Kat POVI should have known that Madame Zametovka’s son would be as deranged as she was, but instead of mentally preparing myself for what could be the worst gym session of my life, I was still stuck in dream-land with Damian. The man was like no one I had ever met before in my life, spending an hour drawing me to the edge of my release before pulling away entirely. When he did eventually let me fall into a blissful climax, I felt as if he had branded me with his touch.“Look who finally decided to join us,” drawled a man dressed in the black uniform depicting a commander in King Mattias’s army. “Perhaps we should club together and fund you an alarm clock so that you won’t be late in future.”Scores of well built, almost identical men stopped sparring and turned to look at me, jabbing one another as they smirked at their commander’s jibe. I ignored them, taking off my jacket and throwing it over a low hanging branch of a nearby tree. “Hi, I have been told to join you for your train
Kat POV“Amia…” Enzo breathed, his emotions unreadable as if he had slipped a cold mask in place. Without saying anything further, he strode to the small kitchen and filled a glass with water, grabbing a bottle of pills from the counter as he returned to me. I sat in silence, watching him.In just three short weeks, he had changed. He had always been muscular, but he seemed to have gained even more muscle now. The scars on his back and face also seemed more prominent, although I can’t really say why - maybe it was just because I was no longer used to seeing them. “Take these,” he commanded, tipping two round pills into my hand and handing me the water. “You’re an idiot if you thought you could keep up with Jackson’s men on your first day in the field.” “It’s not as if I had a choice,” I snapped at him before taking the tablets without even asking him what they were. Enzo leant over me, hitting the backrest of the sofa with his fist. “You always have a choice! You’re the fucking Pr
Kat POV“I received a complaint from Madame Zametovka that you are not dedicating yourself to your training,” Uncle Mattias told me as I sank into the leather armchair in his office, a stern look on his face.I blinked blankly at him for a few seconds, trying to process what the hell was happening. “Sorry? What?” I almost shouted, completely flabbergasted that the woman would even say something like that. “I have been working my arse off trying to please her!” He tapped his chin thoughtfully, but I could see the doubt in his eyes. He trusted her… “Coming back to Slovenia was a mistake,” I muttered, standing up and walking to the window to look over the gorgeous landscape. “You’re not happy here?” Uncle Mattias actually sounded surprised as he leaned back in his chair and ran his hand through his thinning hair. I took a moment, questioning if I should even say the words in my mind. But I had to - I owed it to him to be fully honest with him. “No, I’m not happy here. It’s nothing I
Kat POVHave you ever felt that feeling where nothing seems to be going your way and you just want to run until nothing and no one can find you? Well, that’s how I felt after leaving my uncle’s office. Deciding that I had enough of being trapped behind the castle walls, I threw caution to the wind and slipped out the back gate and into the forest. The scent of the trees immediately put my mind at ease and I felt as if I could actually breathe. I found myself walking to a rocky outcropping which lay just below the palace and looked out over the lake, a perfect lookout spot. Climbing onto the large boulder at the edge of the outcropping, I let out a long sigh and lay back against the cool stone, letting my mind go blank for just a few moments. “You shouldn’t be out here alone.” My eyes flew open as fright gripped at my heart, only to relax when I recognised the smiling face of Damian. “You scared me!” I laughed, clutching my chest. He winked at me and ran his finger across my lowe
Kat POVHe arrived at the palace a week later, and was welcomed with all pomp and ceremony as seemed fitting for my potential betrothed - Prince Dimitri, heir to the royal seat of the Werebears. “King Mattias is really throwing caution out the window, isn’t he?” Cassie muttered as we watched the procession from an empty bedroom. “Just a few years ago the werebears were our sworn enemies, and now look - he’s busy trading you to them like a prize cow.” I huffed and folded my arms, frustrated. “I just need to meet him and play nice, that is all. I have told my uncle that I will not be forced into a political marriage just because both he and my father were.” We could spy Anka (I refuse to call her “mom”) flirting outrageously with a man who seemed completely embarrassed by her attentions, skirting away from her as she tried to press herself against him Yep, there was no way I was going to risk heading into a disastrous marriage like the one my father unwittingly signed up for. “Besid
