A Princess Lost

Chapter Three

Sitting in her room alone, Isabella was moping, having said goodbye to her best friend just hours before. A light tap on her bedroom door caught her attention causing her to look up.

'Yes?' she sighed, not bothering to get up, the door opened and Marcus slipped inside, shutting it behind him before he made his way over to the bed and lay down next to his sister.  'Hey squirt, what brings you here' Isabella teased, though her voice gave away her mood.

'Just checking you were alright' replied Marcus looking at his fingers, despite their age gap, he had always been concerned for his big sister, hating to see her sad or upset.

'I'm fine' replied Isabella ruffling his hair affectionately, 'I just hate that my birthday will be without Riley, especially this one, it's my big eighteenth'

'But i'll be there' Marcus said trying to cheer her up, 'and mum and dad, and maybe even your mate!' he continued excitedly.

Catching his enthusiasm Isabella grinned back, 'that's true and what kind of party would it be without my annoying little brother?' she asked pulling him into a loose headlock as he laughed and tried to escape.

'Hey watch the do!' he moaned as he pulled himself out of her grasp, running his hands through his hair trying to flatten it down.

'Sorry oh king of fashion' Isabella teased as she grabbed him again pulling him into a tight hug which he returned smiling.

'You sure you're ok?' he asked nervously, studying her face.

'I'm fine, honest' she replied letting him go, 'now get out because I have homework to do before training'

'OK i'm going' Marcus grinned jumping off the bed and heading for the door, 'I am sooooo glad i'm not the next Alpha, the thought of all that homework gives me a headache, i'm gonna go play video games' he added with a cheeky grin before walking out, shutting the door behind him.

                                                                          ................................

The next day, Isabella was awoken by a large weight landing on her stomach, 'Ouch!' she yelled forcing her eyes open to be faced with the beaming grin of Marcus.

'Happy Birthday big sis!' he yelled happily, bouncing up and down on the mattress as Isabella groaned and tried to pull the covers over her head.

'Marcus, its like the middle of the night dude, why are you waking me up?' she grumbled trying to push the excited twelve year old off her bed with her feet.

'It's 8am actually and its your birthday which means mom is making chocolate caramel waffles for breakfast, but if you don't want any . . . ' he said before letting out a yell as he landed on the floor as Isabella shot from under the covers, grabbing her dressing gown and wrenching open the bedroom door to take the stairs two at at time, skidding across the polished foyer floor and making her way into the dining room where various pack members were eating, each calling out to her with birthday greetings.

'You could have waited for me' Marcus moaned, catching her up as she made her way over to the food cart and started to pile the warm waffles onto her plate excitedly.

'You know that nothing comes between me and my birthday waffles short stuff' retorted Isabella, 'not even you' she grinned.

Making their way over to one of the long tables, the siblings sat down and delved into the sweet sticky goodness, as a shadow cast itself across the table, Isabella felt a strong kiss on her hair as she looked up into the eyes of her father.

'Happy eighteenth princess' Aaron growled smiling down at her.

'Thanks dad' Isabella replied with a smile, 'I'll just finish up my breakfast and then i'll be ready to train with you'

Giving a sad smile Aaron shook his head, 'I think it's about time you started to learn off the other warriors' he said, 'Merrick is going to train you today, i'm going to have a few rounds with Marcus, see what this boy's got' he teased, ruffling the twelve year olds hair affectionately.

'Oh, ok' Isabella replied disappointed, she had always trained with her father from the moment she was old enough to follow his instructions.  He had been there when she had shifted for the first time, taking her for a run through their territory as she explored her white wolf form.

Her mood was interrupted by the moans of her brother, 'Why do I have to train? i'm not gonna be Alpha!' Marcus grumbled.

'Maybe not son but you still need to be a well trained warrior so you can protect yourself, your pack and your future mate' replied Aaron sternly.  'Your video games are not going to help you in a Rogue attack'.

Muttering under his breath, Marcus got up from the table and disposed of his plate before following his father outside, giving a wave and a grimace at his sister as he left.

Finishing her own food, Isabella placed her own plate on the trolley of stacked dirty crockery and returned to her room to get changed for training.  Stepping out again she walked straight into her mother who was stood on the other side of the door, her arm raised as if about to knock.  Shock then a broad smile crossed Charity's face as she pulled the teenager into her arms.  'Happy birthday my little Bella Boo' she whispered before stepping back and holding her at arms length to look at her.  'Even more beautiful today than you were yesterday' she mused.

Isabella laughed, 'you are extremely biased Mom but thank you'

Charity shook her head smiling, 'who ever gets you for a mate is going to be one extremely lucky wolf' she said, a slight tinge of sadness to her voice.

'They are also going to be extremely unlucky after dad finds out who they are and has finished with them' replied Isabella rolling her eyes as her mother started to laugh.

