"Squash the rebellion no matter the cost," Theo commanded. He leaned forward, gripping both of the armrests of his throne as he looked over the green, gold, and blue goblin faces staring up at him with wide eyes. "And be prepared to act, no matter which way the wind blows."
Theo hated the words as they tumbled out his mouth. When he said them, he thought of them as a lie. He would do anything in his power to avoid slaughtering the wolves and starting another war, but what if there was truly no stopping it? What if the wolves acted against them, andtheywere the ones to start it? What if he had no choice but to act and protect the goblins? Would he hesitate then?
"As you say, my liege," Kaleus said. "Then we will leave to prepare to fulfill your commands."
Theo waved a hand, and the goblins shuffled away, leaving Theo alone inside the main room of the tree with nothing but the crackling fire to interrupt the silence.
Sweet silence.
The wolves of Kaldron meant nothing to him. That was a fact. Theo's mother had come from another pack, she never told him where or when or really even why she'd become one of the poor, unfortunate souls to fall prey to the former goblin king's harem. Or why she, unlike so many other women Theo's father had destroyed, had chosen to live her life out as a prisoner and mother to Theo instead of finding a way out.
It had killed Theo that he couldn't help her.
When he tried very hard, he could still feel his mother's gentle touch in his memories, could still see her kind eyes and soft smile. She had been nothing like the goblins Theo was raised by. They were hard, cruel creatures who took what they wanted and didn't think twice about who they hurt in the process. They had tried their hardest to make him like them.
And in a way, he was. On the outside, he put on the mask of a ruthless killer, the cruel prince that the goblins wanted and needed.
His mother had been gentle and loving, and she had died because of it.
Theo wouldn't make the same mistake. He wore his father's lessons like a sword and shield, but inside, it was his mother's soft voice guiding him. Or trying to. He couldn't let too much of her out into the world, or else the goblins would think he was weak.
Theo was anything but weak.
Theo's heart hardened as he thought about his mother's death. Family was everything to him. It had been until her death, and until Theo took his father's life as recompense. Losing his parents, both the kind and the cruel, had threatened to throw Theo into a dark spiral. It was the throne, and the responsibilities that came with it, that had dragged him up out of that mess.
When Theo looked at Kaleus, all he saw was family. He saw a goblin who had been by his side since they were both young whelps, someone he had grown up with and learned from. Someone he loved, even if he would never admit it out loud.
And that's why Theo knew he would have to be the one to stop this war before it started, even if none of them could understand his attachment to the wolves. Even if he had to hide it like it was a rotten piece of meat inside of him. Like something that should be cut out and thrown away.
To the rest of the goblins, it was. The wolves had contaminated him by birth.
He was lucky theylethim become their prince, and soon, their king.
Theo pushed himself up from the throne, striding down the steps of the dais toward the fire. As he did so, a terrible chill came over his left hand. The green, tattooed whorls there had covered his skin since the wolf Lily swore herself to him, and he to her. Now, the vines and the delicate leaves were slowly turning black and beginning to peel away.
He cursed under his breath. Good thing the goblins had left his presence already, because if they had been there, he wouldn't have been able to hide the meaning of the changing tattoo for long.
It meant Lily was an oathbreaker.
Even now, Theo could sense her warm presence off in the distance, racing away from him. Less than a week from their wedding, the only conceivable meaning was that she'd decided to flee before the wolves of her pack brought her to him.
But what had changed her mind? Why wait until the last minute to flee?
His teeth ground in his skull. Her poor decision-making skills had backed him into a corner. If she hadn't wanted to marry him, some other wolf could have. She chose this fate, not him.
Now, it was too late for the plan to change. Every step she took sealed her fate as a traitor.
And brought them all one step closer to doom.
Theo threw a cloak over his shoulders and instead of leaving the tree after the other goblins, he went deeper into the tree structure. He needed to pursue Lily, and he couldn't do it alone.
If she escaped, the goblins and the wolves would surely go back to war.
Chapter 3 - Lily
Fallen leaves and twigs crunched under Lily's paws as she raced through the trees, the wind rippling her fur. Darkness shrouded her and Daniel beneath the boughs of ancient trees as they ran south through the dead of night. The goblins lived to the north, so it stood to reason that the best way to flee was to run south. Get on a plane somewhere and leave the USA forever.
A little voice in the back of Lily's head whispered that running meant she was condemning her pack to war. Or worse, to death.