close to buildings, so I didn’t know that she had followed me here.” I gave him a small smile, which he returned.

“Must be nice to have a guardian angel like that. I will let the guards know that we have a friendly wolf on our grounds from time to time. I don’t want to repeat what happen to you last night.” He gave me an even bigger smile, which then faded.

“What on earth is going on?” He shot up from his chair, followed by Rylee and they both rushed out of the room. I didn’t hear a thing. The Queen followed slowly after and as Kaylen got up, I followed her, and grabbed hold of her arm in the process. I wasn’t sure that I would be able to stand without some help and didn’t feel like facepalming the floor. We went to the front door, where the King and Rylee concealed what was happening outside, with their bodies. I did however get a glimpse of four large men, dressed in all black.

“Where’s Crown Princess Leigh?” The tallest of them walked forward and stepped over the guard that were lying unconscious on the ground together with seven other guards. A growl erupted behind me and then Kayden pushed his way to the front. When he did, I got a closer look at the four men in front of us. They look so much like each other that I wouldn’t be surprised if they were family, hell they could be brothers with does similarities. But why on earth where they asking for me? The more I looked at them, the stronger the feeling, that I should knew them grew, but I had never in my life seen them before so why did I feel like this when I looked at them?

“What does the Darkmoon want with the Princess?” Kayden’s voice was cold and ominous. The men where eyeing the crowd closely and Rylee pulled me back slowly, while also stepping in front of me, to shield me with his body.

“That’s none of your goddamn business.” The lowest, that wasn’t that much shorter than the tallest, growled deeply.

“Just show her to us and we will leave.” The guy next to the one that just spoke ordered. His eyes finding mine in the crowd, despite the fact that I was mostly hidden behind Rylee. The recognition in his eyes when he found mine was notable and immediate. The other three looked in my direction afterwards, like they somehow knew that their ‘brother’ had found me without saying it out loud.

“Leigh.” They sounded breathless as they spoke my name and took a step forward at the same time. Kayden stepped in front of me and took a couple steps down the stairs towards them.

“Don’t you dare come any closer.” The threat where evident in Kayden’s voice as he spoke, with his deadly, yet calm tone.

“Or what?” The tallest one growled. Why did they growl so much? Rylee tensed and as I looked around the rest of his family, I noticed they looked just as tense and worried all except Kayden. He looked ready to kill the four men, I couldn’t let that happen. Not when it was so clear that they knew me somehow and I needed to know how they knew me. I slipped around Rylee and stepped forward before he could catch me. The four men looked up at me and ignored Kayden.

“You can see me now, so please leave before it comes to blows. I don’t want anybody to get hurt over me.” Rylee grabbed my arm and pulled me behind him again, which got the men to take a step forward.

“Do Tanais know you are here and risking starting a full-blown war with us?” The King stopped the men in their tracks with his words. They tensed and looked back at me, before taking a step back. The looks on their faces told everybody that, this Tanais guy didn’t know the men’s whereabouts.

“This is far from over Carr’s.” The tallest one shifted his stare from one royal family member to the next and landed on me at the end. His face softening a bit.

“You better take good care of her… Or else we will be back for her.” The lowest sent Kayden a dead glare as he said it and the last part, there were not much louder than a whisper and I was barely able to hear it. It did make the royal family growl low, and I felt like it was overkill. Sure, this where Kayden and his family’s enemies, but why did they growl at them? I didn’t completely understand what was happening right now, but I felt like the royal family were taking it too far. Maybe, I wasn’t sure, I just knew that the four men couldn’t be as bad as Kaylen had sort of made them out to be. Sure, she hadn’t said much, but I saw it in her eyes. Not when it looked like they knew me. I wasn’t the type who hung around dangerous and deadly people. Not that I knew of at least. Kayden had used brute force against me, but I was still pretty sure he wasn’t that dangerous.