Red Riding Hood | BoyxBoy | COMPLETED

Family Portrait

Alexander's POV

"Excuse me?" Cassidy said incredulously.

"Lord Kellen, what is the meaning of this?" I demanded.

"Forgive me, my Lords, I did not mean to anger you." Duke Kellen performed a contrite bow. "I merely wanted to inform you that you are welcomed in the Kingdom of Lupus any time. You are, after all, the firstborn of King Olcan."

I clenched my fist to keep my claws from popping out. How dare this man come to spread blatant untruths!

"Lord Kellen," Cassidy began. "Are you perhaps mistaken? Prince Alexander is the firstborn of King Edward and Queen Annabelle of Nasales."

"That may be so for Queen Annabelle," Duke Kellen replied.

"King Edward is my Father, I will not hear you speak otherwise," I thundered.

"Your Highness, you are a born wolf. That is not something that can be covered." The Duke paused. "I speak only the truth, my Lords. Your Mother is not a shifter. Neither is King Edward. Your werewolf bloodline must come from somewhere. Perhaps, you could ask Queen Annabelle yourself?"

I was nearly apoplectic with rage.

Cassidy placed a hand on my wrist. "Lord Kellen, perhaps you should leave."

The Duke glanced at him. He looked like he wanted to say more, but I growled lowly. He bowed instead. "I apologise, I did not mean to cause undue stress."

"Go," I said. I had no patience for this man.

He nodded sharply at me. "You can hear my heartbeat," he said and then leaving with those parting words.

As soon as he was out of sight, I stalked off. I didn't know where I was going. I didn't know how to feel. My feet took me out of the castle and into the woods.

Shifting quickly, I broke into a run to get as far away from my thoughts as possible. In wolf form, human thoughts were muted and secondary to the wolf's baser instincts of hunting and sleeping. I was too keyed up to sleep, so I ran and ran.

By the time I tired myself out, I was miles away from the castle, but close to my cabin in the woods. I howled mournfully. No one ever howled back. I headed for the cabin.

Cassidy was sitting on the porch when I arrived; his knees hugged to his chest in the cold night. I padded over to him quietly, pressing my nose into his cold hands. His smile was small and soft.

"Come inside?" He stood and opened the door. I went in.

The hearth glowed gently, and I curled up before it. Cass grabbed the blanket and covered us before snuggling warmly into my side.

"I love you," he whispered. I licked his hand and fell asleep to his heartbeat.

~

We avoided the subject. Or I did. Cassidy tried to talk about it once, but I refused to respond beyond grunts even when Cass was doing his best to reassure me that I was definitely King Edward and Queen Annabelle's. He didn't bring it up again after that and I pretended I not to see his concerned gaze.

He thought I didn't want to think about it. But the truth was that I couldn't stop thinking about it. No amount of running in the forest and hiding away in my wolf form was helping. It remained a constant niggling in the back of my mind and it was driving me mad.

Cassidy was being really patient with me and I hated that I was being needy. I could have just ignored the entire conversation with Duke Kellen, but what he said was engraved inside my brain. Some part of me worried that he was right and what it would mean for me and my parents.

I am a werewolf; not once did his heartbeat stutter.

~

I was looking for Cassidy, having come from the kitchens after a tedious morning of looking at trade deals. We were going to have lunch in the gardens today. It was something I'd planned to take our minds of everything for a while with a romantic picnic.

When I found him, he was directing a pageboy to place a parcel on the study table of our office.

"What is that?" I asked, sniffing the air for a telling scent.

Cassidy shrugged. "You didn't order this? It's for you."

I frowned. Striding over, I poked suspiciously at the wrappings. It had the distinct odour of dried paint. Cassidy watched as I sliced the paper open with a claw, careful not to damage the item inside. He flipped the frame to look at the painting and promptly dropped it.

"Cas?" I touched his shoulder.

He turned to face me, eyes wide and worried. The sense of foreboding grew. I reached for the painting myself and inhaled sharply.

It was a portrait of the royal family of Lupus. King Olcan and Queen Tasha stood neatly behind their three children sat in the centre. And King Olcan's striking eyes were the exact same shade as mine.

It was Cassidy's turn to press light fingers on my shoulders. "Alex? It doesn't mean anything."

I took in a deep breath. "You're right," I said. "It doesn't. Just put it away." It didn't mean anything.

Cass wrapped the painting back up. I didn't watch when he hid it somewhere. He took my hand after. "This doesn't ruin lunch," he smiled. "We can still have our picnic in the sunshine and fresh air. That will clear our heads, don't you think?"

I kissed his knuckles, watching the light flush dusting his cheekbones. "You're right," I smiled, pressing another kiss on the delicate bone of his wrist. "We can still have a nice lunch." I kissed his cheek.

"Ah," Cassidy blushed prettily. "Lead the way, Husband."

The sun and breeze did much to clear my mind, though part of it was because of the way Cassidy glowed in the light. He claims it's the pale skin that makes him reflect light. I say he is simply an angel come to love me. He doesn't push me away when I try to kiss him silly.

It was a good break. An unknowing reprieve before the storm of tonight's dinner.