Once A Princess, Now A Slave

1- The Princess

Kelsie’s POV

“Serves you right, slaves!” The voice was followed by waves of laughter. Based on the voices, I assume they are about 5-6 in the group.

“P-Please, s-stop. We a-are not d-doing a-anything…”

“We are not slaves!” said a tiny voice.

“But your parents were spies, right? Good thing the Beta has already killed them.”

My still closed lids twitched from what I heard. I let out a harsh sigh and removed my sleeping mask. The pink ceiling of my room welcomed me.

I turn my head to the left where my window is located.

“Tie them up,” said the voice outside of my window.

I blew out a harsh sigh. I glance at the pink wall clock hanging on my wall. It’s only 6:28 in the morning.

“It’s too early for this,” I whispered to myself.

“W-What are y-you doing? P-Please, don’t! We’re sorry. Please!”

“Don’t worry. This will be quick.”

“P-Please, no. N-Not my b-brother. P-Please!”

My body still wants to feel the comfort of my soft bed, but the voices outside of my room make me more annoyed than on a Monday morning.

I jolt up in my bed and toss the blanket. I stood on my feet and walked towards the window. I brush the curtain aside to have a peek at what’s happening outside.

My room is located on the 4th floor of the pack house. I slid to open my window. The cold and steamy hot morning breeze brushed onto my skin. This is the kind of mood that I want. Windy but not too cold. Hot but not enough to make me sweat.

If not for the group of wolves in front of our garden, this morning would have been perfect.

My forehead crumples at the sight.

A she-wolf is being held by two boys. They force her arms on her back and tie her to the trunk of a tree, while a little boy (which I assume is her little brother), is being held by another she-wolf. There is another figure of a girl standing with the group while watching her friends g**g up against the two poor siblings.

“Seriously, four against two? Cowards,” I said to myself.

I turn my back and quickly finished my morning routine. I only washed my face and brushed my teeth. I don’t think I still have time to take a bath. Those bullies don’t waste time.

I manage to get into the garden.

“Don’t hurt my sister! Don’t hurt her!” the little boy yelled.

I narrow my eyes at the scene and scrutinize their faces. My brow arches. I remember them. The little boy and his sister are the children of the recently discovered spies in our pack. I am not hands-on with our pack, but as the daughter of the alpha, it was never hard for me to know what were the things happening in our pack. Even if I don’t ask for it, information about our pack independently comes to me.

“Oh, wow. You seem hot in that shirt,” the guy commented.

I look at where he is looking. I frowned.

“P-Please, untie me…” the girl pleaded.

Her wrists are currently tied at the back of the trunk, leaving her defenseless against the two men and two girls.

The guy wearing a brown shirt is shamelessly staring at her chest. She’s wearing a plain white top and the line forming between her mounds is showing.

“You want us to do this, right? That’s why you’re wearing your short shorts.” The other guy whispers. He rakes his fingers through the girl’s hair and leans forward to smell her.

The brown shirt guy caresses her thigh and gave it a good slap. The girl whimpers. The laughter escapes the gangs’ mouths.

I couldn’t take the scene anymore. These people are only brave because they are in a group. It is normal to do things with a group since we are werewolves. But ganging up against someone who you know is at a disadvantage is against the social law of our pack.

“F*cktards,” I say. I did not try lowering my voice. They immediately turn their heads in my direction.

“P-Princess…” one of the girls uttered.

My eyes drop to her. I stared at her arms wrapping around the little boy’s neck. When my eyes crawl back at her, she gulps.

I tilt my head, waiting for her to make a move.

She roams her eyes on her colleagues, but all of them avoided their gazes at her. In the end, she let go of the little boy.

The little boy immediately runs towards her sister.

“Ella!” he calls. He reaches for the rope and tries to untie his sister.

“Untie her,” I impatiently say when I saw the little boy struggling.

The little boy froze for a moment. I give him a soft look to tell him I’m not talking to him. When I landed my eyes at the guy wearing a brown shirt, I made sure I glare.

He understood what I am saying and quickly help the boy to untie his sister.

“T-Thanks, Princess…” The sister, Ella, says after being freed.

She lowers her head and refuses to look right into my eyes. On other hand, her little brother innocently stares at me.

I lean forward and level my face with the little boy.

