It had been years since his brother’s little vacation, and while time may have not passed by Jordas, it certainly did for his people. Over more, it had for both the council and Flynn since the former was driving the latter crazy with the notion that since his brother “relinquished” his right to rule, the next in line was to step up. That unfortunately fell onto Flynn’s hands and such motivation caused him to ride on and force him back in.

He had gotten approval from those old bastards on the condition that the true king would be back and soon to the throne. They would trek up north, far north to his location in the midst of the desert, but one of those that had gone with Jordas originally had returned long ago and gave them the news of a mad queen that whooped them with her own bare hands. Admittedly, Flynn hadn’t heard too much about Sularia other than the land was ruled by beautiful women, but they seemed unruly as much so.

All of that was taken into consideration when they reached the city in weeks’ time. It was only him and ten of his men but he wasn’t going to take chances. Unlike his older brother, he wasn’t going to charge in stupidly. He kept them far enough as to not pose a threat as he moved towards the gates alone and addressed the guards humbly. “I believe my brother, King Jordas, is within your walls. I seek out that of Queen Toya or one of her representatives. I am Flynn Wintercrest, Prince of Tiga.”

Toya had been watching a game of cat and mouse between Jordas and Blaine for a bit too long. She got comfortable with the fact the lycan king was there with them. It had been a long time since his first arrival and they weren’t going to overlook the fact of why Jordas had decided to stay with them. Toya was hesitant to allow another Wintercrest into their brood, but whether she liked it or not that seemed to be what was happening.

A knock on her bedroom door woke Toya up from a dead sleep as she felt Blaine’s chest under her hand. “What is it?” Not many would wake her up like this. It had to have been something… Special.

“You’ll never believe what’s going on outside at the gate,” It was Aja, probably the only person brave enough to wake the queen up.

Toya got up and stretched before grabbing one of Blaine’s longer button-ups. “I’m going to deal with what’s going on.” She leaned over and kissed Blaine before ruffling her hair and leaving the door. “So spill it…”

Aja began the somewhat short but rather complicated matter in a short time. What a headache these Wintercrest boys were. She grabbed her pipe and tobacco as she took her time. “Let them in. Bring them to me.”

She made it to her entryway and had a flame on her fingertip when Flynn was brought in. She was too busy messing with her pipe to give him any mind. She got a few good puffs in before turning her attention to him finally. “So you’re here for ol’ Jordie are you?”

A few more good puffs and she seemed happy with her pipe. “Follow me. Keep your men downstairs.” She took Flynn to an office and she plopped down on her chair with relatively relaxed behavior. Her eyes were watching outside the window now. “You know it will not be so simple to send Jordas back. I’ll give you credit. You’ve gone about coming into my domain a lot better than he did all those years ago.” She got out a decanter of whiskey and started to pour two glasses. “Have a drink. The trek through the desert isn’t an easy one.”

Once she slid the glass she realized that an introduction was due. “I’m Toya Rose-Wintercrest. Queen of the White Court. The matriarch of the Wintercrest family here in Sularia. At least, I was before Garland showed back up and Krys got his ass married. And you, you’re a long way from home.”

It took a while, a bit too much for his liking, but Flynn had no authority in these parts. He had to play the diplomacy game else he’d ended up like the first entourage his brother brought with him. The desert heat was something he definitely wasn’t used to- the much colder highlands were sorely missed. But his patience paid off as a representative came for them. Unlike the other women at the gate, he smelled that she wasn’t one of them. She was wolven as well but for some reason he missed the distant scent of Wintercrest on her. It wasn’t quite his brother’s though, so it perplexed him.

Once they were given the okay, he turned around. “Only two of you guys will be needed. The rest, go about your own business and don’t cause trouble. We’ll meet up in a few hours.” The other eight rode off into the city while Flynn and his two guards followed the lady.

He took in everything he could with his eyes, thinking that his brother had several good reasons to abdicate his throne, and most of them were walking on two legs around them. The rumors were plenty true about Sularia; perhaps they hadn’t done them justice at all. Arriving at the manor, he spotted Toya and looked to one of the guards, the exact one that had been with Jordas originally. “That’s her?”, he asked.

