Ash and Cade hadn't wanted to bother Faun so they left his lunch right outside his door, knocking to inform him about it before leaving.
Allan was also on the prowl, he needed to buy the hybrid sometime to get away fully. Sneaking into his older brother's room was fairly easy seeing as no one was around, so it was easy for him to make away with the entire tray of food without being noticed. He disposed of it by handing it to a maid and then disappearing inside his room.
When Ash came to check on Faun later that afternoon, he was relieved to see the tray gone, believing that the hybrid had come out to get it. He didn't want to bother him further after that, knowing that he could just get the tray when it was time for dinner.
So when the sun set and they were about to head to the kitchen for his dinner, they were a little stunned to run into Declan. Although they were his bodyguards, they hadn't really seen much of him for days now, as a matter of fact, they hadn't seen much of him ever since he returned.
Declan hardly left the castle which was when their services were required so it was really no surprise that they hadn't been around him much. It didn't help that he always looked like he was on the verge of homicide.
They stopped in their tracks at the sight of the crown on his head, as odd as it was to see him wear his crown, that wasn't the reason they were stunned but that it was unmistakably the King's crown.
Declan ripped off the accessory and stared them down, "Where's Faun?"
"Uh, in his room, he said he wasn't feeling too well so we let him sleep in," Ash stumbled over his feet to provide an answer.
Declan tilted his head to the side, dark hair falling in his eyes, "You're shitting me, right?"
Ash's confusion was evident on his face, "W-What-"
Cade moved at the same time that Declan did, pulling Ash behind him. "I'm guessing he's missing." He said with levels of calm he wasn't feeling.
Declan was right up in his grill, eyes flashing gold. "When was the last time you both saw him."
Cade fell silent because he hadn't actually seen the hybrid all day, he had merely trusted Ash's word.
"Shit!" Ash cursed, breaking out into a run, clearly headed in the direction of Declan's room.
Declan just sucked in a harsh breath and walked off, he knew that his bodyguards weren't negligent so only one person could have managed to pull this off. He was too exhausted for this crap…
The entire day had just been one boring proceeding after another, from the coronation to the hearing on the law to the court procession held to repeal the law… Declan was already at the end of his patience. This was supposed to be his crowning moment, where he could take off Faun's collar and tell him that he didn't have to run anymore.
Only to return and not find his mate, what the fuck?
Declan was still in shock so it was taking some time to sink in that he couldn't find Faun. He was still holding on to some hope that he would quickly find him, and it would be that Gigi invited him over for a lunch date or something equally as harmless.
But even as his legs swiftly carried him down the hallways to Allan's rooms, he knew that that wasn't the case. He all but kicked down the door, striding in at the same time that Allan calmly swiveled around on his chair.
Allan lifted one ear of his headphones, a questioning look on his face. He already had his cover story down pat and wasn't worried at all because no one worth mentioning had seen him take away the hybrid. However, he didn't predict that his brother wouldn't even ask a single question.
Declan had to stop himself from using his new crown as a brass knuckle, cocking the annoying werewolf in front of him so hard his headphones flew off.
Allan fell to the ground with a thud, clutching his face, jaw and lips throbbing. "What the hell was that for?"
"You just don't know when to quit, do you?" He asked coldly, still clutching his crown.
Allan managed a perfect poker face although his split lip was bleeding down his shirt, "I don't know what you're talking about."
Declan just pinched the bridge of his nose, he had no idea how long ago Faun had gone missing but from the looks of things, it was several hours ago, he could be anywhere by now. "Where is he?"
"I don't-"
"You're going to want to choose your next words carefully," Declan threatened, eyes flashing.
Allan hadn't been expecting this outcome, he had expected that they would have found out about the hybrid's absence hours ago and would have immediately begun a frantic search to find him. He didn't expect his older brother to come right to him with murder in his eyes, clutching… their father's crown?
Declan tracked Allan's gaze and could see the questions in his eyes but he wasn't interested in providing answers, the little shit would find out anyway. "I have no qualms breaking several of your bones, Allan." He said calmly, almost sounding happy.
Allan suppressed a shiver and gulped knowing that Declan never bluffed, not to mention that no one would take his side. "Put him on a flight to Oakwood." He mumbled, sounding like he had a mouthful of rocks.
Declan's expression turned grave but before he swept out of the room, he made sure to send a cruel kick to Allan's side, feeling a little bit of satisfaction at his sound of pain.
"Fuck!" Allan gritted out, knowing that he shouldn't have trusted Declan to not break his bones anyway.
Declan whipped out his phone as he left his younger brother writhing in pain behind him, ringing up Cade. "Prepare the jet, we're heading to Oakwood." He said coldly, hanging up.
He already knew that would be the first place Faun would go to if he had a choice but he needed confirmation. He stared down at his phone, knowing who he needed to call next. He braced himself and dialed up Isla's number, praying that Faun was still within reach even as her phone rang.