'What can I say, he's very protective of his princess' Charity agreed

Smiling back at her mother, Isabella hugged her again, 'If I can find someone to love me as much as dad loves you then i'm going to be very happy, he just better understand that i'm the future Alpha of this pack' she added, her eyes flashing determinedly.

Charity smoothed her hair affectionately, 'Just like your dad, no-one is allowed to forget he's in charge either! You are going to make an excellent Alpha when he decides to step down'.

 Nodding happily, Isabella gave her mother one last quick squeeze before making her way downstairs, stopping in front of Merrick who grinned down at her, 'Ready to get your ass handed too you Miss Isabella?' he asked gravely.

'In your dreams Mr Beta' Isabella retorted giving him a playful push.

'Oooo for that, you get to start with one hundred push ups' Merrick said laughing as Isabella's face screwed up in horror.

'Ugh you are sooooo mean! Where is Avery, she would sooooo kick your ass for being so nasty' Isabella moaned as they made their way out into the grounds and dropped to the ground next to each other, straightening their arms underneath them as Merrick started to count.

'My beautiful mate is much to busy looking after our newest addition to be worried about you having to do a few push ups' Merrick chided between numbers.

Puffing heavily, Isabella scowled, 'A few, this is like a million Mr Slave Driver' she grumped before dropping to the floor as Merrick said one hundred.  'How is little Billy?' she asked grinning up at the proud Beta.

'He's just as delicious as his mom, Edith, the triplets, Cassidy and Ryan all dote on him, Avery still insists on calling him William despite the entire pack shortening it' he laughed huskily, 'Her mom has practically moved in again, that woman can not bear to be away from a new baby!'

Isabella giggled, 'I bet Avery is glad of the extra hands though, the triplets are a force to be reckoned with'.

Merrick nodded smiling, 'That they are, who knew that three nine year olds could get in so much trouble! at least Edith is there to keep her younger brothers in check when i'm not there'.  Shaking his head he scrambled to his feet before holding out his hand and hauling Isabella to hers, 'OK future Alpha, lets see what moves your old man has taught you and see if I can add a few tricks to your repertoire' he chuckled as he took his stance across from the teen and waited for her to nod before attacking, raining blows down upon her as Isabella dodged and punched in return, fending off his fists and kicks easily.

'Not bad Miss soon to be queen' Merrick praised smirking as Isabella stuck her tongue out at him before spinning round and sweeping his foot across her ankles, catching her off guard as she fell to the floor with a shriek.  'Yep, that girly scream is going to really scare off the Rogues, glad you are going to be protecting us soon' Merrick teased.

Growling in anger, Isabella jumped back up to her feet, going on the attack as she kicked and punched toward the Beta who defended himself against her before using her rage against her and sending her scrambling to the ground.

'An Alpha has to control his or her rage Bella' Merrick chided as he stepped back and watched her clamber to her feet, brushing the dust off her clothes before facing him again, 'a strong Alpha is one who doesn't rise to the baiting of another wolf.'

Taking a deep breath, Isabella swallowed her anger, steadying her gaze as she circled the Beta, watching his movements carefully.  Spinning on the spot, Merrick swept at her feet again, grinning as she jumped over his legs before throwing herself toward him and knocking him off balance.

'Better, much better' Merrick praised with a grin as Isabella stood up with a smile. 'Battles are won with the Brain Bella not Brawn, always look for your opponents next move and preempt it'

Nodding her understanding, Isabella took up her position again, the pair spending the next two hours sparring, honing her techniques before Merrick finally let her go with a hug.

'Oh and happy birthday princess' Merrick grinned, 'i'll see you later at your party, now go shower because you smell like the wolves locker room' he teased as she laughed and ran back toward the pack house waving over her shoulder.

Jumping in the shower, she washed the dirt and sweat off her body before pulling on some sweat pants and a crop top and making her way downstairs for some lunch, plonking herself down next to her brother who was already working his way through a small mountain piled on his plate.

'How was training squirt?' Isabella asked jovially as she nicked a piece of bacon off his plate, 

placing his arms protectively around his food, Marcus growled at her before grumping 'Awful, dad made me do sit ups and push ups and I had to run round the pack house' he moaned.

Isabella laughed reaching over and nicking another bacon rasher, forcing it into her mouth as Marcus tried to grab it back.

'Stop nicking my food! go get your own' Marcus grumbled annoyed.

'Why? it tastes sooooo much better when I take it from your plate' Isabella retorted, trying to get her hands near to her brothers plate as he swatted at her angrily.  'Ok i'm going!' she finally conceded, 'would you like me to get you some bacon?' she added innocently. laughing as she head off to grab a plate and piled it high with lots of fried goodness that was laid out on the heated tables.

Sitting back down, Isabella slowly ate her food as her mind wandered to that evening, wondering if her mate would really be at the party and how it would feel to finally see him for the first time.