The Princess and the Alpha: A Shifter Romance

by K. M. Carnoky

  “Stand down!” my mother shouted, clearly seeing that I was ready to attack again and that Lucas was ready to defend his father if needed be.

  Preston and Lucas were unable to fight off the royal tone. Both of their heads bowed down in submission and both looked relieved that the situation had now been transferred to higher power.

  Unfortunately for everyone else, I was unaffected by the royal tone which was odd since my parents had always been able to overrule me. When I realized I could continue moving, I didn’t hesitate, and within seconds, I lunged at Lucas, grabbed his left leg into my mouth, and bit down hard before he even noticed what was going on. One bite was not enough to contain my rage and I continued biting down harder than I had ever bitten in my life, not stopping until I felt a crunch beneath my canines followed by a scream of agonizing pain.

  I had never done such an awful thing to anyone but I didn’t care. With that satisfying act, I felt a thrill run through my veins, the power of overcoming the royal tone and enacting excruciating pain was a high I never wanted to end.

  “Adeline!” My mother cried. “What on Earth are you doing?! I told you to stand down.”

  I ignored her, but eventually did release his leg. Lucas wasn’t the one I had wanted. Sure, he had hurt my feelings and made me feel like a fool for wasting even a second of my time on him, but his father was the one who I wanted. Preston had hurt my mate, tried to kill him, drugged me with silver, and thought it was fair to fight Ryan who was already close to death and for that he should pay for what he did.

  I didn’t waste time. Once I had given up on Lucas, who collapsed and was now clutching his leg, I moved on to Preston, stalking dangerously towards him with a snarl.

  I clutched the front of his uniform shirt with my teeth. He stared down at me as I did so, unable to react in the slightest. The terror on his face made it so much better and another thrill came through me.

  I pulled on the shirt, ripping it easily and making him topple forward. The instant his knees were on the dirt, my teeth were at his throat. I went for the kill, not waiting for my mother to call me off or for someone else to drag me away. I found a soft spot in the skin and clench down as hard as I could.

  I could almost feel bones breaking until Ryan called out to me.

  “Please, Addy, don’t do this!”

  My bite instantly loosened, but stayed in the flesh.

  “He didn’t kill me, I’m okay. Don’t kill him,” Ryan pushed. He sounded pained and weak.

  I let out a snarl. Preston had made him that way. My mate was strong and this pig had tried to ruin him.

  I felt Ryan’s fingers combed through the fur on my back, causing my attention to immediately fall off from Preston. I had been so focused on hurting the royal guard that I hadn’t even noticed my mate walking up behind me, slightly worried that I would twist around and attack him. That worry went away when he saw that I was essentially turning to mush under his fingers, whimpering softly in concern.

  “Ah, thank god you’re here,” I heard my mother say. She must’ve been speaking to the royal guards that had finally caught up with them. I didn’t bother to check, all my attention was on Ryan.

  “Yes, put them all under arrest.”

  Chapter 47

  We were all transported back to the palace in separate cars and handcuffs. We had to wait for a long time for all of the vehicles to arrive and it was tense to say the least. Everyone was in handcuffs, even me, the princess, and Lucas, the cripple. It still felt like a fight could break out at any moment so my parents kept a close eye on everyone.

  When the vehicles did finally arrive, I was the only one who didn’t clamber into a large SUV as my parents decided it would be best if I went with them. They wanted to get this story sorted out as quickly as possible. They didn’t say it out loud, but I knew that the ride back would be considered questioning, and after we got to the palace they would have a very similar ‘conversation’ with Ryan, Lucas, and Preston. I had no doubt that my story would add up with Ryan’s, but I worried that Lucas and Preston had thought of this and also coordinated a story.

  “Want to tell me what happened?” my dad asked softly.

  The car had just started moving and I could still see the other vehicles in the distance.

