Chapter 24

Your Majesty?

Lucas sat up in attention and Arthur frowned. What was this old man talking about?

“What?”

“Tom what do you mean?” Diana asked glancing at Arthur though Tom hadn’t torn his gaze away from Arthur. He shot up from his seat and rounded the table.

Rex slowly sighed with relief, “I knew it...”

Arthur looked at Rex, “What? What is it?”

He looked at Tom warily, “You… You are, aren’t you?”

“Are what?” Arthur asked.

“Arthur. Your name is Arthur, isn’t it?” He asked, his eyes glowing with hope as Arthur stiffened, staring at the man in shock.

He turned his head to growl at Rex, “Where did you find him? Damn it! I thought, I thought he was dead—”

Dead?

“At the edge of the forest,” Rex said as Arthur looked between the two men. “He came from a very remote pack. I can’t say which one. Our patrol found him and thought he was a rogue at first, but he was traveling with his mate and had slaughtered all the rogues in the area.”

“By himself?” Diana asked, eyes wide as others at the table leaned forward, straining to listen.

Rex flashed a grin, “Yeah, so we took him in. He is very powerful... but looses control easily… It sounded a lot like the royals.”

Arthur couldn’t breathe. Royals? The loss of control? Rex had been thinking about this since they first met and had only just now decided to say something? He wanted to be angry, but he was just too shocked. Rex had said he wanted to be sure then brought him to this empty castle to meet this old man?

He supposed he couldn’t have expected Rex to tell him his suspicions back when Arthur was more hostile than cooperative towards the entire pack, but still. They had to be wrong.

“Most royal bloodlines should be dead,” Diana said narrowing her eyes with suspicion.

Rex nodded, “I had suspicions but all that wasn’t enough to be sure. It wasn’t until today that I was sure enough to bring him here… The rogues poisoned the water.”

Diana stared at him Arthur, “And?”

“He drank it and nothing happened,” Rex said and nodded at Tom. “So I brought him here.”

Tom nodded solemnly as Arthur was trying to find something to say.

“Yes, the great royals were quite powerful, immune to poison, blessed by the Moon Goddess...” Tom’s voice seemed a bit haunted. “As long as the royal family exists, the werewolves will be strong...”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Tom grabbed Arthur's hand with shaking hand and glossy eyes, “You look exactly like your father! But you have your mother's hair... I can't believe it! And you've got a mate, haven't you?”

“Yes, but—”

“You already have a mate? What great news! Are—”

Arthur pulled away from the man sharply, getting out of his seat and stepping away from the table.

“Who are you?” Arthur asked, glaring at the man. “How do you know my name and what the hell are you talking about?”

Tom looked at Rex as he stood.

“This is Tom, the alpha of the Golden Moon pack. He is the oldest among us and served the royal family more than twenty years ago.”

“Well, he’s wrong. I—”

“I’m not wrong!” Tom said, slamming his hand on the table. “You are Arthur. Prince Arthur, son of King Dean and Luna Sabina!”

For a moment, the whole hall fell into a stunned silence, but people started to talk.

“How is it possible?”

“Aren't the entire king and luna's bloodline dead?”

And Arthur just looked at Tom warily. He scoffed. He’d been called crazy, but this man was clearly crazier than him.

“You’re crazy. I can’t be royalty,” Arthur shook his head. “In the pack I used to live in, I was seen as crazy, cursed by the moon goddess. They killed my sister trying to get rid of me—“

Tom let out a little wounded sound, “Alma was with you? How did she die—”

Arthur choked on the rest of his words. How could he know her name? He hadn’t even told Daphne her name. The man had to know something…

Was he connected to that hateful alpha and his luna? Even if he wasn’t, the man had no right to speak of her or the king and queen if they were their actual parents.

They had been left in Brown Valley with those hateful people. He’d suffered their cruel care for 20 years. Alma was dead because of them.

