“But she’s a human, not a wolf. How can she possibly marry a Lycan?”
It was Caryn. She asked her question loudly, but with what could be mistaken for a polite and reverent tone.
She flashed me a cruel, toothy smile before stepping back into the crowd of girls that were now encircling me and Nolan on the stage.
Whispers coursed through the audience.
Then a single voice rang out from the far end of the hall, crying, “This fat human girl has tricked and seduced our prince!”
The crowd roared in outrage.
Another anonymous voice shouted, “The Gamma warriors should arrest her! Lock her up at once!”
A cry of support rang out amongst the nobles.
The armed guards posted at the entrance paced a few steps forward into the hall. They were members of the king’s guard, known as Gamma warriors, and they were heavily armed.
I swallowed hard. My palms were sweaty.
Nolan smirked at the crowd.
He withdrew his hand from mine, reached up, and ran it through my hair, letting a long golden curl slide through his fingers as it pulled back up in recoil.
His touch was not only familiar. It was electric.
I looked into his eyes. They were entrancing, but unreadable.
Like the glassy surface of deep waters.
I felt Lily. Not her voice in my head — I felt something stirring inside me.
It hurt.
It hurt really bad, actually. Everywhere.
My lungs felt like they might explode.
I gasped, but before I could cry out in pain, the transformation had already happened.
I was on all fours.
The smell of roses was suddenly overwhelming.
The light was different, somehow brighter and sharper.
And I looked down.
At my paws.
The crowd was howling with laughter.
Panicked, I paced backward, only to bump into the circle of girls from the selection party. I looked up at them — way up.
Their faces showed an array of emotions. Amazed. Amused.
And disgusted.
I paced forward.
Susan was there on the steps. She had a thousand-yard stare, like she’d just been through hell and back. She was well beyond shocked.
It really happened.
I was a wolf.
But my legs were thick and short, unlike those of any other wolf I’d ever seen. And my paws were round and soft.
My fur was also an inexplicable shade of light gold. Just a little lighter than my blonde human hair. I’d never heard of a golden wolf — not in today’s world.
I read about one once, though. In a history book.
About a rare and noble breed of ancient wolves.
I leaned into Nolan. He was all I had in this moment.
I had just transformed into an apex predator, and I never felt more insecure in my life.
Nolan caressed the top of my head, stroking my soft fur. I couldn’t help but feel a little comforted.
The corners of his mouth curled up in a wicked smile.
Susan lost her shit.
She pulled off her shoes and threw one of them at me.
Nolan stepped in front of me. His face was still unchanged, but his energy was decisive, and Susan felt it.
She staggered backwards, letting out a breathy, sarcastic laugh.
“You fucking whore,” she grumbled. “Secret werewolf bitch whore!”
She turned and sprinted for the exit. The crowd parted, and in an instant she was through the great oak doors and out of sight.
I tried to leap forward to chase after her, but Nolan held me back, grabbing hard at the scruff of my neck.
I struggled against him and somehow managed to shift back into human form.
My gown was crumpled, and ripped in a few places. Every muscle in my body ached.
I rose from the floor.
“Be glad you’re through with her,” Nolan said to me quietly. “She’s a traitor. Not a suitable friend for future royalty.”
His tone was severe and unapologetic.
He waved at his attendants, who in turn gave some discreet gesture to the Gamma warriors. And just like that, it was all over.
The guards were escorting everyone out of the hall.
Including Evan.
I glimpsed his blue jacket as he struggled against the moving crowd, trying to maneuver his way back to me.
I turned away and took hold of the prince’s outstretched hand.
#
Nolan pulled me into a little private room while the hall was being cleared.
He said he wanted to explain.
I was still trying to get my bearings in my body again. I sat down and ran my fingers through my tangled hair, and started stretching my neck and shoulders.
That definitely wasn’t how I pictured my first werewolf transformation.
And the chubby gold wolf… that wasn’t how I’d been picturing Lily.
Nolan went over to a wall mirror at the far end of the room and began straightening his tie.
He is meticulous from top to bottom, noble and beautiful. He is undoubtedly perfect.
And I was wearing casually wrinkled clothes, with tired dark circles on my face.
“Look,” he said, facing the mirror. “Something you should learn right away.”
His voice sounded a little different. It felt even more serious than before.
