Wolfborn: Origins (Excerpt)

Responsibility

The day before Devon's first birthday, Lya marched past the guards, carrying the infant. She approached the king, almost shoving the baby in his arms.

"Take care of your child, Your Highness. I will return in six weeks," she said without preamble.

The werewolf king held the princess as if she were a bag of rice. But Lya hardened her heart and walked away.

"Wait, woman!" he called after her, but she did not stop.

He can have me detained by the guards, but he isn't doing that. She just kept going. Although he might prevent me from returning to the castle, Mother just passed away, and I refuse to miss the funeral.

Wolfgang looked into those curious blue eyes, and Devon frowned at him.

"She doesn't much resemble the vampire anymore. And, odd as it is, her scent seems lycan. How is that possible?" Carius asked.

A scowl creased Wolfgang's brow as he noticed the homemade baby clothes stitched together from rags.

"Why is my child so poorly dressed?" he demanded of his housekeeper, who had followed Lya into the room with two others but did not leave.

Sheriva glanced at the steward.

"Your Highness, you allocated no resources to the child's care and would not speak with Lya," the man answered with great reluctance when it became clear that Mistress Sheriva refused to address the question.

I've never seen her so angry or recalcitrant. Does that mean whatever happened is the steward's fault?

"Eduard's only slightly less unpopular than you."

"Kings don't need to be popular; they need to be powerful and in control." His mother's words echoed in his mind. When will her teachings stop ruling my life?

"Do I need to tell you to wipe your ass?" the king demanded of the steward, who lowered his head. "This is my child. Of course, you must provide her with whatever she needs!" he bellowed.

The steward nodded, bowed, and skittered from his sight.

Wolfgang restrained his desire to go after the man and give him what he deserved.

He is excellent at his job and will be difficult to replace, he reminded himself—but it didn't help. He cuddled Devon awkwardly, not knowing what to do with her.

She squirmed, and he almost lost his grip on her. Instinct made him hug her to him and settle her more firmly. She looked at him and grinned as if she recognized him.

When I still visited her, Devon always smiled at me like that when she lay in her cot. Something inside him ached uncomfortably.

Although five times larger than she was at birth, she looked fragile in his massive hands.

"What are we going to do with you?" he asked. "I am no good with babies."

"You are no good with adults either," Carius needled.

Wolfgang tucked the toddler under his arm and walked up to the nursery.

"We will get you to your room and tell Sheriva to hire another nanny. The human will not step foot in this castle again. Where does she come off telling me to take care of my own—" He came to a confused and abrupt standstill inside the doorway to the empty room. "What happened here?"

"You told your staff to remove and burn everything of Elizabeth's, and I am surprised they didn't remove our daughter as well. How many times have I told you to enquire after her? But no, you invariably find some excuse to keep you busy or elsewhere. There's always something more important," Carius said, with no lack of sarcasm and blame.