Chapter 29: Colder Weather

ELTON

Relieved.

Once Bradley's interview aired on CNN, basically interrupting my uncle as he was addressing the press, just about to announce my disqualification from the tournament, my father told me he had never felt prouder of me.

He didn't know exactly what I did to secure that interview, nor did he care to ask me. All that mattered to him was that I was once again in contention to be the next King. Nevertheless, he cautioned me to not get myself carried away again for the duration of the tournament.

My mom was pleased for my sake because she understands how much this means to our family. A Whittaker should be the next King, not a commoner. A centuries-old tradition should not be broken now just because her brother cannot produce a natural heir. If he wasn't such a proud man, he could have adopted a child and raised him as his heir — though the Succession Act does not cover adoption, only blood heirs. I am sure he could have worked something out. He controls the entire Senate since only he can appoint Senators.

Alas, he is far too proud to admit defeat and adopt a baby he did not father himself.

History tells us that the only time a child of the nobility was adopted, it happened because a noble mother had lost her child, so they found another baby to replace them — hidden from the people's eyes. This is what scandals are made of — but if you kill the right people, no one would ever know of it.

In this day and age, where the King and nobles do not possess limitless power, it can be difficult to suppress such a story. I know my uncle could never pull that off, even with his vast amount of power. Unless he sends his wife to another country while 'pregnant' and arranges the whole operation in a foreign land. Even so, I wouldn't put past any person with a cell phone to uncover the truth.

Anyway, that was never an option for my uncle. He bears the weight of centuries of natural-born Whittakers on his shoulders, so he wouldn't be satisfied with a ruse. He would never be fulfilled by raising another man's son. Not ever. He'd rather throw this ridiculous tournament to decide on an heir than father a child without his blood.

It's a sad fact that this misfortune fell upon him, but now it falls on me to carry on the tradition as the only male Whittaker heir. I can only pray I won't succumb before any opponent. Tonight or in the future.

My father told Emily not to pursue Bradley anymore. He was not the right fit for her, and the court has plenty of young men who would be more 'to her taste'. She is still in high school, so she should be dating one of her classmates.

Not so fun fact: my parents had such a terrible experience with me attending a boarding school that they decided to let Emily attend a normal high school. As normal as private schools can be, anyway. My sister is not a fan of the boys her own age, which proves that my father understands nothing of her personal taste.

Be that as it may, I have apologized to her for allowing my love for her to cloud my judgment. She has never judged me for the company I keep, so I shouldn't judge her either. Though I have never dated peasants, I do take her point clearly. I was wrong, and I see that now.

Plus, Bradley has a month left to live in Château Blanc, at most. If he does not fall in tonight's challenge. Who knows what can happen in this crazy tournament and what that bastard Armstrong has in store for us?

Emily is the only person outside my parents who knows my truth. I cannot afford to lose her as a friend, or I would burst without anyone to talk to. I mean, I do have friends. I have had two close friends since elementary school, but my father always cautioned me not to disclose my secrets to anyone outside the family.

In our line of work, secrets can be the rise and fall of an aristocrat.

And my secrets cannot be spilled to anyone who would leak them. Even though I trust my friends, the truth about me could be used as a weapon in the wrong person's hands. I cannot afford to risk it. Cruel is the life of a prince, as it turns out.

I am not going to lie, it can get suffocating to not be able to tell anyone about who I really am underneath this regal pose and fine clothing. It is so stifling that my favorite thing to do is to listen to my friends telling me about their lives. I live vigorously through their tales. Sometimes, I enjoy them more than I should, if I am being honest.

I am trapped, being forced to put on a front for the media and my uncle — even though he doesn't believe it. I think I could benefit the most by being mated, because at least then I'd have someone who would love me unconditionally. Someone I could tell all my secrets to, without fear of judgment or betrayal.

Of course, depending on who my mate is, that could open a whole can of worms all in itself. So, I am not sure if being mated is the best thing for me. As it stands now, I have no idea what my challenge could be. None of us do. Both my parents have been married for more than two decades and still have no mate in sight — though in their case, it could be devastating to find out.

There is nothing worse than having a marriage break up because of a mate reveal.

Allow me to tell you a story.

My uncle's best friend is the Duke of Richmond. They are the same age, grew up relatively close to each other, and attended the same boarding schools, they are both Alphas with noble blood whose friendship stood the test of time.

