Page 12 of The Silent Mountain (Under the Werewolf Crown #2)

twelve

New Problems

*ALANA*

T he next couple of days pass by in a blur. We are all so busy, I don’t have time to think about anything other than the huge festival and ceremony Favian is planning. Favian stayed true to his promise, though, and helped me train, and I stuck to the promise I made myself and continued to stay in his chambers.

I don’t have nightmares anymore, so I pretend I’m only here to ensure Favian sleeps so he is healthy enough to reign while he pretends he doesn’t notice my real intentions. I spend every night in his bed that way. Last night, I realized he had wrapped his arms around me while asleep and, to my shock, I enjoyed it. I like sleeping next to him. I like feeling him so close, and I like it when he closes his arms around me.

I like his scent and the way his stern expression turns into a gentle one when he is sleeping. He truly is gentle, but he doesn’t show it to the outside, just to me and to his closest friends and family. I got used to waking up with him.

The one line I haven’t crossed yet is actually kissing him and approaching him as his mate.

My own thoughts catch me off guard. Do I want that? To kiss him? Do I want to claim him?

My stomach makes a not-too-subtle backflip when Favian returns from the bath, his hair slightly wet and his upper body naked.

My gaze lingers on him for a bit too long, and I hope he didn’t notice. Well, Ros certainly has because she stirs in my mind, catching up with my shift in perception of our mate.

I’m fucked!

I wouldn’t mind that, Ros muses.

It’s a figure of speech, I say.

You are boring, Ros grumbles. I know her too well for her to trick me, though, she is the other part of my soul, and when my heart was broken after Ita’s death, hers was also. My heart and hers are one. And now, together, we are opening up our heart to the Dragon King.

Favian waits for me to get dressed. Due to the weather and the work we do, I usually wear pants, but for the ceremony, I will make sure to wear a dress that will leave him speechless. However, for now, he has to live with me in my usual attire. Even so, judging by the way he looks at me, he doesn’t seem to mind.

He offers me his arm, leading me to the dining hall. “Our first guests will arrive tomorrow,” he says. “The ceremony will be in three days.”

“Everything will go well,” I reassure him. “We are prepared.”

“I’ll just be glad when it’s over,” he admits with a heavy sigh.

I can understand his worry. The dragon kingdom is still recovering, and the last thing we need is another attack. “I will be here too,” I reassure him. “And the warriors from the werewolf kingdom will arrive tomorrow, before the first guests.”

“That’s a relief indeed,” he admits. “When I was a kid and getting prepared for my future role as king, I never thought I’d say this, but I do feel better with the wolves around.” He smiles at me. “A certain one in particular.”

Oh, he thinks he is being sly and flirty?! I return his smile. “I agree. I love being allies with the dragons, especially when they have silver hair,”—I let go of his arm, approach the dining room and open the door. Before I step through it, I turn around, smiling—“and look hot in a crown.”

Favian stares at me, clearly surprised by my words. For a second, I can see a shift in his eyes; they turn to reptilian slits as his beast pushes forward. “Say the word,” he mutters as he steps into the dining room with me. “And I will wear my crown for you, and nothing else.”

“You won’t,” I snort.

“Oh, you don’t believe me,” he smirks in a very unFavian-like manner. Apparently, all those alpha shifters like a challenge. “Try me.”

I’m not sure if I’m ready to challenge him. I’m starting to feel like this is a battle I will definitely lose. Fortunately, we are already being awaited in the dining room, and I don’t have to think of a naked Favian, sitting on his throne and looking at me through these intense blue eyes.

“We are here,” Elio waves at us.

“I’m sure they saw us, young prince,” Theodor chuckles at his protégée’s excitement.

“Don’t spoil the fun, Theo,” Elio complains, beaming at us when we approach them. “It’s so rare that all of us can have breakfast together.”

“You are right, sweetie,” Maggie reassures him.

I sit down next to Favian and silently agree with Elio. Everyone is around this time, even Stefan and Cassie. Barbara and Ludwig are here too, although Ludwig only stays briefly as he has a guard shift to take over. Stefan and Favian immediately start talking about the shifts of the guards at the shore and the events of the last couple of days.

It’s weird. Whenever Favian talks to Stefan, he turns all formal and almost cold. I’m not sure if he doesn’t like him or if Stefan wronged him in the past, but something seems to be off between them. It’s very subtle, though, and I might be wrong, but my intuition tells me otherwise.

I’m certainly not going to raise any drama now, so I shift my attention to Elio, Maggie and Theodor. I haven’t talked much to Theodor yet; he is mostly around Elio and watching him like a hawk. It’s sweet how protective he is of him.

“You didn’t forget our riding lessons, Alana,” Elio asks.

“I didn’t,” I reassure him.

