Wolf Prince Read online

  Zack’s lips stretched into a mischievous smile as he bowed to me.

  “Shut up, dude!” I yelled, clasping his hand, and pulling him for a brief hug. “You are a shifter too? One of us?”

  He nodded. “A Beta at your service, my prince.”

  “Stop it,” I playfully warned. “Damn, I wasn’t expecting that.” Surprise and excitement still filled me while I saw him shake his head in amusement.

  “I know.” He smiled at Zelin, offering her a full bow. “Wow, no wonder you are intimidating as hell. You are the Iron Knight.”

  The corners of Zelin’s mouth began to curl up, but she didn’t let the smile take over her face.

  “Did you know?” I asked, knowing she could sense things I wasn’t able to, because of the way I had been made a shifter.

  The black magic used on me as a baby had hindered my abilities, only allowing me to shift from man to wolf. Yet, my transformation wasn’t as instant or as painless as pure shifters experienced. It wasn’t until the Great Moon made me into a Moon Prince, that other abilities appeared, like mental communication with the pack, my superior strength, and my connection with Zelin.

  Zelin was my gift.

  I also still lacked the ability to sense other wolf shifters around me, so I depended on Zelin in more ways than one.

  “Did you know?” I asked her again, and she arched at dubious brow at me, as though saying, ‘child, please.’

  “No one tells me anything,” I joked, while the Alphas excused themselves to leave me with my friend. My eyes suddenly widened. “Wait! Is Kevin one too? Is he here?” My head jerked around to look for him a second before Zack shook his head.

  “No. He’s human. He has no idea who we are.”

  “Oh, of course.” I couldn’t deny I was bummed out to hear that. From the two of them Kevin and I had connected instantly, I wished he were one of us. “I’m so happy to see you here, though.”

  “Me too. I could sense you were a shifter, but crap, I had no idea you were the freaking prince. DUDE.”

  “What? You didn’t get the memo?” Zelin half joked, the spark of humor visible in her onyx eyes, though her face remained serious.

  “Sadly, no.” He chuckled. “We lower class wolves aren’t included as much as you celebrity wolves do,” Zack joked back, making her scowl, and his smile turned into a grin. “We need to go running together,” he added, glancing at me, clearly excited about the development.

  “Definitely. We should go after the party.” I sent a reproaching glare at my guardian. “Can you start telling me about every single wolf shifter you sense around us please? You love leaving me in the dark.”

  “Of course, my prince.” Her voice filled with sarcasm as she gave me a psycho grin. Lifting a slender finger, she began pointing at every guest. “Shifter. Shifter. Shifter. Shift—”

  “Oh, shut up,” I grunted, and she became serious again, though her lips twitched, while Zack and the guys laughed.

  She shrugged. “You said, every single—”

  “Fine,” I interrupted, “not every single one, but the ones I might befriend, or talk to thinking they are human. Okay?”

  “Yes, sir!”

  I sighed, shaking my head while a wave of amusement rolled into me. Zelin’s eyes sparkled with humor and I was happy to see her like that again. She was enjoying herself at my expense, but just as long as she was enjoying herself, right?

  “Moon Prince!” Walter called from the other end of the room waving his hand enthusiastically to get my attention, and I sighed.

  I gave up.

  My eyes found him moving through the crowd towards us, and I thought I saw the Alphas and a few men behind them, but there were too many people in the way to tell for sure.

  “Okay, I can see you still have introductions to get out of the way,” Zack offered. “I’m here with my family, but I’ll catch you later.”

  “Definitely,” Zelin was the one to answer, and he grinned at her, getting another scowl.

  I chuckled just as a hand landed on my shoulder from behind, and I turned to find the Alphas standing there.

  “My prince, please allow us to introduce our sons, Betas, and the commanding rank of the new crime force.” Walter proudly announced, and the Alphas stepped away, letting the men behind them come forwards.

  Their sons knelt before me unison, heads bowed in respect, making sure not to meet my eyes—it seemed like they had practiced the move a million times, preparing for this moment.

  The second my eyes fell on them my muscles jolted in response, the tension spreading through me like wild fire.