“Yup”, he sighed, still remembering the nice bruises she decorated him with from the last time.

She didn’t quite look like a queen, at least by human standards. Honestly she’d probably fit right in with their own queens of old. He hopped off his horse and it was then that she seemed to pay them any mind. “Yeah, I’ve been sent to fetch my older brother’s ass”, he spoke bluntly. He signaled for the two men to stay put as he followed Toya inside. The scent of his kin was in tolls here- just how much of their family were still about? He had heard throughout his life that his father’s side was nearly gone and he had been but a cub when his uncle and his children perished.

Flynn remained standing at her desk as they conducted business, at least that’s what he supposed one would call it. “I was warned that aggravating you would be costly, not that’s my goal here. I simply need to recover Jordas for the sake of our people. And especially for myself.” Crossing his arms, Jordas could only imagine the headache his brother would provide as to why he was wasting time and hadn't come back home. More so, he groaned at the fact that he probably wouldn’t come back quietly, like Toya suggested. “Without him on the throne, the council would simply replace him with another. Wouldn’t be as bad except for…”

He reached for the offered glass and downed it. “That would be me, and I hardly have any intention of being a king. I prefer my station being more flexible and lively. I can’t even fathom how he’s been able to put up with the desert. I feel like I’ve been baking the whole way.” Though to be fair, part of it would likely have to do with his armor.

“Flynn Wintercrest, Prince and High Knight of Tiga. Younger brother of King Jordas of Tiga”, he returned, though he didn’t care for the fancy titles. Knighthood was a thing he had really sought and obtained; he could do far better on the outside than inside in a castle.

He eyed her wearily; those names were near foreign to him save for the tales Jordas and his father spoke of when he was a child. “The last I ever heard from him before he rode off here was that he had heard rumors of more of our kin. I was told at a young age that my uncle, this Garland, had been slain in battle. His boys were also said to have been killed in similar fashion, and his daughter and wife were gone along with their home. My side of the family was said to be the last of us, but my brother apparently found the end of his quest.” So why was he still here and hadn’t reported it back in Tiga?

Making demands would not do; not if this dainty lady was capable of beating down experienced warriors of theirs; no, he would have to mind his p's and q's. Diplomacy sucked at times.

“Any reason you can think of that my brother would remain here for this long?”

There was a slight chuckle at how blunt Flynn had been but that had been the extent of it. Flynn would fit in just fine. Once they were up in her office Toya leaned on one of her hands as she put her elbow on the desk. She was staring at Flynn now. “People have died pissing me off.”

She understood how pesky councils could be. Her own sisters acted as such on a regular basis. Still, though, Toya didn’t think Jordas would just leave. Not anymore he wouldn’t, Toya wasn’t that stupid and knew that love made a man a fool. “You get used to the desert,” that was all that left her mouth after he got through his explanation.

“By all means if you want Garland back fucking take him. He’s given us more headaches than it’s worth. Keeps trying to get me to push another pup out and being seven deep I don’t really think I want any more obligation on that front. Golden years dearest Flynn, as soon as my youngest is a man I can think about my golden years. Although…” She thought about it and puffed on her pipe. “Even the older ones are a pain in my ass sometimes… and don’t get me started on the discourse that Jordas brings here on the daily. All this yelling all day and windows cracking… Screams from falling. Screams from accusations. I’d love to just hand Jordas over to you.”

Well, there was one way to the point across about why his brother hadn’t returned. “Follow me.” She emptied her pipe once she was done with it and set it to the side. They went down the hall and a ways and Toya gave a mischievous look to Flynn before quite literally kicking a door in. “JORDAS!”

“MOTHER!” Her daughter Rose shot up in bed with her blanket to her chest.

Jordas was out of the bed and throwing his pants on to go out the windows as Toya crossed her arms. “Come downstairs for breakfast. Both of you. You got a visitor Jordas.”

The loud crash had the other Wintercrests stirring in the house. “BREAKFAST,” Toya yelled. “Get your asses up. Keira. Kite. Rose. Jordas. Meira. Remedy. Astrid. Keya. Daylor. Aurora. Sparrow. Jayden. Belle, I know you’re here too. Get your asses up. Blaine!” Toya raised her voice a bit more. “Breakfast!”

