CHAPTER ONE: Returning In Secret

Logan's pov

“Save the child!” I yelled to Jake, as I pounced on a rogue that was sneaking up on the child.

He acted quickly and took the child to safety.

“Get out of Lycantropolis, this is my last warning to you all” I growled at the injured rogues on the ground.

“Retreat!” Their leader yelled and they all ran away with their tails between their legs.

“We will be back and you won't be able to drive us out, this nation will be ours” one of the rogues said and started laughing maniacally.

Thud

“Aaaah!” The laughing rogue was suddenly struck on the head with a stone, which caused it to howl and run away in pain.

“Nice throw Martin” Jake said with a little chuckle.

“The bastard is so fucking ugly, I don't know between his wolf form and human form, which is uglier” Martin said with undisguised disgust.

“Let's clean up and head back to the capital” I said and everyone immediately started cleaning the fight scene and putting things back in their place.

“I heard that your father called an emergency meeting, is it about the recent attacks?” Jake asked me as we were walking back to the house of the village head where we have been staying for the past one week.

“Yes, there has been a lot of unrest and the people are now living in fear of sudden attacks” I replied to him with a sigh.

“Welcome back my prince” the village head greeted us with a smile.

“Have you reported to Alpha Damien, he should be able to handle the rest and you are safe now, the rogues have all retreated from your village” Jake informed him, as I was in a hurry to pack up my things and return to the capital.

“Martin, you are coming with me, Jake you supervise the clean up and return with the others” I instructed with a smile.

“Why am I the one that always has to stay behind, look at how delicate Martin has become” Jake said playfully.

“You are just jealous of my naturally fair skin, you know that you can't compare your dark skin to mine” Martin replied to him with an arrogant smirk.

“Who wants to compete with a princess?” Jake snorted and I chuckled.

“Martin, go pack up, we need to be at the capital before nightfall” I said and he immediately headed to the room that he had been staying in.

“Your mother is becoming really desperate, are you sure you don't need more men to go with you?” Jake asked with a concerned tone.

“I told my father that I wouldn't be able to make it because I knew she was with him when he called, so my going back would be smooth without any hinges as she won't see the need to create trouble to delay me” I explained with a smile.

“Call me as soon as you get to the capital” he said before heading back to the fight scene to supervise the clean up.

I finished packing my things into a backpack and walked out of the room, Martins was already waiting for me at the door.

“I am going to check the next village to make sure there are no more rogues” I said to the village chief and he nodded with a smile.

I walked out of the village with Martin, we headed in the direction of the next village, after walking for a while, I signalled to him and we changed our direction.

“So, the village chief is also one of the Queen's spies, I noticed that his right hand man was secretly following us,” Martin said angrily.

“She must have promised him a lot of benefits, just like the others” I said with a serious tone, as we continued walking along the path.

Half an hour later, we arrived at the highway and saw a blue jeep parked at the side of the road.

“Hey Loyd” Martin greeted the man in the driver's seat with a smile.

We threw our luggages in the trunk and quickly got into the car. I sat at the back while Martins took the passenger seat.

“Can you believe those crazy people, I told them that I was going to visit my family, but they still secretly followed me for hours and I had to purposely drive in the wrong direction” Loyd complained with a tired sigh.

“She must be planning something, what do you guys think she is up to?” Martin asked with an upset tone.

“I don't know, but it definitely won't be a good thing” I said with a tired sigh.

“I will rest my eyes for a while” I said to them before slowly closing my eyes.

Sometimes I find it hard to believe that she is my mother. What kind of a mother hates her own son and does everything to take away his birthright?.

As far as I can remember, I hardly stay in the palace because I am always at the different borders, keeping the nation safe from rogues while my mother does her absolute best to replace me with Karl, my younger brother as the heir to the throne.

She monitors my every move, pays people to make things difficult for me and tries to turn the royal council members against me.

Her hatred towards me started when my elder brother was killed while protecting me during a rogue attack ten years ago. I was fifteen and he was eighteen years old. We went to play in our usual spot but who would have thought that we would be ambushed by rogues. By the time help came, my brother was already dead.

My mother refused to believe that it was an accident, I still remember how she publicly accused me of killing him during his burial.

Her anger intensified a few months later, when my father announced that I was the new heir to the throne, she caused such a huge scene and vowed to also take it from me, just like I took it from my late brother.

My father did everything possible to make her stop but it only fueled her determination to take the position from me. She started training and grooming my younger brother as the heir to the throne and she did it openly.

To make matters worse, Karl's mate was also killed by a rogue werewolf, I don't know how it sneaked into the palace and attacked her. My mother couldn't stop accusing me of being responsible for her death, she even demanded for a trial until my father and Karl intervened.

She kept accusing me of being jealous of Karl, as he already found his mate while I am yet to find mine.

She even publicly said that I wouldn't find my mate because it was my punishment for killing my own brother for the throne.

But now, people started believing her as I haven't found my mate and I was already twenty five years old.

I only have a few people that believe in me, like my three best friends. Jake, Martins and Loyd, they never believed anything bad that was said about me and promised to be on my side no matter the circumstances.

My mother has tried to bribe them severally but they always turned her down which is the reason why she also assigned people to monitor them.

“What's happening up ahead?” Martin's voice pulled me out of my thoughts and I opened my eyes to see that we were already in the capital city.

Cars were moving slowly as there were a lot of people on the road side, holding up banners while cheering loudly.

“Move to the side, give way” a traffic warden was instructing the drivers to move to the side of the road.

Suddenly, an intoxicating scent entered my nostrils which sent my wolf into a frenzy.