Shapeshifters - Rex the Lynx

Chapter 1.

I straightened up my back and patted on an artificial grin for our host King Graydon who came out of the palace with his hand stretched towards me. To pretend, or in other words to be artificial, after 20 years as a prince became one of my specialties, I could do it in my sleep.

"King Graydon" I politely greeted "Thanks for the invitation, your castle never ceases to impress me." And King Graydon licked it in like the obese king was, bottomless.

"Rex, always a pleasure," he whistled to the guards at the door, and with a quick snap of his fingers, they were already pulling our bags on a trolley to ride them into our rooms. I know it was out of courtesy to his guests, and we did it at home after all, but it was the way he commanded them - his people - that gave me a nagging feeling in my stomach.

The palace was one of the larger ones on land, and no decorations were spared here. Prosperity was adorned to the smallest decors above the castle. And small gold details were just the cherry on top. Ugh... I hate cherries. King Graydon invited us in and with another snap of his fingers he commanded three guards to show us our rooms. I quickly turned away from the foul taste in my mouth, I was an guest and would behave thereafter. What I thought, was inappropriate, and was most definite not a suitable topic.

If not the outside of the castle glistened with money, the inside certainly did, large paintings decorated ceilings and walls to the smallest detail. The furniture was of a older version, but looked no were near worn out, and I wonder if anyone was even allowed to sit in the exuisite red velvet couch. An desire to jump in it and pule my claws down the chairs bak gave my animalform an itchy feeling in the back of my neck. King Graydon was old fashioned and traditional like most kings nowadays, old and a bit dusty.

"Relax Rex" Kurt gave me a hard thump in the back and my tense body relieved a few notch. "I heard a rumor that King Graydon's daughters were so beautiful that several men have lost their ability to speak." he told me as we survey our quarters.

Kurt was over a head bigger than me and his massive muscles matched his shifting grizzly bear. His lightheartedness and friendly expression were always something that amazed me.

"When Rex stops talking, is the day pigs learn to fly" Luke bumped playfully with his brother Brax.

"Well you can fly so everything is possible if you ask me" snorted Brax.

The brothers were similar, both tall guys with brown golden hair, but their behavior was quite the opposite and it showed in their shifting forms. Luke was a falcon and Brax was a wolf.

My gaze was still fixed on the elderly guard who went head bowed and placed our bags carefully against the wall of our living rooms. "I don't care if they are beautiful" I exhaled heavily and went over to the guard and started unloading our bags from the trolley.

Brax released a familiar sound that was either a cough or a laugh. He didn't believe me. But he no longer pressed the theme and helped us with the bags instead.

My father was one of the more modern shifterleaders, yes he held on to traditions that all shifter tribes did, but he saw the possibility of change. He called for different points of views and ways of doing things, he saw the value in each individual in the tribe. I'll bet this King Graydon didn't even know the name of half his men. The thought made me sick.

We were expected for dinner in the main room, the meat hall. Its name from centuries ago, when shifters were not all that civilised and the hunt of the day layd sprawled inn the room not even preped, eating away like animals. Times changed in both humanworld and ours, we now preped the meat, even had vegetables, bread and stuff just like human food. We were after all half human.