Red Riding Hood | BoyxBoy | COMPLETED

Seffrin Finds Out

Princess Seffrin's POV

My uncle is a bad man, of that I am certain. Perhaps our relationship might not have been so sour if I was born a werewolf, but unfortunately for him, I was a human through and through. I shouldn't have to face such prejudices even though I was human anyway.

Everything I'd done so far, my honorary position on the council, all the progress I'd made on human rights, could be undone if he so wished. And while he hadn't actually destroyed my progress, his influence over the council had left me little to no true power. I was still a member, but in the eyes of the council, I was just an excuse for them to call themselves "progressive".

I didn't know what had happened in the receiving hall yesterday and no one would tell me, but I'd heard whispers around the dens. The rumours made it hard to determine what my uncle had been detained for, but all agreed that he had been thrown into the highest cell in the Tower.

The Tower was this tall, narrow building made of stone blocks and surrounded by the deepest moat they could dig. It was so deep that swimming downwards would eventually lead one to the ocean. I had no idea how that worked, but the moat was too deep and wide for any human or wolf to swim across without drowning. A narrow window, the fall and certain drowning prevented any escapes. The uppermost level of the Tower was reserved for the most dangerous criminals in the kingdom and my uncle was rotting up there.

He got what he deserved, I thought. Even so, I was sure there was more he'd kept hidden.

And without him around, his office was left empty and untouched. There was bound to be more evidence of his crimes. If I could find that evidence, I could potentially be rid of the councilmen in cahoots, who sought to preserve their outdated beliefs.

I snuck into his office when no one was looking, heading straight for the heavy desk in his study. If there were any secrets, I'd bet a lot of them were handled or hidden at that very table.

As expected, I found something of note. Hidden between the pages of a book is a short letter with a symbol I'd never seen before. I didn't understand the words that were inscribed around the glyph shaped like a wolf head, but the letter was addressed to Lord Kellen, so I studied it.

The missive was written very strangely, like whoever wrote it was trying to write it in code. But my uncle had scribbled in the margins with a pencil, something about rituals and locations and full moons.

Leaving the letter on the table, I went hunting for a map instead. This time, hidden behind rows of tomes on the bookshelf, was a map of the Lupus coastline. In particular, the private beach connected the royal dens that no one ever visited, because werewolves weren't particularly fond of open bodies of water.

The same insignia I saw on the letter was scratched into the map I'd found. I grabbed the letter to read it again. The mark on the map probably indicated the location of whatever ritual was going to take place, wasn't it? And 'Full Moon' meant it would happen on the night of the full moon when everyone would be too busy answering Luna's call to notice any illicit activities.

Good thing I wasn't bound by nature the way most of them were. Whoever was at the gathering was probably a wolf, which meant they might be too distracted to notice if I snuck in. I'd at least have my wits about me when I caught everyone who had ever attempted to threaten the stability of my kingdom.

I placed the letter and the map on the desk again, trying to see if my uncle had left any other information lying around.

Frustratingly, I found nothing, just small scraps of burnt parchment in the fireplace. Too ashy to read, they crumbled away in my fingers.

Just as I was about to take the documents with me, the footsteps outside the doors made me jump in surprise. Hurriedly, I shoved the papers into one of the desk drawers and crawled out the window.

Unlike the castles I'd seen paintings of in books, the royal dens weren't built to have turrets and battlements. Rather than endless stairs, my home was a sprawling maze of corridors and sections that climbed no higher than two storeys.

Uncle Kellen's office was on the first floor. I scaled the tree outside and jumped onto the balcony above. No one would expect me to have come from his study if I was on a whole other level.

As luck would have it, the doors to the balcony were open, curtains billowing in the breeze. Smiling to myself, I strode in. And froze.

This was Prince Alex and Cassidy's room. And they hadn't noticed me staring like a voyeur because they were too busy kissing each other to notice my presence.

I inched towards the door. There was no way I could go back out onto the balcony and return to the very place I was trying to pretend I hadn't come from. Silently, I prayed that my brother and his mate would be so occupied with each other that they wouldn't hear me leave.

My tiptoeing carried me all the way to the front door and right before I could open it—

"Seffrin?"

I turned slowly. "Hello." There was an abortive attempt at a wave before I put my hand down with a wince. Alex and Cassidy were watching me with amusement from their bed.

"What are you doing?" 'Here' went unsaid.

"I was looking for a place to hide," I said weakly. "Didn't realise this room was occupied, sorry." I smiled sheepishly.

Prince Cassidy laughed and nodded in understanding. "We won't tell anyone you were here," he reassured.

"Though you might want to knock first, next time," added Alex dryly.

"Yes," I nodded fervently. "Sorry; learnt my lesson. Thank you!" I called out as I slipped out the door as quickly as I could manage.

I groaned into my hands when the door shut properly. That had to be the most embarrassing thing ever, walking in on your brother with his tongue down someone else's throat. I didn't even want to think about how Cassidy got pregnant. They were basically my older brothers!