CHAPTER TWO

"She is the bride?"

He turned away from me and looked at my father, who lifted his head.

I had never seen my father that reverent. No one else noticed it—not even him—but I did. The eyes that always glistened with stubborn pride now flickered with hatred, resentment, a bruised ego, and forced submission.

It wasn’t about me.

It was about him.

And his overinflated pride.

It hurt. So bad.

I didn’t know what I was expecting from him—maybe to put up a fight? I was as confused as you are now, reading this, because I hadn’t even been told why I was being sent into the lion’s den. All I heard was that royalty came with a price: servitude to the kingdom in times of trouble. And that only frustrated me more.

I had always wished I wasn't royalty. Even as a child.

“Yes, she is my daughter. Hazel,” Father said, his tone serene, his face polite.

But I heard the undertone—the blades hidden between the words.

I was surprised at first. I had expected an old man, graying, breath shallow, weighed down by age.

But instead, he was... appealing. Disturbingly so.

“We may proceed, then,” the Alpha said, walking away from me as if nothing had happened.

A sharp, invisible force pulled at my chest. I winced, barely audible.

It hurt so much, I wanted to curse him—for whatever it was he had done to me.

We hadn’t even truly met, yet he was already unleashing this... beastliness.

I found it downright inhumane.

The rest of the ceremony dragged on in monotony and pretense. I realized then: the Alpha was far younger than I had expected. Or was that another supernatural perk werewolves possessed?

He was the same strange, sharp-eyed man who had spoken inside my head.

And after that brief encounter, I was certain of one thing—he was even more dangerous than I had imagined.

He had hurt me, on purpose.

He must have known I couldn’t react. I had to stand still, smile gently, and behave with royal poise—even if someone stabbed a knife into my chest—because it was an abomination to act uncultured before the King.

Even if he was my father.

Even if I was the sacrifice.

I hated this man.

And I feared him more.

A coldness spread from the base of my spine, like a warning. A premonition.

We exchanged vows led by the royal priest. We paid our respects. Even though it was a wedding, it was probably the briefest one in the history of Arazona. Father had made his intentions clear—he couldn’t wait to send the monsters away before they turned the treaty into a trick.

He had soldiers and hidden weapons scattered throughout the palace, ready to strike.

But he knew, deep down, if war broke out, Arazona would fall.

And this marriage—this humiliating marriage—was to prevent that.

“We take our leave now, Father-in-law,” the Alpha said coldly, the words heavy with mockery.

“Go well, my daughter,” my mother said as she approached with watery eyes, her posture poised as always.

I saw the way her throat tightened when she swallowed. The Queen of Arazona, my mother, always knew how to hold in her emotions.

“Yes, Mother,” I replied, though she had never truly been one to me.

We paid our final respects, and then we departed—me and my new husband.

The formality nearly suffocated me.

The hushed crowd too afraid to even breathe.

My father’s eagerness to be rid of us.

The grim, discordant music.

My mother’s blank, grim expression.

The tight wedding dress.

And the beautiful, strange beast who held my hand like I was already his.

Everything.

Heavy is the head that wears the crown.

Mine felt so heavy, I feared it might fall right off.

My husband and I walked past the palace gates, accompanied by the royal escort. Outside, a fine carriage awaited.

I had noticed the men who came with him—his pack—but somehow, their presence seemed dim, overshadowed by his overbearing aura.

“Farewell, my Princess,” the escorts bowed to me.

It was laughable. That was the last time they’d ever address me that way.

From this moment on, I no longer belonged to Arazona.

Mother had whispered it to me like a bedtime story all my life—this was my fate.

The moment I married that man, I ceased to be their daughter.

I ceased to be theirs.

I nodded, and the escorts returned to the palace. The gates shut behind them with a sharp, final bang.

—Okay, maybe I exaggerated a bit. But they really did shut the gates tight and fast.

As though terrified the beasts might barge back in.

And so, pitifully enough, I was left behind—with the monsters.

To travel with them.

To live with them.

Until they killed me.

Or I killed myself.

Or I escaped.

Or something equally tragic.

What a blissful start to married life.

Truly, I was living the dream!

I wanted to turn and warn them.

"By the way, my meat tastes terrible. My blood? Completely poisonous."

You know—just in case they were planning to roast me over a fire.

I probably would have told them, if my hand wasn’t trembling so violently and if my heart wasn’t threatening to shatter my ribcage.

The Alpha led me to the carriage, and his men followed behind.

Wait... all of us? In this tiny carriage? Are they serious?

They must be planning to eat me. No crumbs left.

“The carriage is just for the two of us,” the man said flatly.

He must’ve read the disbelief plastered on my face.

“Oh.”

I tried not to dwell on how his cold, rough fingers still lingered on mine.

I wondered how his men would return to their... what was it called again? The Pack?

The Alpha helped me into the carriage and settled beside me. Only then did he release my hand.

I exhaled sharply. I hadn't even realized I’d been holding my breath.

He was terrifying.

Just as one of his men—who looked especially murderous—closed the carriage door, bowing to his Alpha, I heard it.

Howls.

Wild, guttural, feral.

My entire body stiffened. My heart stuttered.

Tears stung the corners of my eyes. But I didn’t cry.

I clenched my fists tight, clamped my lips shut, trying to anchor myself—to not shake.

I heard the pounding of paws and the rustling of trees.

Then—silence.

They’d shifted. Of course. They’d turned into wolves and taken off ahead.

Why didn’t I think of that?

They’d reach their destination faster than a horse-drawn carriage.

(He would have too, probably, if I wasn’t here.)

The Alpha beside me stayed quiet.

Only a few glances my way, like this was all a mere formality to him.

And then the carriage began to move, toward Vermillion Pack City.

That was the moment I let it sink in.

I surrendered to my fate.

There was no turning back now.