The Princess and the Alpha: A Shifter Romance

by K. M. Carnoky

  The run was long, but quite enjoyable. Yes, I did feel a little wild and rowdy, but I also revelled in the different sensations that I received in wolf form. It was a different experience entirely. In this form, I could see very little, my eye sight wasn’t exactly fantastic but I could detect movement easily despite my colour spectrum being severely reduced. Another is I could smell every animal that had been near my location in the past few days and I could hear for what seemed like miles in comparison to my human senses.

  But I wasn’t the only one with excellent senses.

  The instant I stepped foot into his territory, I was immediately surrounded by four rogues who were also in their wolf forms. I nearly shuddered at the smell which was significantly stronger now that I was in wolf form. Instead of doing so, I slowed to a stop and watched these growling wolves observe me intently.

  I tried to remind myself that I was a princess, and their alpha’s mate so they could not hurt me, but in the back of my mind there was a heavy reminder of the fact that I did not know how to fight in wolf form and my arrival had been unannounced. Plus, there was a chance some of these men didn’t know I was their alpha’s mate.

  The wolves all moved closer around me, arranging themselves so I had two behind me and one on either side, effectively keeping me locked in place. The only way I could move was forward and when a wolf behind me snapped his teeth at my hind legs, I did just that. I wasn’t particularly fond of being ordered around, but I told myself that now was not the time to fret about such things.

  We walked for a few kilometers, the four werewolves staying close around me and remaining tense while I slowly relaxed. I was getting closer to Ryan and that’s all I really cared about. My wolf felt oddly centered and easy to control which helped me remain calm as well. Maybe the instincts had finally given way to logic, or maybe the idea of being near Ryan soothed even the most brutal, controlling instincts.

  After about ten minutes, the houses and buildings came into view. I instantly began looking for Ryan, but all I saw were the people who looked terrified. At first, I felt sorry for them and wanted to comfort them, tell them that these rogues were nothing to be afraid of until I realized that it wasn’t the rogues they were afraid of. How could they be afraid of their own kind? It was me they were scared of and that broke my heart again, though I should’ve expected it this time. Nevertheless, I doubted that I would ever get used to being viewed as a monster.

  “Adeline?” Ryan’s voice rang out from one of the buildings, stopping my sadness instantly.

  I temporarily forgot about the wolves surrounding me and leapt towards the sound of his voice, ready to take off running, until I was reminded that I was prisoner with a quick nip at my back left leg. The other two wolves at my sides immediately stepped closer to me, squeezing me between them to keep me in place. I was still a prisoner here, not a guest.

  “It’s alright,” Ryan said firmly, striding towards us from someone’s home.

  The four wolves didn’t seem to hear him and stayed close to me, watching me warily.

  “It’s okay,” Ryan repeated, his voice becoming more soothing than stern, “She’s with me.”

  A couple of the wolves around me let out a defiant growl, but otherwise complied and walked away while Ryan moved ever closer. Just seeing him was enough to stop the sick feeling in my stomach and I happily bounded over to him, diminishing the rest of the distance.

  Ryan grinned and rested a gentle hand on the back of my head, “Let’s get you some clothes and maybe some food, yeah?”

  He could barely hide his excitement and that only made me feel more thrilled.

  I followed Ryan to his home, finally able to examine the quaint one level ranch home since it was day time. The exterior was all warm browns with large windows scattered across it. It was small, tinier than any of the guards’ homes on my land which saddened me because it reminded me of my father’s lack of funding. Most alphas lived in lavish homes with a couple of cars parked in the driveway, but not mine. My alpha lived in something other alphas would call a shack.

  Ryan disappeared inside his home, shutting the door behind him while I stood outside in my wolf form, a little stunned and fully aware of the eyes on me. I tried not to shuffle around or look nervous. I had to be a strong princess, even if everyone around me despised me for some unknown reason. I’m sure that I would come across people who hated me more than once in my lifetime.