“But, young prince,” Maggie chuckles, “maybe Princess Alana has work to do. Even if she doesn’t, she probably wants to spend time with the young king.” Her words make me almost blush. What’s she hinting at about spending time with the young king? Maggie looks at me through her wise, gentle eyes and smiles. “Clearly, we shouldn’t take away from their time.”

“I don’t understand. Favian is busy,” Elio says, completely confused.

“Maybe they want to train,” Theodor suggests.

“And she is an important princess,” Maggie says. “They might want to have private meetings.”

Theodor looks amused, making me feel even more embarrassed. Yeah, I know what he and Maggie are thinking. Private training and meetings—in his bedroom!

To my relief, Cassie chooses this moment to pop up next to us. As usual, her hair is a mess, and so are her clothes. It’s obvious she never had someone to truly watch out for her and teach her any basics, but she is sweet. “I’m so bored,” she complains to us, gesturing towards Favian, Stefan and Barbara, who are still talking clan business.

“What are you, five?” Maggie teases. There is no heat in her voice, though; instead, she sounds gentle.

Cassie seems to get similar vibes because she sits down next to her, eyeing her like a lost pup. Maggie reacts instantly and makes sure she gets more to eat.

“Elio,” Cassie beams. “When are you done with your studies today?”

“Probably afternoon,” he says.

“We need to meet,” she says. “You know what I told you last time when we met? We need to repeat that and-“

“Sh!” Elio hisses, casting her a glare before glancing at his brother and Stefan. He should have looked at Theodor, because the man has his brows furrowed and squints at Cassie and Elio, probably wondering what the two of them are scheming. “When did you meet?” he asks, catching Elio completely off guard. “I’m normally guarding you.”

“A coincidence,” Elio blurts out while Cassie looks at her plate and pretends not to hear or see anything.

From the corner of my eye, I see Favian not looking particularly impressed either, in fact, rather the opposite. He furrows his brow and tosses a glance at Stefan, who swallows and whispers something. Thanks to Ros’s senses, I catch how Stefan is apologizing slightly, promising to keep an eye on Cassie.

I don’t think Favian truly distrusts Cassie, but she is a witch, and they are still wary around her. He is probably also annoyed because it’s Stefan’s task to keep an eye on her, and the last thing Favian wants is for Elio to get into any danger.

Elio is so busy with calming down Theodor that he doesn’t pay attention to his older brother, but fortunately, Favian doesn’t comment on what he heard either. Drama avoided.

I think it’s good that you didn’t say anything, I link him.

Favian’s eyebrow moves up slightly in surprise at hearing my voice, a smile curling his lips. I figured, if I said something, Elio would either get terrified of my potential reaction or just ignore me and do it anyway. I prefer knowing what’s going on, so I can watch him. Need to have a word with Theo and Stefan, though.

The babysitters, I chuckle. From experience, I can tell you that I was a kid once, too, and when my brothers and I wanted to sneak around, we always found a way.

I know, he says. From experience as well.

I try to imagine Favian as a kid, before the witch took everything from him, and when he had a normal childhood. Well, as normal as the childhood of the future Dragon King could be. The dragons at that time were a lot about rank and etiquette. How much freedom did he have?

I know that my siblings and I had a lot of freedom. My parents didn’t care if I befriended commoners. Ita, who even became my father’s Gamma, wasn’t a member of royalty. She was a normal, young woman who showed talent as a warrior and worked hard.

“We ran out of ham,” Elio mutters.

“I will get you more,” Theodor offers, just for Cassie to start giggling.

“They attend to all your whims,” she teases Elio.

Elio blushes, while out of the corner of my eye, I can see Favian smirk. He is the last one who should laugh; he spoils his little brother rotten, but it’s cute. I love that side of him.

“Maggie,” Elio complains. “They are making fun of me.” I follow his gaze while he looks at the kind old lady, realizing she hasn’t said much at all. “Maggie?” Elio asks carefully.

I let my attention wander over to the old lady, seeing how pale she is and how her hands tremble slightly. My own hand dashes forward, catching her cup before she can drop it, while Theodor jumps up and grabs her arm. “Margarete,” he mutters, his grip preventing her from dropping over.

Favian is suddenly next to us. “Barbara, run and alert Frederick. Cassie-“

“I will grab the items we need,” Cassie blurts out.

The two women dash out of the room, while Stefan and Favian gently lift the old lady up. “Stay with Elio,” Favian orders Theodor. “Stefan and I will take Margarete to her room.”

“I will come with you,” I say. “Maybe you will need help.”

Favian nods at me. “Yes, please follow us, Alana.”

I squeeze Elio’s shoulder, noticing how scared he looks, before I hurry after Favian and Stefan, making sure to open the doors for them until we reach Maggie’s room, a beautiful and generous room Favian gifted her with as a thank you for saving Elio’s life.

