Ivory Snow

Duke Andrew was lost deep in thought when his carriage came to an abrupt halt. He moved the curtain to the small windowless hole, seeing nothing but darkness.

“Woah, there!” A deep, firm voice called out.

“What’s the trouble? Why are we being stopped? Do you know whose carriage this is?” The Duke’s coachman questioned the other male, a bit forcefully. He did not take the insult lightly.

“Yes, sir. That is why I am stopping you. I must speak with the Duke before he goes any further.”

The carriage tipped a little to the side as the coachman disembarked. The voices moved quickly until they were standing in front of the door.

“You will not pass until I know what this is about. Why is a soldier stopping the King’s brother in the middle of the highway?”

The unknown soldier exhaled exasperatedly. “It is of utmost importance that I speak to him before he reaches the castle.”

Andrew was impatient to get this moving, so he opened the door and stepped out.

“Well, get on with it then. I don’t have time to lollygag around all night.”

As soon as the soldier recognized the Duke, he dropped to his knee and bowed his head. “Your highness. I beg of you, do not go to the castle.”

Well, that was not what Andrew expected to happen. Not that he even knew what to expect from this male. “And why is that? If the rumors are true and my brother is dead, then I must get to the castle at once.”

The soldier’s head stayed looking at the ground as he gave the message he had been sent with. “It is a trap, sire. Countess Ava has soldiers in her employ waiting to arrest you as soon as you step out of your carriage.”

“What?” Andrew nearly screamed in shock. “Why would I be arrested? What could they possibly think I have done?”

The soldier visibly began to tremble on the ground.

“Stand up, son. Tell me what you know. You have nothing to fear from me.” Andrew felt for the pup. These last few days must have been chaos in the castle.

Slowly, the soldier stood. “Yes, sir. Ava has convinced the council that you and the Captain conspired with rogues to take out the royal family, so that you could ascend to the throne.”

Andrews’s eyes widened, surprised at the audacity the witch had.

“What?” He whispered. “How? Why?”

“She claims no one else knew the location of the cove the royals were at. Why else would the Captain walk away at such a dangerous time, if not by your command?”

Andrew began pacing in front of the carriage, retracing his steps, back and forth, his hands on his hips.

How could so much happen in so little time?

Ava. Ava must have planned all of this.

“And what does the Captain say?”

The soldier bit his lip, afraid to say more. “He and the other guards that accompanied the royal family are in the castle dungeon. They have been arrested for treason and conspiring against the throne. The Captain sent me to stop you from reaching the castle. He said to tell you it was Dale that sent them after a pack of rogues headed towards the beach. He left a guard with him, but Dale killed him as well.”

“Dale? I don’t believe it. Dale was always such a kind soul. A good friend to our cousin.”

The soldier shook his head. “Not anymore, my Lord. Angelica heard him and Ava talking. He is part of it all.”

“Angelica?” Andrew didn’t know who this was.

The soldier bowed his head slightly. “Yes, my Lord. She is the royal hairdresser. She was preparing to do the Countess’s hair for her coronation yester evening. She heard Dale and Ava talking. Dale told the council that your quick departure after the party was suspicious. Ava also threatened the head of the council with revealing their past affair to his mate if he did not support her. Dale had become upset when she told him this. She, uh… she calmed him in the way only a mate can. Sir.”

Andrew shook his head, that did not make sense. “Ava has not taken another mate since the Count died years ago. I saw her at the party, she still carries the Count’s mark. It would have been replaced had she let another mark her.”

The coachman cleared his throat, subtly interrupting. “She may not have let him mark her. If he was her true mate, he would be more susceptible to doing her will. Ava would have never accepted a true mate lower than her, but she would have kept him around to use him. If she had mated with another, Dale would have gone insane.”

The Duke thought about this. Alex had mentioned to him his concerns and the changes he had seen in Dale. As well as the disappearances, and death of their cousin.

Could it all be the two of them?

