Cedric stepped into the royal dining hall, a solitary presence without all his usual attendants.
The massive hundred-lights chandeliers dangling high above on the vaulted dome ceiling shone upon his bright blond head, turning him into a bright golden being.
His tall muscular frame was cool and relaxed, his demeanor placid. His long flaxen hair was loosely tied with a piece of leather strap, from which wispy strands fell onto his strikingly handsome stoic face.
Unfortunately, the bright golden being most definitely did not look like the Alpha King of a realm.
There was no stealth to his arrival.
His wet shoes made squelching noises as they tracked in moisture from the snow outside, making a filthy trail through the hallway and into the dining room. His basic black traveling clothes were ripped in places and heavily soiled in others.
He looked a mess.
Cedric strode up to the older man in regal robes seated at the far end of the long dining table.
"Ahh. How delightful." The man looked up.
He had piercing green eyes, a hawkish nose, a strong angular jawline, and a head full of faded blond hair that was shot through with silver streaks.
He pursed his lips, taking in the extreme state of dishevelment of his second son.
"My prodigal son has finally decided to grace us with his presence after disappearing without a word for years."
Cedric pursed his lips. "You all knew where I was and how to find me."
"Of course, but you could have contacted us at least once during your vacation." He looked Cedric up and down.
"You're looking well, at the very least."
"Thank you Father." Cedric gave a cool smiled. "You look the same, as always."
Cyrus Blaxtone grimaced. Was that a compliment or an insult?
"Thank you, I supposed."
He cleared his throat. "So tell me. Now that you have driven my first-born son off the throne and banished him for life from ever coming home, what are your current plans?"
Cedric eyed his father with a caustic look.
"I'm going to do something that only kings are allowed to do, Father Dear."
"Pray tell." Cyrus took a sip of his red wine.
"I'm going to retract a royal decree." Cedric folded his hands behind his back and leveled a gaze directly at Cyrus Blaxtone.
"Don't tell me the reason that you deposed of your brother was just so you could do that one single thing." Cyrus sniffed with disdain.
"That's exactly it. The first thing I'm going to do once I am Alpha King is to retract my engagement to that horrible woman Evelyn Larabee."
Cyrus slammed his palm onto the dining table.
"You deposed of your brother for something that minor? Are you nuts?" He roared.
Cedric bared his fangs. "It's not that minor if it will affect me for the rest of my life." He sniffed. "Be grateful I didn't kill him."
Cyrus sighed. "That's something at least. What about Cody?"
"What about him?"
"Are you banishing Cody too?"
"No. He can come and go as he wishes. He just cannot be Crown Prince any longer."
Cyrus drummed his fingers on the table. Perhaps this situation could be salvaged.
"You have never expressed an interest in the throne before. Why are you now all of a sudden usurping your brother?"
Cedric narrowed his gaze.
"As long as Cecil left me alone, I could care less. Once he stepped on my toes and insisted that I had to submit to his heavy-handed ruling, I had to fight back."
"What exactly did he do?"
"Have you not been listening to me? He sent out a marriage decree without even consulting me—"
"As was his right."
"And then he slept with the fiancée he had assigned to me."
"Hmmm." Cyrus grimaced. "That would be reason enough to fight back. No one likes their woman to be touched in that manner."
Cyrus rubbed his jaw. "But surely that is not enough to banish your brother—"
"What would you have me do?"
"Well—tell him not to do it again."
"And then what?"
"And then marry the woman. She's already engaged to you. Her family would never allow you to break off the engagement. What can you do?"
"I can retract the marriage decree."
"Only a king can…"
Cyrus sighed. "I understand. But still, banishment of your brother is a bit draconian—"
"On our way back to the capital, two dozen werebears attacked my railcar. They didn't touch any other railcar. Just mine."
Cyrus blanched.
"Only yours?"
"Yes." Cedric touched his hand to his chest. "My men and I fought all of them alone without Cecil's help."
"Wha—where was he? I'm sure it must have been quite a noisy scene!"
"He was hiding inside Evelyn's railcar."
"What??? What was he doing in there?"
"What do you think?" Cedric rolled his eyes. "He's been her bedmate the entire time he visited my home on the other side of the veil. He continued his enjoyment of her body the entire journey back to the capital. He was so blatant about it, everyone knew they were lovers."
"The idiotic fool…" Cyrus muttered under his breath. "So what happened?"
"Thirty of my men died while fighting alongside me." Cedric rubbed his chest. "My chest was ripped apart and my organs slashed. I nearly died."
He sighed, his eyes softening. "If it wasn't for my mate's powerful healing abilities, I would either be dead or still trying to recover from the horrendous wounds I received."
Cyrus stood up. His eyes twin flames.
"Who would dare!!!"
"You ask me. Who do I ask?" Cedric closed his eyes. "It was an obvious attack directed at me. My mate took Devin and ran into the forest to evade the werebears."
"Your mate saved the boy? She sounds like an amazing woman. How is the boy?"
"He is fine, thanks to her, and yes. She's a very caring person who happens to also love the boy."
"She's not royalty?"
"No."
Cyrus shot him a dubious look, as if questioning his choice.
Cedric continued as if he hadn't seen the scathing look from his father.
"She's just a normal human from the other side of the veil, but she managed to keep him safe and they were able to return after the werebears were defeated."
"The werebears were defeated? I thought you said Cecil did not assist you."
Cedric gave his father a deadly stare. "That is correct. He did not. He was hiding in Evelyn's railcar and never came out to even see if I was dead or alive."
"So—so how—" Cyrus stammered.
"Andre was on the train coming back with us. He intervened on my behalf and killed the remaining werebears."
"Andre Kossova, the Duke of Voltaire?"
"Yes. He carried me into Cecil's railcar since Cecil was in Evelyn's railcar and mine had been set on fire."
"Who set your railcar on fire?" Cyrus roared.
"Who else? The werebears."
Cyrus Blaxtone began pacing the floor. As he paced, he continued to rub his chin, all the while muttering the word 'werebear…werebear…werebear'.
He finally stopped in front of a painting of a two-headed dog guarding a bull and snapped his fingers.
"It must be the witches!"
"What?" Cedric turned a startled eye at his father.
"The witches! They must be behind all this. They know how to possess people and were-beings!"