The Wolf Prince

CHAPTER 5



After watching his father hold the press conference, Ruben had given his statement to the police. When he’d finished, King Leo was waiting for him.

Together, they’d walked the perimeter of the ruined ballroom, inspecting the damage and dictating their report to the attending scribe. Now that the damage to the castle had been noted and repairs scheduled, Ruben knew he should rest. Beyond exhaustion, he wondered how he had kept from doing a face-plant into the rubble.

As he turned to ask his father’s leave so he might grab a few hours of sleep, the wolf inside him protested. Lunging at an invisible barrier, the animal wanted out. As did his father’s beast.

Clearly equally exhausted, King Leo gave him a rueful grin. “Your wolf is restless. Mine is responding in kind. Since they won’t let us sleep, are you up for a quick change and run?”

Fighting to hold back his inner beast, Ruben nodded. “When?”

“How about now?”

As his father clapped his hand on his shoulder, Ruben finished corralling his wolf into temporary submission. He grinned up at the older man. “That’s one of the reasons I love you, Dad. The ability to make quick decisions.”

This compliment made the king laugh. “Quick and good, I hope,” he said.

“Do you mind if I bring York?” Ruben asked. “He’d love a good run. He’s been cooped up since the ball last night.” His German shepherd dog had been brought up with the Pack and often accompanied him on trips into the woods. When Ruben changed, the dog eagerly ran at his wolf self’s side.

“Sure.” King Leo loved the large dog almost as much as Ruben did.

Rather than go all the way back into the castle and locate the kennel master who was looking after York, Ruben dialed him up on his cell phone. A moment later, he whistled and the huge dog came flying around the corner toward them.

“Settle, boy.” Ruben calmed him with a few words and a light touch. King Leo stroked York’s silky head also.

“Let’s go.” Ruben waved the dog ahead of them. Tongue lolling, York gladly led the way.

King Leo chuckled. “Too bad that’s a dog, not a wolf. If anyone ever sees us all together, there will be talk in the village about the giant shepherd who runs with a pack of wolves.”

Ruben chuckled, knowing his father’s words were true. “Are you ready?”

“I am,” the king answered. Side by side, they strolled out of the castle, both in relatively good humor despite their weariness.

Walking down the path past the bench where Ruben had rested with Willow, Ruben again wondered where she’d gone. To all outward appearances, she’d disappeared into the same forest they were going to in order to shape-shift into wolves. Maybe as wolf, he could find a clue.

He didn’t want anything to interfere with this moment so he pushed the thought from his mind and bumped his father with his shoulder. His father bumped him back.

Both wearing identical faint smiles, they continued, companionably silent, along a well-trod path that wove through the dense woods in a seemingly random pattern. Centuries ago their ancestors had cleared this path and built the small stone temple at the end of it. All for the sole purpose of enabling the royal family to have a private—and beautiful—place to shape-shift from human form to wolf.

When they rounded the last turn and the ancient temple was no longer hidden, King Leo shook his head and let out a long breath. “I need this, my boy!”

Then, as Ruben was about to agree, the older man took off running. “Last one to change is a rotten rabbit!”

After a moment of shock—they both had been up all night, after all—Ruben leaped forward. Taking up the challenge, he tore after his father. They reached the old building roughly at the same time, though the king won by mere inches.

“Not bad for a man my age,” he huffed.

Ruben had to agree.

Still chuckling and slightly out of breath, they stepped inside, shedding their clothes as they went.

King Leo was the first to change. Ruben had barely gotten undressed when the air around his father began to shimmer, heralding the beginnings of the change. With his own wolf raging to be free, Ruben dropped to the ground and counted to three. Then he let the change rip through him as his wolf rejoiced to be free.

A moment later, two wolves stood in the spot where before there’d been two men. King Leo was a huge graying beast, while Ruben’s pelt was close to the same sable color of his human hair.

Muzzle to muzzle, they inhaled each other’s scent. Then, with a glad bark, Ruben took off, aware of his father racing at his side.

Later, much later, with the hunt completed and their wolves sated happy, and pleasantly worn out, they headed back toward the changing temple, luxuriating in their heightened wolf senses. As a human, Ruben relied primarily on sight. As a wolf, he used his nose. He missed that super sense of smell when he existed as man. He felt its absence with a sort of sharp sorrow.

It was good to have this experience with his father. These days they didn’t get to spend enough time together.

As they neared the path that would take them back to the old temple, Ruben felt a disturbance in the air. A shift, a slight breeze, a shiver up his spine. Nothing tangible, at least not by scent or by sight. A quick glance at his father revealed the older wolf felt it, too.

