"Let's eat." The king said with a shallow smile as he reached for the fork beside his plate. The Queen held a sad expression on her face as her head was buried while she stared at the empty plate in front of her, unfazed. Princess Skye didn't seem to be interested in the drama as she kept her face fixed on her father, waiting for him to take the first bite out of the food the servants had just dished before she devoured hers. Simon, on the other hand, sat with his back straight and hands on his laps as he didn't contribute to the drama but only listened.
The king was hesitant to take the first bite of his food, and suddenly his anger surfaced as his aura became intimidating. The rest of the royal family and slaves immediately bared their necks in submission. His aura had no effect on me, but I had to pretend to be affected as I joined to bare my neck.
His mind was already made up and his anger subsided before he dug his fork into the roast turkey, but the moment he was about to bring it to his lips, Prince Holland showed up with a smug smile on his face as he distracted the king.
"Hello, Father!" He said as the whole table turned to look at him. At this point, his voice wasn't distracting anymore as all our eyes fell on the lady who was held beside him with his hands around her waist. She was about my age and had short, dark wavy hair that fell on her shoulders. Her eyes were also dark brown, and her body was slender enough to fit into the arms of the prince.
Being so close to the prince made me realise he looked just like Simon, with the same eyes and features, but Simon had the best features. They both looked like the king, but could it be that Simon was also a prince?
I was confused because I only heard that the king had two children, one of whom was Holland and the other Skye. No one had ever mentioned Simon, and if he was a prince, then why was he guiding me?
"What sort of nonsense is this, Holland?" The king growled as his back arched in his seat. His anger, which subsided at first, was starting to grow as his aura increased. This time I could feel it even though it still had no effect on me.
Everyone was quick to bare their necks in submission, but the prince tried his best to restrain the effects it had on him even though his accomplice was already on her knees with her neck bared.
His strength didn't come close to the king's strength as his neck slowly bared in submission even though he was still trying so hard not to.
"How dare you disobey me and bring your plaything to my presence?" The king roared as he slammed his fist on the table.
"Why must you disobey me and do the opposite of what is asked of you?" He roared again, his voice getting louder and his fangs growing out.
"Your highness, please" The queen begged as she placed her hands on his to keep him calm. It seemed to have worked, as we could all feel his anger subsiding.
"Willow, leave now," the queen ordered, and the already scared girl ran as fast as she could. So much for a family drama on my first day here.
With concern on her face, she walked towards him and gently placed her hands on his shoulders, but he was quick to yank them away. She was hurt by his actions, and I immediately knew she loved and cared for him dearly.
"Holland, please just join us for dinner and we'll talk about this later." She pleaded with her son, but I could tell that he wasn't going to listen to her.
"No, I'm not going to keep quiet anymore. I need to be heard in this place. After all, I'm the future king of Latvera," he yelled.
"I've been silenced all my life and taught to do as the king pleases, but I'm never going to get married to a complete stranger when I already have a woman I love."
"It's high time you all respected me in this kingdom as your future Alpha and King."
"And if there were any braincells left in that smooth brain of yours, then you'd know fully well that it's the duty of the King to marry for an alliance. There is no such thing as a love marriage when the weight of the kingdom is on your shoulder. Holland " The king replied, but his temper was stable.
"It didn't have to be like that and I won't let it be like that. I'll get married to the woman of my choice and not walk in your footsteps to end up having a bastard of a son. " He yelled with his voice high as the whole table gasped, but it was too late as the king had already sprung up from his seat with lightning speed and grabbed Holland by the neck.
The mention of a bastard answered my doubts and made me realise that Simon was also a member of the royal family and the king's son, but an illegitimate son. I turned to look at him, but he didn't appear to be hurt by Holland's words; rather, he appeared to be tired of hearing them.
A loud blow was heard coming from Holland and the king, but the most shocking thing was that it wasn't the king who had punched Holland but the other way around with his claws. Blood was dripping from the king's face as the king released his hands from Holland's neck.
"Stupid boy," I muttered to myself. He was just going to bring his death upon himself. Didn't he know that today was a full moon and even though his powers increased, it wouldn't come close to what the king could do?
"Holland run!" The queen yelled at her stupid son as tears welled up in her eyes, but not a single tear dropped.
"I'm done running away from this old man. Did the sound of me calling your precious son a bastard trigger you?" Holland laughed.
"You've always favoured him over me since we were both little, and even though he was the illegitimate son, I was always treated like an outcast, yet you expect me to follow your every command as the puppet that I am."
"You even went ahead and crowned him a Beta, but refused to crown me Alpha, making him have a higher rank than me, but you expect me to carry the weight of the kingdom."
"I am done living this way and I'm ready to take it on with you so as to redeem my status in this kingdom and not be under the shadow of an unfaithful king and his bastard son." He yelled, and I could tell that he had just crossed the line.
Even though I might now understand his reason for his outburst, he should be wise enough to know that he wasn't ready to take the king on, especially as he was acting out of emotion, just like I used to do, and it only made things more difficult for me.
"Holland, please leave here." The Queen begged him again.
Rather than the prince taking his mother's advice, he remained with his nose fuming, brows furrowed, fangs out and bones cracking as he was shifting into his wolf form, but the king's anger surfaced once again, causing everyone to bare their necks, including Holland, who was in the middle of shifting.
A shifting process for a mere werewolf is their most vulnerable state because if they were attacked in the state of a half human and half wolf, they would surely be overpowered and, in some cases, die.
"The King wouldn't do that to his son," I said to myself, but seemed to have spoken too soon as his claws were already in the air and ready to smack his son.
My eyes widened in awe at the sight before me, but I didn't want to watch a father killing his own son as I squinted my eyes when his claws were about to knock his son down.
"Honey!" The queen cried out his name, but it was too late as I felt blood splattered on my skin. My heart beat increased as I couldn't believe what had just happened, but on opening my eyes, I spotted Simon in front of the king with his hands on the king's arm and his face holding multiple pains as his grey eyes turned red.
He had protected the boy who called him a bastard and took the hit for him. On realising Simon took the hit, the king's anger immediately dropped and worries flashed on his face. The marks of his claws dug deep into his neck and upper body, causing lots of blood to leak.
"Call the doctor," he said with a low tone, sounding almost like he regretted what had just happened. Or perhaps he genuinely regretted it.
"Call the doctor!" The King yelled, and in no time, the doctor appeared to attend to Simon.
"I'm okay," he lied.
He tried to act like he was fine by walking alone to his room, but he collapsed half way and had servants take him to his room. The king turned to look at Holland with a disappointed look before walking away with his Luna following behind.
Skye remained in the dining room as her face turned red with anger.
"You caused all of this and I hope you feel double the pain Simon feels." She cursed her brother before storming off, and I was left with the unwise prince in the dining room. Regret was on his face as he slumped to the floor, his fists clenching, but I didn't want to be in his presence as I also left for my suite.
So much for my first day in this kingdom. I wonder what the rest of my stay here will be like.