Page 6 of King of Forest and Fur

Rehn tried to calm the bear, but his adrenaline spiked the closer he got to the gate.

He used to be able to control his emotions and bear so easily, but lately, he found it hard to quiet the restless grumblings of the animal inside.

It was as if there was something missing that was becoming more problematic the longer it was gone. The problem was that Rehn had no idea what that could be.

The team was there, ready to go. Rehn smiled, shaking his head free of why he couldn’t control his bear and finally letting it run free. He could sense the others shifting behind him. The sound of their pants and rumbling paws added to the air around them.

Right now, all that mattered was retrieving the threat and figuring out how the hell he escaped so it never happened again.

At least if he doesn’t confess quickly, I’ll get to indulge in making him talk. Rehn felt himself smile at the thought as his auburn fur-covered paws quickened their pace over the tundra.

THREE

LEILA

Leila was walking down the hall back to her classroom to get ready for the next bell when she noticed a shift in the energy around her. She stopped and let her body thrum with the vibe she was receiving from the academy. She closed her eyes to focus and take in her surroundings. The air was positively buzzing with excitement.

Realizing it was a good shift, her curiosity peaked as to what had caused the sudden change in their average day.

She opened her eyes and noticed a group of first-year girls whispering excitedly among themselves.

The blonde one was in Leila’s level-one class. The darker-haired girls were familiar, but not enough for her to know their names. Leila called out as she approached the group with a full smile.

“Good afternoon, Margreet. What’s got you three in such good spirits? Not good marks, I suppose.”

Margreet answered first, still blushing deeply. She was almost completely twitterpated.

“Hello, Professor Camor. We just heard the news and I can’t believe it’s real! I have a picture of him on my wall back home and, just, oh my gosh!” The three started jumping up and down with little shrieks emanating from the circle.

Leila took a step back so their jumping feet didn’t land on hers.

Margreet noticed and apologized while shushing the other giddy girls.

“I’m sorry, Professor. We’re just so excited!”

“Yes, I have gathered that. But you still haven’t told me over what exactly,” Leila inquired, now thinking it wasn’t as big a deal as she had thought. Seeing the young girls so excited just made her think it was a new dance announced with a cool band that would be short of chaperones.

“King Rehn Tahyrst is on campus,” the girl with braids whispered as if she were to say it too loud, it wouldn’t be true.

“King Tahyrst? Of the Tahyrst Kingdom?”

All three of the girls nodded excitedly.

“Do you know him? What do you think about him?”

Leila chuckled. “No. I have heard of him is all. As to what I think, that doesn’t matter. He’s just a man who happens to rule a kingdom.” She gave the girls a disapproving look, but still couldn’t dampen their excitement. It made it hard to be stern.

“Still, be respectful. He is a king after all and it wouldn’t look good on the academy to have their students stalking him while he is visiting, would it?”

The girls nodded, trying to look ashamed this time while keeping their eyes down. It wasn’t working for them. It made Leila smile. She knew they would try, but probably wouldn’t succeed.

“Now, get to your next class before you’re late.”

Leila left them but still smiled all the way to her class as their giddiness grew again, the farther their professor got.

It was her last class of the day and Leila was finding it hard to focus. Her students had heard the gossip about the king, so Leila changed plans and had a more interactive class instead. But it didn’t help distract herself from the news. It bugged her that a king was here and no one knew why.

Leila knew he was a bear shifter and ruled over the forestry kingdom named after him, but that was really it. She didn’t involve herself in the shifter’s world unless they called upon one of them.

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