Instantly, they went low to the ground, seeking cover under vegetation. His sharp lupine hearing picked up a sound and he went still. Footsteps. Human. Uttering a low growl in the back of his throat, he glanced at his father. The other wolf dropped to his belly, well hidden. Ruben did the same.

He smelled her before he saw her. The scent, tantalizingly familiar. And the instant the woman’s dark head came into view, he knew why.

Willow.

His father growled, making Ruben realize he’d moved forward. A foolish and futile move. She wouldn’t know him now, not as wolf. And where had she come from? He’d swear she’d simply appeared from thin air. Whatever she was, she wasn’t Pack, wasn’t Shifter. But she wasn’t human, either. Her scent was off.

She’d appeared in the middle of the royal ancestral woods. Nothing that way but forest and mountains. Where on earth had she come from? Maybe, he found himself thinking cynically, she hadn’t come from anywhere on this earth.

The instant the thought occurred to him, he shook his head. Fanciful and ridiculous, even for a man who shape-shifted from human to wolf.

Then again, there was something different about her. Once more he wondered if she had somehow been involved in the explosion. But if so, why was she alone? She would have needed help to pull off a blast on the scale of the one that had taken down part of the castle.

Still hidden, the wolves let her pass. And remained hidden, as they were about to rise when their keen ears had picked up more footsteps. This time, Ruben did not recognize the scent. He only knew it, too, was not human.

And when the unfamiliar man wearing odd clothing appeared a few moments later, they let him pass, as well.

Though this time, Ruben wanted to trail him. A quick glance at his father showed he concurred. They set off together, easily able to stay out of sight.

* * *

Willow arrived at the castle right before the noon meal, which was perfect. If everyone was occupied with either preparing a meal or eating, that gave her a better chance of slipping in and out of the place unnoticed.

Though she’d been there when the bomb had gone off, how the destruction looked in broad daylight still shocked her. The section of the castle where, only hours before, there’d been music and dancing had been reduced to rubble. And, she saw as she drew closer, she realized the royal family of Teslinko had placed guards over the entire area.

Not good, especially since that’s where she suspected she’d lost the earring.

So much for moving around unnoticed. Now what?

Though initially she’d planned to skirt around the damaged area and enter through the kitchen, trying to pass herself off as kitchen staff, there was no way to get near the castle without getting past the guards. And, since she didn’t have a legitimate reason to enter, she knew she wouldn’t get far.

She glanced down at her jeans and faded T-shirt; she didn’t look like royalty. Even though, on the other side of the veil, she actually was.

Backtracking, she slid into the shadows before anyone noticed her. Heart pounding like a trapped bird, she weighed her options. There was one other place she could try. When she and Prince Ruben had stood on the balcony off the main ballroom, she’d noticed another couple balconies farther down the castle wall. Several of them were near large trees. It was a long shot, but at the moment, her only option.

Going around the perimeter didn’t take as long as she’d expected. Still keeping to the cover of the forest, she passed up the first two balconies as too close to the wrecked part of the castle and far too visible. And, while the second and third had some tree cover, neither was close enough to any limbs.

Finally, on the fourth balcony, she thought she had a winner. Three large trees formed a triangle and two of them had branches that extended out nearly to the balcony’s edge. Even better, one of the trees looked easily climbable.

Glad of her jeans, she went around to the opposite side of the large tree so she’d be hidden in case a guard happened to look this way. Shimmying up the trunk was more difficult than she’d expected, but she made good progress and reached the lower part of the balcony without any trouble.

Glancing one more time toward the guards, she realized she couldn’t even see them. Perfect. She climbed up another foot or two, then took a deep breath, grasped the largest of the four branches and swung herself out over the balcony. And then she let go.

Landing was awkward and loud and only slightly painful. She stayed crouched on the floor while she assessed the damage to her body. Not bad. Only her ankle hurt and it wasn’t that bad. She doubted it was even strained.

Waiting another moment to see if she’d been noticed, she pushed herself to her feet and went to try the door. To her surprise, it wasn’t locked. All of her intuitive alarms began chiming. This was too easy.

She thought about abandoning her attempt and leaving it for another day. Then she pictured her mother’s reaction if she noticed the missing earring and decided to go for it. In the end she didn’t really have a choice.

So she pushed open the door and boldly stepped inside.

* * *

Like some sort of supernatural caravan, Ruben and his father followed the man who followed Willow. Of course the two high Royals of Teslinko remained in wolf form. They hadn’t taken the time to change back to human. Yet.

From the shelter of a grove of aspens, the stranger stopped to watch as Willow shimmied up the tree. They all saw her drop onto a balcony, try the door and go inside.