The house was much more alive now that everyone was awake. “Kite, go get Tempest, Belen, Krys, Liz, Riven, Jade, Primrose, Isabella, and Garland!”

“Yes, Grandma,” Kite came out of his room dressed and rubbing his blonde curls. There was no point in fussing.

Toya took Flynn back downstairs to where the house help had a huge table all lined with stuff to eat. “Might want to claim a spot near the head of the head of the table. Fights breaking out everywhere.” Toya plopped herself at the head of the table and kicked the chair out for Flynn. “You are an honored guest at the Wintercrest table. Hope you’re hungry and ready to fight for food, they are heathens in the morning for bacon. AJA,” Toya spoke up as Aja came into the room. “Breakfast.”

“Well, this will be quite the treat for the prince… Why not just throw him into a fire? This seems almost cruel,” Aja chuckled before taking a sit at the other end of the huge table.

“It’s not that bad,” Toya waved her hand.

“What’s up with the fucking roll call this morning,” Meira came down the stairs and was fighting with her shirt into her pants.

“Shut up and sit down. Can’t we have a nice family breakfast once in a while,” Toya shot back.

“It’s war, that’s what it is,” Meira groaned as she sat down.

Tempest and Belen showed up first from the outside. Tempest already had been hard at work in the shop with the way the soot was on her face. “We’re here! Kite was running to Uncle Krys’s house. Should be back momentarily.”

Rose meekly came down the stairs with Jordas in tow. “What’s this all about?” Toya directed them to sit across from Flynn.

“We have a visitor. We’ll get into the issue once everyone is nice and full.” Meira was attempting to get some food on her plate when Toya launched a boot at her. “HEY! Wait for everyone.”

“I HAVE A SHIFT WITH THE GUARD THIS MORNING,” Meira roared.

“I FUCKING MAKE THE SHIFT SCHEDULE AND I SAY KEEP YOUR ASS IN THAT SEAT,” Toya made the point loud and clear as Meira groaned.

Keira came down the stairs with Daylor in tow. “Fighting so early in the morning? It’s not good to upset your stomach.” They took a seat near Flynn not really minding that he was there.

“Ma started it.”

“Ma is gonna finish it too,” Toya shot back. “AURORA, SPARROW, BLAINE. KEYA. I’MMA LET MEIRA EAT WHAT SHE WANTS IF YOU DON’T HURRY UP.” If it was anything they fought over… It was food.

“I have no doubt about that, seeing the results of your handiwork.” Comparatively, their men got off easy and Flynn had no desire to test her on that. Her temper probably would demolish armies if she so much chose to. An exaggeration, most likely but still. The young Wintercrest looked at her puzzledly at the request for Garland. “Don’t know much about him aside from tales of his prowess on the battlefield…and then when I was older, tales of his habit of having affairs with other women.” The idea of her having baring lycan children, especially of his kin made the stoic demeanor of his drop and he nearly stumbled in place himself. “Grief, seven?” She had stated that she was a matriarch of theirs, but it didn’t really hit him until now. Not to mention that she was speaking of golden years as if she was an old woman. He bit his tongue just in time, about to ask her her age. He recovered enough to question her with his eyes; just was what so bloody important here that he’d not return?

That question came with an answer that made him roll his eyes all the way to the back of his head once she showed him to one of the rooms. “Showed” been a generous word as Toya kicked the damn door down and he saw the crown king of Tiga in bed with a woman that called Toya mother. You didn’t need to have a keen nose to know what his brother had been up to and now he looked like a coward as he looked at Toya first with his pants barely on. And then he looked to Flynn and looked as though death had came for him. “Hello, brother”, Flynn said dryly. He flippin’ knew it, he was having his fun all this time. “Oh fuck…Flynn…”

More would have been said, but they were summoned for breakfast and Flynn merely followed behind the queen without glancing back at Jordas.