“Things are a certain way out there in the public,” he said. “But that’s just a show we put on.”
Nolan cleared his throat and wiped his mouth with his hand. He finished with his tie but stood at the mirror, staring at himself.
“This isn’t a fairy tale,” he continued. “I’m not about to fall in love with a commoner. Everything I said out there is true, though.”
Finally he turned to face me.
“I owe you my life,” he said, “and I took something from you. I must repay you.”
“And how exactly is it,” I asked, “that you’re going to repay me?”
He frowned at me.
“You saved my life,” he said again. “In turn, I can give you a better life.”
That stung a bit.
“A better life?” I asked.
“What I’m offering you,” he replied, “thousands of women would give anything to have.”
“Well, I happen to like my life,” I said, rising from my seat.
“You do?” he asked quietly. His tone was icy. “You like… being poor?”
He turned away again.
“If that’s all this is to you,” I said, “repaying a debt or doing damage control because you feel bad for screwing me… then I don’t want it.”
Nolan stopped breathing.
He turned around slowly.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means I’m not going to marry you.”
I blinked at him calmly, feeling steely with confidence.
It felt good to challenge him.
His confidence wavered just a little. I saw it. I had managed to surprise him.
I’m sure he wasn’t used to being rejected.
“There’s more,” he said quietly.
He brought his eyes to mine again. They were serious as ever.
“It’s not just that our night together was your first time. It was also mine.”
I wasn’t sure how to respond.
Not that I didn’t believe him. I just… hadn’t thought about it from his perspective yet, I guess.
“This is the right thing to do,” he continued. “We’ll be married.”
His tone was firm but cool.
My eyes flicked, instinctively, to the door. For a moment, I kind of felt like running away again.
But Nolan was giving me his undivided attention now.
And something about that felt good.
I couldn’t help it. I kept thinking about that night in the cave. The shockwaves of pleasure the stranger sent through me. The primal sounds he made. It was hard to reconcile that memory with the man I saw before me now. I remembered the feeling of his strong arms wrapped around me. His big hands on my hips. His hot breath on my neck. And his big dick. He seemed to have a good idea how to use it. “Wait…” I said, snapping myself back to reality. “Were you really a virgin before that night?” “Yes,” he replied flatly. “Seemed like… you knew what you were doing.” He raised his eyebrows. “Are you complimenting me?” His mouth twitched, resisting a smug smile. I hadn’t really meant to do that. “Alright,” he said, “If that’s the case, then what’s the problem? I would guess that this” — he gestured to the laurel crown, which he’d set aside, having missed the opportunity to put it on my head during the ceremony — “is the best offer you may ever receive.” I cleared my throat and said
His face was close to mine, and I felt his breath on my neck. It sent a shiver running down my spine. The reporters, kept at bay on the sidewalk, were snapping away with their cameras and talking loudly into microphones. I turned away and reached for the front door, but he kept pace with me and slipped his arm around my waist. It felt like it belonged there. His hands fit themselves around my curves so naturally. I guess because… he knew them. His arms were so strong. Every muscle along the whole length of them bulged. He smelled like pine and sandalwood, like he’d just stepped out of the forest. I remembered this smell from the morning after our night together in the cave. But no. I had to stop letting my thoughts drip down into that memory. Every time, it made me feel like I was melting. Every time I thought about the feeling of his hot, rough hands all over every inch of my body. The way he’d fucked me. Shameless and giving and desperate and wild. His incredible strength.
