The Crown In Between

Chapter One | A Night of Mistakes

---POV Julie---

    In a world where it is eat or be eaten, there is only one rule. Stay away from the wolves. It’s really simple. Well, at least for those who like to follow the rules. “I can’t believe they actually let us in!” My best friend Nia squealed as we walked into the party of the year. College was fun, but it was divided just like the real world. The wolves stayed to themselves and so did the humans. We liked it that way and we had no interest in changing it.

     However, Nia wasn’t one for the rules. Breaking them was more her speed.

     “Can’t we just go back to our dorm. I have a final in a week and a paper due on Sunday. Can’t we just be smart about this?” I asked, shooting my eyes around the room cautiously. I could feel the ground rumble as the house shook to the bass in the music. “They’ll know.” I whispered.

     She shook her head. “I told you. My mom is a wolf, and my father is human. I have a wolf. They aren’t going to do anything without my say so.”

     She’s a half–breed. Her say so is irrelevant. I wish it wasn’t though. She’s been my best friend since we were children. We both grew up in the same district. Her mom being a wolf and mine being well…a caregiver if I want to put it nicely. We ended up being ostracized and did our best to stick together. It was the best we could do until she found out about her wolf. Once the spirit presented herself, it got a little easier for her. I’m grateful she pulled me along for the ride, but she’s never been stupid enough to just walk into the wolves’ den! At least…not with me.

     “You got lost?” One of the men called and we spun around to meet him. He smirked and I could see his eyes trailing these ridiculous outfits Nia put us in. She had me in a bright pink dress held up by thin straps, as the hem barely covered my bum, and blood red pumps to match. She, however, decided on silver with a shoulder strap and a slit down the side of her dress, so I guess I can count my blessings. What’s worse is the amount of make-up she caked on my face and the curls she styled my hair in. We look like call girls.

     “No, of course not! My boyfriend is here.” Nia growled and flashed her eyes, showing her spirit. Showing her right to be here.

     He scoffed and looked over to me, growling low. “I find it hard to believe that’s the case for both of you, half–breed. How dare you bring a human in here.”

     “Hey, piss off!” Another one of these burly giants plowed into the man in front of us and wrapped his arm over Nia. I sighed in relief. It was Kevin. Her boyfriend. The only reason why this party upgraded from a suicide mission to a…stupid mission.

    The man snapped his teeth at him, and Kevin didn’t hesitate to try and fight him off. He was her soul, partner, whatever they call their significant others. He would die for her. I thought that was quite romantic, seeing as us humans are stuck with someone we may like forever or hate in five years. We really are up to the fates while the wolves are blessed with true love. The man’s eye flinched at Kevin’s threat before he scoffed and walked off.  Kevin turned to the both of us and shook his head. “Nia, babe, I know that Julie is your friend, but please…be aware of her safety. Seriously. Why is she here?” He asked. It wasn’t with malice or disrespect. He honestly looked as worried as I felt. I rubbed my arm and looked at the floor.

     “What was I going to do? Let my roommate suffer as a bookworm her whole life?! No sir!” Nia giggled. Harsh much? I’m not that much of a wet blanket…am I?

     “At the cost of her safety?” He grumbled and she huffed.

     “With the two of us, she should be fine.” Nia snapped back.

     “This is the house of the prince!” He growled. He seemed to be getting a little irritated with her complete disregard for human life. My human life.

     Wait, did he say prince?! Like the prince of all wolves. The head family of the very beasts that make it almost impossible to walk home at night?! That prince?! Nia pulled away from him and wrapped her arm over my shoulder before squeezing me a little harder than I’d like. “You and your friends along with me will not allow any harm to come to her.” I know that voice. It was her that’s final voice. Even he won’t go against it.

     Shoving his hands into his pockets he nodded and waved towards a different area of the massive house. The White family’s house. I, a human, was in the house of the White family. I felt all color drain from my face as she pulled me forward. “Stay in front of me and stay where I can see you both.” He didn’t have to worry about that. I wasn’t going anywhere.

