56 Chapter 56 - a helping hand

The cars pulled up to the palace, a sprawling mansion which stood proudly at the centre of acres of land.

It was surrounded by aesthetic gardens and spraying fountains.

Declan stood at the entrance with his father by his side. It was sunset now, reds and golds splashed against the sky.

Cade and Ash knew to stick by his side but Declan had to physically stop himself from staring at Faun like he really wanted to.

"Freshen up and report to my study." King Ivan said grimly, sweeping forward ahead of Declan.

A number of guards hurried after him. His towering, greying blond hair was still visible over the heads of the guards.

Declan waited a beat before heading into the palace, he was wearing casual clothes which never happened before.

He started up the stairs, heading for the west wing where his rooms were located.

He barely made it to the top of the main stairs before he heard his name, a figure hurtling down the stairs to meet him.

"Declan!" A girl's voice yelled, throwing herself into his arms.

Declan's expression softened as he stared down at her, hugging her in return. "Hey, Gigi."

"Don't 'Hey' me." Her upset face looked up at him, sea blue eyes staring up at him with disapproval. "I come back from Uni to find you gone! Not to mention that you promised to call me but you didn't, not even once!" She accused him in a single breath.

Declan ruffled her hair. "I just left for a little vacation."

Gigi raised a brow, refusing to be fooled. "A two-year vacation?"

Declan winced, he didn't realise that he had spent that long away.

"Who is this?" She slipped out of his hold to peek at Faun who was still unconscious in Cade's arms.

"No one important." Declan replied gruffly, not even sparing them a glance.

Gigi had a cloudy look in her sea blue eyes, her long inky-black hair obscuring her face so no one saw her odd expression.

She looked up after a brief moment of studying the fox hybrid, making her way to her brother with a knowing look in her eyes.

"Sure, Declan." She agreed with amusement in her voice. "Here, take this, you'll need it." She took off the scarf wrapped around her neck to wrap it around her brother's neck, covering his very visible mating mark.

Declan held one of her hands which were placed on his shoulders as she tried to adjust the scarf, a storm raging in his grey eyes. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it, you're my favourite brother after all." She threw flippantly, continuing down the stairs.

If he had seen Gillian first it meant that his brother wasn't very far behind.

Allan always brought trouble with him so Declan wasn't even surprised when he bumped into him in the hallway, and what do you know, Lola was by his side.

"Declan! Darling!" Lola immediately hurried to him, thrusting her boobs as she did.

Declan easily sidestepped her, putting distance between them. "Lola." He acknowledged coldly.

Lola put on a betrayed look. "You leave your fiancée for well over a year and half and all you have to say is that cold response?" She pouted dramatically, trying to cling to him again. "Do you have any idea how much I missed you? How cold my nights were?"

Declan snorted quietly. "I don't think you were that cold, Lola." He replied without emotion, fixing a pointed look at his younger brother. "I've had a long journey, I don't have the time for pleasantries…"

"Did you bring a little present back, big bro?" Allan's voice came from behind them.

Declan had been so occupied with Lola that he didn't notice Allan slipping over to where Faun was.

Declan stiffened, a vein ticking on his forehead from how much self control he used to stop himself from glaring in that direction.

The more open interest he showed in Faun, the more danger he would put him in, he was taking no chances.

He didn't have to look though, he knew Allan quite well, he could imagine what was going on.

Ash and Cade never liked him so they would be glaring at the second prince with distrusting eyes, Allan would pick up on it but blatantly ignore them.

He would be dressed in the foppish clothes he favoured, frilly linen shirts and fitted high waist pants, like he just stepped out of the regency era.

His dark blond hair would be perfectly styled, his silver-grey eyes shifty.

Declan gritted his teeth because he knew that Allan would be touching Faun, with malicious interest in his dead eyes.

"You're awfully handsy with my property." He turned around to level Allan a lazy but sharp look, a drawl in his voice. "Is that how it always is?" He lifted a brow, a heavy accusation in his flippant words.

Allan was smart enough to step away, his eyes lingering on Faun's peacefully sleeping face.

He didn't say anything and Declan wasn't expecting him to either, continuing his journey to his rooms.

Lola wasn't his fiancée, it was just common knowledge that his father wanted him to marry her because she had one of the purest werewolf bloodlines. He stopped correcting her because it took too much effort and she never listened.

He was quick to take back Faun in his arms as soon as he was in the safety of his wing. Ash and Cade had their rooms beside his because they had to guard him round the clock.

They bowed and made themselves scarce after Declan was safe in his bedroom, the door clicking shut.

Declan took a deep breath, carefully placing Faun on his king size bed. The black satin emphasised his fiery hair and pale skin.

Now that Faun was safe in his room, the buzzing under his skin finally took a break. He couldn't stay and watch over him though like he really wanted to, instead he had to report to his dad.

Reluctantly, he stepped away from the bed, heading for his walk-in closet to get something out of it.

He couldn't risk Faun trying to run away, no one would dare come to his room but he couldn't guarantee Faun's safety if he was caught outside without Declan to protect him.

He took his most comfortable pair of handcuffs, it was fur lined so they wouldn't bruise Faun's skin.

He was gentle while slipping the fur lined cuffs around one of Faun's slender wrists, the cuffs clicking lightly shut. He brushed Faun's hair out of his eyes, making a mental note to buy more scrunchies.

With that, he turned away from the bed and headed for the shower, there was a lot of work to be done.