Apparently satisfied, the other man turned and went back the way he’d come. Clearly unaware that he’d been followed, he made no attempt to hide his passing.

Ruben glanced at his father. Since as wolves they couldn’t speak, he whined once, jerking his head in the direction of the stone temple.

King Leo shook his shaggy gray pelt and made for their castle instead. Ruben understood and followed. It would take too long for them to return to the stone temple in the woods and change back to human.

Their captain of the guards was Pack. He kept several changes of clothing stashed in the guard house just in case. They’d change there. That way, they could get inside and catch Willow before she had a chance to plant another bomb.

And, Ruben thought grimly as he loped alongside his father toward the guard house, he’d send some soldiers to find that man in the woods. Just in case.

Again, Ruben realized he’d underestimated his wolf. Once allowed to take form, the beast resisted the necessary change back to human. Heart pounding, Ruben battled his inner animal, praying his father was sufficiently distracted and didn’t notice the savage fight.

Ruben won and forced the change back to human. Each time, it grew more and more difficult. He could easily foresee a day when the wolf would win and he’d remain in his lupine form forever. On that day, he knew he’d slide over the last slippery slope to madness.

What worried him was how badly he wanted to.

A few minutes later, human and fully clothed, King Leo and Ruben alerted the guards. Men were dispatched to the woods to search for the stranger, and the palace was quietly put on high alert. Willow would be caught and interrogated. Ruben hoped she wouldn’t resist. Despite everything, he didn’t want her hurt.

Yet.

Of course he’d already decided to question her himself. Though their association had been brief, he’d foolishly believed they’d connected on some visceral level. More proof that his mind was slowly unraveling, he supposed. Now, he wanted her to look him in the eye and explain.

* * *

Fuming, Tatiana put on her riding boots, trying to keep from scowling as she didn’t want to cause wrinkles. First her sister—whom she’d planned to pair with Prince Eric—had managed to disappear unnoticed, but now Prince Chad had begged off, claiming he had a headache. As if. And when she’d questioned him, he’d had the audacity to say he felt it better if she and her fiancé spend time alone. He’d grinned mockingly as he’d spoken, taunting her.

This not only infuriated her, but aroused her, as well. Tatiana had never met a man who wouldn’t let her have her way.

A challenge was exactly what she needed. But first... She stood, adjusting her ponytail. She had to deal with the buffoon she was supposed to marry.

Sparkles of Fairy dust. This was going to be a long afternoon.

Prince Eric waited, standing beside his mount. She noted he’d chosen the largest, flashiest horse in the royal stable, a cantankerous gelding appropriately nicknamed Trouble. She wondered if the stable hands had bothered to tell their visitor that he was indeed asking for...well, trouble. The only one Trouble would allow to remain on his back was King Puck. And that was only when the giant beast felt like it.

At the moment, he stood docilely, mouthing his bit while Prince Eric eyed her and preened. Since she knew he was waiting for her to compliment him and say how handsome he looked next to the magnificent steed, she kept her mouth shut and pretended not to notice. After all, he hadn’t bothered to comment on her appearance—and she knew she looked absolutely, freakin’ gorgeous—so why should she bother with his?

Her own horse, a beautiful gray mare her father had given her for her twenty-first birthday, had been saddled with her favorite saddle. Trying to appear lighthearted, she swung her leg up and over, settling on her horse with the abundant grace she’d been born with.

“Are you ready?” she chirped brightly. Just once she wished she didn’t have to put on the act of beautiful, gracious princess. She’d have hoped, with the man she was supposed to marry, at least she’d get a chance to be herself.

Not that this oaf would notice. She suspected Prince Eric was such a narcissist that he only noticed others if they made him look bad. Which of course, she would never do.

Or would she? Even thinking such a thing made her shiver with delight. She was twenty-four years old. Maybe the time had come to make some changes in her life.

Tatiana had always been the good child, doing what was expected of her. When she’d been little, her mama, Queen Millicent, quite enjoyed treating her like a doll, dressing her up and changing her elaborate outfits sometimes as much as three times a day. She knew she was spoiled and if she often felt suffocated, well, it made her dear mama so happy. How could she even think of disappointing the one who’d given her life?

Despite the fact that Tatiana had grown increasingly bored and unhappy, she’d always taken care to please her parents. She’d found other avenues to vent her frustration and unfortunately her poor younger sister had taken the brunt of things.

But Willow never seemed to mind. At least on the surface. Tatiana suspected that she also kept her true feelings locked away inside.

They might be sisters, she reflected grimly, but neither truly knew the other. Maybe that too would have to change.