Kat POVI watched Madame Zametovka’s face light up with a smile the moment Prince Dimitri and his gang of muscle entered the dining hall. She stood, fanning her face as she watched him out of the corner of her eye - like some middle aged cougar. I half expected her to lick her lips or drool with the way she was staring at him. She could have him, for all I cared. As far as I was concerned, I wasn’t interested in being forced into a marriage with the man. Hell, I wasn’t interested in being forced into a relationship with any man. Dimitri and his men mingled in the room, taking glasses of wine from the passing attendees and downing the contents in a single gulp. Even I knew better than that! Maybe they were the savages Cassie thought they were. “Katerina,” I heard a low voice whisper in my ear and I jumped, whirling around to face Damian, his eyes almost begging me not to walk away from him. “I need to talk to you.” I shook my head, refusing to even acknowledge him as I strode towar
Enzo POVI should have torn the head off of that obnoxious bear. Every single cell in my body wanted to see his blood spilled, but I knew that I would be executed if I did - and what would it serve if I killed the man who was meant to marry Kat, only to join him in the afterlife shortly after. This political game made my head hurt, reminding me of why I had left Slovenia in the first place. Sure, I had wanted to serve my King as best as I could, but I kept finding myself stumbling in the politics which doused the Royal Court. When Luca had asked me to take over the business side of the family, I jumped at the opportunity. It had been an escape I hadn’t known I had needed. Returning was the last thing I had wanted to do - and yet if I had to choose between my freedom and being close to Kat, I would choose her every time. “Where the hell are your clothes?” I heard Cassie screech, covering her eyes as if my nakedness offended her. I shrugged, putting my hands on my hips in the taunti
Katerina POVI sighed loudly, closing my eyes as I collapsed on my bed, not even bothering to change out of the dress I had worn to dinner. After lingering in the garden for longer than was probably necessary, I felt eyes on me and looked up at the balcony to see Damian smoking in the darkness - at least I thought it was him, no other werewolf smoked as far as I knew. My back instantly straightened and I stormed back into the dining hall before he could think to corner me into an attempt to justify his actions. I wasn’t interested. So instead, I spent a tense evening watching Anka throw herself at the bears. By the time she left the room with three of the meanest looking brutes, I had had enough of playing the perfect princess. Luckily for me, the dinner party seemed to be dying down so I could easily slip back to the solace of my own room. I felt a wet nose nudge my hand and opened my eyes to see Aurora, her big pale blue eyes looking at me. “You would have hated it too, girl,”
Kat POV“My man has been severely injured by one of your rabid dogs,” Dimitri spat out as soon as we entered the room. Just like that, all eyes were glued to my uncle and myself, waiting like vultures for the showdown they presumed would lead to bloodshed between our species. Otis and another elderly man from the council called Yanis, sat with rather smug expressions on their faces, as if they were enjoying every moment of it.“Come, Prince Dimitri,” my uncle tried to reason. “Let us talk about this in private where we do not have such an interested audience.” Dimitri snorted and grabbed the bottle of vodka from the table, taking a swig straight from the bottle which was half empty. “And let you trick me more than you already have? You promised me a union with your niece, but instead she is willing to spread her legs for every man beside me.”A gasp ran through the room as the accusation reached the spectators’ ears, and I’m pretty darn sure that the whole kingdom would be told that
Kat POV“Who would dare to attack a guest in our home?” my uncle fumed, pacing back and forth to the point that I was sure that he would wear a groove in the floor of his office. Vasilios stood by the window, blocking most of the light and leaving a gigantic shadow on the floor. “I don’t know, Your Majesty. But it strikes me as strange that whoever attacked Prince Dimitri and his supporter did not kill either of them. In fact, it appears as if this was a deliberate ploy to stop the union between Princess Katerina and Prince Dimitri.” I chewed on my bottom lip, trying to keep myself from blurting out that there was no way in this universe that I would ever be forced into a relationship with that brute. I would honestly throw myself off the edge of the earth before I could ever find myself in bed with the monster. “Yes, I thought that was strange too,” my uncle mused, scratching his chin as he glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. I froze, wondering what my uncle was planning.