  “Adeline, come on, you have to say something,” my mom said. Her voice was harder than my father’s, but still as gentle as I had ever heard it. I think what they had just seen scared them endlessly. They didn’t know I was capable of any of those things and they didn’t understand where it all came from.

  “Alright, if you tell me what happened and your story lines up with Orion’s then I won’t leave him in a cell overnight,” my dad made a face of disgust at his own words, “I’ll even let him stay in your room with you, as long as they are guards stationed near by.” he bargained.

  I could tell the idea of my mate sleeping in my room bothered him deeply.

  “I don’t really know a lot, I was drugged for most of it,” I said flatly. “Ryan would be able to tell you more.”

  I wish I could’ve said something that would clear the air, so my father was certain that Ryan was not a threat so I could hold him again, but I wasn’t prepared to lie.

  “Do you know where Ares is?”

  “Dad, I don’t know anything, so stop, okay?”

  My mother piped up, seeing that our conversation was a comment away from turning into a fight. “Why did you move Poison out to the far pasture?”

  “I didn’t. I just thought the stable hands had done it to give him a change of scenery. He’s too smart for his own good, he gets bored easily,”

  “I see,” my mom whispered. “Did you see the person who drugged you?”

  “No,”

  “So it could’ve been Ryan,” my dad announced, sounding almost excited at the possibility.

  “How about we ask the stable hands who moved my horse into the farm pasture, because this whole thing was premeditated. This wasn’t a split-second plan; they’ve been at this since the ball. And thank you, by the way, for announcing to the world that I was mated to a rogue. I also really appreciate that you didn’t tell me and it had to come from that scumbag,” I snarled.

  My parents went silent at that and they didn’t ask me any more questions about Ryan. They treated it like it was any other royal questioning and, for once, I enjoyed the distancing and the formality. I answered all of their questions to the best of my abilities and told them the truth, I had never been a fantastic liar and I didn’t want to get tangled up in any webs anyway.

  We arrived at the house after nearly an hour of driving, I was quite surprised that someone had even found such a remote location to put me and managed to find me again afterwards. The moment the car stopped, I undid my seatbelt and slipped out of the car. One of my parents called after me but I didn’t bother to look back, I just continued walking to the palace, stopping only briefly for a guard to open the front door for me.

  I moved through the house quickly, not wanting to be seen by prying eyes. Once I was in my room, I stripped off all my clothes and went to the bathroom to assess the damage. Nothing startled me, though I had to admit that I was still in shock. Still, there were no massive, unexplained bruises or dripping wounds that would allow me to bleed to death in the next ten minutes. I had some bumps, some swollen spots, some dark rings, and a few cuts, but nothing horrifying. Nothing like what Preston and Lucas would have to deal with and that satisfied me.

  I took a shower to clean off all the dirt and dried blood, but also to keep myself busy. I knew if I didn’t do something, I would pace around the palace until someone alerted me that Ryan was done being interrogated. So I took my time, cleaning all the nooks and crannies that didn’t really need to be cleaned and tended to my hair as gently and as patiently as ever.

  I probably spent twenty minutes in the shower and another ten minutes drying off, applying lotion, and brushing my mangled hair. Once that was complete I ambled back into my bedroom and decid
ed to get my facts straight. I read every single entry in that journal that had anything to do with Ryan’s pack and tried not to feel hurt when I realized that he had to have lied to me at some point.

  I was about to start my second round of fact-checking when a gentle knock sounded from my door. When I didn’t respond Ryan slowly popped his head in.

  “Come in,” I ordered. “It seems like we have a lot to discuss.”

  Chapter 48

  Ryan slowly entered my room and his wild eyes flicked around, searching for a threat. I wanted to comfort him and tell him everything was fine, but I couldn’t. My eyes flickered to his wrists and I couldn’t help but think that maybe he actually deserved to be in those silver handcuffs that seared flesh. Maybe he was the monster that everyone claimed he was and that I was too arrogant and too stubborn to see it. Just because my mother didn’t think he was Ares didn’t mean that he wasn’t hiding something.

