Heir To The Iron Crown: Butterfly ✓

Prologue

How beautiful would she be, strong and wild
like the wolf she is,
yet gentle,
fluttering like a butterfly.
Not too difficult
a sight to imagine,
and surely not too difficult
a sight to see.

...

Valente put on his shoes, fumbling with the laces, as he tried to do them quickly to go play with his friends.

He wasn't too good with them, only just learned how to do it from his aunt Sylvia. She was his caretaker after he lost his father, Alpha Fridure, his uncle Beta Alstein, and his little cousin Sven in the attack on Fathilagt five years ago.

He was two years of age at the time.

He and his aunt were all that were left of the leading family, and she had decided to raise Valente as her own till he would come of age and take his title as Alpha. As caring and kind as she was, she was also just as agitated. Losing her mate, child and brother, all in one night made her that way.

As she watched Valente struggle with his laces, she bent down to help him.

"I can do it aunty!" Valente said to her.

"I know you can honey. Let me help you this once," she said to him.

"No, I'll do it myself," he said, taking a little longer, but finally getting the knot right.

He got to his feet and ran out to where his friends were waiting for him.

"He is his father's son," she thought, amused and laughing quietly to herself.

...

Valente and his friends had all assembled in an area near the training field of Fathilagt. The group consisted of all children around the ages five to twelve. Valente was a natural leader, and even at just age seven, he was usually the boy seen instructing his tiny counterparts what game to play and what the rules were.

He noticed one of his friends was missing.

"Where's Renee?" he asked the others.

As they shrugged and nodded their heads to show their lack of knowledge, a voice from behind him made him turn around.

"Wait, we're coming!" said Renee to him, pulling along her little sister Rayne, behind her.

Valente had never actually met Rayne before. He knew Renee had a younger sister, but she almost always stayed inside, and never came out to play.

He tilted his head to get a good look at her. He was absolutely fascinated by her.

Her hair was black, he had never seen anyone with hair like hers before. She wasn't as fair as the others in the pack, but her skin complimented her eyes that were also just as fascinating.

He didn't know what to call the color of her eyes, only that he'd seen a butterfly with wings that were just like that, outlined with black, in the forest that surrounds his home.

"Sorry I'm late, Val. I had to force mum to let me take Rayne with me today," Renee said, pulling her sister in front of her, as if showing her off to the crowd.