Once A Princess, Now A Slave

2- Her Mate?

Kelsie’s POV

“Isn’t it too early for that, princess?” he smirks.

I’ve never felt insulted when someone calls me Princess. But whenever it was he who calls me with that title, I feel like I don’t deserve to be called one.

My forehead crumples. I raise a brow and cross my arms over my chest.

“To fill you with information, they were bullying the omegas. I was just talking to them.” I blink uncomfortably after saying the last line. I just realize that I was too defensive.

But it’s true! I was trying to discipline them. As a pack, no one should tolerate bullying!

He shrugs. “As you say so…” He faces his back to me and started walking away.

I am not yet convinced that he believes what I said, so I jog toward him and block his way.

He inserted his hands into his pockets and looks at me languidly. He tilts his head, waiting for what I’ll say.

I place my hands on the side of my waist and mimic his tilted head.

“The children were bullied because of what their parents did. I was just defending them. They should not be punished for the things they did not do.”

He nods his head. I do not know if he’s agreeing or he just nods so he can now escape me. Thinking of the latter made me pissed.

It looks like he read what’s in my head. He straightens his back and sighs.

“I believe that you did the right thing,” he says in a serious tone.

My eyes narrow at him, observing if he’s indeed telling the truth. I don’t usually care about what others will think of me or if they believe what I’ll say, but it’s different for Connor.

I am not seeking his validation. I just hate whenever he’s looking at me with his judgmental eyes. It makes me want to poke them.

“Good. I also believe that your father did the right thing. I heard he killed the spies,” I say.

“My father was out with the Scouts that time.”

I heard from other werewolves that Mr. Boris often goes with the Scouts to roam outside the territory.

“Oh! So, did Delta Eulof do the work?” I ask.

My father is sick for about weeks now. The only ones who knew about this are the Beta and the Delta, as well as a few salutary wolves. Since then, Mr. Boris is the one doing most of the alpha’s work. Sometimes, he’s asking our Delta to do some of the unfinished tasks that he was not able to do.

“No, I did,” he bluntly answers.

My lips parted a little, surprised by what he disclosed. I quickly close them. I silently clear my throat and fixes my stance.

It is normal to kill spies and rogues who bring harm to our pack. It is no big deal if he kills werewolves to defend our pack. However, sometimes I cannot grasp the thought of him killing werewolves.

I haven’t witnessed it yet, but I am aware of what he is capable of doing. He wouldn’t be admired by most members of our pack if he isn’t good. Plus, he is from the family of a Beta. Of course, he is undeniably great.

I may be snob and prideful, but I know how to praise those who deserve my praise.

“O-Okay. That’s g-great! You may now go.” I say. I maintain a straight face so he wouldn’t notice that I was by what he said.

He nods at me as a sign that he was about to go.

Just when I thought we had a normal and fight-free conversation, I saw how his lips curved upward before turning his back to me.

I frowned. I knew he is thinking that I’m scared of him!

With his 6’3 height, broad shoulders, good posture, protruding muscles, and perfectly angled jawline, I will honestly say that sometimes, he intimidates me.

Just, sometimes.

Quick. Swift. It usually doesn’t last a second! Not enough to scare me. Not at all!

“It’s not even a big deal,” I whisper to myself while my eyes are murdering his back.

He was already walking away but stopped mid-step. He turns sideways to face me and gives me a perfect view of his jawline.

I raise my brow. I know he heard me. Then what he’s going to do about it?

“I heard you pushed Lava down the stairs three days ago. Don’t worry, it’s not a big deal.”

Who the hell is Lava?

My brows look like they want to meet each other. I roll my eyes when I remember what happened days ago.

Oh, so her name is Lava.

“I heard her talking sh*t about me. She told her friends that I am too weak as the daughter of an alpha. I just proved her wrong.”

I was about to practice my archery skills on my personal training ground when I saw this girl gossiping with her friends. She has copper-red dyed long hair. And I heard from other members of the pack that she’s still with the Salutary wolves, getting her treatments.

Connor completely faced me. I am not even surprised when I notice the ghost of a smile on his lips.

He shrugs. “It is also not a big deal that you sneak into the girl’s bathroom last week and stole someone’s clothes and let them walk n***d in the pack house?”

His mocking voice annoys me.

It was Laurel, my step-sister’s friend.

“She spread to the pack members that I have skin rashes all over my legs and stomach!” My voice raised.

