Chapter 232 - Goodbye to peace

Lyko chuckled wolfishly as he shook his head in amus.e.m.e.nt while trotting along the familiar cliff's edge. He had caught a glimpse of a red tail and pale fawn one disappearing into the wood line soon after the two groups had made it back, but it was now time to begin the last portion of the celebration and it was important that the two focal guests were present. He made sure his steps would be audible from a distance as he searched for his son and the princess, not wanting to find them unannounced. {Ah, young love...} The massive black wolf sighed as he recalled the first time he'd ever seen Reighley. Unlike Ales and Cam, they hadn't met until the day of their marriage. Though the following ceremony was very similar to the one tonight it hadn't felt quite the same. The air had been charged with tension from both packs as they came together for the first time making it more nerve-wracking for Lyko to lead the merging group... But his Reighley had taken charge nearly immediately, standing proudly and with confidence before her group giving him the drive to do the same. Her group had won out against his as well, and though he should had felt otherwise he couldn't help the swell of pride and admiration as he watched her accept the spoils of the hunt from Artemis.

When she had pranced proudly over to him to show off her win, he had to fight hard against the urge to claim her as his right there in front of the entire gathering. Instead, he'd done what was expected of him throughout the night and into the first several years of their marriage. It wasn't until sometime later that he'd finally let down his guard letting the love of his life know just how much she meant to him and how grateful he'd been to call her his.

His wolfish smile widened as movement nearby caught his ear. He envied their closeness, their ability to be so much to each other. It would make them an unstoppable pair in and out of the embraces of love. And the girl had definitely shown her abilities to lead tonight, as had Ales. They both were born for these roles and neither was afraid to show it. It was only natural that the high of such an exciting night would lead them to seek... other pleasures. When branches rattled and parted nearby, Lyko moved his attention from his thoughts and the familiar cliffside path to the tree line. Though the site caught him by surprise, he was still overjoyed. He quickly shifted to human form. "Fern, you've made it! You missed an excellent hunt tonight, my boy! You would have been so impressed with your brother's leadership skills. They are not quite as refined as your own, but impressive still for his first time. With a little guidance, I have no doubt he will match your skills in no time.

The dark greyish brown wolf held his gaze as it drew closer. When Fern was within arm's length of his father, he finally shifted. His barely masked irritation was evident in the bite of his words. "I'm glad to hear my skill will be so easily replaced, Father." He let his eyes wander over the edge of the cliff where the ocean lapped violently some 500 meters below. "I do hate I missed it though." He said as he moved his attention back to his father who had joined him at the edge of the cliff.

Lyko watched the moonlight glistening off the waves below. "I know this isn't easy for you, but I'm pleased you have come, nonetheless. Your mother will also be pleased to see you made it. She was worried when you never showed."

"Ah too bad then that she'll never know I have arrived..." Fern turned a devious glare to his father as a sardonic smile curved his lips. "After all, I do hate worrying mother." He shifted quickly shoving hard against his father's massive shoulders, throwing the king off balance. Before the king was able to regain his balance Fern kicked out with a forceful kick to the king's bare chest causing him to topple over the edge of the cliff. Fern walked closer to the edge holding his father's confused, frantic gaze as he plummeted rapidly to the rocky beach some 1600 plus feet below. Fern stared down at the tangled, crumpled heap of his father's body for several long minutes until he was sure the king wouldn't be making a supernatural recovery. Brushing the palms of his hands together as he spat over the edge, Fern murmured. "Now to hurry back to Uni before my absence is missed. I can't have anyone suspecting me if I plan to first claim my place as a supportive and helpful beta to our now young, inexperienced king... It would be extremely hard to make sure he meets the same fate and I take his place if I'm found out... wouldn't you agree, Father?" Fern said, snarling his lips as he took one last look at his father's crumpled body before moving away from the cliffs and shifting back into a wolf.

Current day, Poseidon's palace

Arei found it hard to concentrate on the conversation in the room as his gaze continued to move to Jos's troubled expression. Prometheus was going over the next steps of the upcoming sentencing, advising Poseidon on his best chances of moving forward if he sought the best possible outcome for his new ward. "The prompters will be turned on shortly. If you would like to take a short break and speak privately before the sentencing begins, now would be the time." He said as he lifted from the comfortable office chair and moved toward the door.

Poseidon nodded, "You know your way around here well enough. If you'd like to go downstairs and help yourself to a beverage or snack, go right ahead. I'll meet you down there in a few seconds. I do have a few things to discuss with my son and Jos, here; but then I'll leave the rest of the time to them." He sent his son a knowing look. "I assume since it will be the two of them primarily together for her lengthy sentence, then it should be them to work out the arrangements, not I."

Prometheus nodded and turned the knob of the door. Before he stepped out of the room he paused and turned back to Jos. "I do advise finding a way to make yourself useful to the council. It can be the difference between a harsh, lengthy imprisonment and a shorter, more lax one."

Jos sent Arei a troubled glance before turning her attention back to Prometheus and nodding. "We'll take that into advis.e.m.e.nt, thank you."

He sent her a warm smile. "You'll do fine, child. Do not stress yourself too much, my dear." He gave her a slight nod before leaving the room.

Poseidon let out a long breath as he leaned back in his office chair. "Have the two of you made any decisions yet regarding where you'd like to be?"

Jos nodded sending Arei a nervous glance. "I had all my things delivered to my home on Zakynthos. It will also allow Shelly to be near her brother."

