Chapter 5

"The little wolf princess?" 

Mother nods. What do they mean fucking missing? Elara, I say her name silently, Princess Elara Silvius. 

"Yes, she found her mate and went with him, only leaving her family a message," she sighs. Rage. I feel RAGE and my fist clenches. She found her mate and left just like that? What kind of an idiot is she? She is impulsive and has her head in the clouds. 

"They don't know which pack she went to. They sent men to find her to no avail," Mom continues.

 I feel an anger bubble inside me. That girl has always been so capricious since she was a kid. She thinks life is adventure and rainbows. She's fucking pathetic. She doesn't understand that she is a pure white wolf, one of a kind and that the crown's enemies are after her. 

There are all sorts of myths surrounding her wolf. Others believe they shall live forever or have more power if they drink the blood. All nonsense myths, but she is special. 

Protection has always been tight around her since she got her wolf at eighteen.

"I hope they find her. Poor Nalya is losing her mind," 

Mom was empathetic. I stand up and kiss her cheek. 

"Thank you for breakfast,"  

I leave my mother complaining. I get in the car and drive to the packhouse. 

I step out of the car, and everyone looks in my direction. No one knows exactly who I am, but they are wary because of my dominating aura. It is dark, reflecting how I feel inside and scares them.

 I go to the alpha suite and down to his den, where people talk.

 I push the door open, and my eyes fall on Alpha King Rhaegar. He looks tired and worried. Damn, that is why I'm never having kids. They are in peril.

 I glance around the room. The gamma, beta, and some trackers are here, too. I nod to them, and they do the same to me. These are the few people who know my identity. 

The blinking of light against the wall catches my attention. On a projector against the wall is a map of all the packs in the area. 

"I heard what happened. I can help track her down," I tell the alpha. 

"Our men are on it, but thanks, young man," Teo, the track leader, says. 

It was no secret the man didn't like me. I broke one or two of his daughter's hearts. 

"They are failing. It has been what ... two days?" I sneer, and he glares at me.

"You know what he is; his senses are more heightened than ours, and his tracking skills are out of this world. If anyone can find the Princess quickly, it's him," Beta Nathaniel advises. 

I was more substantial than all because I was a Proteus—a shifter with two counterparts in them. I was a dragon and wolf—the first one of my kind. I could change in both shapes at will. 

They all stare at the alpha king, and he nods. 

"Khai is being to over five packs already. He'll send you which ones," The alpha king says, and I nod. I had a soft spot for him. He allowed my mother and me sanctuary in the pack when we ran from our father. Not only that, but he also protected me by keeping my identity a secret and training me in combat.

 I owed him. 

"Take some men with you," Teo says. 

"I work alone," I answer and look at the king, "I'll bring her to you," 

I go to the princess' room to get something of hers. I inhale the sandalwood scent mixed with vanilla, and the raging beasts within calm down. 

Elara has that effect on me. She always had. 

I inspect the bedroom. It is still neat, and everything in there is pink and white.

 I grab one of her scarves and tie it around my arm. 

I get back in the car and leave the pack. I'm at the border when I receive a text from Prince Khai with a list of places he has already been.

 Memories of little Elara Silvius as a seven-year-old flash in my mind. 

I was sitting at a lake. I went there to stare at the view, especially when I was ... emotionally unstable, which was every day in my case. 

'You're sad again,' Elara's small voice comes. 

The kid followed me around even though I always ignored her. She always seems to give her guards a slip and wander in places she shouldn't, especially the caves around the forest area.  

I ignore her and stare at the lake, but the little Princess is like a mosquito, making a noise. She's the only person whose voice I couldn't drown out. 

'My Nana always sings me a song when I'm not feeling well or when I'm sad,' 

 I stared at her for the first time since she got here, flabbergasted.

 She wore a pink costume and a big bow in her golden hair. She smiled at me; she couldn't read the room at all. 

I almost chuckle but hold myself. 

'Get lost, little princess,'  

'You're rude to me again,' She pouted, stomping. Angry lines formed between her eyebrows, and she looked cute. 

'Zuriel, I'm just trying to help you feel better, but you don't like me,' she looked away angrily. 

The little Princess Elara was silent, and I heard huffing and puffing as she got up. She stormed away angrily. However, I worried that something terrible might happen to her, so I got up and followed her.

 I became frantic when I couldn't find her. The road back home was straight, so why couldn't I see her? I spent the next ten minutes searching the lakeside and forest for her until I opened my eyes and ears. I went to a still, calm place, trying to locate her and her steps where she went to appear. I sighed and followed her. 

She went to one of the caves in the forest. 

'He hates me,' she was talking to a salamander. I shook my head and held her arm. She jumped. 

'Zuriel, you scared me!' she yelled, clutching her chest with her little hand. My hand reached out to grab her arm and dragged her. 

'Let's go,'

She turned and waved with her free hand, 

'Thank you, Mr Lizard!'

Like the last time I brought her home, everyone was frantic in their search, and the Queen was shouting at all her guards again. 

Her mother noticed our approach and glared at her daughter, but I could tell she was relieved to see her. 

 Elara hid behind my legs, and her tiny arms were wrapped around me. 

'She's going to scold me, so take me with you,' she cried. Not having time for this, I pushed her towards her mother and turned back to walk away. 

'Thank you for bringing her back again, Zuriel!' the Luna Queen hollered.