“Yes,” Benedictus agreed. “To be turned away from your own family for what is beyond your control is…” He shook his head. “It is beyond contemptible.”
I wanted to say that the way he treated his son was equally contemptible, but again, I knew it was more disappointment than disgust or hatred of his child. Benedictus had wished for Vincent to be a powerful and well-versed shifter. Instead, the man was born different, with interesting ways of approaching things and an abrupt, unfiltered way of interacting with people. He’d never do to Vincent what had been done to Elle.
“This is true,” I said, but my anger still simmered. “It still doesn’t excuse the disrespect you showed her yesterday. Nor the half-hearted apology you gave her.”
The men shifted their weight, their eyes darting away. Benedictus, for his part, kept his eyes on mine. He gave one single, curt nod.
“It’s true. I reacted poorly.” He gestured to the other men. “We were all shocked and a bit displeased to see a wolf in our liege lord’s throne room. You know as well as we do how dangerous a wolf can be. The Laurents especially can be truly conniving and barbaric, as evidenced by their treatment of their eldest child. It was simply a force of habit. I sincerely apologize and hope to one day meet the young woman again. Perhaps during a second meeting I can give more gracious words of regret.”
My head was still spinning with this back-peddle. It made me wonder if, perhaps, my father had given him an even more stern reprimand out of sight of prying eyes and ears. If the king had put the fear of God into him, then perhaps it could cause him to reevaluate his attitude.
“I accept your apology,” I said at last.
“Thank you, Your Highness,” he said, bowing his head once more. “Now that we have this out of the way, maybe we could discuss other pressing matters.”
“Indeed,” Marcus said. “We have plans for a new green energy initiative. Using magic to power some of the cities and towns within our lands. Human cities, of course, so we would need assistance in creating a plant that would pass their inspections but not raise unwanted questions. Machines that operate on magic, but appear to use traditional means such as natural gas or even solar if we want them to truly appear, for all intents and purposes, as fully clean.”
“It would be a financial boon to us, as well,” Benedictus said. “Perhaps you could possibly make some inroads with a few of the high-ranking humans you know, Highness? City council members? Perhaps some state senators even?”
Unable to stop myself, I sighed heavily. The apology had probably been sincere, but it was a means to an end. Everything these men did had political motivations, even when they actually meant it. There was always the undercurrent of quid pro quo.
“Gentlemen,” I said with a gracious smile. “I really must be going. Maybe we can discuss this later. I hope you’ll excuse me.”
They looked a bit disheartened at my abrupt departure, but at least they didn’t try to cajole me into sticking around.
Back out in the hall, I breathed deeply, trying to process the entire interaction. It was good to know that, regardless of what kind of an asshole he was, Benedictus could still be counted on to be an honorable man. Although, now I realized what a bad idea it had been to leave my office. Rather than getting my mind off Elle, the expedition to the library had only cemented her in my mind. I wasn’t sure how I’d get any work done at this rate.
Rounding the corner to get back to my office, I froze when I saw Vincent pacing outside the door and taking huge bites out of the massive sandwich he was holding.
“Vince?” I said. “Why are you back?”
He spotted me and swallowed. “I got bored. One of the cooks was talking about football. I left.”
I chuckled. “Okay, then. Where’s my sandwich?”
Vincent glanced down at his food, a look of dawning confusion on his face.
“You want mine?” he finally asked.
“No, it’s fine. I’m joking. Come on, I’ll call for tea or something to be brought up.”
We went into my office, and Vince took the seat he’d had before. I picked up the phone, calling the kitchens to have tea and some light lunch items brought up.
“Where’s Rasp?” I said as I settled in my chair. “I haven’t seen him all day.”
Vincent shoved the final bit of his food into his mouth and spoke through the wad of bread, meat, and cheese. “He’s out on a job. Something for his dad.”
If I had to guess, it was some simple task my uncle had given him. Rasp, as much as I loved him, was too immature to be trusted with much more than low-priority items.
The food and drinks arrived ten minutes later, and Vince and I spent the early afternoon together in a mostly companionable silence. I worked while he read more of
Frankenstein. Eventually, he put the book down and sighed heavily.
“I miss Elle.” He pointed at the book. “It’s not as good when I’m the one reading it. It was better when she read it.”
“I miss her too,” I said.
A thought occurred to me then. An idea that, until that moment, hadn’t even crossed my mind. When I’d left Brielle on the sidewalk outside her apartment two days before, I’d done so with the thought that I’d never see her again. But why
? I knew where she lived. It was less than a forty-minute drive from the estate. Not only was it close by, but I was the bloody prince. Why did I feel like I couldn’t go see an ally whenever I wanted to? That was exactly what she was too. Elle may not have been a part of her family’s life, but she was still a Laurent, regardless of what her parents or brother thought.
“Vincent?” I said, looking across the desk at my friend. “Do you wanna go say hi to her? Go with me for a little visit?”
His eyes widened, and he leapt to his feet. “Yeah, I do. Are you serious?”
Rising from my own seat, I felt a strange elation at my decision. Like I’d done something huge and full of consequence.
“Go grab one of the servants. Tell them to put together a gift basket. Maybe some baked goods, some snacks. A few of our magical beauty and toiletry items as well. Let them know it’s for a high-born lady. I’ll call the valet to have a car around. You and I are going on a little drive.”
BRIELLE
After the embarrassment of my family’s response to Aurelius wanting to send me back, I’d refused to wallow in self-pity any longer. Instead, I’d thrown myself into research. Over the decade-plus of my exile, I’d basically given up on learning anything about my family, their businesses, and wolf shifters in general. I’d been living as a human for years. Delphine would disappear a few nights a month to head into the forests near town to shift and run, but she typically did that after I’d gone to bed. In fact, I knew so little that I felt like an idiot. I was blind to what they did and who everything affected.
After returning from Aurelius’s mansion-cum-castle, I’d begun digging. Delphine still had access to some of the secure servers my family used, and I’d spent the entire morning digging through them until my eyes hurt from staring at the screen. Glancing outside, I found nothing but heavy gray skies, the fog thick and the rain heavy, where I couldn’t see more than a few feet past our balcony.
“Find anything interesting?” Delphine asked as she strolled through the living room.
“Tons. Stuff on the family server as well as other stuff I found online.” I leaned back, crossing my arms over my chest and eyeing her. “Did you know the family businesses are set up like little mafias? A head of each business, lieutenants beneath them, all doing their best to force surrounding businesses under.”
Delphine paused, a watering can in one hand, poised over a potted plant. A look of irritation crossed over her face.
“Yes, it’s true. It’s something your great-grandfather started as a matter of principle. It’s become sort of a badge of honor among the members of your family. Strong-arm tactics. Pushing smaller competitors out of business or forcing them to sell.”
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