The Alpha King's Princess
The Alpha King’s Princess – Chapter 22

I scrambled off Candido and turned away, trying to hide my flushed face. By the Moon Goddess, why did Allen have to talk right then? Why couldn’t it have been earlier or much later after I had gotten the k**s I wanted. I huffed, scowling at Allen across the field, though he didn’t seem to notice.

Candido rose slowly from the ground and placed a hand on my head. “Let’s take a bit of a break before getting back to it. You did well.”

I nodded and stood, following him to where Allen and a staff member had set up a small picnic area. I flopped down beside the basket as my stomach rumbled. I frowned and Candido handed me a sandwich that was stacked high with meat. It looked delicious, but there was no way that eating this sandwich was going to help me lose weight.

“Eat it,” Candido said. “Or you’ll pass out.”

I took it warily and took a bite. It tasted even better than I imagined and I hardly remembered eating the rest of it.

“That must have been the first time you’ve been so close to a man.”

I turned my head stiffly. He wasn’t looking at me, but his lips were curved into a smile. “I thought you took health class. You seemed so surprised.”

My cheeks burned. “I don’t tend to… end up on top of you, Candido.”

“You looked like you wanted to make a meal out of me,” he said with a wry smile. “Good thing I had Allen prepare some food or the Alpha King would have been devoured by a sophomore.”

Allen laughed as I scowled at Candido and swiped some of his pickles before sticking out my tongue at him.

“Devoured,” I scoffed raising my head haughtily. I wasn’t going to let him just tease me like this. “Says the one who was staring at me like a steak.”

“The juiciest.”

MY jaw dropped open as he chewed on his sandwich. “Would go well with a nice, sweet creamy desert.”

He turned his gaze on me, a bit of that moonlight flickered in his gaze as I realized that it wasn’t exactly Candido speaking to me, or rather not the Candido I was used to speaking to. Werewolves were constantly balancing their animal instincts with their human priorities. I’d never heard Candido talk like this. He was relaxed, sure, but his tone was more sensual, animalistic, hungry than usual

Maybe he was talking about steak and dessert. Maybe he was teasing, but I caught him dragging his gaze over my thighs and the curve my h**s before licking his lips.

He was teasing, but it was s****l teasing. Was that a good thing? It had to be. There was no way he would even tease at the idea of something s****l like this if he wasn’t seeing me less as a little girl and more like a woman.

Maybe… Candido did replace me attractive, but had been pulling those instincts back because of our age difference and situation.

Didn’t that mean I had more of a chance than I first imagined?

Another set of cars pulled up where we had parked, bearing the crest of the Red Moon Pack. Candido sucked on his teeth, letting out a disapproving sound as he turned to look. A low growl of irritation escaped him.

“Allen.”

“Of course, Your Majesty.”

Allen headed towards the cars that had just arrived. I caught the scent of Sibyl’s perfume, too sweet and irritating, on the wind and suddenly lost my appetite.

“Eat,” Candido said again. His voice losing its sensuality. His eyes were their normal green as he looked at me. “You need your strength.”

Allen came back with a grim expression and Candido rose to his feet.

“When she’s done eating, take Hedy home.”

I reached out, catching his ankle, “Wait.”

Candido turned and crouched beside me, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear.

“You did well on your first day. If you feel up to it and I have not returned, go for a run around the Estate. Otherwise, bathe and do your homework. Eat dinner on time.”

I pouted but nodded, understanding that whatever Sibyl had come to speak about was important.

The Red Moon cars pulled away as did one of the Full Moon cars before driving away. I finished my sandwich glaring after them. Then, I saw Sibyl’s face in the window of one of the cars, glaring at me as the car drove away.

Allen let out a low whistle. “It would seem that things are going to take a turn from here on.”

“What does that mean?” I asked.

His lips twitched. “Miss Sibyl is… a proud woman. She does not… or rather, she has not responded well to being second to anything… Not even the pack.’

“She’s the daughter of the Red Moon Pack’s alpha, right? She’s not really second to a lot of people.”

Except her brother who Hedy had never met. Her brother was set to inherit the Pack from their father as far as I knew.

“Yes, aside from that… she and Candido have known each other since they were children. She’s always been a bit… covetous of him.”

Allen shook his head. “His Majesty wouldn’t want me talking about anything that would upset you.”

“It’s not upsetting,” I said. “What’s really upsetting is that she’s around when she’s a terrible person.”

Allen’s eyes widened. “What do you mean by that?”

“She’s only nice to me in front of Candido. You saw it the other night that she’s mean to the staff. I don’t think she respects Candido so much as wants the position.”

Allen chuckled. “Well, I could not tell you that you are wrong. Their relationship, however, is made more complicated due to politics.”

I nodded. “It… would be hard to unify the werewolf world without including the Red Moon Pack.”

“Yes.”

But was Candido’s desire for unity the only reason? The Red Moon Pack was large, but nowhere near as large as the Full Moon Pack, and that was because, despite the rumors, Candido was a caring man. Sibyl’s father was too much like her, too much like Steven, to have any real leadership. I’d have to investigate the real state of the Red Moon Pack to know for sure.

“She reminds me of Bella.”

Allen said nothing, but I didn’t need him too. The same way I escaped Bella and her mother, I needed to get rid of Sibyl, but running away wasn’t an option.

I had to get her out of Candido’s life for good, for the sake of the pack and the werewolf world.

We headed back to the Estate after I’d finished eating. Candido hadn’t returned so I took a run around the estate trying to tap into that surge of power now that no one was around to see me, but it didn’t come. I couldn’t even use my normal amount of control to make myself stronger. Within an hour, I gave up and headed inside to clean up and take a bath.

Candido still wasn’t home. We ate dinner like normal, but his absence turned my stomach. I barely finished my plate before retreating to my room. I locked my door, closed the curtains around my bed and opened the Moon Shadow laptop to try and figure out where he was

The cameras around the capital city showed him leaving, heading in the direction of the Red Moon Pack’s capital.

I bit my l*p. Would he stay the night? Would he be staying with her?

Were they sleeping together or was he just negotiating something with her father?

I considered checking in on the investigation or searching more about the script, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I closed out and crawled into bed, hoping against hope that Candido would be returning home tonight.

I slipped into sleep. Darkness surrounded me, then it broke with the sound the wedding march. I was at the top of the aisle watching Sibyl and her father walk towards Candido. Her dress was a crisp white with a train that seemed to go on forever. Everyone was watching them, clapping and happy.

“Candido, no!”

I didn’t hear their vows, but I heard the temple bells announcing their marriage.

Then, Sibyl turned to me with a cruel, superior smirk. “Send her back to Wolf Fang.”

I felt Steven’s hand on my shoulder. I screamed, reaching out for Candido. He didn’t turn to look at me. His eyes were on Sibyl.

Then, they vanished, and the familiar ache of poison sliding through my body filled me. Ever ache that had healed, every bruise and scar, had returned tenfold. I was dying.

“Candido,” I whispered into the darkness of the room. My voice wasn’t even strong enough to echo. The room was so dark and so familiar, a cellar that Bella used to trap me in for days.

Tears slid down my cheeks. “Candido, you promised….”

Then I sat up, gasping for air. I covered my mouth to smother a sob.

But unlike usual, Candido didn’t knock on my door.