The Princess and the Alpha: A Shifter Romance

by K. M. Carnoky

  “That’s not important right now,” Lucas replied mysteriously.

  “I hardly think that anything could be more important than that!” I snapped.

  “Sit. Please,” Lucas whispered, indicating the open bench space beside him. “I don’t want this to escalate into a yelling match. I just want to talk, okay?”

  “Fine,” I huffed, plopping down next to him. “Now tell me how you know.”

  “Everyone knows. It’s all over the newspapers and magazines. I don’t think there’s a werewolf in this galaxy that doesn’t know. I’m surprised you didn’t know that,” he admitted. He slowly moved and placed his hand on the small of my back, clearly seeing I was upset, “I’m sorry, I thought you already knew.”

  “Oh my god,” I whispered to myself.

  How could this have happened? Who could’ve told all those publishers? The secret that I had been trying so hard to hide had leapt out into the public without my knowledge.

  “How long has it been out there?” I asked.

  “Since the gala,”

  “Shit,” I mumbled. Tears of defeat stung my eyes, but I blinked them away. I would not cry in front of Lucas. I was just baffled that something like this could’ve taken place without my knowledge.

  “I’m so sorry, Princess.”

  Lucas’s hand began rubbing my back soothingly. And, as much as I hated to admit it, it felt nice and it was actually quite comforting. For so long I had felt like the world was against me. Even my own parents weren’t on my side anymore. So, now, having someone talk to me softly and actually care about my emotions, well, it was quite refreshing.

  “I think your parents went public to protect you, though,”

  “My parents?” I gasped, “My parents are the ones who released statements to the press? They’re the reason every werewolf knows about this?”

  “Oh god, I’m just making this all worse, aren’t I?”

  “How would that protect me?”

  “Well, I think a guard was the first one to release a statement. It didn’t catch much wind at first; people thought it was mostly gossip. No one really believed that the rogue alpha had attempted to storm the castle during the gala. However, once you were kidnapped your parents came forward and confirmed their suspicions. They asked for help in finding you, and some couple in a tiny town reported that they had seen you one day. Once you two were caught the press was filled with all kinds of pictures and stories. It’s been pretty ugly for a while now.”

  “This is absurd,” I whimpered.

  I didn’t know if the guards had lied to my parents in an attempt to make Ryan look worse or if they had remained silent and allowed my parents to come to their own conclusion, but now my hated mate was infinitely more hated.

  “I’m so sorry, I honestly thought you knew,” Lucas apologized again.

  “It’s not your fault,”

  “Well now I feel like an ass. I assumed that you weren’t with your mate because you didn’t actually want to be mated to him. Now I see that there’s a chance I was wrong,” he said, staring at the aggressive scar on my neck.

  Silence fell between us as I tried to wrap my mind around what he had just told me. And what his words meant for my future. This changed everything. And it was so deeply overwhelming I wasn’t sure I could handle it by myself.

  “Hey,” I said, startling him slightly. “Have you ever ridden a horse?”

  Chapter 39

  “Horse riding seems like a terribly royal thing to do,” Lucas laughed as he mounted one of my older show horses. “It just seems so tremendously regal and yet it’s smelly and it can be very dangerous, but somehow only the rich or crazy manage to do it,”

  I laughed a little, “When you put it that way, you make me feel like a fool for enjoying it.” I leaned forward and patted Poison’s strong neck. “But the horse you’re on certainly isn’t dangerous. He’s one of the first horses I owned, tremendously gentle and so very sweet. I’m fairly certain that he hasn’t even stepped on my toes,”

  “And the horse you’re on?”

  “He’s a bit more of a handful,” I admitted. “but we’re working on it and he’s turning out swell, just really fabulous,”

  “Why didn’t you buy a well-trained horse?”

  I clucked to Poison and we began to move at a slow walk down a gravel trail.

  “You clearly don’t understand how boring it can be to be a princess. Poison was a challenge. I loved that and I got to see our progress every day and it was progress that he and I made together. It was a really amazing thing,”

  “So you trained him from a pony?”

  I giggled softly under my breath, “No, I didn’t train him from a foal,”

  We let our horses walk through the forest quietly. Lucas mostly listened while I spoke, only offering a handful of words here and there and I talked about nothing in particular. It felt nice to be able to focus on something other than the situation with my mate for once and I was quite impressed with the way he gradually calmed down in the saddle.

  Lucas was good company. He was gentle and sweet. It took my mind off the harsh realities of my world for a second. For now, I was just a girl riding my horse with some guy who actually seemed interested in what I had to say. Everything felt very normal until Lucas quietly brought up my mate.

  “So what’s he like?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Your mate, what is he like?” Lucas asked again.

  “Why do you ask?” I said, suddenly feeling defensive.

