The Crown's Obsession

Maddox had been tamed in seconds by Calhoun, and Madeline stared at the wolf and then at the hand that was patting and rubbing its ear. She remembered Calhoun telling her how he had the wolf for a long time.

"Is it a vampire thing?" asked Madeline softly without wanting to disturb the wolf's time with its master. She had taken glimpses of the wolves in the past to run away before they could spot her—seen bodies of the villagers that were left by the wild wolves on the forest grounds. It was something that had worried her in the past as her father had to go to the forest to collect logs of woods. Because of the trouble that was caused in the forest by the wolves, many villagers often went hunting, that had pushed the habitat of wolves away from civilization.

But not anymore, and it was thanks to Calhoun.

Calhoun responded to her, "It is my thing. Master of these wolves can be only be the big bad wolf," The wolf that was getting petted, growled lowly in approval at the touch of its master. "He was in bad shape when I found him. Not exactly a pup but a wolf who was growing and had been hunted."

The wolf moved its head to rub its head against Calhoun's hand.

"Who hunted him?" asked Madeline.

"It was Markus Wilmot. Sophie's brother," he answered her question, "We were hunting the deer when the arrow went to this one. My cousin used to have a terrible aim in the past—someone who could not differentiate between a deer and a black wolf. When we reached, Maddox had an arrow that went through the front of his leg. Usually, animals die when they have an arrow running so close to the chest. And even though he was wounded, he wanted to take a bite," Calhoun's voice appeared to be much gentler as if he was remembering the fond memory.

Madeline saw Calhoun raise his hand in front of her. She went to look at his hand to notice a faint bite mark and her eyes widened.

"He bit you," she frowned.

He retrieved his hand back, "He did, and look at him now. He's the most loyal person you will find. Someone who won't think twice before ripping them apart. He protects things that are important to me."

"He almost bit me," Madeline reminded him to hear him chuckle.

"Are you telling me, you want to be that special person, Madeline? If you will, he will swear his loyalty to you, but of course, I will be his master then comes the next." Calhoun's question resonated in her mind. The words repeated as she stared into his red eyes. He then shifted the topic to ask, "Did you sleep well?"

Madeline nodded her head. Realising how close they were, she stood up.

"I came down to look for food to eat," she was hungry, and she could feel the sound that her stomach made right now.

"You could ask the guard to send the food to your room," replied Calhoun, giving a final pat to the wolf, he stood up, his height towering her.

It wasn't that Madeline didn't think about it. She knew how to cook, and she had fed herself in the past. She didn't feel the need to cause trouble to the maids or the cook who would have to cook for her at this odd hour. She had already received the unwelcoming look from the servants; she didn't want to be despised.

Noticing Madeline's hesitation, Calhoun said, "Servants here in the castle are not guests but to work for the King and the King's guests. If they didn't, there would be no point in having them in here, would it?" The wolf got up and left the corridor, "You must be hungry," his eyes moved to look at her stomach and then up at her.

When they reached the kitchen, Madeline looked at Calhoun who was looking at something else while she cut some vegetables for herself. Something quick and easy so that she wouldn't have to wait long to eat. Once she was done, she heard Calhoun ask,

"Where is my share of food?" Madeline bit the inside of her cheek.

"You can have this," she said, pushing the bowl and ready to make another one when she saw Calhoun shake his head.

"I was joking," and he pushed the bowl back to her. Madeline sat down and started to eat the food she had made for herself. When the head cook of the castle appeared at the kitchen door, Calhoun waved him off.

Madeline concentrated on her food, not looking at Calhoun who was idly playing with the glass of water in front of him which he had been drinking. She tried hard not to remember the time the kiss that happened, but the more she tried not to, the more she remembered.

She didn't know how Calhoun was sitting there calmly, drinking water as if nothing had changed. After she was done eating her midnight meal, Calhoun took her back to her room, seeing her off with a goodnight, without mentioning anything about the kiss in the carriage or the dip they had taken together in his bath.

As the next day approached, Madeline was glad that Calhoun had not teased or whispered about anything embarrassing which only made her question, if he would, every time he spoke to her. It ended up so that her thoughts were occupied by him.

In one of the many rooms of the castle, two men sat,

"I was very surprised when one of your men came to my mansion, asking me to come to join you. I hope I haven't caused any trouble," said Mr. Barnes, who was seated in front of the King.

Calhoun offered the man a smile, "You have been a very resourceful man for years now, Mr. Barnes. Especially your work. I thought it was time, I give you something in return," and Mr. Barnes gave a look of surprise at the King's words.