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 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 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“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 pressed my ear to the door of the suite on the third floor of the Palazzo Hotel, hearing the steady breathing of the occupant inside. He must be fast asleep - just how I wanted him.“This should be easy,” I whispered to myself as I pulled the lock picks from where I had hidden them in my hair.The hotel had been deserted as I had made my way through the foyer and hallways, as it should be at 3am. Only a sleepy looking desk clerk had possibly seen me, but I think the man was too busy scrolling through reels on his phone to even realise that I had snuck in.Not exactly the kind of service you would expect to find at a five star hotel, but I was glad for it. Within a few seconds, I had the door unlocked. With a slightly proud smile, I slipped off my shoes and pushed the door quietly open before I snuck inside. The room was lavishly decorated and my bare feet sunk into the thick carpet. Exquisite paintings hung on almost every wall and I had to stop myself from pulling one off
Enzo POVFour months. It had taken four months to track down the necklace and now it was gone. Well, half of it. I stared down at the box which held the broken strand of diamonds, and let the growl rip from my throat. “Fuck!” “It’s not a complete loss,” I heard Elijah say as he propped his feet up on the decorative coffee table.“Fuck you and your ‘glass half full’ philosophy,” I grunted, stalking to the brandy decanter and pouring myself a generous amount. Eli laughed and stood up casually, straightening his pants back over his prosthetic leg before he swooped in and stole my brandy. I grunted, but didn’t fight him for it, pouring myself another glass instead. Eli - my sister-in-law’s twin brother - was probably the only person in the world who had truly understood me when I had returned from my failed mission to rescue the werewolf princess. My wounds had been deep, cutting through my flesh as well as my heart. He knew what it was like, having experienced being a captive of a g
Kat POVI was drowning. The water flooded my lungs as I tried to scream, my clothing dragging me down into the dark depths as shadows hovered above the water. Bright lights flashed across my vision like fireworks as my lungs burned, and then it all went black.“Wake up, Kat, it’s just a nightmare.” I felt a hand press against my mouth and my arms flew out to ward off my attacker. “Stop screaming before you wake up the others!”Giulia’s face was barely visible in the dark room, her warm brown eyes filled with sisterly concern.I nodded my head and she removed her hand, brushing my hair from my face just like a real big sister would do. “Was it the same nightmare again?” she whispered, careful not to wake up the four children who slept on mattresses on the floor.“Yeah,” I whispered back, shivering as the cool night air cut through my pyjamas which were drenched with my own sweat. Giulia tugged the thin blanket up under my chin, looking after me just as she had done ever since that fi
Kat POVI collapsed into bed beside Giulia, utterly exhausted from the day of picking pockets in one of my favourite tourist spots. “What a day,” I groaned, knowing that I needed to go and bathe but I just didn’t have the energy to do so.Giulia nodded sadly, waves of depression seeming to waft from her general direction. “What’s wrong?” I asked, sitting up abruptly to look my friend directly in her eyes. She sniffed and seemed downright pathetic as she said softly, “I can’t see Fabio for the next few weeks. His boss has just come into town and he’s in one hell of a mood.”Enzo Castello, Boss of the Castello family, and the Dark Prince. Even his name sounded as vicious as his reputation. “He took over from his older brother as the Boss a few years ago,” Giulia whispered to me as we lay in our shared bed, “but no one really knows the reason why his brother gave up the position. Fabio did say that it happened shortly after Enzo went missing for a period of time and came back horribly
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
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