The Wolf-prince's stolen bride

His blue eyes...

...

Why was Prince Tristane at my balcony door so late in the night and how had he gotten there?

Those were the questions on my mind as I stood there, eyes locked on the dashing man as my mind began to wander and think of all possible reasons why he had come to see me so late at night.

“Princess Raya, will you invite me inside? Standing at your balcony all night was not my plan.” He said with a slow smile that brought me out of my thoughts instantly.

“Please come in” I said and stepped aside so he could come in. He strode into the room like he owned the place, with the same languid movement that showed he wasn’t bothered about his uninvited presence in my room this late even though we both knew he could be executed if anyone found out about this, there was something different about him that no other man I met seemed to have, I was yet to know what it was but I could sense it in everything he did and every word he spoke. I was happy to see him but my sense of reason had returned to me and I needed to know exactly what brought the man to my bed chamber so late in the night.

He stood there and looked around the room with that aura of calm confidence he always oozed. He was not in armor this time but in a lavender shirt and black trousers that made him even more attractive and as he turned to face me, I could see that his silver hair was tied in a knot this time so it wouldn’t fall to his shoulders and yet I could not stop myself from as I stood there, lost in confusion about him while he looked around the room.

The man stood there and admired the regal nature of the room while I stood there and admired the obviously controlled wildness of the man.

“Your majesty, how did you get to my balcony? It is meant to be impossible for anyone to do that.” I asked abruptly as I snapped out of his charm and asked the first question that came to mind.

“Are you worried about me doing something risky that puts me in danger, or are you just curious about how I got there?” he said. He responded to my question with another question which did not really surprise me, he looked like the type to have witty replies to everything. That smirk on his face as I shook my head at him made it very clear.

“I just want to know how you managed to do it.” I said in an attempt to feign disinterest, it was a lie but he didn’t need to know that.

“Firstly, I want to be able to call you by your name Raya because I really like it, so please call me Tristane, we will be married soon so I think we can drop the formalities.” He said with a shrug of his wide shoulders. “Secondly, to answer your question, I just climbed up the tower to get to your balcony because I wanted to see you without anyone finding out, it was a dangerous thing to do, but now that I am here, I have no regrets. This was the only way to do it. Lastly, I hope I didn’t frighten you?” he asked while he stared into my eyes. It felt like he could stare into my soul with those bright eyes he had.

“I was not frightened and neither was I worried; I am just curious about how you got there.” I said and hoped that would convince him.

“So, you are not curious about my reason for being here?” he asked and took a step towards me and stopped again to get my reply.

“I have a feeling you are going to tell me why you came here to see me, so there’s no need for me to be curious about that.” I said as I took a step towards him and stopped as well, just as he had done earlier. He was to be my future husband and yet this was to be our very first private conversation ever though we had shared the same palace grounds for two days.

“One last question before I tell what I came here to do.” He said without any break in our locked eye contact. “Why have you been avoiding me since we met the first time in the court room?” he asked directly while his eyes remained fixed on me to see my reaction.

Immediately he asked the question, I lost all my will to resist the man. I no longer wanted to avoid him, I wanted to do the opposite and find out what exactly was wrong with me that began that day I first saw him, the only way to do that was to be as direct and as confident as the man himself. So I could definitely do just that.....

I thought about his question for a few seconds and decided to give him the most honest answer that I had.

I walked towards him quickly so my mind and body had no time to interrupt me. I closed the distance between us and stood right in front of him and stared up into the blue tsunami in his eyes as he towered above me. It didn’t matter to me; I knew exactly what I wanted to do and I would do it right there and in that very moment.

I got on the tip of my toes and gently placed my hands around his strong shoulders for support, I leaned in without a thought about what I was about to do and placed my lips against his as quickly as I could so I would not have any time to change my mind.

His lips opened up to mine immediately they made contact and he took over from that moment as though he had waited centuries for me to kiss him from the very first second our eyes locked some days ago. He kissed me deeply, his tongue explored as wildly and as passionately as I felt, on and on till we both ran out of breath and he broke off the connection so we could both breathe. It was all the confirmation I needed from him; I knew then that he wanted me as well. I felt free. I felt wild, happy and confused all at once. I had never experienced such a release of emotions before, but I was not prepared to stop there.

“Why did you just kiss me?” he asked clearly stunned by my bold move as he caught his breath his eyes now bright as a blue flame, I suddenly felt the blood rush to my cheeks as the gravity of what I had just done finally dawned on me, but it was too late for me to back down now so I leaned in again and this time placed a gentle peck on his cheek. I stepped back from him and let my hands fall to the side while still my eyes stared straight into his eyes with my head held high. I was a Princess and I had no intention to get shy or embarrassed by something I had no control over, I would be direct with him and my mind was made up.

“You asked me why I had been avoiding you. That kiss was my answer. I have not been able to stop thinking about you or dreaming about you or wanting to touch you from the first moment I saw you up till now. Keeping my distance from you was the only way I could control myself and now you came to my room in the middle of the night. Why are you here? Why are you making it so difficult to not do something wrong Tristane?” I asked as honestly and directly as I felt.

I stood there, my eyes locked on him, he stood there with his blue eyes locked on me as well but said absolutely nothing.

Then he let out a strange sound that sounded like a growl and the blue in his eyes seemed to shine now even more brightly than the dim candles on the far side of the room. His voice was now a low and hoarse growl when he spoke, it was almost inaudible but I heard his words.

“If you wanted to kiss me from the very beginning, you should have done that. I have wanted you in my arms from that very moment. I haven’t been able to sleep Raya, I will be leaving for my Kingdom tomorrow, but there is something I have to be sure of before I go, if you let me kiss you again then I won’t be able to stop and I won’t be able to wait to take you home with me.” He said while he took a single step forward and finally closed the distance between us. “I want you; I have wanted you badly from the moment I smelled the scent of roses from you in the courtroom.” He said as he took his hand on the side of my face and his fingers began to caress my neck and move through my hair. “What do you want me to do now?” he asked followed by another low growl and as I looked into his eyes now, he had a hunger in his eyes. Like that of a wild animal about to lose all control and go wild.

There was something extraordinary about the man that should have made me scared, but all I cared about was the way he looked at me like I was everything he wanted in the world. I let go of all sensible thoughts and gave him an answer that I never expected would ever leave my lips. “Tristane, if u want me,” I paused to place my palms flat against his chest.

I got on my toes again and leaned into him so my lips were close to his ear, then I whispered my honest answer to him. “if you want me, then you can take me here and now.”

......

Now that I stood there with the memory of everything we had done in perfect detail. The recollection of what had happened between us from the very first moment we met opened up my mind immediately, I was sure now that he had planned it all from the beginning...

he had planned to use me and betray me from the very first moment he saw me there next to my father. Perhaps he had planned this even way before that.

I still felt the fear from earlier when I heard that loud howl and still had that chill down my spine, but I knew I had to take another step forward....

I had to see his betrayal with my own eyes, so I made up my mind and took a step forward. After the first step, I remembered how to walk and kept the focus forward as quickly as I could.