All Chapters of The Royal Blood of the Lycan Princess: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

“Mom, are you sure we need to go all the way to the Human City?” I asked, glancing over at her. The trees around us thinned as the road stretched into unfamiliar territory, the familiar scents of the forest replaced with the dusty, metallic tang of the city nearby. I shifted in my seat, uncomfortable with the change. “Yes, Amelia,” my mother replied, her voice steady, though I could see the tension in her shoulders as she drove. “There are certain herbs and supplies I can only get in the city. And besides, it’s about time you saw a bit of the world outside the pack.” I twisted my fingers together, staring out the window. I’d heard a lot about the Human City from others, usually stories of bustling markets, strange food, and noisy streets. It was a place full of mystery and energy, completely different from our quiet, tucked-away life in the pack. I should have been excited — and part of me was — but there was something about today that felt... off. “Do you think there will be a lo

The trip back to the pack felt like a dream, or maybe a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from. My legs ached from running, but I’d barely noticed until I stumbled into familiar territory. Everything around me seemed dull, muted, like the colors and sounds of the forest had drained away with my mother’s life. I couldn’t get her last scream out of my mind; it echoed in the silence, piercing through every thought. My heart was heavy, and guilt was an unbearable weight pressing down on my chest. I had left her. She told me to run, but every step away from her felt like betrayal, like I’d failed her. The memory clawed at me, a jagged, raw wound I knew would never fully heal. I reached the edge of the pack’s territory, and the first person I saw was Bea. Her face lit up when she spotted me, but the light in her eyes quickly faded when she took in the look on my face. She rushed over, her hands reaching for me, but I couldn’t move. I was frozen, staring at her, lost. “Amelia,” she said softly

It’s funny, really. The way people can look at you — at me — and see nothing but weakness, a flaw that can never be corrected. I used to think that turning sixteen meant I would finally feel like I belonged in this pack. That the years of training and waiting would culminate in something that made me feel like I was part of something, not just a forgotten shadow lingering on the edge of a family I no longer fit into. But here I was. Sixteen. And still no shift. My hands trembled as I sat on the edge of the forest clearing, watching the others. They were all there, gathered around, the pack in full swing. They were running, laughing, practicing their forms, showing off their strength. I had never joined them. I didn’t even know how. The shift — the first change, when you become your wolf — was supposed to happen when you reached sixteen, the sign that you were ready to take your place within the pack. It was the mark of adulthood. It was what made you a true member, a part of the p

The rejection left me hollow, as if Nicolai had taken a part of me when he walked away. I tried to go on with my life, to sink back into the pack and pretend that everything was the same. But I wasn’t the same. Something in me had changed, like a thread had snapped, one I couldn’t untangle or repair no matter how hard I tried. Days passed, blending into each other like the gray winter skies outside. I kept my head down, worked through my daily routines, and tried to ignore the ache that pulsed in my chest. But it was impossible to ignore Nicolai. He was everywhere. His scent lingered around the pack, and each time I saw him, his chosen mate was by his side, a cruel reminder that I wasn’t enough. One afternoon, I saw them together near the training grounds. She was laughing, her head thrown back, and he was looking at her in a way that once would have been meant for me. I froze, rooted in place, the air searing in my lungs. The pain hit me harder than I expected, piercing me like shar

I didn’t know how long I had been running, but it didn’t matter anymore. My feet were pounding the dirt beneath me, my body moving on autopilot as my mind spiraled into a place I couldn’t escape. The trees blurred around me, and the wind whipped past my face like it was trying to erase the tears that kept falling. But no matter how hard I tried to run from it, the pain followed. The pain of Nicolai’s rejection—again. It was suffocating, crushing. The words he had spoken burned into my heart, leaving a scar I wasn’t sure would ever heal. “I don’t want you,” he said, his voice cold, indifferent. The same words as before. The same cruel rejection. The weight of it all was too much to bear. Every breath felt labored, as if my lungs were full of lead. My wolf, the part of me that had once felt strong and powerful, refused to answer my calls. I could feel her inside me, but she was silent. She wasn’t answering. She wasn’t coming. Maybe she was rejecting me too. Tears blurred my vision as