“You stop right there,” Tina said. She put my coffee down on the table in front of me, a little too hard. A blob of whipped cream slid off the top and started melting down the side. “Peter, you are not going to sell our daughter to settle a debt,” she said, staring daggers at him. “It’s okay,” I said, and I reached out to Tina. She pulled away. “It’s not okay,” Evan snapped. I already had the gold business card, and my cell phone, in my hand. “It’s actually my choice, alright?” I said. That got them to quiet down. I made the call. While it rang I took a few shallow breaths and tried to prepare what I was going to say. I didn’t plan to, but when the line picked up I just started talking before the prince could answer. The words just rushed out. “Hello Nolan — I mean, Your Highness — I changed my mind and I’m so sorry about what I said last night. If you’ll still have me, I’ll marry you, but I’ll need your help with something first and I just have to get it out, I need ten millio
YENA We hid out in the house all morning. Peter had been taking calls from his lawyer, his partners, and his creditors. He told them he was doing everything he could, but that he needed more time. Then they showed up at the house. Evan went around and locked all the doors. Tina pulled the curtains closed over every window. Men were knocking on the door nonstop — banging it hard — trying to wear us down, get us to open up. Peter told us not to be scared. They’ll go away, he said, if we ignore them. I was pretty sure he was wrong about that, though I really couldn’t guess what would happen if we just kept on hiding there in the dark. Peter turned his phone off. He hadn’t told anyone the whole story yet. Hopefully, no one besides us and the prince knew yet that I’d rejected his proposal. Not that anyone would believe it, anyway, if we told them. How could an ordinary girl — a commoner, and a fat girl at that — not take the prince up on such an undeserved offer? I stared at the phon
Evan’s face flushed, going beet red. “My relationship with Yena,” he said, is none of your business.” Nolan knew full well what kind of relationship Evan wanted with Yena. He could smell it. It almost made him laugh, to think that the boy actually felt he was fooling anyone. The way he followed his sister around, watching her every move… Nolan’s blood felt hot. It gave him a tight, unpleasant feeling in his chest, thinking about Yena and Evan. He took a step toward the door. Yena was still standing there on the porch in an embrace with her adoptive mother, oblivious to the conversation taking place inside. The prince turned back to Evan and looked him dead in the eye. “Why is it,” Nolan asked, “that you are so obsessed with her?” Evan was silent for a few seconds. The two stared each other down, neither one flinching. “Yena,” Evan finally said, “is the most beautiful girl in the world to me. If you can’t see that — if you can’t see how amazing she is, then let her stay here wi
YENAOn some sort of embarrassed impulse, I actually reached up to my mouth and wiped it with my hand.There was no drool.I felt my face get hot.It was unbelievable. He had such a skill for pushing my buttons. And could do it so fast.He took one step forward and leaned against the door frame. We were face to face at a sort of four-way intersection of dark, empty hallways.Nolan was tall and broad, and cast a shadow that enveloped me in darkness.“Stop fucking with me,” I said.“Well,” he replied, “you were the one eye-fucking me first.”The dim moonlight drifting in through the windows hit his eyes and lit them up. They were hard like stone, deep green in shadow, and staring down at me with the prince’s signature brand of smoldering condescension.A rush of desperate desire surged through me, starting at my throat and flooding downwards.I swallowed as quietly as I could and thought about turning around. I couldn’t give him the satisfaction of being rewarded for this kind of behavi
NOLANHe pressed his ear to the door but heard nothing further.He knocked. Nothing.Without thinking, he gave the door a little push, and it swung open.Yena was sprawled out in bed with a white bedsheet wrapped tightly around her dramatic curves. She was talking in her sleep.“Evan…” she whispered.Nolan tensed. She was dreaming about the boy. The brother.His pulse increased. His heart started hammering away in his chest again.“Where did you put…” Yena continued, her voice soft and sleepy. “The chocolates… Where are my chocolates?”Nolan stifled a laugh.“Greedy girl,” he whispered.A breeze drifted through the hall and swept a chill into the bedroom. Yena shivered in her sleep.A quilt was on the floor in a heap, having fallen off the bed.He waved his hand. It slid back up onto the bed, covering the girl as she slept.Her body relaxed and her breathing grew steady and quiet.Nolan let himself look at her soft round face for just a moment longer. Then he turned and left. He pulle
YENANolan was all business as we went to meet his mother.I couldn’t believe he was actually going to let it lie. He didn’t tease me about last night at all. But he was again cold and indifferent with me.Given a choice between the two, I’d take the indifference over the taunting any day.We walked a stone bridge over a big open open courtyard. It took us almost half an hour.Then the Gamma warriors unlocked a set of heavy stone doors that rolled open to reveal a glass elevator. We rode it to the top.My ears popped as we went up, adjusting to the altitude.The Lycan palace had been built into the side of a mountain. The king and queen resided in the very back, in a wing that was, in part, embedded into the actual stone and earthen slope of the mountainside.We stepped out of the elevator into a bright, opulent sitting room. Luna was sitting atop a sort of small throne, looking comfortable and effortlessly beautiful. A delicate golden crown was nestled into her thick black hair, whic