Chapter 2

"Don't worry. I won't bother you anymore. You can go chase your dreams and have a great future with the one you love."

I said it with conviction.

Thorne's eyebrows knitted together. "Elara, what are you talking about?"

Right as I was about to tell him I chose Lucian, someone bumped into me really hard out of nowhere.

I stumbled back, tripped over a rock, and fell down.

Before I knew what was happening, Isolde was already begging for forgiveness.

"I'm so sorry, Princess, so sorry! I didn't mean to do it! Please forgive me!"

I looked at her, not understanding why she was so upset.

Isolde was Thorne's foster sister—she was adopted by his parents.

She was well-loved in the Ashenclaw pack and had a pretty high rank. However, she acted super scared whenever she saw me, like a little deer in the headlights, even though I never did anything to her.

Thorne would get mad at me a lot because he thought I was being mean to Isolde when no one was looking.

Isolde kept bowing over and over. Thorne, feeling sorry for her, held her up. "It's okay, Isolde, it's just a little thing. You don't have to be so down on yourself."

He looked at me with eyes that told me to watch out, not saying a word.

I got up slowly, dusted off my dress, and tried to hide how much my hand hurt. It was not just my hand that was aching—there was a sadness in my heart I just could not seem to shake off either.

Thorne used to be the first to hold my hand whenever I felt bad, but now, he was only worried about someone else.

I tried really hard to keep my eyes wide open to stop the tears that wanted to come out.

I was a princess. I was not supposed to cry.

When I did not say anything back, Isolde, who was still in Thorne's arms, kept repeating how sorry she was.

"I'm so awful! I don't deserve to be forgiven, but please, Princess, just this once, let it go!"

I turned to Thorne and asked quietly, "Thorne, what do you think?"

Thorne stepped in front of Isolde right away, like he thought I was the bad guy.

"That's enough, Elara. She didn't mean it. Everyone knows you're the Lycan King's only daughter, so they're all scared to upset you. However, that doesn't mean you can push people around with your title!"

Me... pushing people around?

I just stood there, shocked, not able to believe what he just said.

Isolde was the one who ran into me, but she was acting like she was the one who got hurt.

'Now everyone thinks I'm the bully?'

I held back the sharp pain in my chest and looked at Thorne with tears in my eyes. "What if I say I have to punish Isolde today?"

Thorne's voice was deep and stern, and he sounded so sure of himself. "If that's the case, I'd rather leave the pack council, cut off all my ties, and be a rogue than be your mate. Elara, go ahead and try."

My heart sank like a ton of bricks, and I could not say a word.

He finally said it... Those were the true feelings he had been hiding.

After a while, I managed to dry my tears and said with a raspy voice, "I might forgive her, but I have one condition."

Thorne looked at me like he expected me to ask for the moon. "What's the condition?"

"You can't call me Elara anymore. From now on, it's Princess to you."

Thorne hesitated. He was the only one of the four potential mates who could call me by my name in private, a sweet privilege I had given him.

Just then, Isolde's crying got louder. She bit her lip and turned to Thorne. "My shoulder really hurts. What should I do?"

Thorne's focus shifted back to her.

He picked her up and started to leave. Without looking back, he said, "I promise, Princess."

My heart broke into a million pieces.

I watched them walk away and could not stop thinking about the past.

Thorne used to be so kind to me.

When I was seven, I fell into the water by accident, and Thorne was the one who saved me.

Ever since that day, out of the four guys who could be my future partner, Thorne and I were the closest, except for my cousin Griffin.

Thorne was always there for me. He showed me how to use my wolf powers with patience.

When the older wolves told me off, he was right there, quietly backing me up. He even kept me company when I got in trouble.

As Thorne got older, he started to realize how things worked in our world, like who had power and how the crown was passed down through families.

He also figured out he might be chosen to be my mate.

We were supposed to be together to strengthen our families and our groups. It seemed like everything he was learning was to help him be there for me one day.

However, Thorne did not like having his future all planned out.

He was supposed to be the next alpha, the leader, yet he wanted to be free.

He felt trapped, like he could not chase his own dreams, and he started to pull away from me.

At that time, Thorne's parents took in Isolde, a girl who lost her family in a war.

At first, Thorne just gave Isolde the attention that was supposed to be mine because he was mad. However, the more Isolde talked bad about me, the more Thorne listened to her.

I could not help but laugh at myself, a little bitterly.

Thorne would probably be happy to know I picked Lucian instead…