  “I’m just curious. I can’t imagine anyone being as awful as the media portrays him to be. I just wanted your take on it, however, if you aren’t comfortable sharing, I completely understand as well. This all must be very hard for you and I don’t want to push any limits or boundaries,”

  I sighed, running my hand over Poison’s smooth neck as I thought about my options. I wanted to keep my relationship with Ryan secret, away from everyone’s scrutiny, but it looked like it was too late for that. It was only now that I was beginning to realize that being silent for so long was eating at me. I had so much to say, so many things to discuss, and no one to talk to. I hadn’t known Lucas that long, but I was certainly starting to trust him so maybe a few shared words wouldn’t be so terrible.

  “He’s great. Honestly, had I not smelt the rogue on his warriors I would’ve never known. He’s not what I expected at all and I really doubt that the media shows Ryan for who he really is,” I answered.

  Though I had left out all the details of our relationships and all the thoughts about what I was supposed to do about my mate, it still felt nice to talk about it and that feeling further deepened when I looked over at Lucas who didn’t appear to be at all disgruntled. In fact he was smiling at me as if I had told him something wonderful.

  “Mates are like that. They turn us all into kittens,” he agreed, “though I’ve never heard him called Ryan before, that’s certainly not what he called himself when we were introduced,”

  “You’ve met him?”

  Lucas cringed as if he had said too much and his horse’s ears flicked back, sensing his unease.

  “Maybe we shouldn’t talk about that, Princess. It wasn’t exactly good terms,” he explained.

  It seemed like I was the only person in the world who had met Ryan in a peaceful setting and the fact made me nervous and apprehensive. It was not a conversation I was ready to have with someone who was nearly a stranger.

  “You’re right, I was finally in a good mood for once, but I suppose that has past. Can I ask you something else then? Something more personal?”

  “Certainly,”

  “What did you mean when you said you hadn’t been able to stop thinking about me?” I ventured boldly.

  Lucas chuckled to himself, shaking his head slightly. That gentle smile and those kind green eyes were terribly refreshing for me.

  “I truly don’t know how I can make it any clearer for you; I literally hadn’t stopped thinking about you since I left the ga
la,” he explained, “I was anxious at first, hoping you would at least give me a second chance. I had a hunch I wasn’t your first pick. How could I have been with all those other alphas killing themselves to make you smile? But I was still desperately hoping I would be able to see you again. Then, when the king and queen announced that you had been kidnapped I was worried. More worried than I would deem normal, but once you were returned to the castle I arranged a flight and accommodations. I just needed to see you as soon as possible, and now, well, we’re here,”

  I stared at him, my mouth hanging open slightly. That had to have been one of the kindest things anyone had ever said to me. It completely melted my heart. He had been so genuine and now he was just staring down at the reins in his hands with bright red cheeks.

  “You were my first choice,” I announced.

  “What? How?”

  “Well, all the other alphas had quirks I didn’t like. Hell, some of them weren’t quirks, they were just flaws too big to overlook. Some men rejected their mates because they hadn’t been good enough or strong enough which I deemed shallow and irresponsible.

  My mother loved my father when he was nothing but an omega and he has made himself a great king. And some of the alphas were far too arrogant. It takes much more than big muscles to impress me. Another alpha was rude, and some only behaved the way I wanted them too, as if they could fool me into falling in love with an alternate version of them,” I ranted.

  “So it was by default,”

  “Oh god no, there were some men who weren’t assholes. I just preferred you over them.”

  Lucas laughed, still unable to meet my eyes, “It’s honestly so nice to hear you say that. You have no idea,”

  “I just have one question for you,” I whispered.

  “What is it?”

  “Why aren’t you with a mate instead?”

  “Adeline, we shouldn’t talk about that,”

  “You rejected her, didn’t you?”

  “No,”

  “Then what could be so terrible that you can’t tell me?” I demanded.

  “She was murdered by Ar… by Ryan.”

  Chapter 40

  I was numb as I walked into my palace. I felt like I wasn’t moving at all, like my legs were stepping on their own accord. I wish I could say that my mind was racing, but it wasn’t. It was at a dead stop. I hadn’t even been able to say a word since Lucas had told me that my mate, Ryan had been responsible to for the death of his mate and several men in his pack. That had been half an hour ago. Since then I rode back to the barn with him, untacked both of our horses, and walked back to the palace.

  “Princess Adeline, I’m really so sorry,”

  “I think I’m going to retire for the day. Please ask the king or queen to arrange a guest room for you,” I said automatically.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I need to be alone now,”

  With that, I walked to my bedroom, not caring about my guest. I didn’t care about anything actually, I couldn’t think enough for that so I walked through my gorgeous palace with muddy sneakers on and absentmindedly pulled loose hairs off my clothes until I got to my bedroom. There, in my clothes that smelt of horse, I flopped onto my bed and dug around for that journal.

  Once my fingers touched its rough cover I shuddered. I had been putting this off, finding other things to do, and now it was too late. Instead of finding out the truth for myself someone else had to tell me. I had to find out the truth about my mate through a heartbroken man who would never see his mate again.

  Maybe my parents were right. Maybe the whole werewolf community was right. Maybe I was actually mated to a monster.

  I opened the book to the table of contents then flipped to the section on my mate’s pack. My eyes instantly darted over my father’s messy writing.

