The White Wolf Chapter 97: An Unexpected Prince

"The king is asking for you"

Alexia quit admiring her study and set off for Caspian's. The morning was in full swing with guests and servants bustling through the halls. They bowed to the queen as she passed and in return, they gave her a nod.

Her study was not far from Caspian's so she made it there in no time. There was some space between the two to keep the area from getting busy with visitors who would come to see the royals.

At her approach, a guard stationed outside of the King's study opened the door for her. Harley stayed back, not daring to enter the king's study without being invited. She would wait outside for the queen to emerge or for her to give her a task.

Walking in she so observed the king at his desk with his gamma and beta in the room. "You asked for me?" Her voice sang as she crossed the room.

Caspian smiled at his mate. "Yes, there is something we need to discuss." Gabe and Enzo looked confused as they had no idea of the contents of the letter.

"Oh? What is it?" She tried to remain neutral as if there was nothing to be worried about, so she took a seat in one of the chairs that sat in front of her mate's desk.

Caspian picked up a piece of paper from his desk "We received a letter from the Eastern Kingdom."

She tried to think about the best response to his statement and what could be in the letter. "Did they say when or they wished to send to us."

"They did. They will be sending Prince Dristan."

Gabe swore and Enzo let out a breath.

"Is that bad?" Alexia asked confused by their reactions as she looked between the two of them.

“Well, no it’s not. It definitely is a sign of trust on their part to send a member of the royal family.” Caspian explained.

Another royal could definitely prove to be a problem especially if something were to happen to them while in their care or worse if they tried to instill an overthrow or sow seeds of discord.

“But?” She quirked her eyebrow as she looked at her mate.

“But it could also prove to be… what’s the word I’m looking for?” The King pondered as he pursed his lips.

“Vexatious?“ Enzo chimed in as if they were playing a guessing game.

“That’s the one!” Snapping his fingers and pointing to the Gamma, Caspian agreed with a little bit of a laugh.

Gabe seemed to be in agreement with the game they were playing. “He can be quite vexing indeed.”

The air did not seem to be consumed with worry and fret that Alexia was but instead, the males seemed to be at ease and joking.

Alexia was even more confused with how proud of himself Enzo looked. “In what way?”

As always Gabe had the answer ready. “The prince is an interesting character and being around him can prove to be quite challenging at times.”

She turned to look at her mate with questions in her eyes. “So, you’ve met him before?”

“Yes, when we were young.” He said before elaborating. “The vampire kingdom hosted a ball and festivities in the name of peace. I attended with my father.”

“I take it you did not get along very well?” The pieces seemed to be falling into place before.

"The Prince likes to be the best at everything. He also prefers the attention to remain on himself at all times. That was not necessarily possible at such a gathering of prominent figures." The way Caspian phrased his words in a way that was diplomatic and respectful, however, Alexia felt the alternative was the prince was a spoiled brat.

Gabe added as he took a drink of coffee. “It also doesn’t help that Caspian beat him in a fight.”

“It wasn’t an official fight just some light sparring between young males.” He tried to act nonchalantly but Alexia could see the smirk that tugged on his lips in pride.

"Will you challenge him officially?" Enzo pressed with glee in his eyes.

Caspian waved him off "I do not think that would help diplomatic relations."

Looking a little downcast Enzo responded, "Pity"

"Another issue is that the prince does not travel light, and will be no doubt accompanied by many members of the court and his entourage," Gabe informed her, likely already having looked into the prince himself.

If there was anyone who knew the latest gossip or tantalizing piece of information, it was Gabe. While his mate seemed to shy away from the hustle and bustle of schemes, the beta was knee-deep. Though it was his job to know what was going on in the kingdom.

There was not Alexia knew about the prince besides that he was a prince, she would need to ask the beta for a report on the prince before he arrived.

"So preparing for them is going to take some extra effort." Alexia followed the dots, She needed to figure out what wing to place them in during their stay and get a list of dietary preferences.

Going above and beyond would be her goal as she could not stand for another royal to enter the palace and not be blown away. She would do her best to make sure Caspian was proud to have her as his queen.

"Exactly."

Alexia let out a sigh as she began to think about what would need to be done and how best to prepare. As she thought, she stood up and walked over to the waiting coffee pot that was always stationed in the King's study. She poured herself a cup and stirred absentmindedly as she walked back over to her seat.

The males in the room began discussing security protocols and what route the prince would take.

Caspain directed Gabe. "We will send a letter tomorrow accepting his visit and then will work with his team to secure a safe journey. To do that we will send a few men beforehand to travel with him the entire way."

"And to keep an eye on the Eastern Kingdom," Enzo added.

"That too," Caspian confirmed.

Looking Alexia asked, “So when does he arrive?”