PhillipaAfter the huge breakfast celebration, my day was simply packed. My mother made sure I got every possible treatment over the past week, so I would look my absolute best. I knew why she did it, but neither of us said anything. She just wanted me to feel amazing when I finally met my mate. The thing that nobody realized was that I was feeling as if I had failed my parents!They had both lived such incredible lives! Hell, my brother was a hero because he killed the vampire king! I still have flashes of that horrible war sometimes. Yet another thing I pushed deep down. If someone ever opened me up and got down to the nitty-gritty inside me, they would find a pit filled with all the things I pushed down.I smiled at the omega putting fresh flowers in my hair. My first public event for the day and also my favourite part of my birthday. Sharing cake with all the children in the square. That was the one time in the year I didn’t feel as if I wasn’t enough. I was dressed in a comfortab

PhillipaMy mother wasn’t just one of our pack heroes. She was my personal hero. She overcame so much before she was found. But that was also the reason I sometimes felt as though I was a failure. I hadn’t nearly overcome as much as she had. I knew my parents did everything in their power to give us and our pack a better life. They never said one unkind word to me or my brother.It was my own insecurities that were driving my fears. All I could do now was focus on my trip. I couldn’t focus on my fears and insecurities. Especially now. I loved the boat. I loved standing on deck and feeling the salty wind blowing through my hair. It took some convincing, but my mother eventually joined me and I could have sworn I saw her smile at one point.She was a slave the last time she was put on a boat like that. It made me feel sad for her. When we reached the shore a couple of days later, I could see the relief on my mother’s face instantly. She still looked strained, but she was slowly relaxing

PhillipaThe witches had a feast planned for the evening and as I was getting ready, I caught sight of the bottle of tonic on my dresser. I knew I was going to take a huge risk, but I was feeling so nauseous that I couldn’t stand it. There was no way I would be able to get through dinner that way! I grabbed the bottle, uncorked it and took a huge sip.Closing my eyes as I swallowed and prayed that it wasn’t poison. The moment the tonic hit my stomach I started to feel better, and I breathed a huge sigh of relief. The tonic could very well have been poison, but surely, they wouldn’t have been that stupid. My omega would have testified that the witch had given me something. I shook my head to clear the thoughts of poison.My mother said that because she was scared. She had such a traumatic life at one point that she was scared something might happen to me. I was grateful for the tonic and thanked the healer as soon as I saw her at dinner. I could see the look of relief in her eyes, but

PhillipaI got the fright of my life when the biggest boulder suddenly started to move and, in the blink of an eye, I was looking at a troll!“Your highness, welcome. I am Edgar. The ruler of the trolls.” His face was kind, but the thing I noticed first was how chubby his cheeks were! I had to fight with everything inside of me not to squeeze them! All around us, the rocks started to move, and their entire clan stood in front of us. I was positively gobsmacked! We didn’t have much information about the trolls.They didn’t have anything to trade, but my brother believed in adding them to the trade agreement. The idea behind it was to make everyone feel included after all. I looked around after the introductions but couldn’t find where we would be staying. I was surprised when they showed us to a cave. It had been set up for us, complete with rock beds and moss blankets, and I had to bite my tongue.I wasn’t spoiled, but I wasn’t sure if I could sleep on a rock. Lunch was the biggest su

Phillipa“Let him go!” I shouted, feeling confused. I wasn’t entirely sure what was going on here. I was the only one who said it and he looked just as confused as I felt. I could tell from his scent that he was a wolf of some kind, but I also quickly figured out that he wasn’t a Lycan. His scent was different. Almost like … My eyes grew wide at the realization of what he was!He smelled a lot like my mother! He was a werewolf! My mind ran a mile a minute. All I could think of was my father and his hatred for all the werewolves that weren’t my mother. How on earth was I going to tell him he missed one and that one was my mate?!!! I waited for the wolf to say something, anything that would indicate he recognized me as his mate, but there was nothing. I wanted to know more about him. Did he have a pack? Did they have territory here? Was he a rogue?“Bring him.” I ordered my guards. Thankfully, we were planning on staying here for a couple of days before I was moving on to the next town