I got annoyed so I stole her clothes while she was taking a bath in the shower area and let her walk n***d. I made sure none of her friends, including my step-sister, will help her.

It was the topic of the whole pack. I was surprised my father did not call me. But of course, my trying hard stepmother step up and lectured me. Good thing I already mastered how to ignore her.

His lips twitch as if he’s trying to stop himself from smiling. My blood instantly crawls up to my face. I can feel my cheeks heating up.

I am on my last string of patience, and I am hoping I won’t lose it. But this guy right here has other plans.

“Okay… It’s not a big deal that last two weeks ago, you put shredded garlic on Avril’s food knowing that she’s allergic to garlic. She spent a week with the Salutary,” he chuckled while shaking his head. “You’re making the Salutary wolves too busy.”

I want to ignore his sarcasm and go back to my room to finally start my morning right. But he is testing my patience!

“You ask for this…” I said in a low voice but enough for him to hear.

He was not even bothered by my warning which made me pissed. His mocking smile and cocky look made me glare at him.

Without thinking clearly, I charged at him.

“You, arrogant wolf!”

He easily avoided my punch by taking a side-step. The fact that he did not even remove his hands from his pockets to defend himself insulted me.

I used my other hand to throw an uppercut punch, but he catches it with his right hand. He slightly pulled me closer, making our faces inches away from each other.

“Tsk. Too slow, princess,” he smirks.

I narrowed my eyes at him. I am only 5’8. He’s taller than me. When it comes to speed, even though I train every day, I know he’s more skilled and fast.

I need to think of his weakness!

A small smirk flashes on my lips when an idea pops into my head.

I made a little step backward to help balance my weight. I was about to kick him on his most precious spot, but he managed to dodge my knees with his leg.

He smirks. “That’s off limits. Not there, princess,” he mocks.

Before I can think of my next move, he held the back of my left leg. I was about to be out of balanced, but he is quick enough to snake his free hand around my waist. He then pushes me against the wall with his hand still holding the back of my left leg.

“What the—”

My eyes widen. Soon, I glare. He grins.

I cannot fight back. My right foot is the only one touching the ground. If I’ll charge, he can easily push or toss me.

Ugh! This is so frustrating!

“Put. Me. Down.” I commanded, emphasizing every word.

His grin only grew wider, ignoring my warning. Instead, he presses me more. My back can already feel the coldness of the wall.

Our eyes lock. In a split second, his taunting eyes were replaced by his serious and hooded look that I barely notice it. My gaze dropped to his red and soft-looking lips. His minty breath brushed against my face. I gulp.

He is a skilled werewolf. The fact that he is inches closer away from me scares me. I’m scared not because he might harm me, but because my heart is racing too fast that he might hear it.

Out of a sudden, in my peripheral vision, I saw a movement. My brows furrow. I know this presence too well.

“E-Excuse me…”

I roll my eyes when I hear her voice. Connor dropped my leg and we both look in the direction of the voice.

Kristine, my sister, is standing a few meters away from us. She looked confused. I even saw her traveling her eyes back and forth to us.

I immediately pushed Connor’s broad chest. Good thing, he did not resist and let me have my personal space back.

“Mother told me to call you for breakfast. You are not in your room, so I tried searching for you and found you here,” she said in her not-so-normal soft voice.

“I’ll eat if I’m hungry,” I answered.

“Okay, I’ll tell mother,” she said in a softer voice and smiled. She lands her gaze on Connor. “My mother said you can visit the alpha’s house and eat with us. If you want to.”

I make a face when I saw her tucking her hair strands behind her ears and giggling.

“Alright. I’ll go first,” Connor answered casually.

“You two can go. I have to take a shower,” I say. I did not wait for them to respond and faced my back to exit the scene.

“We’ll wait for you,” Connor said, which I ignored.

***

True enough. They indeed wait. I already finished my morning routine when I saw the two waiting for me outside of my room.

We are not friends, but we are not strangers to each other either. Connor is a well-known Beta in our pack. Same with me and Kristine since our families hold the two highest positions in the pack. Only that, the two of them are sociable beings and getting well with the pack. On the other hand, I am disliked by most of the she-wolves and often persuaded by lower rank male wolves.

Good thing I know myself well. I will never accept a lower rank wolf as my mate. Never.

“You don’t need to wait. It’s not that we’re friends,” I roll my eyes and walk past the two of them. They followed from my behind.

“I’m not yet hungry so I decided to wait.”

