Tatiana.
“No!” I blurt out before I can stop myself and the whole crowd looks at me. This is the first time I’m having all these eyes on me and I can’t help but cower.
I feel nervous.
“My love… don’t interfere. This is men’s business.” Benjamin says as he looks up at me with a frown and the words I wanted to say get stuck in my throat.
Roy chuckles and crosses his arms. He raises a brow and looks at my father. “What do you say, Ernard?”
The crowd murmurs at the obvious disrespect of their king but this man looks unphased. I have a feeling he doesn’t care much about the rules and that is not the type of man I want for a mate.
I just hope my father puts an end to this but his next words make the knot in my stomach tighten.
“Sure. A duel to the death it is. I have faith in Alpha Benjamin.”
“A foolish choice. I can’t wait to see the look on your face when I take your precious daughter.” Roy mocks my father and I feel hatred brewing in my chest for him. What good is being handsome if he has a rotten attitude?
He looks at me as if he could read my mind. We glare at each other until the referee gives a go-ahead for the fight and my heart sinks.
‘Papa, why did you agree to it? What if he wins?’ I ask him through the mindlink anxiously.
‘Don’t worry. The royal warriors are already on their way. I won't let him take you.’
My heart is in my throat and I’m failing to breathe. I can feel sweat coating my palms and the nerves twisting in my stomach.
The bad feeling I had earlier now makes sense. This day was not meant to end well. For the first time in my life, I am filled with regret. I regret agreeing to this stupid duel. We didn’t need to listen to them. I have a choice to get mated to whomever I want.
An animalistic growl rips through the air and my heart drops when I see Benjamin on the floor. Roy stands next to his body with his heart in his hand while looking at my horrified expression. He squeezes his fist, crashing the heart that was still beating in his hand brutally.
It takes a moment for everything to sink in and when it does, a blood-curdling scream tears through my throat.
No!
I jump down to the arena as I run towards Benjamin and pull him into my lap, not minding the big bloody hole in his chest.
Hot tears stream down my face as I cup his cheek and try to wake him up but he lays immobile with a blank look in his eyes. He’s dead!
Oh my goddess! I feel like someone has just driven a dagger through my heart.
“Seize him!” I hear my father’s commanding voice followed by roars from warriors but I tune them out, cradling Benjamin close to my chest.
“Ernard!! Why do you always play dirty?” Roy’s voice echoes around me and I feel anger bubbling in my chest.
He has the nerve to ask such a question when he's just murdered the love of my life.
I look up at him fiercely. We are separated by the warriors surrounding him with weapons made from silver but our fierce eyes seem to be throwing daggers at each other.
The hatred in his eyes as he stares at me matches mine.
Getting up to my feet, I ignore the blood on my gown, feeling my heart squeeze painfully. I only had my father and the man that I loved but he’s been taken away from me by this beast.
“Leave this castle! The outcome of the duel is invalid. I can never marry a monster!” I say icily and I see his eyes flash a blazing red as his aura turns cold and suffocating.
“You’re not going back on your word. Whoever wins the duel gets the princess. You’re coming with me, feisty bunny.” He utters coldly with a low growl as he pins me with a deadly glare and I take a step back. The confidence I had displayed earlier leaves me as fast as it came.
He's so scary.
I can’t go with him. Something tells me, I’ll be as good as dead in his grasp.
‘Papa. Save me.’ I cry to my father through the mindlink as my heart races erratically.
“Kill the intruder and protect the princess!” My father lets out an Alpha command and I breathe a sigh of relief.
But my relief only lasts a few seconds because the warriors that were charging at Roy are now dead, splayed out around him in a bloody mess.
I feel my heart jump to my throat as real fear now engulfs me. He’s really a monster.
More warriors come into the arena and throw spears and knives at him. He lets out a menacing growl before I see him expanding. Right before my eyes, I watch in horror as he transforms. His muscles bulge out, becoming bigger as he grows taller and I see black fur sprout out of his body. His face elongates and contorts weirdly until a big wolf head replaces his human head and I gasp at what I’m looking at.
Roy now stands at 9 feet. If I thought he was huge earlier, his hideous beast is gigantic.
He now has a face and fur like a wolf but he’s not a wolf. He’s just a man with wolf features. An anomaly.
A true definition of monstrosity.
He throws his head back and growls threateningly while the arrows hit his thick skin but instead of piercing through, they bounce and fall to the ground.
I think we’ve just awakened a beast.
Screams of terror echo around the hall as everyone scampers off to goddess knows where. The warriors are brave enough to try and fight but he kills them all as he stalks me slowly with a terrifying look in his red eyes.
