Chapter 3: The Tyrant

"We can run away, come on…You and me. We'll go far away. Let's escape this forest or possibly stay with the human settlement."

Keeran's voice ached with pain as he begged for her to agree. It was tempting for Zehra if she only was selfish, but no, she couldn't run away. As a princess, she cannot risk her people or her family's life. She has to sacrifice to save everyone. 

"I'm sorry, Keeran. I wish I could go and leave all these unfortunate circumstances, but no, I can't. I have to save my people and family's life."

Zehra's words took Keeran aback. She couldn't believe she refused him and chose the path of damnation. 

"Zhera, you must-"

A soft knock on the door made him stop talking. Ember went in wearing a black maid uniform; her face was serious, and she nodded at Zehra. 

"It's time to go, Princess."

Zehra pulled away from Keeran and wrapped her head with her gold scarf, covering her white hair, which she tied into a bun earlier. 

This was it. Zehra closed her eyes, trying to block all the horrid images, and bid goodbye to Keeran, who had a soft smile and left the room for the last time. 

As Zehra and Ember approached the door of the thick forest, she looked at their castle for the last time. She suddenly becomes numb, knowing she will leave Nortlander, where she was born and grew up. She will remember the castle for as long as she lives and hopes one day that, she'll be able to return. They trekked a path entering the forest before two men emerged from the depth of the gloomy forest that looked dangerous. The men told her to ride the carriage as they started to travel towards Cade's camp. 

Cade has been standing outside his camp. His mind was anxious and excited at the same time. After three years of struggles and failed negotiations, finally, he was going to claim what he had wanted that pushed him to agree to the king's plea four years ago when their Kingdom was under attack by rogues. He had his eyes on her when she was still seventeen, and the king promised him to hand her over after the war, but he was tricked. 

He had tried all the normal ways of claiming her, like sending his men to the castle along with the gifts, but the king would reject them and send a message that she would be handed when Zehra reached the right age. 

But her bastard father didn't honor their agreement. Not only he rejected his claim once but thrice, and he had no option but to warn him that he'll bring the war to his doorstep, and so he did. Not only was his pride wounded, but his dignity as a king too. The wolves under him would see him as a weak king if he didn't do it. 

"The carriage is approaching, your Highness," one of his men called out, howling in alarm. 

Eadric and Kaden, the Alpha leader of his Kingdom, stepped next to him to see what this woman looked like enough to convince Cade to throw his best warriors into a war of a somewhat smaller kingdom in the North. 

Cade stood tall at six feet. His shoulders were broad, and his frame and muscles were from his rough training when he was still in his teenage. His body was scarred at various places in the South as he led his Kingdom to conquer the neighboring Kingdom and made it a part of his. 

Expanding his lands made them a beast, eventually earning them an evolving werewolf. Cade had heard some kingdom in the North named them cursed, Lycans and moon howlers. It was a ridiculous name for Cade. 

Yes, he was famous all over the South, and living in a dark forest added to his reputation. He was a ruthless king who knew no mercy. He never lost a single war in his entire life, which added to his pride and strength as a ruler, a man, and a wolf whose heart was as cold as ice. 

He watched as the carriage stopped, and a warrior opened up the curtain to reveal his prize, head wrapped in a golden scarf. He was stunned when he saw how beautiful she had become since the last time she saw her. She was like the purest white rabbit in the forest, standing alone with her brown-as-honey eyes. She was indeed one of a kind, a suited female for his side.

The carriage left as soon as the other woman came down. Cade heard that her maid insisted on coming with her, to which he agreed. He then looked at Zehra. His dark eyes with the spec of gold looked hard at her and stopped standing closer to her, his body towering over her small frame. 

Cade couldn't deny that Zehra had one of the most tempting builds that aroused him. His wolf repeatedly asked him to take her now and then, but he stopped him. There will be a time for that. As for now, he studied her.

Cade could see some white hair trying to escape from her scarf. He can literally say that she's a white wolf fit for royalty. His wolf purred, agreeing with him. They expect nothing less from the princess. 

Wolves can be classified according to the color of their hair and eyes. Zehra has pure white hair, and her wolf should be. Cade had black and a spec of gold eyes, meaning he had a black wolf with golden tips in his fur. Both of them belong to royalty. 

He saw her reddened cheeks, stained with tears, as his hand reached up to cup her chin to make her look at him. 

"Do you know who I am, white rabbit?" 

Despite her obvious fear, Cade could see the strength that lay in her when she looked up at him. 

Zehra's pink lips parted, and she answered without any form of reluctance.

"A Tyrant Cold Monster."