+Chapter 30+

Lucien couldn’t wait for the sun to set, it had been less than a day since the witch was gone - time seemed to drag on in her absence.

Bryce personally came to get him when everything was all set. Lucien wore a loose shirt and sweatpants, knowing that the shirt would be ripping when he shifted. His hair was left down and he said nothing as he rose from his bed to leave for the cars outside.

The maids seemed to sense his foul mood because they all dashed out of his path, and even the guards outside knew to give him a wide berth.

Bryce glanced at King Lucien in concern, he was wearing a hat pulled low and a face mask over his face but he still managed to draw stares from everyone. With how dark of a mood the South King currently was in, Bryce was really starting to wish that he had been given the opportunity to sit this out.

He knew better than to strike up a conversation with King Lucien though, sitting at the far end in the car and already plotting ways to get the witch back. If this continued for even another day, he would have to intervene. Because King Lucien had done nothing but lie on his bed and stare blankly at the ceiling, it was terrifying.

If there was one thing his King didn’t do, that was get hung up on someone. He was beginning to suspect that the witch had done some dark magic because there was no other explanation for this pining.

The drive to Wintree was endless, what should have been a three-hour journey at most felt like they were on the road for a full day and then some. Bryce kept himself busy on his laptop that he had brought along for the ride, keeping an eye on things back in the palace from it.

The car finally came to a stop on the outskirts of the small town. There were already several cars waiting for their arrival, a tubby man dressed in a too-tight suit hurrying forward as soon as the King’s entourage of cars rolled to a stop.

Bryce came down in a haste because King Lucien was already out of the car before the car even completely came to a stop. He hurried to King Lucien’s side, stepping forward to intercept the Mayor of Wintree.

“Your Highness, the small town of Wintree is deeply honored to have you address our matters in person,” The perky Mayor addressed to Lucien although Bryce was right in front of him.

Lucien was unimpressed, he didn’t even look like he heard the Mayor speak, instead, he addressed his second-in-command. “Bryce?”

Bryce whipped around, that was the first time King Lucien had been addressing him all night. The South King was unsettling even in his usual cheerful demeanor, so it was very intimidating to have in in such a foul mood.

“Your Highness, I’ll have the men comb through the forest right away.” He answered the unspoken question, the men brought with them already moving into position without needing to hear a direct order from Bryce.

The Mayor quickly caught onto what was going on, either that or he had a sense of self-preservation so he knew to make himself scarce.

“If you um need anything, we’ll be in that corner,” He whispered to Bryce before quickly backing away.

Bryce took off his hat so it didn’t obscure his vision, his white hair reflecting the moonlight as he waited beside King Lucien for an update.

Each guard had a tracker on them so he could see their current positions on the map on his laptop. He placed it on the hood of the car to have his hands free, a pair of headphones going over his head as he got to work listening to the reports coming in from the guards who were scouting.

He went rigid when a guard found a shadow, he knew before the guard even had a chance to report because of the blood-curdling scream the guard let out.

Although King Lucien was quite some distance away from him, he also heard the scream, sweeping over to Bryce’s side for directions. “Where?” He asked quietly, the lone word dripping with danger.

Bryce tapped some keys on his keyboard, “Five miles, North West,” He relayed to King Lucien and that was enough for him to dash into the woods.

Bryce watched this unfold open-mouthed, King Lucien had gone into the woods without a single weapon on him, this was the right time for a grenade too.

Werewolves had their innate abilities, which was to shift into powerful wolves that tripled their strength but with the advent of technology, there was little reason to stain your claws when a gun could work just as well with little effort and zero injuries.

And King Lucien got very creative with weaponry so it was stunning and very concerning to have him run straight at a Shadow with the intention of fighting it just like in the old days.

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust in his King’s abilities, he was just worried that King Lucien was not in the right state of mind at the moment. But still, sending guards after the South King could spell their deaths but he could give orders to those nearby to keep an eye on him regardless. That was better than nothing.

And hopefully, Bryce wouldn’t be getting any bad news from the guards watching over King Lucien.