     The White family has ruled over the wolves for over two hundred years, and we have all seen what the royal family’s wrath can do. Human and wolf alike. I really think my friend is trying to kill me this time. The son however, I haven’t heard much about him aside from the escapades he has no concern with parading around school. Girl after girl. Another notch in his bedpost every night. The quintessential player of Thompson University. His family’s money at his disposal and the intelligence of a certified genius to boot. Looks and brains.

     Either way, I don’t care what they call him. I don’t want him to find me here. Tainting his house. Rumor has it, when his father took over as king, he split the previous ruler in two. The fight wasn’t even a competition to him. The prince is cut from the same cloth. I’m sure he will not show mercy to a mere human like me when their family can be so cruel to their own kind. “Take a seat here.” Kevin called, throwing me out of my own thoughts.

     Two girls that were wearing what looked like t-shirts looked over to us with a sneer as they held onto two men that, I’m assuming, were Kevin’s friends. I’ve only seen him when he comes to visit Nia in our dorm, so I really didn’t know what his friend group looked like. I didn’t really care either. I guess I really was – as Nia called me – a bookworm. “Really a half-breed and a human?” One of the girls snapped and Kevin growled right back without hesitation.

     “What did you call my mate?!” He spat back and she shook in her heels.

     “S-sorry alpha.” Oh right. That’s what they are called. Mates. Nia giggled and kissed his cheek, calming him down immediately before sitting in the open chair, pulling me down next to her.

     “Don’t worry about it, babe. I’m used to it.” She added.

     He looked down at her sadly and nodded. “You shouldn’t have to be.” He grumbled before turning back to the two men that seemed to be sitting a little straighter. Maybe it’s because of the authority he has over them? There may only be one prince but there are hundreds of alphas and Kevin is one of them. They are the top of the pack and hold their own authority. The prince’s family, however, is the top of the food chain. Nia really did have the best Prince Charming story with Kevin though, and I was beyond happy for her. Even though I was stuck still living in cinders, I didn’t mind living in the shadow of her happiness much. I was far away from my darkness now and Nia deserved every bit of happiness life gave her.

     Kevin protects her and keeps her safe in this world of bloodshed and fur. That’s all I can ask for. Envy has no room here. “You two watch them and make sure they are safe. Get rid of these whores.” He growled before storming off. The girls were immediately pulled off of them and the men gave their full attention to us. It felt uncomfortable.

     This whole night felt uncomfortable.

     After many drinks provided by my best friend, she left me to stew in my drunken stupor and raced off to the dance floor with Kevin. Must be nice to have werewolf sobriety. “Aren’t you going to dance or something human?” One of the guys asked as I nursed my third cup of water. I didn’t bother remembering their names. Just like they didn’t bother to remember mine. This is most likely the first and the last time I’ll ever see them anyway.

     “No.” I answered shortly.

     “Burrr…this one is as cold as ice.” The other chuckled.

     I stood to my feet a little too quickly and the both of them shot up with me, but the surprise wasn’t lost on their faces. “I’m going to the bathroom. I’ll be fine.” I snapped and stormed off, hoping the peanut gallery wouldn’t follow.

     For a home on campus, this place was huge, and it was all for that entitled prince. I kept my head down and raced through the halls, wishing I wasn’t wearing these stupid heels. There was no way I could bob and weave through all of this with these ridiculous contraptions on my feet. I finally decided to just go upstairs. There were less people and it looked like they were too busy making out to pay attention to the human who shouldn’t be here. I sighed in relief when I finally found the small bathroom at the far end of the hall.

---POV Benson---

     “I have to say, when you said party of the year, you really meant it this time!” One random girl shouted while my ears rang over the loud music. I’m trying to figure out what possessed me to do this and when I saw my brother dancing on one of the tables I was reminded why. “Come on your highness, dance with me.” She purred again.

     I don’t know if we can call it fate or luck, but at that moment, the overwhelming toxicity of the girl’s perfume was completely overpowered by the lull of peaches and pine. So subtle, but it was definitely –. My spirit cut off my train of thought and my legs moved on their own. “Mine!” He shouted and I was grinning from ear to ear.