  The front door finally opened again and Ryan tossed out a shirt and a pair of shorts.

  “There, they’ll be a little big on you, but it’s all I got,” he watched me closely while I sniffed the clothing, assessing it. I was about to shift back into human form when I noticed he was still there, watching me. I lifted my head and let out a little growl, making him raise his arms in defeat and go back into the house.

  Though I knew Ryan was no longer watching me shift and put his clothes on my naked body, I knew the rest of his pack was monitoring my every move closely.

  Chapter 14

  “So you couldn’t stay away,” Ryan said smugly when I entered the house, dressed in his clothes.

  “Evidently not,” I replied, warily walking towards him. “But I can’t stay long,”

  “Of course not, you’re a princess, much too busy for me,” he said, his tone slightly rude and defensive.

  I ignored his comment and looked around his living room and kitchen to distract myself. I had feared that staying away from Ryan for too long would make my body and mind get sicker and sicker, but now that I was here, in his home, I didn’t know what to do or say, so I took in his quaint home. It was far from my palace and I assumed that if it had been in the human world it would’ve been considered middle class.

  The appliances were mismatched, some white, others stainless steel. The couch in the adjacent living room was a stark contrast to the modern television with it’s absurd pattern from the nineties. It wasn’t uniform, but liveable and oddly charming. I sighed a little, happy to be relieved from the disgusting feelings that had overwhelmed me earlier.

  Then I felt Ryan roughly grabbed my arm and spun me around, I was so startled by his sudden aggression that I yanked my arm out of his grasp, my eyes immediately searching for the nearest exit. In the back of my mind I could hear my father saying that he was dangerous and that I should’ve known better than to go to his packlands alone.

  “Who did this?” Ryan asked through tightly clenched teeth.

  It took me a second to register what he was talking about. I was almost too panicked to realize that he was looking at my battered arms.

  “Oh, those are from my mom,” I breathed, my voice shaking slightly.

  “Your mom?”

  “It’s not like that,” I said a little more calmly, “She was teaching me how to defend myself.”

  “By beating the shit out of you?”

  “I have to learn somehow.”

  “Not like that! There’s ways of training someone without leaving them with marks like this,” he snapped.

  “Ryan, this isn’t what I came here to talk about.”

  “Then what do you need to talk about?”

  I let out a sigh and shook my head, “I don’t know. I really don’t. I just know that I needed to see you,”

  Ryan watched me for a second, seemingly unable to hear what I said. Eventually he nodded his head and took my hand.

  “How much time do you have?”

  “Just under two hours,” I said, peeking at the clock on the stove. “I told my mother I would be back in a few hours and I’ve already spent three hours trying to keep the guards from getting suspicious.”

  Ryan nodded again, “Well it’s good you’re taking precautions, last time you came to my land my men warned me that one of your guards was dangerously close to the territory boundary and stayed around far longer than I would’ve preferred. But since you have a little bit of time to spend with me, how about a movie?” he suggested.

  “I don’t want to watch a movie, I w
ant to talk,” I protested.

  He laughed softly, his smile taking my breath away for a second. “Well, you don’t know what you want to talk about and talking is the last thing I want to do,”

  “Then what is it that you want?”

  “Well, if you must know, I’d really like to kiss you,” Ryan took a dangerous step closer to me. My breath caught in my throat when I felt his arm slide around my waist and pull me closer.

  I bit my lip softly as his breath tickled my ear. “I want to kiss down your neck and bite down, marking you as my own, right now. Then, I want to rip these clothes off your body and explore every inch of your skin,” he whispered, “I can already picture the way you’d shake and tremble after I’m finished with you.”

  He suddenly took a step away from me which made me realize that I had actually grabbed on to his shirt and was clinging for dear life since it seemed that my legs had given out. I swallowed hard and peeled my hands off his shirt, willing my trembling legs to hold me upright as I regained my composure.