  “This is their leader, and my son, Logan Schultz.” Walter waved towards the one directly before me.

  I glowered at him disbelieving, while rage instantly awoke in me, and my heart began to slam furiously against my chest. Forcing my every muscle to clamp down, I attempted to stop myself from ripping Logan’s head off right there and then. My hands fisted, trembling at my sides.

  “You must forgive their late arrival, Your Highness,” the Alpha Mayor apologized, mistaking my reaction. “They only just came in from their nightly patrol.”

  I couldn’t answer. My vision was tinged with red flames, only able to focus on my breathing, and not slashing into their sons. The ghost of a deep growl echoed around me while my stunned eyes jumped over the four men on their knees. Kevin’s words echoed in my mind…

  "The four. Logan, Samuel, Nathan, and Kyle, are sons to the four richest families in this town… That is why they are freaking untouchable.”

  Four families that also happened to hold the most powerful shifter titles in the state.

  The tension grew while waves of anger, outrage, and need for justice rolled off Zelin, slamming into me while she stood rigid by my side. The knights seemed frozen in shock behind us.

  At my silence the sons stood, finally lifting their gazes to me, and my fire became even wilder when my eyes met Logan’s. Shock rippled over his expression, which was mirrored in Samuel, Nathan, and Kyle’s confused faces, while taking in my royal outfit and crown.

  “And this is his Eisen Ritter,” Walter added, clearly perplexed by our strange reaction to the introduction. “Zelinda Von Reinheit.”

  At the mention, fear trickled into Logan’s eyes, the realization of who Zelin was left him cold, but it soon turned into hatred as he snapped out of the shock, and his eyes swept over us again.

  His reaction didn’t go unnoticed. The unnerving sound of Zelin’s sword sliding out of the iron scabbard echoed in the air, and the knights instantly formed a wall of muscle around us, locking the “threat” inside it, and shielding our little party of ten from the rest of the guests.

  The next second, the sharp tip of her silver blade pressed against Logan’s chest, and he winced, a sliver of fear breaking though his antagonism, and returning to his expression. The wounds Zelin’s claws had left behind made themselves known. It was evident his self-healing was taking care of them much slower than normal, given the silver’s singeing effect.

  A scathing mask fell over Logan’s face, and he growled at us.

  “Logan!” Walter scolded, alarmed, while the Alpha’s eyes widened in horror, sharing the sentiment.

  Logan’s friends, on the other hand, seemed to share his distaste of us, and their instincts to protect their leader finally kicked into gear—no doubt fueled by the scuffle between Logan and I earlier that day.

  Samuel, Nathan, and Kyle growled in response, stepping closer, and the Alpha Chancellor, Alpha Mayor, and the Justice Chief 's hands shot out almost in unison, gripping their son’s arms to hold them back, restraining them.

  “Your son has committed a crime against the crown,” Zelin informed in a low and menacing tone. “And now that I know he is one of us. He shall be sentenced.”

  “What crime?” Walter asked anxiously.

  “Against the crown? I have done nothing to you!” Logan raged at the same time, wincing as Zelin’s sword pressed harder against his chest, bu
t it only fueled his anger.

  “Please, Iron Knight. We don’t understand what is happening,” the Alpha Chancellor added. “Perhaps we can take a moment to talk about this in private. I’m sure this is a misunderstanding. Maybe you made a mistake.”

  Oh shit.

  That was the wrong thing to say.

  Zelin’s head snapped towards him. “There is no misunderstanding. I do not make mistakes. A crime against a human is a crime against the crown, and there is no tolerance for it. The prince and I were witness to his actions,” she spoke calmly, but her sharp words might as well have been blades. Her gaze shifted to Walter. “Take us to your office so I can finalize my sentence in private.”

  The blood drained from the Alpha Supreme’s face as he looked at her. He knew as well as we did what her words meant. Zelin sheathed the sword again, but her condemning gaze never left Logan.

  The other Alphas’ grip tightened on their son’s arms when we began to walk, surely giving them the scolding of their lives through their mental link. They knew by their son’s reaction to us, that they were involved somehow in what Logan had done.