Alma was dead because their parents left them there and the thought filled him with fury.

“Don’t you ever say her name,” Arthur snarled, baring his teeth at the man. “How dare you! If you know us, if I'm really some kind of damn royal, why didn't anyone ever come to help us? After she died, I was banished and hunted…If I hadn't met Daphne, I would have turned into a monster of hate and madness. What part of that sounds like royalty? Is that what it means to be royal?”

Tom stared at him, his heart racing with fear as Arthur’s eyes turned red. The entire room gasped and grew still.

“We all thought that King Dean and Luna Sabina's children were dead.” Tom said, shaking his head. “I-It must have been Luna Sabina who sent you out of the kingdom to an isolated pack to protect you before she died...”

The red vanished from Arthur’s eyes and he stilled, “She’s d-dead?”

Tom nodded, giving him a sympathetic look. He had expected Arthur to know something, but the man didn’t even know that much. What had that pack done to him? Hunted? Banished? Alma was murdered?

He wasn’t sure if there was anything he could say to make Arthur understand, but at least, he could tell him the truth.

“It’s clear that you were never told anything,” Tom said and gestured to his seat. “Would you… take a seat and I’ll tell you everything?”

Arthur hesitated and Tom smiled, “It would be my honor to tell you about your family’s legacy, as glorious as it was. I can assure you, your parents wanted nothing but happiness for you and your sister.”

Arthur didn’t move, glaring at him, “Just tell me.”

Tom nodded, “Over twenty years ago... It was in this castle that a bloody riot broke out within the royal family. At that time, the king's brother, Duke Osborn, wanted to overthrow his brother's rule. In the riot, Osborn almost killed all the royal family, including the king, the luna, and some of their cousins. Even he died while dueling the king…. At least that’s what we thought.

“There was blood everywhere and bodies. There was a fire, and many of the bodies were burned beyond recognition... So everyone thought that the king's children, Arthur and Alma, must have died in the riot. That’s how the royal, and thus the werewolf kingdom, fell.”

The royals were thought to be indestructible. To have them all slaughtered in such a way had dealt a deep blow to the werewolf kingdom that could never been healed.

“Members of the royal family were prone to losing control in the midst of battle, and because of their strength only another member of the royal family could defeat them. When they find a mate, they learned to control themselves and are able to use the full extent of their power consciously.”

Arthur swallowed, his hands clenching at his side. He though that Daphne had saved his life by agreeing to be marked, but he had never imagined that it was something he’d inherited from his family.

“Thank the moon goddess that you are still alive... Our prince...”

“And now is exactly when we need you,” Rex said looking at him. “Please sit down, Arthur.”

Arthur shook his head, “What do you mean by that?”

Rex sighed, “No one can defeat a member of the royal family except another royal family member. I suspect there are other royals alive besides you.”

Tom nodded in agreement, “I agree.”

“Why?”

“Remember? Rogues aren’t supposed to be able to organize themselves and act together,” Rex explained. “Someone must have led them to do such a thing, but who could lead them? Only royal family members would have the presence to force a rogue to obey as every wolf has an instinct to obey the royal family.”

Arthur was surprised, and he wondered if he should feel happy. Did that mean that he might still have a brother or sister living somewhere? Maybe Owen was his brother.

“Duke Osborn's son has survived,” Arthur winced as Tom’s words shattered his hopes. “A servant sent him out of the castle and he’s been hidden for more than a decade.”

“Do you think he is the one behind the rogue attacks?” Rex asked.

Tom nodded, “Likely to continue his father's unfinished business by seizing the throne and controlling the werewolf kingdom.”

Arthur thought of Owen’s vicious red eyes and his furious words. They had been so evenly matched. He might have died if the Silver Armor patrol hadn’t come. Was Owen his cousin, then?

Arthur worried his lip, “Do you know his name?”

“Yes. Once a member of the patrol who came back from the dead heard the guy call himself Owen.”