Fated to A Monster

Chapter Two: Masquerade ball

Princess Asteria was preparing for the masquerade ball tonight. She was running late because she honestly didn't want to attend another stupid ball. But this was her last season, and soon she would be free to travel and study magic to her heart's content. Asteria was applying makeup at her vanity while sitting around in her silk dress slip. Behind her was her maid, who was fixing her hair into an intricate braided updo.

"Your highness, we need to hurry. Your mother is waiting and never happy about waiting." my maid spoke. She was always like this, thinking she could tell me what to do because she was afraid of my mother. The thought was laughable. Mother would have to wait a little longer. If she were going to force me to attend this ball, I would take my time getting ready. The longer I took, the less time I would have to spend at that dreadful place. 

"She wants me to find my mate. She can wait till I look decent," I spoke in an annoyed tone.

"You're highness, please, I can't take another beating." pleaded my maid with a sorrowful expression. My mother was quite barbaric when it came to disciplining our staff, and she beat them for every little mistake. My maid was also a whipping girl, meaning she also took my beatings. It was a way of keeping her children in line, just like her staff. My brother lost a whipping boy last week after pulling a prank mother. She beat that poor boy to death.

"Fine, go get my dress," I replied in a cold tone after she finished my hair.

The maid returned with my satin ball gown, tiara, and matching masquerade mask. The gown was gorgeous and made to fit my every curve. The gown was dark violet, with a sweetheart neckline, and the skirt was enormous with pearls interlaced long asymmetrical over panel. The gown had a corset back and was sleeveless.

The maid helps me into my dress, pulling it over my head while trying not to disturb my makeup or hair and then lacing the corset back as tight as possible. I made several adjustments so that my large breast showed just enough cleavage. I sat down back at my vanity while the maid fixed my tiara to my head.

"Go get my matching cloak and glass heels," I said, fixing my makeup while needing a little touch-up.

The maid returned shortly and helped me into my heels. I use the time she was gone to enchant my tiara with my cloaking spell and spray large amounts of wolfsbane perfume.

"You look beautiful, your highness." said my maid as she helped me into my cloak.

Heading down the grand staircase, I was met with the angry eyes of my mother and the elated eyes of my siblings. I had 14 younger siblings, each one year younger than the next, and four sets of twins. My mother mated with whoever the hell she wanted to as the Queen of Witches. My father was a demon, while my other siblings had mermaid, witch, vampire, and werewolf fathers. So all of my siblings are hybrids which makes childcare interesting.

"You're late. We are all late." Mother huffed.

"It's a good thing that I am a traveler, my mother," I said with a grin before casting a traveling spell that was placed in front of the doors of the Alpha's King's palace.

Mother shook her disapproval before entering the large open doors of the palace. My siblings and I followed behind in birth order. We entered the palace of the wolf King where we had been so many times before. The palace was quite beautiful but not as intricately decorated as ours. You could tell the palace was more of a home than a palace, which makes sense because it's technically a packed house.

We entered the ballroom, and you could tell we were the last guests to arrive because everyone had already paired off with their mates, and we're dancing. The ballroom looked the same as every year before. A footman took our cloaks just before we descended the stairs. The ball was beautiful, and I couldn't believe a werewolf had this kind of taste. 

Mother left to greet the Alpha King, and my siblings went there different ways. I headed off to the refreshment table. I wasn't hungry, but I did pick at the food before pouring myself a drink. I looked around the room and found my mate. Alpha Prince Henry sitting on his throne next to his father, looking disappointed. I could feel his pain through our bond even if he couldn't. I had grown accustomed to the pain over the years. Even if sometimes the pain was difficult. The mate bond often pulled at my heart, making me want to jump into my mate's arms and kiss his lips. He was hot, but I wasn't going to let that knothead Alpha control me. My enchantment only blocked him from feeling our bond and didn't block me from the same emotion. So the wolfsbane helped block out the smell of my arousal, which he would certainly be able to smell. He was sexy for a werewolf.

I stopped staring at my mate and turned towards the dance floor. So many horny supernatural dancing mesmerized but their newfound mate. There will be a lot of f*****g tonight, and they had rooms set just for it. Supernaturals mate as soon as they find their mate. It's hard for some species to get pregnant; vampires are the worst. Witches get pregnant super easily, so they are the most desirable mate for most supernatural species. I would probably have a few children of my own if I hadn't taken precautions to prevent my mate from finding me. It would be better if my mate were a vampire or a demon. I won't mind if they aren't controlled like wolves.

I took a sip of my drink, which went down hard. Damnit, someone spiked the drinks again. f*****g wolves.