Arei brushed his fingers along her shoulder with his hand rested against the back of the chair she sat in as he spoke up. "Yes, Ry and I had the beach house near there renovated some years ago and the property rights bought out on both locations, including some of the surrounding areas."

Poseidon nodded. "Have you discussed possible training plans yet?"

Arei frowned as he shook his head no. "Not past continuing to work on her shifting. I assumed you would have a job in mind you would want us to train toward."

Poseidon laced his fingers together letting his two pointer fingers meet at a point. Stroking his chin with their combined tips, he said. "I'd thought over some possibilities that could utilize both of your better traits at the same time... but if we are to appease the council in hopes of a shorter sentence then those plans will have to wait. For now, we will make handling her shifting the primary focus and offer suggested possible future opportunities for working with them." He studied Jos for a few seconds as he rubbed his pointer fingers thoughtfully over his bottom lips. "You were in control for the greater part of the human murders and were able to gather the information necessary to uncover each of the men's dark natures... and even draw out those urges for your own purposes. I suggest we use this as a possible offered service and build from there." He watched as Jos and Arei exchanged glances. Letting out a deep sigh, He pushed up from his desk. "Discuss it, the plan has merit and could be more than useful to the council and could build on what I have in mind for you." He walked toward the door. "I should probably make sure those two idiots haven't burned down my library while I'm at it." He murmured more to himself. Nodding down to Shelly, he asked. "Want to go laugh at your brother for being a complete dumbass?" He let out a deep laugh when the wolf nodded eagerly back.

Arei watched them leave the room, an uneasy feeling building in the pit of his stomach at his father's lack of explanation for his own 'future plans'. When Jos lifted from the seat beside him and walked over to the wall of windows overlooking the expansive library, Arei stood and followed her over. He pressed one palm against the glass above her head as he gently glided one hand over her back. He met her stormy eyes in the reflection of the window. "I know this isn't the outcome you were hoping for, but it's what we have to work with. I don't trust father's motives where you and the claim are involved, but I'll do everything in my power to see that you are properly trained to deal with anything he has to throw at you." He pushed a strand of hair out of her face when she turned to gaze questioningly up at him. He smiled lovingly down at her. "I can't promise we will be able to always work hand in hand, but I want you to know no matter what you'll always have me to turn to... I'll never let you out of my sight again, and I'll always be counting the seconds until I can hold you in my arms next. He bent and placed a light kiss on her lips, before pulling back slightly and searching her eyes. "We will get through this together. I'll not make the same mistakes again." With the hopes of lightening her mood, he tapped her chin as he laughed. "And we will be the best godparents a were-genie could ask for!"

She sent him a warm smile as she thought of Shelly's tiny baby resting in a deep sleep in his massive arms. "I would like that... a lot." She pushed up onto the tips of the high heels she was wearing, balancing her palms against the tight pressed dress shirt he wore. He brought his lips down to meet hers without hesitation as he wrapped both arms around her and pulled her tighter against him.

Russ stared out at the center set of windows two floors below where he stood. He'd insisted on taking a break as the first signs of a migraine began to send a dull ache through his skull. Now, staring down at the pair wrapped in each other's arms sharing light teasing kisses of a couple that had been together for years, unrushed by the excitement of the moment or fear of being caught... reflective of a sure confident love that lacked the carnal hunger of a new desperate passion... a passion like they had shared... he wished he'd just kept reading.

"What the hell is taking so long? Did you fall over the rails or something?" Ry's booming voice called from the cove they had been occupying. "Have you gotten your ass kicked by someone else?" Ry said as he rounded the corner and strolled over to the railing Russ was leaning against. His eyes followed Russ's to the windows of his father's second-floor office. "Has the sentencing began-" His words trailed off as his eyes landed on Arei and Jos in the windows. He watched as his brother's face finally came back into full view. He could feel a tug at his own heart. It had been years since he'd last seen such a warm content expression on his brother's face... 520 years to be exact... "It's my fault ya know..." Ry murmured as he watched the two down below. "I was so wrapped up in my own sorrows and destructive ways... I led disaster straight to their door." He shook his head sadly. "I can't even recall that day or the events leading up to it all that clearly... but I'll never forget the pain and devastation on Jos's beautiful face when she saw me surrounded by whores..." His eyes fell on his brother. "Or the pain and desperation in his when we woke up later in one of Zeus's cells... or the slow withering of the man he'd once been under the heavy thumb of Zeus's unrelenting punishments..." His eyes finally moved over to meet Russ's. "Take it from me, kid, you don't want to be the cause of that much pain for someone else. I know you think you love her now... whether it's the curse, your marking her within the first night the two of you spent together... or from the growth of legitimate feelings... in the end, none of that matters." He nodded toward the window where Arei was now stroking her cheeks, a warm smile spread across his animated features and her body gently relaxed into his. "They belong together. He has something you can never give her no matter where your feelings are coming from. He can give her an eternity of that." He held his hand out toward the pair. "Tender love and acceptance..." Ry smiled, "You know, had you not continuously showed your ass, he was willing to step aside and let her find happiness with you because it was what she wanted... because her happiness means more to him than his own." Ry arched his brows with a chuckle, "And believe me every second the two of you were together was absolute hell for him. I swear Zeus himself couldn't have planned a better punishment." He turned his attention to Russ again. "You have to do the same now." He nodded toward the windows. "Let her be happy, do what's best for her and not yourself for once. Be the man your people need, a man she can be proud to call a friend... family even..." He placed a large hand on Russ's shoulder. "Be the man the rest of us are eager to see you grow into."