Two sets of bright amber eyes blinked up at me. Most struggled to tell the twins apart, but I could tell them apart just fine, at least in their human forms. Their cub forms were more of a challenge.
Attie batted his lashes at me. “Because you’re the bestest big brother ever?”
“I am, but don’t think giving me those puppy eyes is going to work on me. I’m immune, remember?”
They exchanged glances before letting out the biggest sighs to ever come out of such small cubs. When their bottom lips jutted out, I groaned. Who was I kidding? I was such a sucker.
“Really? You’re going to do that to me before coffee?”
There was a sniff, and I gave in so quickly it was shameful.
“Fine, but clean up your mess and don’t do it again.” I pointed a very stern finger at them, and they nodded before launching themselves at me and hugging me. I hoped my enemies never discovered what a pushover I was when it came to cubs or I would be doomed.
With a cheer they took off, and I returned to my library, where I collapsed back onto the couch. Here’s an idea. How about we start this day over?
Something crashed in the distance, and with a grunt, I buried my head under my pillow. It was going to be a long day. Too bad I didn’t have the luxury of sleeping in. I got to my feet and ran a hand through my hair before entering the en suite bathroom to begin my morning routine.
My library was my favorite room in the entire palace. It had been gifted to me by my father when I was a tiny cub, and year after year I’d added to it, bringing in new books, new furnishings, new art, until I’d created my personal sanctuary. I hadn’t even been aware of what I’d done until I’d needed it. With a heavy sigh, I opened my balcony doors and walked to the stone rail to survey my kingdom. An ocean of forest and hills stretched on for what seemed like forever, while a light mystical fog waded through the trees. The morning was crisp, and I inhaled a deep breath of clean, untouched air.
Heavenly. Surrounded by nothing but the sounds of nature. Why any shifter would choose to live in human cities was beyond me. Although humans wandered into my kingdom, those who visited, for the most part, were mindful. They camped and hiked, observed nature. Those who weren’t? Nature dealt with them. I supposed I was fortunate my palace had been built on protected ground. That the humans themselves had deemed this land under protection, having no idea bear shifters had occupied their national park for longer than they’d existed. Like most shifter palaces, mine remained hidden behind wards of magic.
Below my balcony, the gardeners were busy trimming the hedges of the palace’s pristine and colorful gardens. My gaze drifted beyond the treetops to where the hidden villages of my citizens sat in blissful peace. Granted, I hadn’t visited since… I shook that thought from my head. That’s what I had trusted ambassadors for. To go out into the villages on my behalf, to keep our kingdom peaceful and bring back any grievances or new business for me to attend to.
Dressed for a new day, I left my library and headed down the brightly lit corridor toward the dining room. The hall that stretched from my side of the palace to the stairs leading down to the main corridor was my favorite, with its large windows on either side showcasing the thick forests surrounding the palace grounds. The sun’s warm rays cast its glow through every expansive pane, making the gold accents of the gilded frames and various art pieces glitter and sparkle. I loved the white stone of the palace walls and the way they helped keep everything light.
I stilled at the bottom of the steps, surprised I didn’t hear the boisterous shouts of the twins as they’d clearly ignored my warnings and wreaked havoc through the palace. They’d probably taken their mischief out into the gardens. I chuckled. Did I have that much energy at eleven? I doubted it.
Entering the sunny dining room, I walked the length of the banquet table until I reached the chair beside mine at the head of the table and paused to kiss the top of my mother’s head.
“Good morning, Mother.”
“Honestly, sweetheart. You have a perfectly beautiful bedroom with a glorious bed, and yet you sleep on a couch in your library. I don’t understand it. Good morning.”
I smiled and shook my head in amusement. “You’ve been saying that to me nearly every morning since I was a child, and yet…”
Her huff made me laugh. I placed the napkin on my lap as my younger sister emerged from her cave and dragged herself into the room. Her dark hair was an unruly mess clipped to the top of her head, and I frowned at the baggy sweatpants and matching hoodie that hung lazily off one shoulder, her feet sporting a hideous pair of what looked like… sweater boots? Wonderful. It was going to be one of those days. I moved my gaze to my mother, who subtly shook her head at me.
“Good morning,” I said, smiling at Nita as I reached for my steaming cup of coffee. Why did I feel like I was going to need so much more than one cup today? I received a grunt in response as she flopped down into the chair to the right of me, across from our mother. “Where are the twins?”
“How should I know?” Nita growled. “I’m not their babysitter.”
I arched an eyebrow at her. Anyone who thought running a kingdom and ruling over an entire shifter species was exhausting, had clearly never lived with a teenager. Goddess above. Some days I contemplated facing a good old-fashioned plague or battle with a minotaur over facing my sister in one of her bad moods.
“Did we forget our manners?” I asked calmly, waiting for her to put her phone down. Of all the shifter kingdoms, why did my family have to be one of the ones to embrace human technology? It was both a blessing and a curse. Luckily, I held the power where that was concerned, seeing as how only I knew the Wi-Fi password and could change it at will. To my siblings, that power wielded more respect than my being a shifter prince.
With a long-suffering sigh, she dropped her phone onto the table and glared at me. “Sorry.”
Obviously she wasn’t. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
I opened my mouth to ask again, but the devious duo erupted into the room.
“Morning!” They echoed each other before Turi took a seat beside our mother, and Attie beside my sister.
“You’re late,” our mother scolded gently.
“Sorry,” the twins said in unison before breaking off into their own renditions of what kept them, each encounter more lavish and over-the-top than the previous one. Apparently we had monsters in the garden that needed vanquishing.
“I hope you didn’t terrify poor Winnie again.” They had a terrible habit of popping out of bushes and scaring the poor woman while she was in the middle of pruning. “One of these days you’re going to scare her so badly she’s going to shift, and then we’ll see who runs off screaming.”
The twins broke off into fits of giggles, making me smile. They were growing up so fast. I remembered a time when all I had to do was make a funny face and Nita would giggle until her puffy cheeks were pink. Now she only turned pink in anger, which was usually directed at me.
I thanked the staff as they brought us our breakfast. The twins carried on as they did every morning, teasing each other, while our mother attempted to illicit some kind of response from my sister. Nita ate a few pieces of fruit, then poked at the rest of her breakfast like she usually did.