One Month Later
I stood in front of my floor length mirror, my eyes narrowing suspiciously at the dress that flowed down my body. A nearly endless sea of deep green silk rolled down my body, my hair rippled down my back in dark waves.
Dad wanted to call the stylists for today’s events, but I refused. My stomach was a cocoon of nerves and knots. The last thing I wanted was a team of people fluttering around me. I had Shannon do my make-up, her steady hands putting my eyeliner on effortlessly.
“The dress looks amazing.” Shannon nodded, giving it a long look as I stood in front of the mirror.
“You’re only saying that because you picked it out.” I chuckled, giving her a playful eyeroll.
“And I did a damn good job.” Shannon huffed, fixing the straps of her own dress.
A wave of calming energy washed over me as Viktor stepped out of the bathroom. His chocolate hair was tousled, begging to have
"Dad, I've told you a hundred times. I don't need a bodyguard." I groaned, flopping down on my bed. My dad was quiet for a while, but I could still sense his presence in my room."You know he's only trying to keep you safe." My wolf, Aela, scolded me."Arabella." My dad's stern voice called out and I reluctantly sat up and met his silver eyes. I could feel the power of the Alpha King fill my bedroom and I resisted the urge to shudder.Aela grumbled, "We'll you've done it now."His Alpha power didn't affect me quite the same, being his daughter had some perks. Nonetheless, I resisted the urge to cringe under his intense gaze.I sighed, knowing this conversation was going nowhere. "Yes dad?""You will behave and let your bodyguard protect you." His commanding voice filled my ears and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.All of the training I had endured wouldn't change his mind. He insisted I was no match for his enemies, not without becoming
I woke early in the morning. The sun had yet to fully rise, but I couldn't bring myself to fall back asleep.My sleep was plagued with nightmares, always surrounding my Mom. The startled look in her eyes as one of the rogues threatened to pounce on me. The scream that tore through her throat as she shifted and saved my life. And finally, the light that left her eyes when the rogue tore out her throat, her black fur slick with fresh blood. My Dad hadn't seen the moment her last breath escaped from her lungs. He was fighting off three rogues at once, fighting to keep us all safe.I watched the light leave her eyes, and I was almost positive I could feel when her soul had finally left her body accompanied by her wolf, her closest companion. The loss tore a hole straight through me, the ache was a constant reminder that she was gone. She had died trying to save me.I pulled myself from the plush bed and slipped on a robe as I headed to the bathroom. The chill in the ai
I refused to let Viktor interrupt my daily routines, one of which included sneaking through the kitchen to steal one of Sheila's famous muffins. I was almost a hundred percent sure that Sheila and Shannon we're witches in their past life, because it was nearly impossible to get anything past them.That just made my antics even more fun.I crept into the busy kitchen, instantly noticing that Sheila was busy ordering some of the other cooks around. I smiled to myself, she was definitely distracted.I crept up to the counter where a plate of her muffins sat steaming. An audible groan left my lips as I turned to see Viktor sticking out like a sore thumb."Do you not know how to be stealthy?" I groaned at him, my eyes keeping track of Sheila.In a move that surprised me, his dark eyebrow lifted and his obsidian gaze remained locked on me.I glanced at Sheila, and figured this would be my only chance. I snatched up one of the muffins and shot a glare at
I set my plan into motion that night, determined to provoke any form of reaction I could from VIktor. While I wasn't necessarily the most attractive girl in the world, I had some things working in my favor.My raven colored hair cascaded down my back in waves, while my green eyes stood out against the contrast of my porcelain skin. I had nice curves and a full chest at my disposal.I grabbed a pair of panties and a tanktop and slipped my clothes off as I headed to the bathroom. I quickly turned the shower on and waited impatiently for the hot water. A sigh escaped my lips as the hot water soothed my sore muscles.I took my time in the shower, letting the hot water wash away my stress as much as it could.Stepping out of the shower, I wrapped one of the towels around my body. I missed the shower mat with my foot and slid forward. A yelp of surprise came from my lips as I knocked into the sink. The glass cup on the edge fell to the floor and shattered."S
I woke up that morning, feeling the best I had in quite some time. The nightmares didn't torment me tonight and I was shocked when I had actually slept in until 11 a.mSitting up, I stretched and wiped the fogginess from my eyes. I slid off of the bed and nearly screamed when my eyes met Viktor's .He was sitting on the couch, his elbow on the arm resting as his eyes were locked on my own. How long had he been here and did he really watch me sleep?I completely forgot that I was in nothing but a thin tanktop and a pair of lace panties, but I didn't feel self-conscious. I certainly should have, after all he was a man while I still felt like a girl."That eager to take another look?" I smirked and crossed my arms over my chest. The butterflies bounced around in my stomach at the sight of him.He was back to wearing his formal long sleeve shirt, black slacks, leather gloves, and a black mask over the lower half of his face. I could feel myself grow more ir
I made the trek from the gazebo to my Uncle's office. Over the years, I slowly memorized the entire house and all of it's maze-like corridors.As a child, I would often sneak to my Uncle or Dad's office to listen in on some of the meetings they had. While I couldn't understand most of their conversations, it made me feel like a spy.I knocked a couple times on the large oak door and waited. After a few moment's it swung open and someone stepped out. A strange looking man with an even stranger expression on his face."Princess Arabella." The man nodded, and I looked at him curiously. His light blue eyes trailed over my face slowly, and I felt like an exhibit on display. There was something in his gaze that made me uncomfortable.He had light colored hair that swooped over his head in a single directon. His matching colored beard hung down to his adam's apple. I couldn't recall ever meeting him before."Hello, sir." I nodded my head and gave him a small s
The rest of the evening went horrifically slow. My Uncle's words replayed in my head on a constant loop along with Viktor's two powerful words."Fuck power." His deep and rough voice combatted my Uncle's words with fury.I found it strange for someone like him to say "fuck power". Someone so huge and much faster than a normal Lycan. He seemed to be swimming in power."Shouldn't we put ourselves first for a change?" Aela frowned.I sighed, wishing it were that simple. "Aela, we're going to have an entire Kingdom to look after. Sometimes it's much bigger than that.""It's not as hard as you're making it out to be. Our mate was paired with us for a reason, they'll help us." Aela was confident."If we ever meet him." I sighed.I could only imagine how Aela was feeling. Humans and wolves were vastly different when it came to dealing with things. Being the daughter of the Alpha King, Aela's instincts are to protect her
I spent the rest of the day lounging about, horrifically bored. I gave Viktor a break with the teasing, fully planning on resuming once I dressed for the party.I wasn't dressing to impress anyone else, just Viktor. I wanted to see if he could keep his emotionless gaze when he saw what I was planning to wear.Caroline knocked on my bedroom door around 8:30 p.m. Viktor stepped inside my room as Caroline entered and leaned against the wall."Um, is he going to stay in here?" Caroline glanced at me, a confused look on her face.I chuckled and shook my head, "As long as you're here, he is.""I'm no threat to Arabella, but you on the other hand." Caroline smirked at Viktor, whose gaze was solely focused on me.I rolled my eyes. Once we got to the party she'd set her sights on some other poor victim and leave my bodyguard alone. "Come on Caroline, pick out a dress."We walked into the giant walk-in closet I rarely used and I pulled my dress