Kat POVI lay in my bed staring at the ceiling for most of the night, my mind restless as Damian’s words repeated themselves again and again. If I were to be honest with myself, they actually scared me. He seemed to be the kind of man who’s threats were always promises, and who would stop at nothing to see his goals accomplished - even if it meant destroying me. When I eventually fell asleep, it was a fitful sleep, and I woke up more exhausted than I had been the whole evening. Aurora lay on her bed, her head on her paws as she watched me. “Good morning,” I yawned, trying to summon all the strength I could to get out of bed and failing miserably. The wolf got up, padding over to me and nudging my hand before she grabbed the corner of the duvet and pulled it off me, the cool air instantly making goosebumps spread across my legs. “That’s not fair,” I pouted, forcing myself to get out of bed since it was no longer a safe haven. She looked at me smugly - if you can even say that a wol
Kat POV“Not who you were expecting?” Damian laughed harshly as he pushed his way into my room. I stood by the door, my mouth slightly agape in a mix of shock and horror. I toyed with the idea of leaving Damian in my room and running somewhere else, but the look of rage in the man’s eyes made me second guess that option. “What do you want, Damian?” I asked, gathering what little courage I had in the face of his raw masculinity. He smiled slightly as he walked to the window - the exact spot he had held me mere days ago, probably remembering the way his body had claimed mine. But I wasn’t his, and I never would be. “I saw you with Enzo Castello,” he grumbled through clenched teeth, the anger returning to his gaze. “What were you doing with him?”I shrugged casually, brushing off his fury with a flick of my hand. “What has my being with Enzo got to do with you? You do not own me,” I enunciated slowly.He moved so fast that I had barely any time to gasp before he had me pinned up again
Kat POV“How about to Freedom, and all that it represents,” I suggested and he smiled slightly as he clinked his glass against mine. I could tell that he had been disappointed that I hadn’t toasted to our relationship. Sure, I believed him about Amia, and I knew that he was the man that “Kat the thief” had fallen in love with… but there was so much that had changed and I would be an utter idiot if I believed that I was the same person I was back then. “To Freedom,” Enzo toasted, taking a sip of the champagne. A weird tension pulsed between us, and I was desperate to get the joking, happy Enzo back. I slid from the booth, tugging Enzo with me as I dragged him to the dance floor. “What are you doing?” he asked, suspicious of my actions. I laughed and winked at him, turning to face him as I wrapped my arms around his neck. “I want to dance, and just forget everything that has happened.” His face instantly brightened, and he put his hands on my hips, swaying with me as the music chan
Kat POVI clung to Enzo as he guided the bike down the dark, winding road toward the glinting lights in the distance, butterflies fluttering in my stomach as nervous energy built up in my body. I had no idea where we were going, and Enzo refused to tell me. His answer had simply been, “freedom.” So I had to accept that until we arrived, I was going to be kept in the dark. I was grateful for the warmth which radiated from his body, warming me as the cool air nipped at my exposed flesh. Winter was coming, and I was dreading the cold that it brought. I pulled myself closer to Enzo and felt his chest vibrate as he chuckled at my action, and probably loving it way more than he should. Time seemed to slow down as the town’s lights came closer, and it was only when Enzo pulled up outside what looked to be an abandoned building that I actually looked around me. The parking lot was desolated with not a person in sight, and only a few vehicles which looked as if they belonged in a scrap yard
Katerina POVI sighed loudly, closing my eyes as I collapsed on my bed, not even bothering to change out of the dress I had worn to dinner. After lingering in the garden for longer than was probably necessary, I felt eyes on me and looked up at the balcony to see Damian smoking in the darkness - at least I thought it was him, no other werewolf smoked as far as I knew. My back instantly straightened and I stormed back into the dining hall before he could think to corner me into an attempt to justify his actions. I wasn’t interested. So instead, I spent a tense evening watching Anka throw herself at the bears. By the time she left the room with three of the meanest looking brutes, I had had enough of playing the perfect princess. Luckily for me, the dinner party seemed to be dying down so I could easily slip back to the solace of my own room. I felt a wet nose nudge my hand and opened my eyes to see Aurora, her big pale blue eyes looking at me. “You would have hated it too, girl,”
Enzo POVI should have torn the head off of that obnoxious bear. Every single cell in my body wanted to see his blood spilled, but I knew that I would be executed if I did - and what would it serve if I killed the man who was meant to marry Kat, only to join him in the afterlife shortly after. This political game made my head hurt, reminding me of why I had left Slovenia in the first place. Sure, I had wanted to serve my King as best as I could, but I kept finding myself stumbling in the politics which doused the Royal Court. When Luca had asked me to take over the business side of the family, I jumped at the opportunity. It had been an escape I hadn’t known I had needed. Returning was the last thing I had wanted to do - and yet if I had to choose between my freedom and being close to Kat, I would choose her every time. “Where the hell are your clothes?” I heard Cassie screech, covering her eyes as if my nakedness offended her. I shrugged, putting my hands on my hips in the taunti
Kat POVI watched Madame Zametovka’s face light up with a smile the moment Prince Dimitri and his gang of muscle entered the dining hall. She stood, fanning her face as she watched him out of the corner of her eye - like some middle aged cougar. I half expected her to lick her lips or drool with the way she was staring at him. She could have him, for all I cared. As far as I was concerned, I wasn’t interested in being forced into a marriage with the man. Hell, I wasn’t interested in being forced into a relationship with any man. Dimitri and his men mingled in the room, taking glasses of wine from the passing attendees and downing the contents in a single gulp. Even I knew better than that! Maybe they were the savages Cassie thought they were. “Katerina,” I heard a low voice whisper in my ear and I jumped, whirling around to face Damian, his eyes almost begging me not to walk away from him. “I need to talk to you.” I shook my head, refusing to even acknowledge him as I strode towar