     I thought I was going to have to suck it up. I thought I was going to have to come to the realization that my mate is nowhere to be found. That I’m a lost cause as parliament calls it. I chuckled like a schoolboy as I raced up the stairs. I took in another drag of her scent as it continued to grow. Finally, a door at the end of the hall opened to greet me and I saw her. I finally saw her! I raced up to the open door and there was no turning back now.

     I let my spirit have what he wanted. Her. “Mine!” I shouted and she jumped back in shock. I furrowed my brow, expecting her to jump all over me like what I’ve seen new mates do in my pack and others. She just stared at me in a daze.

     “Our mate is human.” My spirit sighed and pulled back the reigns a little but neither of us were angry with this revelation. I’m glad I’m of royal blood or controlling him would have been impossible at this point. We both knew I couldn’t just jump on a human like that. I’d tear her apart. Focus….

     Focus.

     “And you are?” She asked irritably.

     I leaned back and folded my arms. “I see you’ve gotten a warm welcome since you’ve been here.” Sarcasm laid on thick. Wolves don’t take kindly to humans. Rightfully so. Our ancestors were hunted by humans, and we’ve learned to dominate to find our safety. The irony is not lost on us though. Like me, many have found out the grueling truth to our new supremacy over this world. Some of our mates are human. The other half of our soul is the one thing our creed hates more than anything. I smirked inwardly as her gorgeous hazel eyes tried to register the conversation. Oh, the goddess is quite the comedian.

     “Not quite. You a human too? You’re quite large to be a human, but that’s the only way you’d be nice to me without an order.” She giggled and I noticed that sound will be the death of me.

     I shook my head and held out my hand. “Not quite, however, you don’t look very good. Let me go get you some water.” She looked down at my hand and hesitated before stepping back towards the bathroom.

     “So, are you a wolf then?” She asked, all joy dropping form her eyes.

     “Technically, no. And before you ask, I’m not a vampire either.” I took her hand this time and the sparks shot through my fingertips, confirming the next queen will be…human.

     “Then I guess it’s fine.” She walked behind me, and I noticed she was getting closer as we continued down to the other side of the hall.

     “This room should work. You can stay here until I get you something to drink.” I said and she plopped down on the bed before nodding and grabbing a pillow.

     “It’s quiet in here. I think I’ll be fine with that.” She hummed.

     I don’t think she’s entirely wrong. I took a deep breath, just to enjoy her scent a little longer before racing to the kitchen grabbing a bottle of water and sprinting back up to my room faster than I could think. I didn’t want to be stopped by anyone. “Found us some water. Here you go.” I handed her the sealed bottle, and she gladly took it, downing the full amount in one go before laying back down on the bed.

     Focus….

     I drank about half of mine, and she sighed, turning to me. “Can you stay with me?” She whispered. From the looks of it, I don’t think she registered that I’m the prince. This human never ceased to amaze me. Even better.

    “Stay with you?” I asked curiously. She nodded and reached out her hand, burying her tall and curvy frame into the pillows further. I sighed and pulled back the comforter. “Get in.” I said reluctantly. I grazed over her outfit and to be honest, I was a bit agitated that so much was visible to others. However, I don’t want to overstep any boundaries. She kicked off her heels and snuggled into the sheets.

     “Thank you.” She whispered before her eyes closed for good this time. I turned for the door and my spirit growled immediately.

     “She said to stay.” He growled lowly.

     “She’s drunk.”

     “Even more of a reason! If anything happens to her on our watch, I’ll burn you from the inside out!” He shouted back.

     “That’s not possible, but my guilt will definitely try.” I stared over at her glossed lips and sighed. He’s right though. I can’t just leave her here. The likelihood of someone taking advantage of her is high, even if she’s a human.

      I slipped off my shoes and went to lock the door. The last thing I need is someone to stumble in here by mistake. Resting my body next to hers had me on cloud nine. I may not know her name, but I will never forget her scent.