  We left the party, turning onto a long corridor on our left, away from prying eyes, and soon arrived at a large honey oak door.

  Walter’s form was stiff as he turned to face us. “I know it’s not the practice, but would you please allow me a moment with my son, so I can speak with him before your decision is made. I just want an opportunity to talk to him about his actions.”

  Zelin offered him a single nod, her hand never leaving the hilt of her sword. “I will give you the courtesy of learning of his misconduct from your own son’s mouth.”

  “Thank you,” Walter bowed, just as Logan squared off to us defensively. The look his father sent him quieted him as he grabbed his arm, and forced him into the office first.

  Taking a calming breath, my gaze instantly shifted to my guardian’s second in command. “Emory, please project.”

  The moment my order reached his mind he closed his eyes, using his enhanced hearing to capture the words exchanged on the other side of the closed door, and send them into all of our minds—like an echo. Something only he could do.

  The reprimanding began just as Zelin’s onyx eyes connected with mine. “Something is blocking Logan’s shifter essence from me,” she admitted, angered by the fact. “I couldn’t sense him as anything other than human, I couldn’t even smell his wolf scent on him.”

  My attention shifted to Samuel, Nathan, and Kyle. Their gazes were on us, but their fathers’ hands clasped viciously around their biceps, knuckles white and claws extended, holding them in place. The fierce looks in the Alpha’s faces said they were still tearing their sons a new one though their link.

  I suddenly noticed a braided leather cord wrapped around the sons’ right wrists—a blue stone weaved into it. “Can that be blocking their energy signature from you?”

  Zelin’s gaze followed mine, settling on the bracelets. She frowned. “Possibly. But why would they want to block their shifter nature from other shifters?”

  That was the question, wasn’t it?

  ‘Do not speak to me like you are an insolent child!’

  Walter’s words bounced from Emory’s mind, and into ours, and my attention returned to the conversation behind the door at his outburst.

  ‘You’ve been tutored on our race’s history, and you know very well how important the Moon Prince is. Not to mention how dangerous his Eisen Ritter is. The name instills fear for a reason.”

  ‘Please. The Iron Knight is just a tale to keep us in line, like the boogieman. I bet she can’t even do half the things they are supposedly capable of. Not one shifter can have that many abilities, and she’s a freaking girl! Stupid bitch.”

  A thud resounded in the room, just as every inch of me jerked with the need to slice Logan’s throat open with my claws, for daring to insult my Zelin that way.

  Zelin’s sword slipped out of her scabbard, her eyes flaming. “I’ll show him what I’m capable of,” she seethed into my mind, fingers curling fiercely around the hilt.

  “I’m sorry, Z. He’s an ass.” I placed a calming hand on her lower back, my thumb stroking her soothingly until she began to relax at my touch.

  ‘How dare you speak about her that way?’ Walter roared. ‘We do not use that term for our kind, or human women, for that matter. You know I have no tolerance for disrespect, especially not from my own son, and directed to the Eisen Ritter and the Moon Prince no less! Have I taught you nothing?!”

  The sound of harsh steps reached us when Walter resumed his anxious pacing along the room.

  ‘Tell me what you did right now, or I swear the Iron Knight won’t have to kill you because I will.’

  ‘I did nothing. Maybe she just wants me, and this is her way of showing it,’ Logan mocked. “Maybe she’s pissed because she can’t get into my pants.”

  “Goddess gracious, Logan! Stop acting like an ignorant fool!”

  The Alpha Supreme’s voice thundered, the dominance bursting out of every word.

  ‘This isn’t a game. The Iron Knight upholds our rules and laws. That ‘girl’ outside, as you called her, is judge and executioner. She is like a machine hardwired to seek justice, and she’ll stop at nothing until it’s served. This is serious, Logan. Your life is on the line right now for whatever the hell it is you did.”

  ‘I’m the son of the Alpha Supreme. She can’t touch me,” Logan spat.

  A heavy, disappointed breath left Walter’s chest, and he stopped pacing.