‘Mine! She’s mine and mine alone!’ I hear a deep voice in my head and I realize it’s coming from the monster that is approaching me.
Is this the end? Will I die today? Goddess! I'm still a virgin. I don't want to die and become a vengeful spirit.
My eyes trail to Benjamin’s corpse and I feel a pang of guilt ripple through me.
How could I be selfish to want to live when Benjamin died unfairly?
I stop trying to scoot away from the beast and await my death. He snarls menacingly, his loud footsteps resonating in the hall.
I'm about to close my eyes when a tall figure suddenly stands in front of me and my heart drops to my feet when I see my father pointing a sword at the Lycan that towered over him.
“Step back, Lycan! I won’t let you take my daughter.” He threatens, his powerful aura swirling around us.
I fear for my father because this beast doesn’t seem to see reason. He will only leave this place when he gets what he wants.
Me.
‘Then die!’
He growls through the link and I’m wondering how he’s communicating with all of us when he’s not part of our pack.
My eyes widen when his words register to me and I see him leap and grab my father’s throat before lifting him high up above his head.
He raises his clawed-furry hand back, ready to plunge it into my father’s chest to rip his heart out but before he could do so, I leap forward and grab his huge leg tightly.
“Stop, please. Take me with you.” I say as tears course down my cheeks. I can’t let him kill my father. He’s the only one I have left.
“Tatiana… no.” My father chokes out but I hold onto the beast’s furry leg like my life depends on it.
I can’t believe I’ve been reduced to this in just a few minutes. I’m a weak princess who can’t even protect her family or kingdom. All I can do is beg like a fool. If Gena were to see me right now, she would scold me for not being princess-like.
But I’m not strong enough. In front of the enemy, I feel defeated. I hate the fact that all I can do is surrender without trying to fight back.
Yes. I’m a coward.
Royalty doesn't bow to others. We are not afraid of anything. But in front of this man, I feel so small. He’s too powerful. I can feel it in his aura. How are Lycans the outcasts when they have the strength to crush us all under their large feet?
More tears soak my cheeks, my heart clenching painfully as I tighten my arms around Roy’s beast’s furry leg, not caring that he could rip me to shreds right now if he wants.
“I’ll come with you. I’m all yours.” I say in resignation, sealing my fate. Death would be better than tying my soul to a savage beast but I have no choice. I have a kingdom and a father to protect.
Tatiana.I feel the taut muscles in the beast’s leg that I’m holding start to relax and his furry body suddenly transforms back to its human form. Although I refrain from letting go, I do not attempt to look up either. Even though I try to ignore it, I can see the huge appendage in between his legs through my peripheral vision and it terrifies me. I’ve never seen a man’s nudity before. Without all that fur he was completely exposed right now. “Fine then. Ernard, your daughter is smarter than you. We could have avoided all the bloodshed.” Roy’s deep voice echoes from above me and he roughly drops my father to the floor. I feel relief spread through my body and I get up to run to my father but a large hand wraps around the nape of my neck and pulls me back into a hard, naked chest before I could reach him. A squeak escapes my lips as my heart bangs violently against my ribcage. “Did I allow you to go?” He snarls viciously in my ears and I feel an eerie shiver run down my spine. My
Tatiana. His words echo in my head and it takes a while for them to sink in. He wants me, the Princess of this kingdom to be his slave… Is he crazy? I want so much to spit on his devilishly handsome face and slap him hard but I’m scared of what he would do to my father so I keep quiet and only glare at him with hatred. He chuckles and runs a thumb on my lips. “I own you now, Princess. You saw how I killed that man with my bare hands.” He taunts me with a smirk and I feel anger surge within me as I’m reminded about how this man ripped Benjamin’s heart out like it was nothing. I realize I’m still in his arms and disgust settles within me. How could I let a monster lay his filthy hands on me? Just as I’m about to struggle, I hear my father’s voice. He's trying to negotiate with Roy. “Roy, marrying my daughter will make us families. I think this will be good for the both of us.” Is he serious? He would probably mark me while he gets other women on the side. That is not what I
Tatiana. I quickly step out of the weird-looking tub and grab a towel that was on a rack, wiping myself dry. My clothes are sticking to my skin and I’m practically naked but I don’t have time to start looking for clothes. I have to leave this place. I have to protect my virginity. There’s no way I’m giving it to that beast. Putting the towel back, I walk towards the window and stand on my tiptoes to look around. My heart drops when I see three men standing guard outside. Did Roy know I would try to run? What a sly man he is. How am I supposed to escape now? Should I just sit and let him devour me? I shake my head, biting my lip as I step away from the window, pacing. I’ll say I’m on my period. Yes, that’s a good excuse. Since I can’t escape, I return to the tub and get into it. It’s not like my tub back home but it’s comfortable. I don’t get completely naked, afraid that Roy would walk in on me and I don’t want him to see my body. It’s better not to tempt the beast in any wa
