Ettore | ✔️

𝑻𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆

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𝑺𝒖𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒐𝒏

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Vincenzo Lupo narrowed his gray eyes at Analyn, suspicion swirling within, "why doesn't he have a golden pelt? It doesn't even resemble your beasts!"

Analyn was silent, twiddling her thumbs as she looked into the forest that Ettore had disappeared into, "I think his fur is beautiful. It holds more variety than shades of gold. The moon goddess made his fur that mixture of colors for a reason, my dear."

"She must be spiting us. No king would ever be respected looking like that. I wish his pelt had been black or white, only disgraceful rejects like him earn those colored pelts. He's lower now."

"My pelt is nearly white," Analyn whispered under her breath.

"You're the exception," Vincenzo quickly said, grabbing Analyn's hand for a moment before releasing it. "It works well with your beast. However, it wouldn't work well for our son."

"That isn't true Vincenzo, and you know it. We get our colored pelts from the environment in which we live. The white wolves are from the arctic tundras, the black wolves are from the darkest forests. Over the years they've blended together so that pelt colors appear without any rhyme nor reason. It's a blessing and a curse to be given a white-furred wolf in our lush, green forests, they stick out like a sore thumb," Analyn paused for a moment, surprised she was talking back to Vincenzo. "You should be glad that gold fur is only given to the safest of wolves, the royals because they have the most protection and rarely leave the kingdom. Ettore will be safer with the colored pelt he was given, he'll be able to reach more werewolves than you were ever able to. He'll be able to recruit more citizens. He could double our kingdoms population just like that. Making us even more powerful." Her lips were pursed once she finished, hoping that her speel would make Vincenzo shut up about Ettore's fur color, a dead give away that his genes were much stronger than Evanora's spell. 

"Hmmm," Vincenzo pondered for a moment, "you do have a point. He could recruit more wolves. He could trek through the forests and even try to convert some of the wild wolves. His pelt resembles theirs, he could be seen as an ally, a trustworthy advocate... he could start now even."

"Yes, he could," Analyn agreed immediately, "he could bring you more citizens before he's even crowned king. That's years from now, he can be a royal recruiter for us."

"Allister," Vincenzo spoke up, a young man stepped forward, he wasn't much older than Ettore. "Hunt down Ettore and make sure he returns by sunrise. He'll be leaving at dusk for his first recruitment." Allister simply nodded before shifting into a light brown wolf, running into the forest.

"It won't be long until he finds Ettore, he was trained by the best trackers in the kingdom," Vincenzo stated. 

"I know," Analyn murmured. "Let's retreat to our chambers and sleep. The morning is near." At her comment, everyone began to leave in different directions, leaving just herself and Vincenzo in the small field. Analyn began to walk towards the door, Vincenzo close behind. 

ETTORE woke up on the cold cave floor, the sound of claws clicking against the stone made him sit up quickly. He scanned the cave, straining to make out anything. He sniffed the air coming up with a familiar scent: he knew someone was in the cave with him. 

"Who's there?" He voiced aloud, cautiously, looking around. He heard the snapping of bones to his left, immediately he looked over, seeing nothing but shadows.

"Prince Ettore, it's me, Allister. The King and Queen sent me to come find you and bring you back to the castle." Ettore said nothing, he walked to the mouth of the cave the early morning sunlight kissing his skin. He looked down to see a light brown wolf walk past him, Allister looked up at him expectantly. Ettore couldn't help but hesitate, what if the wolf took over again? Allister let out an impatient bark, the tip of his tail swishing with annoyance.

 Ettore looked up at the sun and then down at his hands which he drew into fists. He clenched his eyes shut as he chanted to himself, "keep control, keep control..."

He then felt his bones begin to rearrange as he shifted into his wolf form. Allister eyed him oddly before he took off, slowing down a bit as he waited for Ettore to catch up. Ettore took a few tentative steps forward, feeling the cool earth under his large paws. He hadn't taken the time to notice the new sensations that came along with this form. He could feel the light breeze seep between his fur bringing a cooling sensation to his skin underneath. He picked up his pace, catching up with Allister after a few minutes. He could tell Allister was growing annoyed with him looking around, but he couldn't find it in himself to care. It felt like a totally different world from the eyes of the wolf, it felt free and liberating. It didn't feel like it had when the wolf took control: malicious and predatory. He thought maybe the occurrence last night had been a lapse in his judgment and control, maybe he had been too excited and gave in to his instincts. 

The moment they reached the castle Allister went off in another direction, most likely having more important duties than walking an absentminded young wolf back to his home. Ettore walked into the door, the few servants cleaning up the ballroom eyed him oddly like Allister had but he brushed it off padding out into the main corridor, making his way up the stairs to his chambers. 

Once inside his chambers, he shifted back into his human form, walking over to his mirror immediately. He studied himself, in awe of what a first shift was capable of doing. He was much taller than he had been the night before, and his physique was more filled out. His face was shaper, his baby-fat filled cheeks were replaced by high cheekbones. His eyes were more vibrant; lively. And his most favorite feature was that his hair had grown out, dark blonde waves hung just above his shoulders. He couldn't help but grin, it was the kind of hairstyle he had wanted his whole life after being forced into having short, cropped hair. He ran his fingers through it, it was tangled and ratty, undoubtedly from sleeping in the cave the night before. He let out a sigh, walking to his bathroom. 

While washing up in the shower, he heard his bedroom door creak open.

"Ettore?" A soft voice came, he recognized it immediately. 

"I'll be out in a minute mother!" He called out as he rinsed off the suds.

"I'll be in my study, come find me when you're done," she instructed before he heard his bedroom door close.

 He grabbed a towel from the cabinet and quickly scrunched his hair dry in it before he dabbed off the rest of his body. He wrapped the towel around his waist and exited the bathroom. He quickly walked into his closet and got dressed in a casual outfit. Once he was done he left his room and walked to his mother's study. 

"How was your first shift?" His mother asked upon his entry. 

"It was..." he paused for a moment, "different. It's something I'll have to get used to."

"You will with time," she smiled, placing a bookmark in her book. "Your father is interested in making you an advocate for the kingdom."

"What would I do?"

"You'd run to the nearest pack lands and recruit new members, the court's population has come to a plateau and we need more people to make everything work smoothly. I think it will help with your future duties as king, you'll create a bond with these new people and with that you'll get respect."