What he expected to be a small gathering soon was turning into a circus; he looked bewildered at all the names she called out for and even more once a young lad came down. He smelled of Wintercrest as well. Flynn was finding himself trying to recall what names were mentioned but the list was making his head spin. “Just how many are there?’ This side of the family was supposed to be extinct, but it seems like they were just pouring out of the woodwork. If only his father was still alive to bear witness to this.

Taking his seat, Flynn thought that through some miracle that he would make it through this and be prepared. He was dead wrong.

He glanced up to the woman from before and should have heeded her words.

Jordas came down with Rose, still unhappy with this situation and finally explained it to her. “This is my brother, Flynn. I can only figure out one reason that he had come here after so long.”

“You are damn right. They ain’t throwing me on that throne”, Flynn said with a death glare. “Your ass is coming back home today. Annnd you can explain to the council that you found our missing kin and then some.” He nudged his head towards the others. “Come on now, let me explain…”

“I hardly need it, I saw the reason for myself”, he sighed, looking at Rose. “Apologizes for before. I wasn’t…expecting for your mother to tell me in that way and make a show out of it.”

Daylor was used to chaos here, but this morning something felt different. As he came down with Keira, he spotted the stranger and then looked to Toya. “Didn’t know we were having guests?” He got Keira a seat before taking to his own, unsure of what holy hell they’d be in for today. Keya and Sparrow were next, with the latter looking at his elder sister. “Damn Meira, you gotta be so loud? Guard duty ain’t that bad.”

followed by Aurora and Blaine. The latter was already informed of there being a guest in the house, but the man was a Wintercrest. “Who’s this?”

“Flynn”, Jordas sighed as he sat down, his head in his hands. “Wait a minute…baby Flynn? I haven’t seen him since he was a few months out of his mother…” The lad certainly grew up big and strong.

A loud yawn slipped out of her before she looked at Flynn and noticed her cousin’s demeanor. Blaine did as well and suddenly a strange, awful smile crept up on his face while she was snickering. “Oh, this is gonna be good!” Before long, the others that didn’t live in the manor came out. Garland was leading the way, surprisingly sober this morning. “Alright, daughter, I have arrived! What are we having to eat?”

“Will you stop being rude, father”, Krystopher trailed in behind with his brood. “Why not greet them….” He stopped as looked at the mess already at the table. “The hell is going on here? Don’t tell me that Jordas already proposed and Blaine said no”, he joked.

“Nah, that ain’t it. The boy’s still breathing”, Garland interjected as Jayden slipped by then with Belle, holding hands. “Morning, sorry we kind of slept in. So what did we miss?”

“Apparently this guy”, Aurora said pointing at Flynn while still snickering like a hyena. “He’s gonna take Jordas back to his home.”

“And why would that be”, Krys said and turned to him. “Who is this?”

“Give you a hint, wonderful brother. And you too, dearest father”, Blaine said with the most shit eating grin he could muster. “He was about this small and is the youngest kid of Colin…” Garland’s eyes rose, “Little Flynn? By the gods! You grew, boy!” Krys could hardly believe it himself and Sparrow turned to his mom, unfazed by any of this. “Hey ma, can we eat now!?”

“Look, I can’t go back, not yet Flynn!”, Jordas looked to Rose and took her hand. The smile on Blaine’s face immediately dropped while Flynn rolled his eyes. “Take it up with the council for all I care. I say you’re going.”

“No, I will not.”

“Yes you will!”

“No!”

“Yes!”

“No!”

“Yes!”

By now the two men were cross the table leaning at one another and arguing like schoolboys.

“Ma, I’m hungry”, Sparrow whined again before taking a biscuit and started to butter it.

Keya, Astrid, and Remedy all hustled down the stairs to get to their spots at the table. There would be no third calls before food would be dug into. The fighting at the table made Toya cross her arms. Liz helped her kids into seats before she sat next to Krys.

“ALRIGHT,” Toya raised her voice at both Flynn and Jordas. “Didn’t I say we were discussing this after breakfast?! Sparrow! I SAID TO WAIT!” Toya smashed her fist on the table and stood up. “Now, we are going to have a nice family breakfast. The bickering can wait until later. Understood?” She was glaring at Jordas and Flynn.