  “Considering that you probably won’t let me get that far, we will compromise. No talking and no sex. So we will watch a movie. I’ll still get to be with you and if you want to ask me a couple questions, I’ll answer.”

  I grudgingly complied, not feeling like I had much of a choice.

  We ended up on the couch in front of his small television. I made a point of sitting as far away from him as I possibly could on the leather sofa. I wrapped my arms around my legs and rested my chin on my knees as the previews came on and I turned to Ryan in shock at his movie choice.

  “Pixar? Really?” I said, my voice coming out flat.

  “I love Toy Story, so hush,” Ryan shot back, his blue eyes narrowing on me in a warning.

  I hate to admit it, but I had never seen the classic. Growing up, I was always surrounded by Disney princesses who fell in love with strong men. I loved the big poofy dresses and elegant tiaras because they reminded me of my mother and every girl wants to be as successful as the woman who raised her. However, once I had to wear those dresses and deal with the ignorant men who wanted to be royalty, my love for the Disney princesses died.

  It seemed that Ryan had introduced a new favorite. I ended up being so thoroughly engrossed in the movie and the plot that I hadn’t noticed my body slowly unfolding. My legs ended up across Ryan’s lap, but I had no idea until I felt his fingers slowly move over my bare calf. It felt wonderful and when I looked over at Ryan he was watching me intently, his expression serious. Unfortunately, the intensity of the moment shattered when that wariness, that uncertainty of the future had brought me back to reality.

  “I need to go,” I blurted suddenly, even though the movie hadn’t finished yet.

  “No you don’t. Stay,” Ryan whispered back.

  “I have to go back; I’m the princess, they’ll come looking for me,” I protested. I pulled away from him and stood up.

  “Then become my luna instead and you’ll never have to go back to them,” Ryan whispered, standing up with me.

  I gawked at him for a second, realizing he was serious when I saw no humour in his eyes. I shook my head, laughing hollowly.

  “I can’t give up on the werewolf community to be the luna for a rogue pack,” I said.

  Then I was moving towards the front door.

  Chapter 15

  The next few days blew by me in a wild flurry of rushed events and sessions. I spent a lot of my time ‘planning’ my gala, which mostly consisted of my mother asking me questions about what I wanted then completely ignoring what I had to say. It would’ve frustrated me beyond belief if I hadn’t been completely disgusted by the whole idea and thoroughly distracted. I knew that I was upset with Ryan–how could he suggest that I be a luna when I was to be a queen? But I certainly was not looking for another man to fill his shoes.

  I needed time to come up with a game plan. I needed to think about how I was going to break this to my parents, to the werewolf community, and how I would respond to the undeniable rage and uproar that would follow.

  Still, the busy days were a good distraction. Yes, I wanted to figure out what to do, but I also needed to be away from Ryan. I needed to be a princess and pay attention to my duties as well as remind myself on what was actually important.

  Plus, I wanted some time with my father. I knew that he had put up a good defense when I had brought up Ryan’s rogue pack, but I hoped with time he would come to explain things to me with an unbiased opinion. My father was sweet, and he probably loved me too much for my own good, but I feared that if I waited too long and he found out who my mate was, he would try to sugar coat the reality to save my feelings. I wanted facts, nothing more, nothing less.

  Sadly, between picking out the colours of flowers and lipsticks, I barely had any time with my father and when I did, he always steered very clear of the topic. I desperately wanted to ask him, make him spill all the details and names and stories but I was worried. As much as I had tried to behave normally I knew I wasn’t doing a smashing job of it. I had gone for runs when I hated them, and I was constantly distracted and moody, barely sleeping and eating when I had to. I worried that someone would start connecting the dots if I asked too many questions.

  So I stayed relatively silent, did as I was told, and tried not to be awfully rude to Preston when he tailed me a little too closely. While my façade kept me busy, it didn’t distract me from the fact that the gala was approaching faster than I had imagined.