“Mother wouldn’t start eating if we are incomplete on the table.”

I raise a brow. My back is facing them so they won’t see my reaction.

Since when did she and her mother wait for me to eat? That never happened!

I shake my head. Fake girl!

I choose to ignore her. I’ll get nothing if I call her out. A fake will forever be a fake.

We are now in the dining area. We saw three omega wolves leaving the dining area after they set the table.

“Hi, Connor! Hi Princess Kristine!” one of them greeted. When she lands her gaze on me, she awkwardly smiles. She was about to greet me when I raise a finger.

“Don’t force yourself to greet me if you don’t want to.”

She closes her lips together and lowers her head.

“Tss,” I hiss.

I walk past them and enter the dining. Inside, my mom is already sitting on the first chair on the right side of the table. The center chair on where my father is usually sitting is still vacant.

I sighed. I hope he will feel better soon. I should note to visit him after this.

“Good morning, Kelsie!” Denette, my step-mother, stands on her seat to welcome me.

She gave me a hug. Out of courtesy, I hug her back, but I immediately withdrew. I notice the half-baked smile on her lips after what I did. She then faced her daughter and Connor.

“Oh, you two… you look good together!” she enthusiastically says.

I want to roll my eyes, but I stop myself. Instead, I focus my eyes on the freshly cooked steak in front of me.

“Good day Luna,” he greeted.

Goodness, I can smell the butter on it!

I am not a strong eater. I am always on a diet to stay fit. However, I do not understand why I feel like I badly want to shove this meat into my mouth.

“You always decline our invites. Good thing you agreed to have breakfast with us today. We are planning to talk about Kristine’s upcoming 18th birthday!”

Tss. My 18th birthday was held three months ago. I don’t remember us talking about my birthday while eating breakfast.

“Is father going to join us today?” I ask.

“No. He won’t. He’s still on bed rest,” Denette answered.

I know for a fact that my father is not getting any younger. I suggested taking him to a doctor, but he refused to leave the pack.

“I don’t want anyone to know my condition,” he once said.

My father had a stroke. Good thing I saw him on the day of the incident and immediately called Mr. Boris, our Beta, and my father’s most trusted person in the pack.

I know I should call for a Salutary or a Doctor, but I do not know who I should trust. My father doesn’t want the pack to know about his condition yet. That is why I chose to call our Beta and he was the one who choose who to call among the Salutary wolves.

“Go ahead. Take a seat so we can start eating.” My step-mom motioned him to the seat.

The seat in the center remains empty. My step-mom and sister are both sitting on the right, while I sit on the left, in front of my step-mom. Since the nearest vacant seat is the seat beside me, Connor chose it.

“Uhm, Connor, you can sit beside Kristine,” my stepmother said.

My brows furrow. It’s no big deal to me, but I can’t stop raising a brow.

My stepmother smiled at me. My shoulders slump. Her smile is the kind of smile that I do not want to see. Whenever she does that, it means she did something I won’t be happy about.

“The son of the alpha of the Silvermoon pack will be visiting today.”

I roll my eyes. I knew it.

Yesterday, she sent me to visit the brown line pack, which is one of the weakest packs in the neighborhood. Now, she accepted a visitor from a pack miles away from us? Silvermoon is from the other side of the country. Although I heard they are a strong pack, I do not want to be that far!

Is she this desperate to kick me out of here? Ugh!

Before, I was too excited to turn 18 because it is the age when you can finally meet your wolf and find a mate (I only met Lycandra, my wolf, once. After that, she did not pop up in my head again. They said it’s normal for a wolf to do this especially if I just turned 18).

However, this excitement vanished when my father started getting sick. I do not want to be away from him. Not yet.

If the moon goddess will give me a mate far from home, then I bet he will understand my decision to stay longer in my pack.

Before I can voice out my reaction, an omega rushed inside the dining and bow her head to us.

“Alpha Zyko is already here,” she announces.

‘Sh*t!’ I curse to myself.

“Let him in!” my stepmom excitedly says.

She’s still in the middle of her sentence when a man about 6ft. tall entered the dining area.

My jaw drops and my eyes blinked uncontrollably.

In front of us is a man full of tattoos. He has long blond curly hair that looks like it was last brushed a year ago. He flashed a smile that made my heart jump out of my ribcage because of his gross yellowish teeth. He is also missing a tooth near the center teeth. His eyes are big and his ears look like an elf-ear.

‘Seriously?!’

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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