  ‘I hate to disappoint you, son, but this time I cannot protect you from yourself. Gustav Von Reinheit might as well be a god to you, and it’s clear by the way he growled as he set eyes on you, that whatever you did pissed him off. Zelin, his guardian, is above you, and me, and anyone else in the whole kingdom. She is second only to our King Eisen Ritter, who by the way, is the one who trained her and also happens to be the prince’s father. Are you still not getting the point?”

  There was a stretch of silence, and the steps resumed.

  ‘Iron Knights are cold and emotionless. They see only in black and white, and no amount of tears or pleading in the world will make Zelin change her mind if she thinks you deserve to be punished. No one can stop her punishment, and no one can challenge her pardons. If she decides to slice your head clean off your neck right now, there is nothing anyone can do to stop her. Now, tell me why I’m about to lose my only son at her sword.”

  Walter’s words tinged with pain, and remorse as he spoke them, leaving a somber impression in the air that drifted around us like smoke.

  Zelin’s bottomless black eyes met mine, and I could feel her hesitancy, as well as anger and hurt. The mixture of feelings surged through me, powerful and mystifying. I had never seen her unsure of anything, so the sight deeply troubled me.

  ‘They are the ones I had the altercation with this morning at the campus,’ Logan finally answered, not giving any other explanation as to why.

  ‘Damn it, Logan! Tell me the whole truth.’

  Silence.

  ‘Very well, don’t tell me, but be prepared to get on your knees, beg, and grovel, or do whatever else necessary for them to forgive your careless mistake, and save your life. I managed to survive losing your mother because you needed me, but I’m not sure I can survive losing you too.’ Walter’s voice broke with his last words, and he was forced to clear his throat.

  The underlying pain in him sobered us as the knights, Zelin, and I exchanged a glance. After a few beats, the sound of his shoes striking tile as he moved towards the door reached us. Emory’s link to their conversation broke, and a couple of moments later the door opened.

  The Alpha Supreme’s expression was dismayed. “Thank you for giving me a moment with my son. Please, come in.” He motioned us to enter, and Zelin walked in first.

  The rest of us followed to find Logan’s gaze focused on the floor, his head bowed as he slowly knelt on the travertine tile.

 
“I’m sorry,” he offered in a cold tone, without meeting our eyes, or offering any other form of explanatory apology. A thin red line grazed his bottom lip, telling us it had split when Walter smacked his mouth for disrespecting Zelin, but was already healing.

  “Logan…” Walter warned in a clipped voice, though it was shaded with fear for his son’s fate.

  “I’m sorry,” Samuel, Nathan, and Kyle echoed from behind us, urged by their fathers to seek forgiveness.

  Zelin took a step closer to Logan, lifting his chin with the tip of her sword. He hissed when the silver briefly touched his skin, and her gaze bore into his, judging him. Logan’s eyes drifted away, unable to hold her dominant gaze, but not submitting.

  “I do not trust his remorse,” she announced truthfully, addressing the Alpha Supreme instead of his son. “Nevertheless, he will receive no punishment tonight.”

  Walter’s eyes widened in surprise, and relief immediately coursed through him. “Is he pardoned?” he questioned confused.

  “No,” Zelin answered coldly, sliding her sword back in place. “But he will not be judged tonight. However, keep in mind that my leniency is not due to the character he has shown, but the one you possess, Alpha Supreme. Your son will remain under my vigilant judgement of future actions. Be assured that a second offense will not be tolerated.”

  With those words Zelin turned on her heel, strutting out of the office, and leaving everyone stunned—including me.

  With one last menacing glance at Logan and his lackeys, I marched after Zelin, accepting the Alpha’s bows on my way out of the room. The knights flanked us as we went to find Audrick and Ms. Elizabeth, leaving the party.

  My fingers tightly wrapped around Zelin’s hand, stopping her advance when we entered our house. She had been quiet since we left Walter’s estate, even during our run at the park and beach with Zack, she didn’t speak or send any thoughts through our private link.

  The guys, Audrick and Ms. Elizabeth walked past us, giving us privacy as they entered their rooms. Zelin’s steps paused but she didn’t look at me, seemingly lost in her own thoughts after what transpired. Intertwining our fingers together, I guided her to her room, noticing the brand new door Audrick had placed on the dividing wall between our bedrooms.