Prologue
I stood by the arched window, with my favorite red shawl on my shoulders, the one my mother had gifted me as a teenager, while I looked at the sunset leaving hues of purple and orange behind. Its beauty was indescribable, and it made me reminisce about my days as a young princess and how I came to be who I was today.
The cold breeze of the evening made my skin shiver, and the sound of the night owl made itself known, welcoming the dark hours when that amazing bird would start its hunting trip.
I smiled, for life has taught me a great lesson. As I heard the howls of the wolves in the distance, I could feel my heart beating with their beautiful melody, my graying hair rising behind my neck while I closed my eyes and enjoyed the wonderful moment.
Today marked a special day, the one where my curiosity got the best of me many years ago, but it was also the time where I learned that not everything in life is handed to you, and that you had to appreciate even the smallest things.
“Mother?” I heard Ella, my daughter, call from the doorway, her silky white nightgown flowing with the breeze and her feet, bare on the stone floor as she approached me with a soft smile on her face. “What are you doing awake at this hour?”
Her hand on my arm gave me a sense of peace, the same peace the man I loved brought to me.
“I just couldn’t sleep. He’s out there, leading them on their night patrol and I was just waiting for him,” I replied, looking back out the window.
She smiled, standing next to me and looking out the window, trying to catch a glimpse of them.
“I was wondering if you could tell me your story again, just like you do every year on my birthday. I’m turning eighteen tomorrow, and I am waiting for my own destiny.” She requested, bringing a smile on my face.
“You can’t get tired of that story, can’t you?” I asked, my hand on the soft skin of her cheek, stroking it gently.
“No, Mother. It is the scariest, yet most beautiful story I’ve ever heard. And it’s better because it is about you, and him.” She nodded her head towards the window, as if pointing outside.
Putting a strand of her dark brown hair behind her ear, I grabbed her hand before we both sat down on my bed, getting comfortable as I began to tell her our tales of love, passion and war.
“There was this young princess who thought everything in life would be handed to her on a silver platter, but one day, she learned that some actions have consequences,” I began, her hand still in mine as she squeezed it, gesturing for me to continue.
“She was the worst princess any kingdom could have, and not even her parents were able to teach her a lesson, for she was a very hurtful person. But with the help of a curse and a strong Alpha wolf, she would soon discover, there was more to life than just an ivory tower.”
“Is the Alpha, him?” Ella asked, a glint in her eyes as if it was the first time she heard the story, no matter how many times I’ve told her.
“Yes, it was Ezra Atwood, Alpha of Misty Willow pack.”