“How old are you?” I ask.

He clutches his sister’s arm and slightly hides behind her.

“I’m 6 years old,” he answers.

I nod. I straighten my back and look at the four grown-up boys and girls in front of me. Based on their looks, I guess they are my age.

“And how old are you?” I ask while looking at them.

“Seventeen, Princess.”

“Sixteen.”

“Eighteen, Princess Kelsie.”

“Seventeen.”

The two boys called me Princess, but the two girls refused to call me one. I understand. As a daughter of an alpha, a lot, especially girls, are jealous of me. Maybe because they know I’ll have a better mate than any of them.

“Ella, right?” I ask the girl who did not answer me. Her eyes are still glued to her feet. “How about you? How old are, you?”

She lifts her head and meets my eyes. “E-Eighteen, princess.”

I sigh. “Alright. You may go,” I announced.

“T-Thank you.”

Ella and her little brother bow their heads and turn their back to exit the scene. In my peripheral vision, I see the four slowly walking away from me.

“Where are you going?” I ask.

I completely face the group. They look at me innocently.

“Don’t make me repeat myself,” I added.

“A-Ahh… We’re going back to our quarters, Princess. Mr. Aguila might look for us.”

Mr. Aguila? My left brow rises. “So, you’re part of the Sentinels.”

“Yes, Princess,” one of the boys answered.

“Sentinels are supposed to ensure that our pack is safe by patrolling the territory and observing the surroundings for possible rogue attacks. Then what the hell are you doing in the Alpha’s garden? You’re disturbing my sleep.”

“S-Sorry, Princess. W-We were j-just having f-fun—”

“Bullying the weak is fun? Since when?”

“They are the children of the spies that we caught last time,” the girl in a high ponytail says.

I tilt my head and raise a brow at her. “Are they the spy?”

“N-no, but… but their parents are and… and…” she’s glancing at her colleagues, nonverbally asking for help. In the end, she sighed. “Sorry, Kelsie.”

“I don’t want this to happen again. Do you all understand?”

“Yes.”

“Yes, Princess.”

“Go back to your quarters,” I dismissed them.

They all run away from me. One of the boys even tripped before they all vanished from my sight.

I shake my head. They are supposed to be on their weekly training.

Our pack holds weekly training for the different positions. Every wolf in our pack has a position and a role to play. Unlike other packs, we have a variety of positions.

Here in the Black Claw pack, we have twelve ranks.

The first three highest ranks are composed of the Alpha (which my father holds), Beta, and Delta.

Next in the rankings are the Gamma, Hunters, Scouts, and Sentinels.

Gammas are more like the secretary of the Alpha. Hunters are the ones responsible for hunting food outside the territory. Scouts and Sentinels serve as the security personnel of the pack. Scouts are the ones responsible for roaming outside the territory for possible rogues lurking around and giving warnings to higher officials. While the Sentinels ensure the safety of the members inside the territory.

We also have Salutary, Guardians, and of course, Elders.

Salutary is like the doctors of the pack. The difference is Salutary wolves only use herbal plants when treating pack members. Therefore, we still have to be checked by doctors for a more scientific approach. We take care of our human form as much as we take care of our wolves.

The Guardians work with the Salutary wolves. They are responsible for taking care of weakened, injured, and older werewolves in the pack. Elders are one of the most respected in the pack even if they do not hold the highest rankings. They are the werewolves with great experience and knowledge among the pack.

Lastly, we have Omegas and Slaves. Omegas are the helpers while the Slaves are those who did something wrong and endangered the lives of the pack members, yet the pack considers taking consideration and does not kick them out of the pack.

Unlike other packs, the Black Claw pack is an isolated place. We don’t accept visitors without prior notice, and the pack members are not allowed to go outside the territory without the permission of the higher officials.

We don’t interact much with other packs unless we hold a party. Usually, our pack hosts a party whenever a high-ranking official is promoted, or a member of their family just turned, or simply celebrating their birthdays.

That is why whenever there are announcements of the upcoming party, everyone is busy. Especially those who are searching for mates.

Black Claw pack is the strongest pack in the neighborhood, hence, it is no one’s loose if they discover their mates in our pack.