As it happens with many high-born nobles, neither of them found their mates. Not during their school years and not during their seven years in college. No matter what, they were bonded in the same misery of being 'forgotten' by the Moon Goddess. Since they were both firstborn sons, while my uncle was destined to be King one day, his best friend would become the new Duke of Richmond, Virginia.

They married noble ladies like they were supposed to, fulfilling their roles before society. Everything was coming along great for them, except for the fact that neither of them could produce children — no matter how hard they tried to.

They ended up sharing a bond unlike any other, feeling like a failure before their packs — in my uncle's case, the country. Because of this unique situation, when he was already in his thirties, uncle Lucius was advised to select someone of his absolute confidence to act in his stance in case something happened to him, albeit temporarily, and he couldn't be King for a while.

At the time, he still thought it possible to find a way to have children, but seeing the wisdom in his adviser's words — and safeguarding the stability of the country — he decided to go with none other than his best friend in the whole world, the Duke of Richmond.

He was the only person he could trust to be impartial and to follow his lead, thinking about what was best for the country. You have to understand that Kings have no seconds. He wields absolute power, so when a King falls incapacitated or dies, his oldest son rises in his place to act as the new monarch. If that is not possible due to his age, a regent is appointed. Usually, their name is already pre-selected by the fallen King in his Will.

But my uncle had neither of those. Not a son or regent in place.

For the last thirty years, the Duke of Richmond has been acting as the Viceroy to secure the continuation of Lucius's rule, stepping in whenever he is called upon. He is constantly seen in the West Wing, where he advises and works closely with the King.

But that is not the point of this story.

There is a twist.

25 years ago, the city of Richmond was hit by a very nasty blizzard that froze everything in its path. People were used to cold Winters, but this one night saw a temperature drop so vertiginous that they weren't prepared for it. The town went into chaos as people were fighting freezing temperatures, frostbite, and hypothermia. It was bad.

As the Alpha of the pack, the Duke pulled up his sleeves - not literally - and spearheaded the plan of assault to rescue the inhabitants that were trapped by the blizzard; he dispatched law enforcement and all the agencies at his disposal to make sure that the citizens were safe.

At the time that this happened, a local children's shelter was facing this night without heat. Their machine had broken a couple of days before, and they didn't have the resources to have it fixed right away.

In the cold den of night, several children were suffering from the low temperatures. One of the caretakers mind-linked the Alpha to ask for his help, so the Duke immediately put together a rescue operation to retrieve those children and the people working in that group home.

The Duke worked tirelessly that night to make sure his pack members were safe under that terrible weather. Not only did he provide a bus to collect all the children and staff members, but he also drove the bus himself to pick them up. It was a Herculean operation to safeguard the town's most vulnerable population, but he would stop at nothing to make sure that his people were taken care of.

Around four in the morning, when the last child was safely inside the pack house — which had an excellent heating system, not to mention food and enough rooms to house everyone, though they had to share — that is when the unthinkable happened.

Cold, exhausted from the marathon, hungry, and almost depleted of energy, the Duke of Richmond got mated to one of the caretakers who wanted to thank him for the assistance provided. He was already 38 at the time, if you can believe it.

You see, his challenge was to fulfill the role he was born for. He had to lead by example, putting the lives of his pack members above anything else. There were tears, heartbreak, and sadness. I will spare you the tearful separation that ensued, but the Duke had no choice but to accept his mate.

Together, he broke his 'curse' and they had three children. Leonard, Lance, and Levy.

Needless to say, this put a strain on his friendship with the King, but at that point, there was nothing he could do about it. He continued as the Viceroy because there was nobody else Lucius trusted more than him, but the Duke of Richmond no longer was a man 'forgotten' by the Goddess and unable to have heirs. He became a much better man because of it — and the group home never lacked funding ever again.

I wonder what my challenge could be...

A|N: Wow. That was very informative.

This never happened to me before (with any of my books), but I already have a clear vision of how I want the book's last challenge to go about. I mean, I envision the end scene; I just don't know what the challenge is yet.

Of course, there is a long road for that to happen. I have only just begun, but I am so excited about it. Let's go!

What is Elton's secret?

Do you want to find that out now?

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Love,

Léo.