Red Riding Hood | BoyxBoy | COMPLETED

Legend of Lupus

Holly's POV

Father used to tell me stories of old when there were no humans, just animal shifters who lived peacefully in a safe haven. And everyone was happy and kind until the first human was born. The first non-shifter born to parents who didn't understand why their child was different.

As he was the first of his kind, everyone treated him differently, for he was smaller, slower and more breakable than the rest of his kin. He grew up bitter and jealous of everyone around him and sought to make them all pay. So climbed Goat Mountain and discovered magic. Except that his magic was different. With his magic, he could take away the abilities of the shifters and make them human, like him.

I always got scared at this part of the story and father would tell me that naughty baby shifters would become human. Then I'd promise to be good and he'd smile and continue his story.

The human was now a powerful sorcerer who took the ability to shift from anyone who opposed him. The King Alpha sent an army to capture the sorcerer, but the sorcerer was too powerful and cruel, and he turned them all human. The shifters were afraid. They had lived their whole lives with the ability to transform and without it, they didn't know how to do anything.

Desperate, the King Alpha trained with a sword and went up Goat Mountain himself. Upon seeing the King Alpha, the sorcerer took his abilities away, but the King Alpha forged on. They fought in the cave of the sorcerer and surprised by the King Alpha's fighting spirit and training, the sorcerer was pierced through the heart with his sword.

Once the jealous sorcerer died, the King Alpha and all the shifters regained their ability to transform. And all was right and well in the Kingdom again.

Father would smile as he bid me 'Good night' and tell me that all is right and well in the Kingdom.

I've grown out of bedtime stories now. And it occurred to me that the story painted humans in a bad light. Something I was extremely aware of. Because I was born human to two werewolf parents.

Father has long since stopped telling me that story, but parts of it remain true. The Goat Mountain and its skull cave exist, and my friends and I are going to explore it today.

I was just telling them the story the other day and we all agreed that it would be pretty exciting to see if the cave actually had some ancient artefacts left behind. And we had planned to climb Goat Mountain the next time we met.

Chingu and I waited at the gates for Colin. We had our packs ready and were waiting for him to come out. It probably didn't take long, but I was impatient, and it felt like Colin was taking forever to join us.

He eventually did though, with his mother, the Queen, behind him.

"You are only going to Goat Mountain?" she clarified with me and Chingu.

"Yes, your majesty," I say and do a little curtsy as my mother taught me to.

She nods. "Alright, have fun, you three. And if anything happens, just howl or scream, do you understand?"

We nodded our assent and got going. Even if we found nothing, we were going to eat our snacks and tell one another scary stories in the darkness of the cave.

As we climb the mountain, neither Colin nor Chingu break a sweat. Among the three of us, I am the only human, so it's expected but it's also annoying. Chingu is not a werewolf though. He is a kitsune, a fox shifter whose family only moved to Lupus recently. His mother is an ambassador of Hanguki. They always throw the politicians' children together, but only the three of us are similar in ages.

I'm huffing and puffing a little halfway to the summit. Chingu is only a little red. Colin is talking. I want to push him off the mountain.

He keeps talking about the Princes of Nasales, even though they have been here for weeks already. Practically old news. I played chess with Prince Alex once. He's pretty cool.

But it's been literal weeks and Colin is still going on about his big brother and I'm annoyed enough to yell at him.

"Are you done?" I snap. It comes out too huffy to be rude.

"With what?" he asks.

I glare at him. "All you do is talk and talk about Prince Alexander and Prince Cassidy." I paused to suck deep breaths of air into my lungs. "Don't you have anything better to talk about by now?"

"I can't hear you over your panting. Are you okay?" he asks me.

Chingu snorts.

Colin pulls out a water skein. "Here. Drink some water. We should take a short break to rest."

The exertion is getting to me. I gulp down the water.

"I know you're tired of my new brothers," he says with a grin, and I gesture rudely at him. "But I've got news."

Chingu tilts his head curiously. I wait for him to continue.

"It's a secret," he says. And I grab the nearest pebble I feel to throw at him. Colin dodges easily, chortling in delight.

Chingu crosses his arms, completely unimpressed.

"Fine, fine," he acquiesced laughingly. "But you guys can't tell anyone. It hasn't been announced yet. I'm not even supposed to know."

We nod in anticipation and Colin comes closer. He lowers his voice conspiratorial and we lean forward to listen.

"I think I'm going to be an uncle," he says excitedly.

Chingu claps politely. "Congratulations," he offers in his quiet, accented speech.

I'm a little confused. "Whose Uncle are you supposed to be?"

"Alex and Cassidy are having a baby," he whispers.

"Oh," I say, surprised. "They are adopting?"

"No," Colin grabbed our shoulders and pulled us together. "Prince Cassidy is pregnant," he whispers into our ears.

Even Chingu is shocked now. Colin nods excitedly, his eyes shine in delight.

"Wow," I say. That actually is pretty wonderful news. I'm even a little jealous of Colin. I swallow my envy and congratulate him instead. It's not a new emotion for me, envying Prince Colin and his perfect family that keeps getting bigger and bigger. But Colin never says anything even though he can probably smell my resentment. I guess most of the time, he's a pretty good friend to have.

We carry on our hike to the top, having rested sufficiently at the halfway point. Colin is quieter during this second half.

~

The skull cave doesn't disappoint us. It is appropriately menacing and its entrance looms over us.

Our previous bravado had shrivelled considerably in the face of the actual skull cave. Colin looks uncertain. Chingu looks mildly worried.

"Let's go in," I say determinedly. The boys share a look which I ignore and follow me as I step into the darkness.