"Colonel?" Kendricks asked, confused, as he turned to me when the door closed behind the elf.

"Yes, I forgot to mention your promotion. Just as you forgot to mention the threat to my borders!" I muttered and pulled the heavy jacket off my body and threw it on the table with frustration.

"You had no idea this was happening?" Rillon asked and seemed a bit surprised by it all, but acted calmer than me.

"I had suspicions about my brother's death, but everyone kept me too busy to really think about it," I muttered and suddenly felt all energy leave my body.

"McGregor had his suspicions," Kendrick hinted and took a step towards me, "that's why he hired me to protect you," he said more gently as he placed a hand on my shoulder. Something told me to brush him off, to keep staying mad at him, but I couldn't.

"What else do you know?" I asked with a bitter tone but he ignored my emotions and sighed.

"Adrian, I'm not keeping secrets. You knew the rumors about your brother's assassination, claiming he suffocated on his breakfast was a poor effort to hide it. How they managed to kill your father is a trickier puzzle to solve," he said and leaned against the table. "Maybe some herbs or potions, maybe magic?" he asked as he turned to Rillon.

The leader shrugged then turned to look at me. "Does it matter?" You need to clean your house Little Lord, or it will rot from within."

I pulled my fingers through my hair and sighed, "I have no idea who I can trust."

"You have the trust of the most important people in the castle, Love," Kendrick said with a smile on his lips, "the servants of this place treat you like family and they know all the gossip and the news before anyone else does."

"Love?" Rillon chuckled, "aren't you full of surprises," the lycan lord said as he turned to look at me, but my eyes were focused on Kendrick who just now realized his slip of tongue.

"Is that a problem?" I asked, my eyes still locked on Kendrick, because I knew this was not what he had planned. He'd wanted things to go slow between us, and now, suddenly whatever we had was in the open. Joseph was one thing, but Rillon was a king like me. Or at least something similar.

"Of course not," the long haired man chuckled, "It actually explains a lot, and I welcome the change."

"It's not official," Kendrick warned.

The other man nodded. "I can understand why, acceptance takes time, and your country isn't ready for that just yet."

I sighed again, but a thought started to form in my mind, "Some of the servants must be on their side, we might need more help to figure this out."

"What are you thinking?" Kendrick asked as he studied me.

"I need my friends. My four trusted ladies from the brothel."

I heard my crush chuckle, "sounds good to me, those girls would kill for you. I have no idea why though, you haven't fucked them, that's for sure."

I rolled my eyes at him and noticed Rillons confused expression, "that's exactly why, I always treated them with respect and decency, that's why they love me."

"So you are the gay king of whores and peasants, favored by the outcasts and the wicked," Rillon snickered, "I like it, I think we'll be good friends."

I chuckled and eyed him for a minute. "Which one of those are you?"

He leaned his head slightly to the side and gave me a wide smile, "the outcast I believe," he answered. "You do know what I am, don't you?"

I licked my lower lip and wished I could have said yes, but I had no idea. "Not really," I confessed. "My father tried to wipe you out of existence and he destroyed everything about your kind. All I know are bedtime stories meant to frighten children."

"Would you like me to tell you a story then? Little Lord?" He asked with a smug smile on his face and for the first time since meeting him I could see the beast lingering behind his eyes. And it made me shiver.

"Please do," I said, "but find another nickname will you?" I chuckled nervously as I guided him towards the smaller dining hall. As we walked down the corridors I turned to Kendrick, "do you know who to trust in here?" He gave me a nod. "Good, then send a message to the brothel."

Kendrick's eyes moved from me to Rillon, then back at me. "As you wish My King," he mumbled and bowed slightly before leaving us.

"Must be hard," Rillon laughed to himself, "having one role inside the bedroom and another outside of it."

"And what role would that be?" I muttered.

"He's clearly the dominant in bed, but needs to follow your orders and be your submissive to the public." He paused to look knowingly at me. "How's that going for you?"

"None of your business," I hissed.

"Not very well I take it," he chuckled and patted my back. "You'll figure it out, I'm sure of it."

Relieved to finally enter the dining room, I asked the servants to bring us lunch and soon we were pampered with steaming dishes of food and delicate wine. A fire was lit in the room, and the warmth of it with the mix of the wine I suddenly started to feel extremely tired.

"I actually thought I was going to do good, and here I am starting a war," I sighed.

"They started it, remember?" Rillon countered. "My guess is, they would have killed you too, but you have friends here that kept you safe."

I nodded and took a sip of water to clear my head, "now, tell me about yourself and your people."

Rillon peered at me but did what he was asked to do. "My name is Mathew Rillon, I am the Alpha of the Lycans located in Faria. There are others like us but they live on continents far away. The difference is we can turn into our wolf forms whenever we want while they are still cursed to follow the cycles of the moon."

"And why is that?" I asked casually while I took a bite of the pheasant that was placed before me.

"My ancestors had asked magicians for help, breaking the curse, but they could only change it. Which is why the wolves live within us as a second consciousness until we let our bodies turn and the human side becomes dormant."

"So you hear its voice inside your head?" I asked with more curiosity.

"Sometimes, but it's more a mix of emotions," he explained.

"And you can shift into your wolf form whenever you want? Are you in control of it?"

"I can control it, but not all Lycans do," he answered carefully. "We are not beasts though, we are quite civilized."

"I'm not judging you Mathew," I sighed, "I just want to know who you are. "That's all."

He gave me a kind smile and seemed to relax in his seat. "I know, I'm not used to it, though, meeting a genuine human." He leaned back in his chair as he continued, "let me stay here for a while, I'll sniff out the moles together with your lady friends. Let me prove my worth to you."

I nodded and reached out to shake his hand, "sounds good, but I also need you to talk to Kendrick about this coming war. Both our countries need to be defended."

He chuckled but nodded eventually, "One thing at a time, Little Lord. One thing at a time."