The King & the Stable Boy

L: Rebellion

Noah

I ran through the castle like a madman, my night gown fanning out around me as I booked it straight for the nursery. Finding the door wide open, my breathing began to pick up.

I cautiously walk in to find two wolves circling Artan and Mira, both of whom who look terrified and yet seem to be fending them off well. Art has put a force field between them and the wolves as Mira throws blocks at them, aiming for the eyes.

I let out a ferocious growl, gaining the attackers attention and they lunged for me at once. I quickly pull the twin daggers from my sleeves and get to work at slicing their underbellies then aiming for the jugulars, satisfied when I saw them both permanently down.

Both children run to me once the fight is over and I lead us to a secret passage, getting us to the safe rooms of the castle. If you were to tell me last night that we'd be raided I would have made it appear to be a ghost town, but sadly, our next oracle has yet to come of age to be of any help.

"Where's Papa?" Art questions.

I'm woken up by the sounds of wolves and the stench of garbage. Rogues are in the castle, but how?

William isn't beside me. I hastily get up and run out to find him surrounded by ten wolves, his eyes flashing as Enzo is up at the surface.

"Go! Get the children safe, don't look back, just go!" he orders me.

I do as told, running, two wolves splitting off to follow.

"He's on his way." I tell them.

"Your Majesties, we're moving to the summer palace." a guard states.

My eyes widen.

"That's fifty miles away."

"The castle has been completely compromised, we are ordered to do what's necessary to keep you all safe."

"Where's Natasha?" I question.

His eyes glaze over as he communicates my question over to what I'm assuming was the warrior link before they refocus and he says "On her way over already."

The trek was long and about two miles in I had to shift into wolf form so that the children could ride on my back, both sleepy and tired from the stressful situation at hand. We stopped for a break at the halfway point, deciding to set up sleep for the night on the surface. We were just on the outskirts of Barnes, and two guards went to the inn to make sure it was clear before coming back for us.

What a sight it must have been, six royal guards and a wolf with the heirs to the throne upon his back, nothing but one of the guard's cloaks covering them, no King in sight.

I place the children in the bed, shifting back and accepting the spare clothes of one of the guards. Sleep still did not find me so I spoke with the guards on watch.

"Who's attacked us?"

"At this moment it's still being discovered. Roman has yet to send word out about the condition over there, if the entirety of our residents survived. No ones been able to locate King William. They found the bodies of six wolves by your room, but there's not much else to go off of."

"Not even a trail?" I question, getting a head shake in response.

I shake the worry from my head. William is resourceful. He's probably shifted into a bird of prey and is waiting in the rafters.

He's a stubborn man, he wouldn't leave the castle knowing his family is safe elsewhere. He'd want to stay and make it a safe home for us again.

I kept making excuses for his absence with Chandler, making it a game of sorts, as the guards continued to update me until I finally decided to lie down for the night.

If my mate were to die I would feel it right? My mark would fade, I'd feel the bond snap. Or I should right?

What would I say to the pups when we were to arrive? My heart wants me to believe that he's simply running late but my brain is telling me he's suffered a worse fate.

Even in my sleep these questions haunted me, making me see visions of his mauled body, or his ghost visiting me in my dreams.

It was just before sunrise when we got going again, not arriving at the palace until midday. The children launched themselves into the arms of their grandmother, and before I could even ask, she shook her head. William still had yet to arrive.

She hands the children off to a care taker who goes to get them cleaned up before turning to me.

"How are you holding up?" she questions.

"Last time I'd seen him, he was surrounded by wolves. They told me they found the bodies of six of them, but there should have been another two. What if his body is lying in the gardens somewhere just waiting to be found? What if he's injured?"

"You must be patient. He's alive, we both know this. There's a certain bond that a parent and child and two mates have. You'd feel the loss before needing confirmation of it. We reassure Mira and Artan that he will return to us safely. We reassure the people that the monarchy is alive and well. We wait for him to return to us safe and sound, and that's the best we can do." she advises.

And so I did as she said.

I distracted the kids from his absence, playing fun games with them and telling them stories from his childhood and a whole manner of other things.

I made public appearances and gave addresses regarding the issue, threatening the group that's gone after my family, telling the people that their leaders are all alive and well.

I listened for news on the castle and how the threat has been neutralized but it still wasn't deemed safe as an investigation on spies was being done. I learned that those damn Democratic rebels were behind this, and swore next time I saw any one of their leaders I'd personally kill them with just my hands.

And after a week, William still was nowhere to be found.

So I waited.

And waited.

And waited, for two months, but he never comes.