Roy. The only time I wanted to face that bastard Ernard is when I take back the throne and rip his heart out to avenge my parents. But the pack has been having problems lately. The water in the well is drying out and the small stream is drying out because the dam was blocked by mages. Since we are outcasts, we don't have unlimited access to supplies. If I don't sneak into town myself, then my people would starve because they would be shunned by the werewolves. In this kingdom, if one shifts for the first time and ends up being a Lycan, they are deemed as monsters. Freaks of nature. They are immediately banished and banned from entering the kingdom. It was the same with me too. When I turned into a Lycan, my father, who was the Alpha King, confided in his Beta, Ernard Thorison. Little did he know he would stab him in the back and grab his throne. No one would accept a Lycan Prince, so I fled before Ernard could kill me. That was after enduring years of torture in one of
Tatiana. My eyes hurt. I can hardly open them. It seems I had cried myself to sleep last night. The loud growl of my stomach indicates how I had slept on an empty stomach too. It seems no one thought to bring me anything to eat. Not that it surprises me, I’m just a slave here. The pain in my sides tells me I had slept on the cold, hard ground and I'm still clad in my inner garments that are now dry. Looking around, I find the place empty with Roy's bed still as neat as it was yesterday. So he didn't come back… I frown as I force myself to get up. Why would that bother me? As I adjust to the brightness seeping through from the sun outside, memories of what happened yesterday flow through my mind with so much force that I almost have a splitting headache. I reach up my hand to touch my face, and my heart sinks when I feel the ridges from the scars given to me by that strange woman. So it wasn't a dream. I had hoped it was. How do I go on with this face? How do I even
Roy. I didn't go back to my tent last night. Timber kept growling in my head and I didn't have full confidence that he wouldn't take over while I was asleep and claim Tatiana as his. It seems the big bad Lycan was tired of fucking around and finally wanted to settle down. But with the wrong person. The Princess… as tempting as she is… she's off limits. So I took over guard duty and stayed awake the whole night, trying to prevent my Lycan from taking over. Simone wanted me to stay in her room but I declined. I wasn't a fool. I knew she wanted us to be more than friends. But… my Lycan wouldn't mark just anyone. If I force it he might end up ripping her head off. I knew she had an unhinged beast due to her terrible past so I understood that she lost control but I knew she had also purposefully gone to see Tatiana. Otherwise, how would she explain the wolfsbane she had in her claws? Tatiana was now scarred and I know I brought her here to make her suffer but not that kind of suff
Tatiana. "Then rest in peace in advance." His words keep swirling in my mind and I can't help the anger bubbling up within my chest. I should have said more. When he insulted me and called me a slut, I should have stood up to him and told him off. He may be a King out here but I'm the future Queen of the whole kingdom. He has no right to treat me with so much contempt. It's not like I had planned to seduce him. If not for my wolf, I wouldn't have made a fool out of myself like that. The question I have is why is she behaving like this? Before now, she hadn't made herself known to me apart from yesterday and I don't even know her name. I feel like she's not even the one. It feels like there is something else inside me. Something that doesn't care about the rules and I'm afraid of what it may make me do. A thought flashes through my mind and I frown. I hope I'm not possessed by something because I'm sure the next time I behave like that in front of Roy, he will take what
Tatiana. "Simone, we have people who clean, and they get paid for it. Don't create trouble," Elyn says sternly, standing in front of me and I step back like a coward. If it was before when I didn't have scars on my face, I would have stood up for myself but right now, all I can do is lower my head in front of all these people watching us. "Well, I want this slave to do it for me. She didn't come here for luxury." "She's the Alpha's slave. No one else can order her around–" "I'm the Alpha's future Luna so I can order her around. Isn't that so?" Simone directs the question to the small crowd that had come to watch. "Yes, you can. She's a slave anyway. Let her do her job!" "Make her pay!" "Make her pay!" My heart sinks to my feet as people chant for Simone to do what she wants with me. "Stop this!" Elyn says but I tug on her shirt and she looks back at me. I don't want her to get on Simone's bad side. "It’s ok. I can do this," I whisper but she looks at me worriedly