The Red Cloak Girls

Eight: Prince Raoul

Eight

Prince Raoul

            The Kings and Lords of castle Lupine had gathered in the war rooms. My father, an older version of me with a beard, surveyed the scene from his seat at the large, round table. He had gray eyes and dark hair. I was next to him on one side, and his beta, my uncle Brenner, had red hair and brown eyes. There was raucous chatter from everyone, and they wouldn’t stop talking. “SILENCE!” my father shouted. “My Lords, I know that we are all excited for The Mating Season----”

            There was bawdy laughter that came from the group of men that nearly shook the table. My father slammed the table hard with his fist, making the table rattle, and causing them all to jump and look at him. “SILENCE!!!!!!” he shouted it again, this time it silenced everything. All of the Lords turned to stare directly at him.

            “You heathens! I know that we are all excited for The Mating Season to begin, but we have trouble coming. There was something found on the castle door when I got back. A warning for us.”

            “What kind of warning?” I asked.

            “A dead wolf,” my father told me.

            The crowd bristled. “A dead wolf? Who was it? Who died?”

            “No, not one of us,” he said, “an actual forest wolf. Bring it in!”

            One of the servant boys carried in the bloodied corpse of a dead wolf. It was smaller than us, and the blood from the wound that killed it streaked across the floor. A gasp rippled through the crowd.

            “This is an attack!” My uncle shouted. “Someone is trying to send us the threat.”

            “It must be about the girls,” said Conan, “probably about Crimson.”

            I glowered at him. “Why do you automatically assume that it is about Crimson?”

            “Because,” said Conan, “she was the only girl that had someone else that was crazy enough to stand up and object to a wolf taking her. All of the other girls might have had someone else that loved them, but Crimson’s love interest was the only one that tried to fight you!”

            “It wasn’t the boy,” my father said.

            “How do you know?” Brenner asked. “Conan is right. That boy threatened your son, it has to be him.”

            “There was a note attached to the wolf,” my father explained. He pulled it from his pocket. A crescent moon with a crossbow, and a giant, elegant P written on it. “It’s from them. The Hunters. They’re coming.”

            “This has only happened once before,” this was spoken by Roland, the Omega. He lived most of his time outside of Castle Lupine, but he was contacted for war councils to help keep him safe.

            “When?” my father asked.

            “When a girl was taken against her will,” said Roland, “over a century ago. That was why the law regarding the age of consent was created. The Alpha at the time, Boden, discovered that his mate was a girl of fifteen. Her name was Johanna. She was small, with lovely, golden hair, and she had a sweet singing voice. Everyone would come from far and wide to listen to her sing. During his first mating season as an alpha, Boden heard Johanna singing. But she was thirteen at the time. He was overcome with desire, but he knew that thirteen was too young. He waited, for years, and years. Until finally, on her fifteenth birthday, he grew mad with lust. On a hot, summer night, he watched her celebrate her birthday in the village square. She danced with a young boy, and as their fingers went to touch, Boden ran through the crowd in wolf form and he tore the young couple apart. He dragged her to Castle Lupine, and mated with her that night, against her will. The villagers stormed the castle, and they killed half of our pack trying to get to Boden. Boden was never killed, but it took forever for the pack to recover. He was ousted from being King, and his brother took over as Alpha. They instated the age of consent rule, using old magic from the witches to bind it.”

            “What happened to Boden?” Conan asked.

            “He was banished,” Roland answered, “as far as I know, he’s been dead for centuries.”

            “But wolves are hard to kill,” this came from Arek, the youngest lord, “we can only be killed my pure silver. Or by each other.”

            “Old age can also take us,” my father reminded him, “it simply takes longer for us to die. But Roland, what does Boden have to do with this?”

            “Everything,” said Roland, “The Hunters were created because Johanna was the very reason that The Hunters were created. It’s her family that became The Hunters. They haven’t killed a wolf since Boden, but they still train, and they live in secret amongst these mountains. Watching, waiting for the day that they do something wrong.”

            I grimaced. “You think this is because of Crimson?”

            “I don’t think,” said Roland, “I know. If you keep that girl here, they will come. They will come, and they will kill us all.”

            “She’s my mate,” I snarled.

            “But not by her choice,” Roland reminded me, “she came, because you threated that boy. Everyone saw. She was wearing a brown dress. I’m familiar with Crimson’s Grandmother. I have no doubt that the gold on her dress was put there by design. She knows of her family’s history with us, and the curse that has given Crimson Devil’s lung.”

            “What should we do?” I asked.

            “You really want to know?” Roland said.

            I nodded. “I don’t want my people suffering for a mistake that I made.”

            “Well, you won’t like my answer.”

            “Tell me anyway.”

            He sighed. “Give the girl back. Let her spend the year with her family. Don’t force her to stay in Castle Lupine. If you must be near her, demand that you are allowed to stay with the family to get to know her. Complete her year and a day in the village.”

            “Will the villagers even allow that?” I asked.

            My father patted me on the shoulder. “Let me handle that, son. But I believe that Roland is right. I think we need to send the girl back and let her make up her own mind.”

            “But what if she doesn’t want me?” I whispered.

            “There is nothing like the mating bond,” my father replied, “once she feels it, she’ll be yours. You needn’t worry about it, son. It isn’t Castle Lupine that makes The Mating Season special. It’s you, son. And how you love your mate. And I have complete faith in your ability to win that girl over. No matter where you are.”

            “Fine,” I said, “fine. I’ll take her back to the village. I’ll win her over on her own terms.”