The Alpha Princess
Chapter Two

Celina

“Are you telling me that a Lycan did this?” My mother screeches.

“It’s definitely Lycan,” Amelia says, looking closer at my injury. “And that’s definitely Wolfsbane.”

“Marcus,” my mother yells, making both the queen and I wince. She drags me out of the room, while I give Amelia a pleading look.

“Marcus,” My mother yells, going back into the conference room. I’m about to die out of embarrassment. “Do you want to explain to me why you allowed our daughter to go somewhere so dangerous?”

“Sandra,” My father growls in a warning.

“Look at her arm,” My mother growls back, pointing to my arm. “You promised me she wouldn’t get hurt.”

“What are you talking about? It was just supposed to evaluate the wreckage.” He looks at my arm and his eyes grow dark. “Celina, who did this to you?”

“A Lycan rogue,” I answer in a bored tone. “You can relax though. He’s dead.”

“You? You killed a Lycan?” The King demands, looking me over once again.

“Is it supposed to be hard?” I ask, batting my eyelashes at him.

“She is the daughter of the Alpha King, Exzecial,” Amelia responds, coming into the room. “You can feel her strength just as much as I can. What concerns me is the Wolfsbane.”

My father smells my wound and grimaces. “I’ve never heard of Wolfsbane being used in one of these attacks.”

“Never once did these attacks have a rogue left behind either,” Exzecial muses, looking at his wife. “Are you telling me you believe this was targeted?”

“If it was truly a rogue Lycan handling Wolfsbane, there had to be one goal in mind. Capture.”

“It would make sense to make a Lycan do it, considering their target,” Exzecial says, looking at me. “If they wanted the Alpha King’s unmated daughter, I can suspect their reasoning.”

Chills run up my spine while my father’s eyes darken. “Someone tried to forcibly mate my daughter?”

“It’s a theory,” Exzecial soothes. “You need to calm down before your temper gets the better of you.”

Taking his hint, I tuck my arm behind my back, taking it from his line of sight. “I’m going to rest.” I give him a pained smile, “I’m a little tired from the day’s events.”

Absentmindley, he nods while my mother goes to calm her mate down. I nod to the king and queen of the lycans, leaving them to discuss what they have just learned. It wasn’t like I wasn’t going to tell them of my attack. I had planned on telling them when my parents were alone. I hadn’t planned on the Lycan King and Queen taking my parent’s time when I had landed. The fact that they are here is a complete surprise to me. Why are they here?

After taking my leave once more, I pull my sleeve down. It’ll heal in a few hours. The pack doctor had treated it after I had killed the Lycan. Just like wolves, Lycans cannot function outside of a pack. They will begin to grow mad without a strong leader. If that’s the case, why was there one out there to wait for me? I pause in my steps, realizing that I am heading upstairs.

“He wasn’t mad,” I say almost silently. I slow down the events in my mind. I was looking through the wreckage of the Moon Dune Pack. It wasn’t big, just a few hundred. I could smell the scents of the broken and mutilated pack members. I also smelled a few Lycans, which was unusual, but it wasn’t the first time I had smelled them at one of these sites so I wasn’t too concerned. I was checking this particular building since it was the Alpha’s packhouse. It was burned down and only the bottom level walls were remaining, but it was turning to rubble.

There was such a strong scent of lycan around it, that I assumed it was a lycan that took out the alpha. I wasn’t too concerned about it, and I was just taking pictures of the damage. I had stepped behind a wall, just out of sight of the Guard Captain; who was organizing their search to spread out. His main role was to keep me safe. When I was raising my phone to take a picture of a wrecked armoire, a man lunged out from it.

He had already shifted, standing in a perfect mixture of beast and human. Silver fur had spread on his body and his elongated face. He was truly a wolf on two legs. I had dropped my phone when he scratched me, trying to grab me. Quickly, I shifted to my wolf and tore through his neck; killing him instantly. It was an easier fight than I had anticipated. Maybe it was just his surprise that caught him off guard.

“Why wasn’t he mad,” I ask, rolling over the rail and back to the ground. I start running towards the meeting hall, ignoring the sound of someone entering the home.

“Dad,” I say, opening the door to see only the Lycan King and Queen. Surprised, they look at me, while I try to catch myself. Quickly, I bare my neck, “I apologize for barging in, I was hoping to speak with my father.”

Exzecial speaks after I have straightened. “He went with your mother. They received a call from the Guard Captain regarding the incident you were involved in with a lycan. They were to bring him back here.”

“Thank you,” I tell him. “I will go replace him.”

“Wait, Celina, what happened? You’re acting as if a snake bit you.” Amelia asks, coming over to touch my injured arm. She strokes it soothingly while I stare into her hypnotic eyes. I never noticed, but her eyes warmed to a cool liquid, hypnotizing me.

She speaks softly; her voice wrapping my worries in a warm hug. “What is on your mind, dear girl? What has scared you?”

Aware of what she’s attempting to do, I pull away slightly, shaking my head. “You need only ask, your Highness.” I shake my head again, trying to dislodge the weird warm feeling she’s placed inside me. Why did she do that?