I help the guys to put the lady into her bed. Her eyes are heavy-lidded, and she groans in pain. “Hang in there, Maggie,” I mutter.

Favian and Stefan discreetly leave the room, so I can help the old lady change into something more comfortable, then help her into bed.

“My head won’t stop spinning,” she whispers, grabbing my hand. “I’m so tired.”

“Rest a bit, Maggie,” I mutter.

“Will you stay?” she asks quietly.

She looks so small and fragile, lying in her bed. I actually have work to do, but there is no way I can leave her alone now. Favian enters the room right at that moment and catches her last words. We exchange a glance, and I nod at him before turning to Maggie. “Of course I will stay.”

I stick to my promise, sitting next to Maggie and talking to her, although she isn’t responding a lot, but her eyes light up whenever I mention Favian and Elio, so I make sure to tell her about how well they’re getting along and how sweet they are to me. Eventually, Frederick, the healer, and Cassie arrive. He checks on her, explaining to Cassie what he is doing and what might help to soothe Maggie’s pain. It will be her task to come up with a potion or an ointment, with Frederick’s help of course.

Maggie is starting to look better after Frederick has given her some medicine, and smiles at Cassie. “Aren’t I lucky to have two healers attend to me?”

Cassie turns red like an overripe tomato with joy. “I’m still learning, but I will give my best,” she blurts out.

“It is lovely to see a young person like you try so hard and be so eager to learn, to be so motivated and helpful,” Maggie tells her. “Never lose that spirit.”

Cassie’s eyes widen, and she nods wildly, her locks flying around while she does so. Once Cassie dashes off, Favian returns to check on us. Frederick is about to leave the room with him when Maggie holds him back. “Don’t leave, Fred,” she says. “Whatever you want to tell the king about me, you can do so in front of me.”

Frederick and Favian both look conflicted, but I agree with Maggie. She is an adult; it’s her health and her body, and if she wants to hear the truth, she deserves to hear it. She needs to have this sense of autonomy, I tell Favian.

It’s not going to be good news, he mutters.

I know, she knows, we all know, I say. But she still deserves to hear the truth. You can’t take that choice from her. If something happened to you, would you like for me to hide the truth from you?

He takes a while to answer, then closes the door again and gestures for Frederick to sit down next to Maggie’s bed. No, he agrees.

“My body is giving in, isn’t it?” Maggie asks Frederick.

He nods. “Your nerves and muscles have weakened tremendously. But the main problem is your heart,” he admits.

“It’s always been my heart,” Maggie mutters. “The young king knows. I used to be his teacher as well.”

Favian smiles. “You were my favorite teacher. I was devastated when you became Elio’s nanny and couldn’t be mine anymore.”

She smiles. “In my heart, I always was both your nanny,” she says, her eyes turning sad again. “My heart, huh?”

“Margarete has a heart condition,” Favian tells me quietly.

“I was born with it,” she explains. “Very rare for shifters, as you know, my beautiful Warrior Princess. My father was of high rank, so the king, Favian’s father, made sure I received proper treatment. But my heart couldn’t heal, and I learned to live with it.”

The two men remain quiet, eerily so, and I wonder what it is they are not saying. I don’t need to wait long, because Maggie tells me. “The years on the run,” she pauses. “I don’t regret them. It meant everything for me to save Elio. He is like my baby, you know?”

My heart freezes when I realize what she is saying. She spent years protecting and hiding Elio together with Theodor, but it put her body and heart under more strain than it could take.

“How much longer do I have left?” she asks.

“It’s hard to say,” Frederick mutters.

“Fred,” she chuckles. “Don’t lie to your elders.”

“I’m elderly too,” he points out.

“It doesn’t matter when I’m older.”

He sighs, his eyes clouding over in sadness. “If you stay in bed, a couple of months, I’d say.”

Favian closes his eyes when he hears it, taking a deep breath, but I can feel his emotions through our bond.

“And if I don’t stay in bed?”

“Maggie,” Frederick exclaims.

“Just answer, Fred.”

“Days,” he says. “Maybe a couple of weeks. But it’s a rough prognosis, it always is.”

Maggie nods, letting his words sink in before gesturing for Favian to come closer.

“I know what you are going to say,” he says before she can even voice what’s on her mind. “But how can I agree to it?”

“A couple of months lying in bed won’t do anything for me,” she says to him. “I want to spend my last days with the people I love so much, and then leave in peace. The ceremony—the fact that we are able to hold it—that after the many years of war, we are finally at the point we can hold it again, it’s what I’ve always fought for. I want to see it with my own eyes. This is the result of everything we fought for. I’ve always wanted for you and Elio to see this future. I’m leaving anyway, Favian, please let me leave on my terms.”

I can see how conflicted he is, but eventually, he nods. “Whatever you want,” he says.