The Wolf Guardians

Chapter 1: The Eloped Princess

Thousands of Years Later,

Princess Lilac’s POV

The sun is shining just like any other day. I stand on the sunlight coming from my window. I love this spot best in my room because I can see the outside of my world, outside of the castle. I can see the vast moat surrounding our castle; I can see the never-ending line of evergreens; I can see those immense mountains behind them. I can see other werewolves running freely towards the woods near the moat. I envy them sometimes. People may think I have everything; they think I am the perfect princess one can ever expect. But none try to see how I feel.

I put my hand on the wooden frame and take a deep breath. I can feel the gentle breeze on my face. The breeze today is carrying the scent of pinewoods. I inhale the smell deeply. It helps me to calm myself down. I am bound to keep a calm gesture always. After all, I am Lilac Huge Alfredsson, princess of the Eastern Werewolf Empire and the future queen of Edward Augustus Jackson, the great alpha king who is ruling over the three lands: Western Werewolf Empire, Eastern Werewolf Empire, and the Southern Lands. Stories about him are not less than any legend.

We werewolves shift for the first time after seeing fourteen summers, and we reach our maturity after passing eighteen summers. After maturity, our power grows stronger after every summer passes, and we become wiser with experience. But the story of the alpha king is different. He has seen only twenty summers in his lifetime, but he is the strongest werewolf that exists in our world. He took his responsibilities as the alpha king before his maturity after the great war ended. Though he became king because of a treaty, he proved himself more than worthy of anyone else, even than my father, Robert Huge Alfredsson, the former alpha king of the Eastern Werewolf Empire.

There are so many tales about the alpha king. Some say he is a ruthless killer, a bad omen for the werewolf world, but the wolves from the west think very highly of him. After all, that is his home, the western castle. But I know exactly who he is. I have seen him fighting mercilessly. I have seen him killing innocents during the war. And his wolf! That pitch-black demonic wolf! Precisely like the Marchosias, the night slaughter of the werewolves, the omen of death!

I turn around and sit on the heavy wooden chair near my desk. That was my mother's. I cannot hold back any longer. Tears started to roll down my eyes.

‘Oh! Mother! Please tell me what I should do! How can I marry him after knowing everything? He is a devil, mother. I found out everything about the Western royal bloodline! That castle is infamous as a lion’s den for a reason. But there is no one to hear me, mother.

I know I am the princess of the Eastern Werewolf Empire. I know I also have a responsibility towards my people. After all, I am the perfect princess in their eyes, mother. Whenever someone sees me, they do not see me, mother; they all see you in my face. They all say I have the same blue eyes, same golden hair, same nose, same lips! I am just another copy of you in every aspect. But I am not, mother. I am not brave enough.

I had a dream, mother, a few days back. When I turned eighteen, it was more like a vision my wolf had. And I followed my wolf instinct. I know I should not have done that. I know I should not have gone there. But I did that, Mother. I found him. I found my true mate.’

I look up towards the huge oil painting hanging on the wall. A beautiful, elegant queen was portrayed on the canvas magnificently. She was a very kind and loyal person. She was a true queen and a loving mother. My mother! I am feeling so helpless. How much I wish she could have been able to talk to me. I never felt so alone like this. It has been five years since she died, one of the many things that have been lost during the great war, which lasts for thousands of years between the Western Werewolf Empire and the Eastern Werewolf Empire.

Nobody knows who started it and why. But everyone knows the stories of how it affected the other creatures such as Humans, witches, vampires. The moon goddess separated our world from them during that war and helped the Northern king stop it. But it was not enough. The war demolished the Southern lands, and the balance in our world was broken. The Western alpha king conquered the Southern lands as well. The whole werewolf world was in a mess until a few years back when my father proposed a treaty to the western alpha king and accepted his son as the future alpha king of our kingdom as well. Our marriage will be the symbol of this treaty.

Being the princess, I have never given the freedom I wanted. After the treaty, things became more difficult. The only thing left in my life was how should I prepare to be the perfect queen of the three lands. I never wanted that, but nobody listened to me either, not even my father.

I do not know what will happen if I reject the alpha king. I always dreamt of true love, a soul mate. I always dreamt of marrying my mate. Moon goddess always blessed us with one because they are the other half of our soul. I cannot live my entire life with a demon knowing my mate is still there, waiting for me.

‘Lilac! Everyone in this world is born with a bowl to fill up. We all are connected through the moon goddess, and we all are here to serve a particular purpose in this world before our death. We always choose the road that we are destined to be passed by.’, my wolf Lily said to me.

I know she is trying to console me. I know she wants me to choose the right thing. But I also know that I will lose her if I marry the alpha king tonight and abandon our soulmate. I sighed.

‘I know what I need to do, Lily.’, I said to her. I look towards the portrait one more time.

‘Mother, I have made my choice. Hope father and my people will forgive me.’, I whispered to my mother again.

I stood up to leave my room. The time was still morning. I walked straight to my father’s study chamber. As expected, he was alone inside. I knocked on the door and heard his voice, which told me to go inside.

“My sweet princess! What brings you here in this early morning?” my father said with affection.

“Good morning, father. Today is a big day for me. I want your permission to go for a run all alone, releasing my wolf.”, I asked my father softly. My father looked into my eyes for a moment.

“As you wish, my dear daughter. You will be the perfect queen after tonight.”, my father said with a smile. I smiled back.

I came back to my room as soon as possible and sat on my desk.

“Dear Father,

I know this marriage means a lot to you as well as to the whole eastern empire. I know it is not only a marriage but a treaty. But father, the alpha of the western emperor, has already won the war, and there is no more hope. This marriage will not be going to change anything in our lives. The alpha king will be ruling the world, and he does not need me to rule by his side because only a true mate can rule by the side of an alpha. I knew everything, even so, I agreed when you asked for it. I decided to sacrifice my life for your happiness. I agreed to marry the alpha king. But father, I could never find a yes inside my heart. Because I always dreamt of my mate. I dreamt of living my whole life besides my loving mate. I dreamt of my own family. Everything was crashing down because of the decision you took. I fought every single day with my wolf, with my inner self for the past four years. I thought I was strong enough to win my inner battle, but I lost it, father. I lost it at the very moment I saw him. I sensed him while I went for a run on my eighteenth birthday. I fall for him. He suddenly became my life. I cannot even think of marrying another right now.

There were two roads open in front of me. One, elope with my mate, another suicide. I choose to live, father. I choose to have a happy life with my mate beside me. Please forgive me, father. I could not be the daughter you raised for.

Your unfilial daughter,

Lilac.”

I folded the letter and put it inside an envelope. I placed the envelope on the desk. I touched my mother’s painting one last time.

“Goodbye, mother! Please bless us!” I said to her one last time before leaving the castle. I knew he would be waiting for me at the border, as he promised. He would wait for me for the entire lifetime.