I take a step away from her. “The lycan that attacked me. He wasn’t crazed like most rogues are. He’s following a strong lycan since he was there to capture me. The Wolfsbane was meant to incapacitate me, not kill me. He was waiting for me, waiting for me to be out of sight. He wasn’t expecting my shift. That’s why it was such an easy kill.”

I touch my arm. “The Wolfsbane wasn’t enough to kill me. If that was their goal, they could have accomplished it.”

“Why didn’t it work?” Ezxecial asks.

I give him a hard look. “Despite my brother being a few moments older, I am the strongest wolf, aside from my father. It’ll take more than an average dose of Wolfsbane to slow me down.”

“And you’re turning down the position of Alpha Queen?” He asks, raising his brow.

“Pack life is not what I desire at this moment,” I say, giving him a challenging look. “To soothe my father, I have agreed to take Xander’s role if something were to happen to him.”

“I doubt his Beta is okay with that,” Exzecial comments, looking me over.

I shrug. “He’s welcome to challenge me, but that would mean he forfeits his life.”

Amelia looks at me with shock in her eyes. A female alpha is rare, and one that refuses to be an Alpha Queen is even rarer. Truthfully, I’ve always wanted to take over my father’s role. I’ve trained for it my entire life, up until my eighteenth birthday. Ever since that day, I’ve held little desire to stay in this world.

“Please, excuse me,” I tell them, stepping further back. I do not like that the Lycan Queen just tried to hypnotize me.

“Celina, I do wish you would stay,” King Exzecial says quickly.

I stop in my tracks. He’s not ordering me, but it would be considered extremely rude for the Alpha Princess to refuse the request of the Lycan King. It could also be considered enough grounds for war. I doubt that would be the repercussion if I were to deny his request, but I’m not one to chance any disapproval from my father. Just one word from him, and I’m stuck as Alpha Queen.

“What do have need of me, My Lord,” I ask, the words sounding hollow in my voice.

“I wish to know what happened to your mate,” he asks, sounding exactly like a psychiatrist would to an unwilling patient.

My fists clench, being forced to speak since both he and his mate are using their powerful aura on me. “Why would you like to know?” I ask gently, keeping my attention on the door. I cannot attack a Lycan King, I have to tell my wolf soothingly; calming her while I try to do the same for me.

“I like to know everything I can about the people I’m working with.”

Working with? Does this mean he’s interested in helping my father sort this mess out? The Lycan King is one step ahead of my father. My father’s duty primarily revolves around werewolves. Exzecial’s duties both involve werewolf issues that involve property disputes, and everything you can think of with Lycans. The Lycan King must feel that these attacks encroach on his duties.

Still, after realizing this, I wish I didn’t have to divulge this information. A mate’s death is personal, and it’s not ever forgotten. Still, it was a king that I could not say no too. After taking a breath to settle myself, I speak. “On our eighteenth birthday, Xander and I had shifted for the first time. We were running, learning more about border patrol, and learning our wolves.

“Xander and I were split up. I went with my father’s beta, Beta Logan. Xander had gone with Gamma Lucious. We had been shifted less than five minutes when we were pulled apart to begin our training. Logan was teaching me how to shift quickly in and out of wolf form. It was tiring work, but it was something I was prepared for.

“An hour into our training, we received a call about rogues. Beta Logan dutifully tried to get me to safety, only we were attacked by two wolves and one lycan. I handled the wolves while Beta Logan went after the lycan. After I had finished off the two male wolves, I turned around to lock eyes with the most precious set of silver eyes I had ever seen clamp through the neck of Beta Logan. My senses were overrun by his scent and sheer horror. He…smelled of rain and redwood.” Just the memory of it is enough to make my mouth water, and my heart break.

Dutifully, I continue. “I nearly falter in my shift as my wolf screamed for her mate. However, the blood dripping from his mouth belonging to my father’s beta,” I start unbuttoning my long business suit jacket, “it was enough to pull my senses over my wolf’s. I lunged for my mate’s throat, and we both locked onto each other’s necks; he was to mark me, and mine was for blood.

“He was lycan, and I couldn’t overpower him. I was a first-time shifter, and still untrained in this form. At that moment, I was losing, and the only thing powering me was anger. I managed to wriggle free but,” I say, dropping the jacket to reveal the long claw marks surrounding my shoulder, “I wasn’t fast enough. He pinned me down and clamped his canines into my neck,”

I brush my hair, revealing the faint marks on my neck, “and his teeth found their marks. While he was enjoying his teeth in my mark, my eyes were face to face with Logan’s vacant ones. It gave me the strength I needed to shift. I shifted to my human form and shifted my hand to a claw. While he was distracted, I ripped out his throat, then broke his neck when he had let go.”

It’s silent so I finish his thought for him. “Yes, King Exzecial, I was the one to kill my own mate.” I pull my shirt back on. “Now, if it pleases you, I wish to retire and finish recovering from being poisoned by Wolfsbane.”