“I will need to take time to think about this.” He turned back to the soldier. “Was there anything else the Captain wanted you to do?”

It was dark, but the moonlight was bright enough that the Duke could see a slight blush creep up on the soldier.

“Only for me to run, sir. I, um, I was on duty with him at the beach.” The pup’s voice cracked. “When we could not find even a trace of rogue scent, the Captain sent me back to the beach. My wolf is known for his speed. I found them first. It was my first-time seeing bodies like that. I have only been a soldier for a few months.” The pup tried to explain, pleading for understanding and sympathy.

“I began howling my sorrow. The rest caught up a few minutes later and joined in. The Captain didn’t. He shifted and fell to his knees next to the King.” The soldier pup began to cry as he continued his story. “He sat there, holding the King’s wolf head, and cried. When he was able to speak again, he told us the King’s neck was broken. His body would have healed had the attacker not done that.”

The soldier gave a few sniffs, the other two males stood silently, waiting for him to finish the story.

“Captain Richard told me to swim out into the Ocean, to follow the current as far as I could. He wanted me to search for the Princess. I searched for half the day and found no sign. By the time I returned to the cove, all the bodies had been removed. I figured they had taken them back to the castle. I took my time. My wolf and I were mourning the loss. The guard who had been killed had been my litter mate. That, on top of losing the royal family, I just couldn’t make myself run. It was dark by the time I made it back to the castle. The place was a mess. I asked one of the guards on duty at the gate where the Captain was. He told me they were all in the dungeon. Because of my weakness, nobody knew I had been out with them. I was scared, so I didn’t say anything. I snuck down to the dungeon to speak to the Captain. He was anxiously waiting for me and news of the Princess. That hit him harder than seeing the King, I think. Anyway, that was when he gave me my orders. Only, I don’t know where to go now. I can’t leave them to die.”

“When is the sentence to be taken out?” Treason was always punished by hanging.

“At dawn.” The soldier whispered. His body deflated with the one word. It was taking all the self-will he had to stay standing up.

Andrew began pacing again. If it hadn’t been for this pup, he would have marched right in and fallen into enemy hands. While much of the soldier’s story was confusing, his emotions and reactions were legitimate. He was too young to have been trained on how to act yet.

“Do you have a copy of the keys to the dungeon?” Andrew asked suddenly.

“No, sir. But I do know where they are kept.”

Andrew turned and opened the carriage door. “Good. Sit up with my coachman and tell him a good place to hide the carriage close by there. We will also need to acquire horses.”

“Wh... what are we doing, my Lord?”

The coachman was already climbing up, but the pup was standing frozen.

“We are rescuing your team and the captain. Then we run. Fast. Ava wants to say we are traitors to the throne, then let’s be traitors to the throne. Her throne.” Duke Andrew stated firmly and succinctly.

The pup soldier grinned and bowed at the waist. “Your wish is my command, my Lord.” He quickly jumped up next to the coachman and they took off.

An hour later, the Coachman and the Soldier snuck off to release horses from the army stables. While the Duke snuck into the dungeons, after retrieving the key. The soldier pup had given him directions to where a spare set of keys was hidden, outside of the dungeons. Andrew had not been in them in years, not since before Alex was crowned King.

The guard on duty was alert and watching warily.

Good thing he and Alex had played there so often as pups. Even Richard had joined them from time to time. They knew of a secret passageway.

Andrew felt the adrenaline soaring through his blood stream as he stalked quietly down a hill and through a tunnel. It had been much larger when they were pups. Now, he had to bend at the waist to walk through. It would be a tight fit with all the soldiers, but it was better than hanging by the neck.

The tunnel was certainly the long way in, add in the effort to be silent, and it took an eternity to reach the inside of the dungeon.

The pup said they were on the bottom floor, in the cells kept for the worst offenders.

Their location was a blessing, as it was the closest to the tunnel. As long as the guard on duty did not come this way anytime soon, Andrew could sneak down the one set of curved stairs and get to the bottom floor.