  “I should shower; I don’t want to get anything in your room filthy,” Ryan whispered.

  “Alright, go ahead; the shower is just in there.” I pointed to my bathroom, then stood up. “I’ll ask around and see if I can grab some extra clothes for you too.”

  Before Ryan could reply, I walked out of my bedroom, shutting the door behind me. When I heard the click of the door latch, my legs began to tremble and my lower lip quivered. I wanted to sink to the floor so I could hold my face in my hands and weep endlessly. I wanted to feel the frustration and anger, the hurt and betrayal, leave my body as the tears poured down my face and dripped onto the floor. And I wanted someone to find me in such a distressed state so I could have a warm body near me, an arm wrapped around my shoulders, and comforting words whispered to me.

  But that couldn’t happen now. I wasn’t some girl with a mate that lied to her. I wasn’t some werewolf with a family friend that betrayed her. I was a princess, a soon-to-be queen. I had to keep my emotions at bay and think of my people, think of all the lives my choice would affect if I decided to leave or stay with this man. This man that I barely knew anymore.

  “Princess Adeline?” A guard murmured. Her eyes met mine from across the hallway as she exited a room and I gave her a tense smile while blinking away tears. “Is everything alright?” she asked.

  “Oh yes Gwen, I’m doing okay,” I replied. I was surprised with how strong my voice came out. I still wasn’t as emotionless as my mother, but I was certainly growing closer, “Actually, can I ask you for a favour?”

  “Absolutely,”

  “Can you find Officer Lincoln for me? I think he’s roughly the same size as Ryan and I need some clothing for him.”

  “Right away, miss,” Gwen answered, bowing her head before she departed.

  I could’ve gone back to my room after she left, but I didn’t want to. I wasn’t quite ready yet. I had to steel myself against what was coming, find my ground again. So I walked through my palace. Everyone was watching me, clearly the news had traveled quickly, and I think some were afraid I would attempt to escape because they made their presence known whenever I got close to an exit.

  But I didn’t want to leave. This was my home and if I had any say, it would still be my home until I died. As I walked I saw the faces of my ancestors. Some were old oil paintings with proud men on the backs of elegant horses and women in pretty dresses, while others were fairly newer.

  There was a photo of my great grandmother in men’s pants as she held her newborn son, clearly disregarding all the rules that had been set out for her and damning the outrageous sexism that had plagued her time. My mother and father had a few photos as well; I saw my mother with her old pack and recognized her right-hand man, Greg. I saw my father when he was first crowned king and he looked nothing like a king should have, lanky and smiling wider than necessary.

  This is what I came from.

  Every photo was different but each and every one held someone that had been a king or queen. Some of them broke rules while others made new regulations every day. Some came from warrior backgrounds and some had been pampered princes all their lives. But they were all strong. They were all fearless.

  And every single last one of them had put the werewolf community before themselves.

  “Princess Adeline, I was told you wanted clothes for the rog– for the guest,” Officer Lincoln said, striding over to me.

  “Thank you,” I said, my voice kind, but holding no other emotion. I carefully took the clothes out of his hands as he bowed. “I’ll have them cleaned and returned to you as soon as possible,”

  With that I began walking towards my bedroom. The idea of what I might have to do was making my heart heavy, but I knew that I had few options. I wanted to be queen more than anything and if Ryan wasn’t fit to be a king then he wasn’t fit to be my mate either. He didn’t have to be what everyone wanted for the next king, but if he was so horrible then he would simply be unfit for such duty and I wouldn’t live the rest of my life with him either.

  I opened my bedroom door slightly and plopped the clothes inside, making sure my eyes were down in case Ryan had come out of the bathroom naked.