  June 17

  Some ridiculous rogue had the audacity to claim that he was wrongfully called a rogue. He claimed that he is but a normal wolf and should be treated as such. When I denied his request to allow him to absorb into the royal pack he became furious and threatened to go start a pack of his own, saying that he could be an alpha himself. I thought his threats were laughable; no rogue could control other rogues. It simply goes against their nature. But, by some ungodly means, he has done it. He has created a very small pack of wolves who follow his orders.

  July 12

  The young rouge, Ares, demands land. I can hardly give him such a thing. No pack wants to have them reside near and the only available packlands I have are the two vacant spots surrounding our area. I could not have such atrocious beasts roaming freely so close to my guests and my family. I have refused his request, but Ares threatens war and I worry that he is serious and stronger than we are prepared to deal with.

  July 13

  Ares has won. Last night he trespassed onto royal grounds and his men torched our guest house, our garden sheds, and tried to start a forest fire near the palace. I fear if I deny him any longer he will start making the attacks more personal and much more dangerous. No one was hurt this time, but we cannot be certain that his violence will remain contained. It appears I have no choice but to give him what he wants. Perhaps if his pack lands are near the royals he will behave himself. At least I hope this will be the outcome.

  I remembered that night. I remembered smelling smoke and my parents waking me up in the middle of the night. I knew the flames hadn’t come too close to the house so I believed my mother when she told me that it was simply a forest fire that had gotten out of hand. And I hadn’t questioned her when she snuck me out a back passage and drove us away to a hotel for a few nights.

  July 20

  Ares stormed into the palace today, demanding funding for his pack. He claims that they are now a normal pack and should be treated as such. I told him he must have a functional pack for a full calendar year before he is to receive funding as that is the law. He simply told me that he will find funding elsewhere if I do not provide it sooner.

  July 21

  Ares asked for funding again. I denied him again and tried to explain to him that he must wait. He left the palace in a furious state.

  July 25

  Great Mountain Pack was attacked last night. Seven casualties were reported, including the luna. Over ten thousand dollars’ worth of goods and currency were stolen as well. Six homes were burnt to the ground. The pack is now in a state of emergency. Witnesses claim that it was the new rogue pack, led by Ares, but no DNA can be found to link him or his fellow pack mates to the crimes. It is concerning that he would travel so far to ravage another pack, but not unbelievable as every pack in Europe is aware of the threat he possesses and is therefore more difficult to attack. Should he be found guilty of this crime we must begin treating him as more of a threat.

  I swallowed hard, unable to believe what I was reading. I tried to comfort myself by thinking that my mate’s name was Ryan. Then I remembered what Lucas had said and I remembered the way he began to say Ares instead of Ryan. I shut my eyes tightly for a moment before my shaking hands turned back to the table of contents. I found the section on the Great Mountain Pack and flipped to it, hoping it would deny the claims I had just read. When I found the correct date I began reading again.

  July 25

  Great Mountain Pack was attacked last night. Around two in the morning witnesses report hearing noises, like men talking softly. They claim that at three in the morning the attack actually began. Six or seven foreign men assaulted as many members of this pack as they could. The pack warriors responded immediately but unfortunately, they were not able to stop these men from killing six warriors and their luna. Six houses were completely destroyed, ten others suffered extensive damages. Various members from the pack report stolen goods including jewellery, technology, and currency. The pack has declared a state of emergency and will receive extensive funding, extra protection, and the opportunity to relocate if desired.

  I jammed my eyes shut for a brief second before scanning over more of the
page, but the more words I read, the more my heart sunk.

  Alpha: Alpha Lucas

  Luna: Luna Celeste (deceased)

  Location: Banff, Alberta, Canada.

  This was it. This was proof that my sweet mate had had a part in killing someone. My mate had threatened my father and acted out in anger when he hadn’t gotten what he had wanted.

  My mate was not the man I thought he was, and with that realization, I began to cry.

  Chapter 41

  I alternated between reading that awful journal and crying for the rest of the day. I tried to read as much as I could, telling myself I had to know the whole truth regardless of the pain it caused, but then I would start to cry so intensely that I wouldn’t be able to see the words while struggling to breathe properly.

  I couldn’t believe it. I simply could not wrap my head around the idea that my mate, the sweet man who held me tightly when I slept, had done such awful things. When I first started reading I assumed that the murder of Lucas’s mate would be the worst of it, but I was terribly mistaken.

  August 31

  We had to hold Adeline’s birthday away from the palace this year. She is not pleased but I fear that the rogue pack is getting too close and having so many family members nearby would only make us a bigger target.

  September 7

  Ares has attempted an attack on another pack despite the fact that we have given him everything he demands. He now has land, sufficient funding to start a pack, and he has signed a treaty stating that he will not attack the royal palace, our guards, or our guests. I now understand why he refused to sign a treaty in regards to other packs. I should’ve known better. Luckily, Vienna had been visiting the pack at the time, checking its overall wellbeing and trying to gather information. She managed to attack Ares, but was unable to kill him. Thankfully, he and his men retreated. The pack and Vienna were shaken, but unharmed.