He had to swallow back the bile in his throat when he found them.

They had been badly beaten.

All eight men were chained to a wall, dried blood plastered on their chests. Andrew could not smell any fresh blood, so it had been long enough that they were able to begin healing.

Neither Alex, nor their father believed in keeping wolfsbane handy. If that had been in their system, they would still be suffering.

“Andrew?” A confused whisper broke through the silence.

Andrew lifted a lit torch from the wall and walked closer. Richard was sporting a black eye and his right arm hung lifelessly by his side. Richard’s good eye watched him as Andrew knelt at his feet and began unlocking the chains.

“Evening, Richard. Care to take a midnight stroll with me? Would you like me to put that shoulder back in its socket before we go?” He pointed at the Captain’s arm as the chains fell free from his ankles.

Without pause, Richard pushed himself up, the others quickly followed his lead.

“If you don’t mind. We need to hurry though. The changing of the guard will be happening shortly, and they will do a walk through. Well, they should anyway. These males are not loyal to me. Most came up from the Countess’s territory this morning.”

Without another word, Andrew handed the keys off to another beaten soldier. He grabbed Richard’s injured shoulder with one hand, his good shoulder with his other, and shoved with all his might.

Richard kept his mouth closed to stifle the groan of pain, but it was still loud enough for them all to freeze and listen. When they heard no other sounds, they continued releasing everyone, snapping bones back into place to help them heal properly, and lining up.

Andrew went in front, Richard went last. He did not want to risk losing anyone else. It took even longer to get out, or so it seemed.

As badly as Richard and his team wanted to enjoy the fresh clean air, they didn’t have time. Their absence would be noticed shortly. Andrew led them up a hill and around a bend, until they reached the hidden carriage and horses.

Richard greeted the soldier pup with a big hug of thanks. Then climbed onto a horse.

“Why don’t we just shift?” Someone asked.

“Because your scent is stronger in wolf form. They will be searching for wolf prints and your scent. Not horses. Take a path through the forest, avoid highways and such. Meet me back in my city as soon as possible. I will protect you there.”

“No!” Richard looked down on Andrew. “No, sire. Right now, they only think you were part of everything. If they find us with you, they will have their proof. We will hide in the forest. Get home as fast as you can. Protect your borders. We will be at war soon. When the time is right, we will come to you. Until then…” Richard lowered his hand.

Andrew clasped both of his hands around it. “What happened to my brother and his family was not your fault. You were doing your duty. Alex would have expected nothing less. We will get our revenge and we will get justice for their murders. I promise you that, my friend.”

Richard ignored the tear threatening to fall. “We will at that. Be safe.” He pulled back his hand, kicked the horse roughly, and took off for the trees.

He was followed by all the other soldiers, including the pup.

The coachman waited until they were gone, giving the Duke a moment to regain control of his own emotions, and then spoke. “We need to make haste, my Lord. I know of another way home. The soldiers will not expect you to take the rougher routes.”

Instead of answering, Andrew followed him back to the carriage. It was a long, and bumpy, ride home. They had been on the road for well over 24 hours, they were both tired and could use the sleep. But neither male would relax until they were within their own borders.

They stopped outside the city gates an hour after dawn. The Duke stepped out of the carriage and approached the guards on duty.

“Do not let any strangers pass, especially soldiers.”

“Is something wrong, my Lord?”

“A good many things are wrong. I will send formal orders after I reach home. For now, know that we may be at war with the monarchy. The royal family has been murdered and the Queen’s sister has taken the throne.”

The guard paled. “We will do as you say, my Lord. Our allegiance lies with you.”

The male had no idea how hard those words hit the tired Duke. His loyalty meant the world to him. Andrew patted him on the shoulder, then loaded back into the carriage.

His family was sitting down to breakfast when he entered.

He filled them in while they all ate.

Then, under orders from his mate, he went to bed for a short nap. There was no time for him to rest for long.