The thing is, since we are isolated, some of the members of our pack are getting used to everyone’s faces that they started craving to a new presence. Most preferably, those who they do not see often.

This is something I do not have a problem with. Since then, I know my mate is from other packs. I swear to the moon goddess that I will never want to be paired with a Beta or any lower rank. Since I am the daughter of the Alpha here, I have to search for my mate from other packs.

“You cannot choose your mate. The decision lies in the hand of the moon goddess.”

I remember my father’s words. When I turned 18 three months ago, we talked about having a mate. I told him that I want to mate with the other pack simply because I want my mate to come from the family of an Alpha.

“I trust the moon goddess. I know she won’t give me a mate weaker than me,” I confidently said to my father.

I walk back into my room to get ready for breakfast. Speaking of my father, I have to visit him in his room. He’s been on bed rest since last week.

I am already on my way to the stairs when suddenly, I heard whispers from afar.

“If she’s not the daughter of the alpha, she’s nothing.”

My brows furrowed from what I heard. I can proudly say that my hearing is ten times clearer than the rest of the wolves here in our pack.

“She really thinks she’s something.”

“Her sister is way better than her.”

“I know right? I heard from Maya that Kristine volunteered on gathering herbs with them in the forest.”

“Maya? One of the Salutary wolves?”

“Yeah, she also said Kristine was so nice to her. They even ate at the alpha’s house yesterday. She told me Kristine held a small house party for the Salutary wolves.”

This time, my brow arches up. My jaw clenches while my teeth gritted against each other.

There were visitors at our house yesterday, yet no one dared to tell me?! I wasn’t here yesterday simply because my wicked-trying-to-be-good stepmother just sent a letter to one of our neighboring packs that I will make a visit.

It won’t be a problem if she sent the letter to a strong and nice pack. But she chose to make me visit the Brown Line pack. I already want to run away just by hearing their pack’s name.

I do not care if the Alpha’s son was tall and good-looking. Heck! That pack was soon to vanish. They lost to almost all the attacks made by the other packs. I assume their leadership and military aren’t strong enough to defend their pack.

So, even though I don’t want to, out of courtesy, I visited the pack yesterday.

My stepmother did not even ask for my consent. She just handed the letter to our Gamma and ordered him to deliver the letter to the Midnight shadow pack.

When I confronted her about it, she claimed it was just a friendly visit to build strong relationships and form allies.

At that moment, I wanted to roll my eyes right in front of her. If I know, she wanted me to search for my mate so she can legally kick me out of our pack.

I march my way to the whispers. When I turn on the left aisle, there are four she-wolves giggling at each other.

I hiss. The two of them are also the girls that I encountered earlier.

I want to pull the hair of the nearest to me, but I stop myself. I lean my back on the wall and cross my arms over my chest. I tilt my head as I watch them a few steps away.

‘Tsk. If I were a rogue, their bodies would be swimming in blood now. How could they not sense that someone’s watching them?’

I sigh.

I straighten my back and walk slowly toward them. I did not try to hide my presence. I want them to feel that I’m here.

The smile on their lips annoys the hell out of me. I am the daughter of the alpha of the strongest pack in the neighborhood. Other than that, I have my own training grounds which are made personally for me. I can attack all of them at once.

I am already used to being the topic of someone’s gossip, but I easily flinch whenever someone compares me to my step-sister while talking ill about me.

After taking several steps, one of them landed her gaze on me. The smile on her lips vanished and her eyes widens.

“P-Princess…” she utters.

A small smirk flashes on my lips. The three she-wolves quickly turn their heads in my direction. Just like the first girl, they both displayed a surprised expressions.

My eyes drop to their faces.

‘The audacity to talk sh*t behind my back when they all look like sh*t.’

“I heard you’re talking about me,” I say to the girl wearing a high ponytail.

Tss. I thought they already left after I confronted them earlier.

“N-No, Princess. W-We’re just—”

“Should I tell Mr. Aguila about the Omegas you bullied earlier?”

If I am not mistaken, Ella and her little brother were omegas. Their parents are spies, but they did not take part in any of it. Hence, my father placed them as omegas instead of slaves.

The high ponytail girl lowered her head. “I-I’m sorry Princess—”

“Why do you care?”

My brow automatically arch up when a long hair girl crosses her arms over her chest and raises a voice at me.