  After a couple minutes of standing outside, Ryan called me in. He was sitting on my bed looking awfully tense and my first instinct was to go and comfort him. Instead, I sat down at my vanity to keep a safe distance between us. I didn’t want my wolf to cause any actions I would soon regret.

  “You aren’t Ryan,” I said flatly.

  “I am Ryan. Well everyone calls me Ryan,”

  “But it’s not your name,”

  “Neither is Ares,” he shot back.

  I sighed and rubbed my face. “But you are the alpha of the rogue pack. And even if your name isn’t exactly Ares that doesn’t change what you did to all those innocent people.”

  “Didn’t you hear your mom? I’m not Ares at all. I’m not the man who attacked and killed all those people Addy, you have to believe me,” he whispered desperately.

  “Then who is Ares? Did my family and the whole werewolf community just make up this awful evil alpha just to make you look bad because we really hate rogues?”

  “He was my brother,” Ryan breathed.

  “Where is he?” I hissed back, “Hiding a fugitive is illegal, you know that don’t you? Or do rogues not follow the same laws as every other werewolf on this Earth?”

  “Addy please, stop,”

  “Where is he Ryan?!” I shouted, leaping to my feet.

  “He’s dead!” Ryan screamed back. He was towering over me in a split-second, those eyes violent with rage. Then, a second later it was gone, replaced with something I couldn’t quite read.

  “I killed him.”

  Chapter 49

  We were silent for what felt like forever, both of us just staring at each other. Our chests were rising and falling rapidly like the verbal confrontation had been the equivalent of running a mile. Neither one of us broke eye contact, but neither one of us knew what to say. We just stood there panting.

  “You were twins,” I said finally, “You must’ve been identical twins,”

  “We were, we looked so similar our own mother had a hard time telling us apart.” Ryan took a shaky breath. “It’s a miracle your mother remembered attacking Ares, otherwise I don’t doubt that I would’ve been dead hours ago,”

  “Can we start from the beginning?” I murmured, holding my head in confusion.

  Ryan nodded his head, suddenly looking very tired as he sat back down on the bed. This time I sat beside him.

  “I’m sorry,” I breathed.

  I wouldn’t have confronted him so aggressively if I had known what had really happened to his brother, but it was too late to change that now.

  “I’m sorry too. I didn’t want to keep it from you, but I didn’t know how to tell you or what would happen if I told you the truth. My pack’s reputation has been it’s only protection since my brother died. I should’ve told you everything from the beginning. That way we could’ve avoided this whole mess.” He took a deep breath. “
Alright, let’s start over.”

  “Ares was the one who ran the pack. The pack was tremendously different back then, though. He recruited these rogues that had been solo wolves for too long. Their brains weren’t functioning properly and that made them terribly violent. It scared the hell out of my mother, but she was getting really sick really fast and didn’t have the strength to fight with him. I was too scared to stand up to him as well. His name suited him tremendously well, like he was actually the god of war.

  “Anyway, he started finding these rogues slowly. First it was one, then two, then five, and eventually he had ten or so wolves following his rule. I think that’s when he approached your father for the first time. He wanted to be absorbed by the royal pack so he could get training, status, and access to weapons so he could make his mini pack stronger. But he didn’t want the king to figure it out, so he claimed he was a solo rogue. It didn’t really matter anyway; your dad rejected his proposal.

  “He struggled for a while. He couldn’t recruit anymore rogues so he was getting frustrated, but they also didn’t have a place to live and he wasn’t giving the rogues what he had promised them. He wasn’t giving them food, shelter, or the status he claimed he could by himself so he had to return to your dad and try to make more demands. He asked for land this time, because having these rogues settled would make it easier to get them shelter and he figured if they were happy they would do anything for him.

  “He was more correct than anyone had guessed. My mother and I were silently hoping that the rogues would turn on each other and attack themselves, or they would get sick of being told what to do and leave. They never did. And when Ares was sick of your father refusing his demands he banded his men together and tried to set the palace on fire,”