Once everything seemed to be taken care of Toya waved her hand. “Okay dig in.” At once everyone was grabbing whatever they could though the food didn’t really stop hitting the table. Everyone would have their fair share eventually.

There was various chatting going about the table and Toya caught one or two arguments stopping them dead in their tracks. Once she was sure everyone had gotten enough to eat she leaned on her hands and stared at Flynn and Jordas. “I’ve made my decision what to do about this. As it stands, Jordas is a member of this family. Much to how much Blaine doesn’t like that. As it involves Rose it involves all of us.”

She stood up and slammed her hands on the table. “Therefore, my decision stands as the following: Jordas will go home.”

“MOTHER,” Rose got upset but Toya sighed.

“And Rose will go with him as an ambassador of Sularia.”

The entire table got quiet as everyone looked from Toya to Rose to Blaine finally.

“Somehow I don’t think Da is gonna like that,” Meira was the first one to speak up.

“Well, your da will just have to think of it this way. Rose was going to go whether we liked it or not. We can control the situation a lot better if we just send her with Jordas. In this regard, I have decided to task Garland with going with them to make sure Rose stays safe. She is an oracle of Sularia and she must have the utmost safety outside these walls. It might do Garland some good getting out of Sularia.”

She took a moment to look at Flynn finally, “This is my decision take it or leave it. Either Jordas stays here or you follow my terms.”

The brothers' fighting was nothing different than when Blaine and Krys got into it, which was why not many of them were paying them any heed aside from a few. Toya was especially one of them, but Aurora found it entertaining and Garland felt like he was home and nearly burst out of his chair laughing when Toya put her foot down. “That’s my girl! Put those two pinheads in their place!”

“Well technically you never said…”, Jordas said looking at Toya while Flynn said nothing. The older one nearly got a boot upside his head for his troubles and sat down, mumbling. The younger one didn’t care when they’d discuss it but it wasn’t up to a debate for his brother, not as long as he had to deal with the consequences. Aside from that, the breakfast went uneventfully and everyone was fighting now to get what they could. Sparrow already had a head start before Aurora started to steal food from him but before they could get into it, one look from their mom had them being more friendly towards one another. Garland kept telling them of the good old times back when he and his brother were around Jayden’s age and the trouble he was getting into. Krystopher was fighting to get his own children in line with their food.

The brothers were largely silent, though staring daggers at one another even as they ate until Toya spoke up on the matter finally. At first Jordas was taken back by the decision, just as Rose was. Flynn was about to tell Jordas to get ready when she threw out the curveball. Blaine certainly wasn’t happy at all about this. “What are you up to?”, he said, shooting her a look. Was she really going to let Rose out of the city like that?

Garland sipped on his juice and thought about it for a moment. “Hell, it’s been a while since I show Tiga anyhow. And besides, I got to protect my pup so count me in.”

Flynn shrugged, “Not my problem. All I’m concerned about is whether his ass is on a saddle on a horse on the way back home. Your girl coming or not is the council’s problem when we get there.”

“Oh to hell with that council!”, Garland yelled, “I know plenty of those old bastards are still there, and they’ll just be a pain in the ass about the situation. Bet they still want him to marry some she-wolf from another tribe just to secure alliances.”

“Oh so just like you then?”, Krystopher said, “And that turned out so well.”

“Damn right boy, sometimes you have to be rebellious and fight the system. Lookie here, without that, most of you all wouldn’t be at this table then. I’d never had your papa who had enough sense to find himself a strong woman to protect him.”

“I don’t need protecting, old man”, Blaine sighed, rubbing at his temples as he grasped at this idea further. “Fine, but any harm comes down to Rose, I’m gonna kill you”, he looked at Garland, and then Jordas, And especially you.” His eyes then glared at Flynn, “And don’t think you’d be off the hook, either.”

“Good grief”, he replied. “Fine, I swear on my honor as a knight no harm will come to her. Would you like for me to extend that to whatever it is that those two “have” as well?” It wouldn’t be hard to guess what he was speaking of, considering that he caught a glimpse this morning. “Yes, as a matter of fact until that situation is resolved with your bosses, then that’s great. The last thing we need is for them to get into arms about the matter.”