"Little Sissy." I heard a voice call, causing my stomach to churn. I turn to see my ex-brother-in-law rushing towards me with a young she-wolf on his arm. Micheal was tall like all wolves, muscular but a bit pudgy for a wolf. He was in his late 30s same as my sister would have been.

I quickly start walking away towards the bathroom.

"Not today, Satan," I yelled, rushing away.

"Come on, Sissy, don't be a bitch." Micheal stated, causing me to stop on my tracks. That motherfucker called me b***h. I was a f*****g princess. How dare he. 

"f**k off, Micheal. I'm in no mood for your bullshit." I said, turning to face him. Micheal stopped a few feet away, clenching his fist. His ugly face turned red. 

"Come on, I want you to meet my new mate," he stated with a stupid grin. The she-wolf on his arm had to be just 18 years old. She was petite and had no figure.

"I have no interest in meeting your next victim, asshole," I said, turning away, my blood boiling. I felt him grabbing my shoulder. Before my mind fully registered what I was doing, I cast a powerful push spell, knocking Micheal into the dance floor and his mate to the ground.

The music stopped, people stopped dancing and stared directly at me. s**t.

I shrugged at the crowd.

"You bitch." the she-wolf screamed, charging at me. Casting the same spell, the she-wolf was thrown into the refreshment table, breaking everything. The she-wolf laid on the broken table covered in cuts and bruises, motionless.

I quickly cast protection wards around myself as Micheal stood up, looking over at the she-wolf. He charged me again, transforming along the way. His brown wolf snarled as he ran towards me. I summoned fire in both hands, casting the fire at the charging wolf. He was so quick and wasn't an expert in battle magic. Luckily I had teleportation on my side and was able to keep my distance from this wolf. His claws did come too close for comfort a few times, but I just needed to land enough hits with the fire to disabled his wolf. I landed a few hits burning his right side and slowing him down. He got really close, and I teleported away. Just as I came to my new location, I was tackled from behind. The she-wolf was on top of me; her claws couldn't break my wards. Erratically teleported us around the room and fought the she-wolf as she held tightly to me. I finally kicked her off and cast her into a large column. You could hear her bones breaking.

"Stop!" the Alpha King demanded in his alpha voice.

Micheal, who was a few inches away, was forced to do just that. I looked around the room, and everyone was staring at me. My mate was approaching me with an angry expression. The realization hit me as I touched the top of my head...my tiara was gone...my enchantment was gone. Prince Henry could feel the bond, and he knew I was his mate. s**t, f**k, s**t, fuck...fuck. I was frozen in place, and my mate was staring into my soul. He grew closer and closer. My chest was tightening, it was hard to breathe, and I was so aroused just from his eyes looking at me. I knew he could tell. His body language told me he could smell my arousal.

"Mine," he growled, reaching for me. I instinctively cast a protection bubble around myself.

"What are you doing?" he asked in a husky voice. The mate bond tore through me, and I fought the urge to drop my spell. Maintaining the bubble was physically painful, but I wasn't giving in so easily.

"Stay away." I managed to mutter. I could feel his anger grow, and his wolf was fighting to come out.

"You've been hiding from me, mate. I'm willing to forgive you if you come to me right now. Don't make this difficult." he said with Alpha's voice causing me to move farther away.

"Let us just both just walk away. We can go our separate ways." I said, pleading with tears forming in my eyes. I am so overwhelmed. My head was so heavy, my chest so tight.

"That isn't going to happen. You know better than even to suggest that little mate." Henry declared with his anger turned to annoyance. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't let him have me, not when I was so close to being free from him. I needed a plan, and I held myself firm. I would not go to him so easily. 

Time passed by, and my mate stared at me with his black eyes. Everyone was watching us. He was shaking in anger, fighting back his wolf. This standoff wasn't going anywhere. I couldn't teleport. My mother must have thrown upwards to prevent me from leaving. I need to think about my options, I couldn't teleport, and I couldn't fight my mate. It would cause problems if I fought him and tried to escape. It would cause problems if I rejected him. The only thing to do would be to submit and escape later. I could easily fake my own death and escape him. Either way, we couldn't stand here all night long. I couldn't keep the protection spell up for much longer. I was so drained, and I could feel my magic draining from my body from overuse. 

I took a deep breath and threw down my protection bubble. The pain from maintaining it overwhelmed me. I fell forward into my mate's arms. He held me tightly against his body. He inhaled my scent before picking me up and cradling me like a child. Tingles erupted from my skin where he touched. It felt so glorious, and his touch was so calming. Maybe it was all the magic I used or the fact I no longer had to keep up the ruse, but I felt so exhausted.

"Good," he said as I drifted off to sleep.