Did she just raise her voice at me? How dare her?!

“Come again?” I say slow and low.

“I said, ‘Why. Do. You. Care?’”

My jaw clenches. I am aware most of the wolves here in our pack dislike me. It is because I dislike them. They may talk behind my back, but few are brave enough to talk back to me. And this b*tch right here is one of the few.

“Not because you’re the daughter of an Alpha, you can intimidate us—”

“I am not trying to intimidate you. Why? Are you intimidated?” I cut her off.

She was caught off guard by my question. She glared at me. Her lips are moving as if she wanted to say something but she couldn’t find the right words.

I smirk.

‘Yeah, right. Be intimidated.’

“Let’s go, girls.” She turns her back against me along with her cronies. But before she can take a step forward, I grab her arms and force her to face me. She harshly frees herself from me. She completely faced my direction and pushed me. “Who are you to touch me?!” she hisses.

My face heated up. I know by now nothing good will happen to this girl. I swear that to the moon goddess. No one dares to do this to me!

My right hand moved. Before she can dodge it, it already landed on her cheek.

“And who are you to push me?” I ask in a calm yet dangerous tone.

Her hand caresses her now swollen cheek. She looks at me with her glaring eyes, as if it will scare the sh*t out of me.

I notice her body slightly tilt. Her other hand stretches out to reach for my hair, but I quickly catch her wrist.

A smirk appears on my lips. “Too slow,” I mock.

She gritted her teeth. In my peripheral vision, I notice two of her girls charging toward me. I let go of her wrist and jump out of my place.

They did not anticipate my move, making the three of them hit each other.

“B*tch!” the remaining girl curses.

I only smiled at her. She rushes towards me, but I easily dodge her attack. I pulled her hair and use it to toss her. Her back hit the wall and made her whimper in pain.

The girl with a high ponytail managed to compose herself. She throws a punch at me. I tilt my head to the side and use my left hand to catch her fist. Her eyes widen at my fast movements. Before she can react, I twist her arm and made her scream.

“Ahhhh!”

“Ugh! Too loud,” I complained. I let go of the girl by pushing her back on the ground.

I notice on my left side that one of the girls stand on her feet. She reaches for my hair, attempting to pull it. However, I quickly kick her in the gut.

“Ouch!” she winced. She curled her body, trying to mend the pain.

Tss. They are too slow. I look at the girl crying in pain after I throw her against the wall.

Slowly, I walk towards her. Before I can reach her, I sense something fast will hit me from the back. I quickly face its direction.

A kick is flying towards me. It will hit straight onto my face. But before I can dodge it, the girl who was about to kick me fly meters away from me.

My forehead furrows. Who the hell was that?

My head searched for whoever it was.

“C-Connor…” one of the girls utters.

In front of us is a man wearing a plain black shirt and dark jeans. Our eyes lock after he landed his gaze on the girls on the floor as well as on the girl he kicked.

I was never intimidated by anyone in our pack.

But his presence… no! I’m not scared. I’m not intimidated. There’s something in his vibes that I am not comfortable with.

He’s just… He’s just too much for me.

He arrogantly looks at us one by one. I feel insulted.

I am way better than the girls here. Who is he to treat me how he treats them?

“Beta,” I greeted.

I suppress my smile as I called him. There was a tone of mocking when I greet him by his future title. He is the son of our current Beta, Mr. Boris. Of course, he will be the next Beta. It runs in their family.

I called him by his future position to remind him that I am the Alpha’s daughter and way above him.

However, my confident stance slowly shuttered when I notice that he did not even flinch or reacted to my mocking voice.

He once again travels his eyes on the girls before landing his gaze on me. “Go back to your training grounds. Now.” He says while looking straight at me.

Without exerting much effort in his normal authoritative voice, the girls quickly stand on their feet and rush out of our sight.

My brows furrow. Is he commanding me?

He sighs disappointingly. I gulp.

Without removing his black-gray hooded eyes from mine, he says, “Isn’t it too early for that… princess?”

One side of his lips stretches up to form an annoying and insulting smirk. I frowned.

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Unedited. English is not my first language. My apologies for the grammar, sentence construction, and wrong spelling.

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Once A Princess, Now A Slave

By: Joanne Cristel

©2023