CHAPTER 2

I knelt on the floor, forehead still on the black tiled floor that smelt of lavender. I could hear my heart thud, feel my shaking hands and even hear as I took in a sharp breath only to exhale.

I had heard the emotionless voice, the words reaching my ears yet they did not make sense. I knelt there like I had lost my mind, trying to figure out what had just been said. My body suddenly violently shook, betraying me in my time of need. I felt the tears as they welled up, not being able to hold them back.

It could not be right, maybe I heard it wrong, I thought, not believing my ears. It definitely could not be. King Vampir had been at war with the werewolf race for over  thousands of years, slaying one werewolf king after the other. Vampires hated the wolves with all their being. I had personally not set eyes on one in my whole life and would have liked it to stay that way.

"Sorry my king, forgive my incompetent self but I think I did not get what my highness said." I said, knowing that the king never repeated himself, with that alone possibly the cause of my death but I had to get it right. There was no way he could have said what I thought I heard.

The room was so quiet you would not believe that there were over a hundred wolves in there. Alphas, I mean large strong alphas, along with their betas and Lunas, knelt on the floor just as I was, brought down to nothing, kissing the floor with their foreheads where the two royals would walk.

"An alliance has been made with King Vampir after a thousand years and you are to wed him and open your legs for him to hold that alliance, is that better for you?" The king, my father said, my tears welling up, making it impossible to see anything, making it impossible to hear anything besides my drumming heart. My whole body violently shook, not being able to hide the emotions, not being able to stay strong. My mind blew up to a mess, my emotions all over the place; anger, fear and hurt making me clutch my chest, heart breaking. I shook my head not wanting to believe, maybe it was just a sick prank, but I knew better than that, I knew better than to fool myself. I wanted to scream, wanted to shout and kick his ass to a pulp yet somehow in all the chaos my mouth opened, my voice strong as ever.

"Fuck you, I do not belong to you to sell off, I am not an object and I will not just give myself to that bloodsucker so he could kill me in front of his stupid vampires. I hate you; I hate you so much and I hope you die in hell."

Okay, of course I did not say that, well only in my head.

"Long live the King and Queen." I said instead, my head bowing even lower, lips kissing the floor, all from their forced will.

I turned around, knowing that they were done with me. Knowing that I had finally served my purpose, outlived my stay in their castle, shipping me off like a toy you no longer want to play with. I held my tears back, not wanting the snakes of the court to see me cry. Not wanting them to see me at my weakest so they would pull out their pitch forks and crucify me. I hated this, hated this life. I felt more tears well up, my heart breaking over and over again. It was not that I was to forcefully marry and bond with someone but it was the who.

King Vampir was ruthless. He was the first vampire, the sire of the whole vampire race. He was not just a vampire but a hybrid, a cross between a witch and vampire, making him as old as the world, rendering him immortal.

My stomach turned and I thought I would vomit right there as I continued crawling my way to the door, getting there and standing up only to rush out to the crowd outside, patiently waiting and hoping for their name to be called.

All eyes snapped towards me only for all of them to bow and the ladies to bend their knees in submission, tradition carried from generation to generation. It was drilled in their heads and they were happy to oblige. I felt sick to my stomach, walking even faster which was something I could get whipped for.

Rule number 10: a woman never runs, jogs or speed walks but always maintaining a slow pace.

Who even made these rules?

I scoffed, not being able to help myself, getting gasps from those nearby but why did I care? I gave two shits on what they thought I should and should not do. I hated this, hated feeling that way. Hot steaming tears had me heaving, trying to hold everything back but failing as the tears slid down my cheeks. I would never find my mate, I would never know true happiness, I would always be at the will of these greedy men who only see women as wombs to carry children and virginals to pleasure them and that was all. To them, we were not to have feelings, we were not even to think because all our mouths could ever be good for was suck cock. I hated this, hated every part of it. The clothes were suddenly even tighter than normal, making more hot tears to stream down my face, feeling the stares, hearing the gasps, already imagining their scorned faces. It was an abomination to see such display of emotion, especially from a princess none the less.

I could hear my wolf whimper inside my head as she dug herself in a hole I knew she would never come out of. That was my fate, that was my purpose, my life and I had to accept it. I had to accept that I was not just a careless she-wolf living in a pack with a loving family and friends. I was not a she-wolf going to school every day only to meet a heartless mate but then boom! He is actually not that bad, a happily ever after. That was not my life, that would never be my life. My life was going to meetings and entertaining the court guests, having a few charities here and there then when the time comes, get shipped off to marry a stranger that may be an old bold man with no teeth, smelling of baby powder who would climb me, heaving, no matter how hard I begged for mercy.

Everything was blurry, my feet carrying me yet with no idea where to. I wanted to scream, cry and shout yet I could not. I could not run, where would I go? My smell, power and mark just put who I was in a billboard. They would drag me kicking and screaming to the king and what then? I would be stripped of my power, my status and thrown to the red forest to be torn into pieces by rogues while they watched for entertainment. But how was it different from what would happen in the Vampire Kingdom? There was no way I would survive, there was no one to help me. I would get through this, the thought left me heaving as the elevator doors opened, my feet leading me to the door I had never stood in front of in my whole wicked life.

"Princess, you don't have an appointment with Prince Vince." It was Maggie pointing out.

"I do not need an appointment to see my brother." I snapped at the older woman who barely even flinched at my tone, eyes turning to the floor in submission. I turned my head to the black door just ahead. I could not help the tear rolling down my cheek, knowing that she was right, never having felt so alone in my life.

"I will have to cut that hand if you touch that handle your highness, your name is not on the list of visitors he is expecting thus I will take you as an intruder." It was the prince’s guard giving me a warning before he would act on it. I shook my head, that was not life. The truth is, we were prisoners and nothing else. Our lives did not belong to us, only belonging to those holding the leash until they gave it away to someone else. As much as I had seen Vince only a couple of times, he was still my blood and right then all I needed was that. I needed my brother, needed my sister to hold me as I cried my heart out, giving me more and more tissue until we passed out but we were forbade even that after all the sacrifices we made just for being royal, just for wearing a crown. If that was what it meant to be a royal then I did not want it, they could take it. I did not want to live such a life, did not want to be a prisoner in a place I was supposed to call home, did not want to be a stranger to my own family, only seeing them when something important had to be discussed in a meeting with only a brush of bows in acknowledgement.  I did not want it; I did not want any of it.

My world was spinning and I was losing my shit, knowing that I had to accept my fate, knowing that I had to swallow my pain and walk on because maybe just maybe I was being dramatic. My two sisters had gone through that and they never acted out, so what was wrong with me? I tried to convince myself, trying to stir away the pain but nothing could ease away the pain and emptiness I felt. I turned, my legs shaking, the heel of my shoe echoing as I made my way back to the elevator. I watched it open as I slipped in with my detail,  the doors closing on us, truly accepting my fate.