  Unfortunately for me, the reality of what I was setting myself up for didn’t sink in until I saw a handsome stranger staring at a painting in the sitting room the night before the ball. And very suddenly I had a target for all of this pent-up rage and frustration.

  “Can I help you?” I said hotly, not really asking a question.

  I had forgotten that I was supposed to be a gracious host, but my frayed nerves ebbed away my hospitality.

  The tall, relatively thin man turned around and appraised me with sparkling green eyes and when they landed on my face he gave me a dashing smile that almost made me feel bad for being such a brute.

  “I’m sorry, I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced,” he said, bowing gracefully. His voice was soft and smooth and his movements were refined and polished, like he had been raised to be royal his entire life. For a brief second there, I instantly thought of how different he was from my roughened up mate but I threw that notion away as quickly as it came. “My name is Lucas, you must be the princess.”

  “Yes, I am the princess,” I grunted, narrowing my eyes. “What are you doing in my home? Did the guards let you in here? Do my parents know you’re here?”

  Lucas straightened up, unbothered by the lack of a curtsey as he continued to smile at me, “Yes, your parents know I am here. And yes, the guards let me in. I’m here for the ball,”

  “The ball is tomorrow.” I spat, still glowering.

  “I am aware,” he agreed, “but I come from Canada, you see, so it would be hard for me to get a flight all the way to Germany tomorrow while attending the gala on time, so I will be staying here for two nights then I’ll be gone the day after the gala,” he explained.

  The entire time he spoke to me he was calm and gentle, making my fury was even more unnecessary, but unstoppable nonetheless.

  “I see,” I snarled, “and now that you’ve been allowed in the palace, you think that you are allowed to poke around at our personal belongings.” I swung around him, almost using the large skirt of my lavender dress to shield our possessions from his prying eyes.

  “I didn’t mean to offend,” he said lightly, dipping his head in apology, “It’s the first time I’ve been in a palace of any kind and I suppose I got carried away with my observations. If you do not wish for me to continue my sightseeing, then I will certainly retire to my room,” he proposed.

  “Wait,” I blurted as my eyes traveled over his slight frame, “you must be an alpha then.”

  “Yes, your Highness, I am,”
Lucas responded.

  I blinked as my mouth dropped open on the verge of saying something stupid, but I snapped it shut quickly. The man before me certainly did not have the look or the demeanour of an arrogant alpha but I didn’t want to offend him by saying so. Trying to collect myself, I gave him a quick nod and moved away from him.

  “Am I dismissed, Princess?” he called as I strode away, nearly dashing to my bedroom.

  “Yes,” I called back. The only sounds after that were my heels clicking against the floor until I opened my bedroom door and slammed it shut behind me.

  There in my room and finally alone I jammed my eyes shut and began claw for the zipper on the back of my dress. This was real. This was happening. I would soon have a house filled with men who would be competing for the chance to have my attention, and I was supposed to select one of them or maybe more. I truly didn’t know what my parents expected from me. I also didn’t know if they wanted me to narrow it down to five men, or a single one who would become my husband before I could protest.

  All I knew was that I had no idea what was coming my way and that my true mate was not going to be attending the most important gala of my life.

  Chapter 16

  The next morning I was actually allowed to sleep in which I was terribly grateful for because all the planning had become exhausting. I was also deeply satisfied that while my mother and father were too busy greeting betas and alphas from all over the world, I was bundled up in blankets, happy and thoroughly comfortable. I savoured the rare silence by pulling out a book and reading while I slipped in and out of a light doze.

  Sadly, around noon my time in quiet isolation was abruptly over as my stylist burst through my bedroom door, her skinny arms loaded up with containers of products and brushes.

  “Go shower while I set up the vanity,” she ordered.

  I did as I was told, enjoying the peace and the warmth in the shower before I slipped on a silk robe and sat patiently as my hair was tugged in hundreds of directions and every knot was yanked on until it no longer existed.