Princess and Passion: Part 1

25 Years Later

Lucy’s POV

“Rowan!” I called out for my fiancé, having looked everywhere for him. Maybe he is asleep on the property? He had said his wolf was acting up lately. Still not seeing him, I decided to shift and go for a run around the property to look myself.

I had gotten out of college early, having aced all my last classes and finished my projects. Mom and dad didn’t even know I was back early or else they would have sent a security detail on me, which I did not want; especially if it was Uncle Axel. The man had a knack for embarrassing me.

I stowed my clothing on the passenger seat of my seventy seven Toyota truck and shifted into my wolf, Hestia, and took off around the house in search of my intended. I can’t wait to see the look on his face. It’s been months since I’d had a taste of him. I purred to myself, wanting to lick him from head to toe. There wasn’t much room at home to mess around with him, my mom or dad constantly barging in with pressing matters for me to help out with; then again, I did tell them I’d be the one taking over the throne.

Felix had turned it down as the firstborn, wanting instead to peruse a career in his restaurant chains. He had inherited our mother’s love of cooking and baking, and her golden touch in the kitchen as well. I envied him to be honest, my skills including only burning water or ramen.

I picked up my fiancé’s trail then, making me pick up my pace to reach him. Rowan was the man of my dreams, having met him in college by pure chance. His scent was enticing to me, like cinnamon and honey. I knew he wasn’t my fated, but he was the kind of wolf I could see ruling beside me with a sharp eye for detail and a quick whit that saw any obstacle coming.

That’s strange… I faltered a little as I picked up another scent as well, one I had never smelled before. The wolf smelled of smoke and applewood, the scent mixing with Rowan’s the more I followed the trail.

When the trail became more fresh, I slowed down; finding pieces of clothing leading in a trail off to somewhere. I slowed my pace and tentatively stepped over a lacy pink thong and a man’s shoe, my paws feeling heavy on the ground. Calm down, Lucy; maybe it’s a cousin or sister, or something. Don’t go jumping to conclusions… I gave myself the pep talk, but it was doing little to ease my worries.

I steeped through some blackberry bushes and crouched down, seeing a picnic laid out in a clearing, Rowan sitting down in the center of a blanket with various foods around him. I didn’t see anyone else with him, making me hesitate a little from where I was hidden. All of the sudden, Rowan’s head turned my way, his eyes scanning over the bushes and eventually settling on something near me, his voice calling out in greeting.

“Hey, babe! So glad you could make it!” I shivered in excitement, happy that he had been waiting for me to join him at that beautiful picnic he had put together. I shifted and stepped out of the bushes then, smiling widely at Rowan and feeling relieved that my fears were unfounded. That relief soon turned to confusion as I watched Rowan’s face go from seductive to confused and then to a slow show of horror as his gaze settled onto me. “Lucy?”

I heard a rustling to my right and saw another lady step out of the woods as well, her tan body and long brunette hair making it look like she just stepped off of a magazine cover. “Rowan… who’s this?” She eyed me up and down, her gaze skeptical as my tongue refused to move. “You know I said I wasn’t into threesomes.”

“Yah; Rowan… who is this?” I slowly turned back to my fiancé who was as white as the sheet under him, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. “Last I checked, I told you no threesomes either.”

“Who are you?” The lady gave me a look of curiosity mixed with confusion, as Rowan spat out words finally.

“Suzy… Lucy… girls! It’s not what it looks like; I swear! Lucy, Suzy’s just a… a friend from the college; I met her in class.”

“I’d say we’re more than friends. We’ve been steady for a year now?” She gave Rowan a look like she couldn’t believe what he was saying, still keeping most of her attention on me.

“A year?!” I barked out a laugh of shock and hurt, not believing my ears. “I’m his fiancé; and we’ve been together for four!” We both turned to Rowan then, his mouth still struggling to come up with a lie to salvage this. “He,” I pointed to him in a slow burning rage then, as the audacity of it all making me see red. “Preposed last year at his graduation!”

“That’s when I met him at the college bar!” Suzy gasped and turned her gaze to Rowan as well, both of us sprouting fur along our arms as the two timing bastard scrambled to his feet.

“Ladies, ladies! I was going to break it off with Suzy; I just need a release since you had been so busy, babe.”

“Oh, so I’m just a release for you now?!” Suzy’s teeth were getting longer, her eyes flashing yellow as my hands had already shifted to paws.

“No, no! You were-are a friend! And Lucy here is my true love, my friend ma-“

“Not any more, you bastard!” I shifted all the way into Hestia just as Suzy shifted into her wolf, both of us circling Rowan as he started to cower on the blanket.