Captured Princess

Of Course

“Shanaia, Crane, let’s go home! You have school tomorrow,”

Shanaia, age five turned around and saw her mother carrying her sleeping baby brother in her arms.

“But Mom,” the little girl whined.

“Let’s go. Calie, Zari, and Zander need to rest too,” Sahara told her daughter.

Shanaia pouted and stood up from the pile of toys on the floor. She along with her brother and their cousins are in the castle’s play area that was designated for them.

She then took her younger brother’s hand and pulled him up before they walked over to their mother.

“Can they play with me again tomorrow, Auntie Sahara?”

Zari, Shanaia’s eldest cousin asked Sahara and then Calie, the other girl with platinum blonde hair, and their youngest aunt asked.

“Yes, can she?”

“Not tomorrow, girls. They have to study for their exams.” Sahara said and then Zari and Calie were obviously disheartened.

“Maybe this weakened,” Sahara said and the two girls grinned.

“Yey!”

When Sahara and the kids got back to the pack house, the kids cleaned up and got ready for bed. And when Sahara tucked Shanaia into her bed, the little girl couldn’t help but express the thought that had been bothering her.

“Mommy,”

“Yes, baby?”

“Why is Zari and Calie not going to school?” Shanaia asked.

“They do, sweetie. They are studying and are quite a fast learner and their teacher says they are pretty advanced for her age,” Sahara answered her daughter as she pulled her blanket up to her chest.

“But they don’t go to our school. All the kids around here go to our school, why can’t they? They also don’t go out of the protective line. They are mostly just inside the castle and haven’t even set foot in the forest.” Shanaia said and Sahara just smiled at her daughter.

“You see, Zari and Calie are both special that’s why they aren’t allowed to leave the premises,” Sahara told her and Shanaia frowned.

“How are they special?” she asked and Sahara sighed and smiled.

“When you are big enough to understand, I will tell you. But for now, whenever you have time, play with them so they won’t be lonely,”

Shanaia nodded at what her mother said. Sahara smiled and kissed the top of Shanaia’s blonde head.

“Okay, go to sleep now. Comfy?”

She asked and Shanaia nodded with a cute smile.

“Good night my little kitten,”

“Good night, Mommy,”

Sahara stood up and turned off the lights in the room, leaving the small cat-shaped night light. She was about to leave the room when Shanaia called her.

“Mommy,”

“Yes, baby?”

“Am I special too?” Shanaia asked and Sahara smiled at her.

“Of course, my little kitten. You are very special,”

Every time Shanaia came home from school, she would always sneak out of the pack house to ride the connecting train towards the castle. She would always hang out with Zari and Calie to play or study the lessons that her cousins had already mastered.

The three of them are quite close as they are the only girl among their cousins. Zander would always play with Crane, Seb, and the other boys around their age, and their games always included running around outside the castle or venturing into the other nearby buildings.

As they grow up, the setup is the same and it brings them closer and they are also friends with the other high-ranking kids. But Zari and Calie still couldn’t join them in normal school even when they entered middle school.

Shanaia sometimes feels bad for her cousin and her aunt as they are missing so much outside the castle but she understands why they are being protected. When she was old enough to understand, her mother explained to her and her siblings why Zari and Calie are to always stay within the castle premises, and it is because they possess gifts that no one else has and are quite rare; like they are the only one who have them in that lifetime.

During junior year, her cousin Zander was the most popular guy in their school. They go to a local high school where wolves from different nearby packs attend along with some humans. To the humans, they are all good-looking and if Zander was looked up to by boys and chased by girls, some boys are head over heels adoring Shanaia for her beauty, her intelligence and they would always praise her beautiful blonde hair.

And while boys adore her, insecure girls are mean to her. But she just wouldn't let them get to her or let them hurt her.

One day during lunch, Shanaia was getting her food when she overheard a group of students talking and the name of her cousin Zander was mentioned.

“We should go to that party; it’ll be totally epic. Zander Stanford will be hosting it,” one said.

“But the location was too secluded,”

“The more secluded the better,”

“Where is it anyway?”

“It’ll be in that no man’s land,”

After hearing that, Shanaia rushed to go to the table where her cousin was, talking to her brother.

“There is a party and you didn’t invite me?” Shanaia spat as soon as she sat down,”

“We are still planning it, chill,”

Her brother Crane told her.

“Shut up, I am not talking to you,” she hissed at him and Crane gawked at her in a mock surprise.

“What did I do to you?” he asked her and then his sister glared at him.

“Some girl pushed me against the locker after she saw us talking, and she told me to stay away from you,” she hissed again.

Crane pursed his lips and gave his sister a sheepish grin.

“Sorry about that. That’s Alyssa, the new girl in our class. She kind of has this crush on me and she kind of like that to every girl I talked to,” Crane explained.

“You seriously attack the weirdos,” Zander commented as he munch on his fries.

Then Shanaia suddenly grabbed her brother’s collar.

“You tell her to keep out of my way or else I will skin her alive. She is not even your mate or even your girlfriend and yet she is bullying girls just because you are talking to them.” She told him through her gritted teeth and then Crane pulled away.

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. Geez,” Crane responded as he fixed his shirt but then Shanaia grabbed his shirt again.

“Fix it or else I will tell Dad that it was you who broke that new analyzer –“

Crane’s eyes widened and he immediately covered his sister’s mouth cutting her midsentence, and then he gave her a nervous laugh.

“My darling sister, do not fret. I will fix it and no one shall bother you,” he said and then Shanaia removed her brother’s hand from her mouth.

“You better,”

Shanaia hissed and then she looked at Zander.

“So, about this party. I heard you’ll be holding it on the no man’s land,” she said and Zander looked at her confused,

“How did you know?” he asked.

“Kids are talking about it,” she replied pointing towards the group of students whom she heard about the party.

Zander let out a sigh.

“I told them not to speak about it openly,” he grumbled.

“Yeah, whatever. So, I am invited right?” Shanaia asked and Zander smirked.

“Of course,”