Once A Princess, Now A Slave

14- Visit

Kelsie’s POV

My lips are on a thin line as I play with the knife with my fingers. Swirling the pointed thing in between my middle and index finger made me less anxious. I am sitting on my bed with my back on the headboard.

The scene of Connor subtly shaking his head, the disappointment on his face, and the way he turns his back at me repeatedly play on my head.

I stopped what I am doing when I heard a familiar footstep and suddenly felt a presence approaching me. True enough, seconds after, Garnor opened my door and welcomed himself inside. I immediately turn to face the left direction and saw Garnor walking towards me.

Tss. This guy! Sometimes, I do not know if he’s intimidated by me, or if he is just faking being intimidated out of respect since I am the alpha’s daughter. He did not even knock!

“What’s with the long face, Princess? You won,” he welcomed. He even has the audacity to smile at me after invading my private space!

I stopped playing with my knife and harshly put it down on my lap which is covered with my blanket. My eyes narrowed at him. He instantly raises both of his hands as if he is surrendering.

I sigh. I did win, but I also do not know the reason behind this heavy feeling—or maybe I did know. I just don’t want to accept that he has an effect on me.

The thought of Connor’s disappointed face once again crosses my mind. I shake my head in the hopes of erasing his image.

Maybe because of the mate bond? We did reject each other but the bond isn’t that fast to fade.

“You also passed the test!” Garnor added when he realizes I’m still not in the mood.

I sigh. I cannot fully be happy and that sucks. This is why I hate caring about other people’s opinions of me. They are ruining my perception of who I am.

“Garnor, tell me honestly…” I stand on my seat and face Garnor, “… was it too much? Did I cross the line?” I asked.

What I did to that girl was indeed humiliating. But they are already doing it to me since then. It’s just that, I fought back today.

Why is it that if the bully bullies someone, and the one being bullied did not fight back, people call them a bigger person? But if the one being bullied fought fair, people will say they do not have patience.

How come tolerating disrespect makes you a bigger person when in reality, it makes you feel less valued?

Three consecutive knocks were heard from the door of my room.

“Come in!” I said.

Gia pushes the door from the other side and made herself visible. She is holding a tray with hot tea in her hands. I motioned her to place them on my side table.

“Here’s your tea, princess—”

“Gia, answer me honestly,” I said in a serious tone.

Gia’s face paled. She started playing with her finger and picking her nails. I sigh. Am I that scary? I sit properly and straighten my back.

“Did that girl deserve that humiliation? I mean, she started it!” I tried to make my voice soft so she won’t get scared of me.

Gia glances at Garnor. She then scratches the back of her head. I raised a brow, waiting for her response.

“I—I think s-she deserve i-it, P-princess…”

“See? I knew it! He’s just overreacting. You can’t blame me for acting that way. They disrespected me first!” I commented.

My heart felt a little lightweight. Sometimes, others’ validation is what we need in order to justify our actions. And I know that it is exactly what I am doing.

“B-But, I a-also t-think it’s t-too much.”

The small upward curve on my lips quickly vanished when I heard what she said.

I frowned.

Gia’s eyes widen and she frantically waves her hands in front of her when she noticed my expression.

“W-What I am s-saying, princess, is that s-she peed on h-her p-pants and I t-think, i-it’s too humiliating on her part,” she explained.

“I did not do that. Not that I told her to do that either. She peed on herself!” I reasoned out. I cross my arms over my chest and harshly lay my back down on the headboard.

“I also heard from the other hunters that Gia doesn’t want to go out of her room after what happened,” she added.

I looked at her and raised a brow. “You know her?” I heard her calling her by her first name.

“W-We talked a l-little before when I w-was tasked t-to clean the Hunters’ quarters,” she nervously said.

I sigh. I darted my gaze at the thick blanket that is currently covering half of my lower body.

I know most pack members are getting along. Since then, I feel like I am the black sheep in this pack.

I do not understand where it started. Maybe because I am the alpha's daughter and since then, I have been sheltered by my parents.

I remember when my mother doesn’t want me to play with other werewolves when I was a kid because according to her, I should act like a real princess. And a princess should not play. At a young age, she already taught me how to lead and how to be prim and proper.

This made me distant from other wolves my age. I’ve watched them play while I do piano lessons with my personal teacher. They play during their break time while I eat alone in the alpha’s house. They train together, while I am trained by my personal trainer. Before, my trainer is Mr. Eulof, the Delta. And now, I am being trained by Garnor, Mr. Eulof’s son.

“Won’t you visit your father?” Garnor asked out of nowhere.

I visited my father yesterday before taking the test but he was sleeping. I am planning to visit him that day after the test but that happened. I wonder if the news reached my father. I know he’s been immune to the concerns and issues about me, but I do not think this is the right time for him to hear about the problems of the pack to me.

I canceled all my plans yesterday after the test. I was about to go visit the neighboring pack, but I canceled it. Good thing one of our scouts immediately sent the message to the pack that I won’t be able to go and that the visit will happen tomorrow (which is today).

I look at the clock hanging on the left side of my room. It’s already 1 in the afternoon. I am supposed to be there before lunch.

“I’m already late tho…” I say. I lift my head and look at Gia. Glad that this time, she’s not nervous anymore. “Gia, tell the scout that I will move our visit—”

“You already moved it yesterday,” Garnor cut me off. I throw a glare at him, but he only shrugs. “I’m just saying. Maybe next time, they won’t accept you anymore. You already canceled the visit twice and this time, you announced it later. I’m sure they are waiting for you.”

I sigh. I understand what he is saying. It is common courtesy among werewolves to not cancel the visit at the last minute. And if I do it today, then it will be twice in a row.

“But my body is too heavy today. I do not want to get out of my bed!” I slide down my bed and lay my back on the comfort of my thick duvet. “I want to stay here,” I added.

“You can’t just stay here. It’s not that you were the one who peed on her pants yesterday,” Garnor said on which I agree.

But what he doesn’t understand is that I do not care about what other people think of me. I do not care if they found me harsh and a bully because I know to myself that I am not. I do not care about their stares.

I jolt in my bed and clap my hand when an idea pops into my mind. I got the attention of the two who are standing beside my bed, waiting for my decision. I bite my lower lip.

“Gia, prepare my clothes. I want it to be semi-formal,” I said.

Her eyebrows rise up, surprised by what I said. But in the end, she nods.

Gia knows I do not like wearing formal and semi-formal clothes. I am more of an I-am-basing-my-outfit-in-my-mood type of person. And it was never in my mood to be formal or something near it. I do not like formalities. I feel like it is limiting me of my free will.

“O-okay, Princess,” she replied.

She faces her back and went to my walk-in closet on the right side of my room.

I then darted my gaze back to Garnor.

“And you… tell the Beta’s son to accompany me to the neighboring pack.”

Just like Gia, Garnor’s face seems surprised. His lips parted. He was about to say something but I raised a finger to stop him.

“No questions. Just do what I say,” I said.

He silently clears his throat and scratches the back of his head.

“Okay, Princess,” he replied.

I watch him exit my room to do what I ordered him to do. A small smile crept on my face.

I know proving myself to someone isn’t my thing, but sometimes, I know how to break my own principles. I'll show him what a Princess can do!

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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