Prince Eric cleared his throat, bringing her attention back to him.

“Daydreaming?” he asked, his bored tone indicating he didn’t really care what she answered.

So she didn’t. Instead, she urged her horse forward, ignoring the man trying to mount the skittish gelding. As he swung his muscular leg over the animal’s back and Trouble bucked, she held her breath, hoping she’d get to watch Eric get thrown.

To her surprise, he got the horse under control easily, without too much fuss. Once Eric was certain Trouble would respond to the touch of his heels, he rode up alongside her. “This is a fine animal,” he told her, grinning triumphantly. “I’ll never understand why you’d geld a horse that looks like this.”

Instead of answering, she considered him. He looked human, for the first time since she’d met him. Albeit, a spectacularly beautiful human. Certainly, his smile transformed his handsomeness into another realm entirely; the kind of male beauty about which songs are written.

Though used to such beauty—she possessed numerous mirrors—Tatiana couldn’t help but stare.

Seeing this, he laughed out loud.

“What’s so funny?” she asked him, cross.

“You don’t really want to marry me, do you?” he asked.

Insight and beauty? Would wonders never cease? Now it was her turn to laugh. “Is it that obvious?”

“Only when I look at you.” His smile faded.

“Then don’t,” she popped off, making him laugh again. Oddly enough, she actually liked him now, when he was making absolutely no effort to impress her.

“How about this?” he offered. “Why don’t we quit worrying about impressing each other and just hang out like friends? We’re pretty evenly matched, at least in the looks department. Why don’t we try and get along?”

She thought about that for a moment. “I’m not sure I know how,” she finally admitted, bracing herself for his derision and scorn.

Instead, he merely cocked a brow at her. “It’s an acquired skill,” he said, his tone dry. “I promise you, it took me a while to learn it, as well.”

Urging his horse sideways until their knees were nearly touching, he held out his hand. “Friends?”

Though she wasn’t sure this wasn’t some sort of trick—after all, in her experience men like him were always exactly like they seemed—she took his hand and shook it.

“Friends.” Then, yanking her hand free, she urged her horse away and into a run. Trouble’s ears went back and she suspected he’d buck at any moment. “Catch me if you can.”

* * *

At first, the darkness of the room Willow had entered threw her off. Then, as her eyes gradually adjusted, she looked around her with great interest. The only part of this mammoth palace she’d seen had been the ballroom area downstairs.

She’d entered a bedroom. A masculine one, judging from the abundant leather and metal used to decorate the room. She took a step forward, the animal skin so plush and deep that she left footprints. Resting her hand on one of the leather chairs, she shuddered, unable to keep from wondering if the animal had suffered and hoping not.

A certain scent lingered in the air. She sniffed, a memory tickling at the edges of her mind. She knew this scent and if she had all the time in the world... It was tantalizingly familiar, though she couldn’t quite place it. But she liked the smell. It made her smile.

Now to find her mother’s precious pearl earring. Once she’d located that, she could beat a fast retreat, hopefully unnoticed. Especially by the handsome Prince Ruben. Moving confidently, she started toward the door.

A sound from the hallway made her freeze. Someone shouted. Another man answered. Footfalls, coming close. Heart pounding, she glanced around the room, searching for a place to hide. There. Quickly and quietly, she crossed the room to a set of double doors that could only be a closet.

More footsteps out in the hall. Several people, running. Guards, most likely. Someone must have seen her breaking in. Trying not to panic, she gave the closet door a tug. Nothing. Another tug, this time with more force. To her relief, the door opened. She stepped inside, closing the door behind her. It made a small sound as the handle clicked into place.

As she stood in the middle of someone’s clothes, she tried to breathe quietly when her body wanted her to inhale in great gasps. She willed herself calm and began to take in the scent surrounding her. This was the same masculine cologne she’d noticed earlier. All at once, she realized whose closet this was. If she closed her eyes, she could see his face and once again smell this particular scent of candlewood and spice.

Prince Ruben. Bad enough she’d broken into his room. But now she was hiding in his closet. And he was the last person she wanted to see right now.

Liar. Even as she formed the thought, she knew it wasn’t entirely true.

Listening hard, she heard nothing else from outside the hallway. Still, she waited, her heart beating slow and steady.

She would succeed. She would not be caught. If her mother learned she’d taken her jewelry without permission... Even thinking about the possibility made her shudder. Avoiding her mother’s ire was worth any risk.

After a few seconds had passed without any more sounds, she cautiously opened the door a crack. And waited again.

Finally, satisfied that the danger of discovery had passed, she pushed the door open and stepped into the room.

The instant she did, the lights came on.