The Alpha and The Lost Princess

Arriving at the Palace

The drive to the royal territory took about five hours. Bailey and I spent the drive loudly singing along with the eighties music she had playing. It was the only music we both agreed on. She was more current pop, where I liked nineties pop and hard rock. We stopped twice to pee and stretch. I was in awe when the royal palace came into view. It could be seen for miles sitting on a hill above the trees. It was huge and made of white marble that seemed to glow even in the bright sunlight. A guard met us at a gate as we drove up.

"Hello ladies," The guard that greeted us seemed friendly as he leaned down to the window. He was good-looking, too, with dark tan skin and black curly hair with dark blue eyes. "Please state your purpose here."

Bailey looked at me. "You have your scholarship letter, right?"

I dug it out of my purse and held it up as she looked at the guard.

"My name is Bailey Williams, and I am here for royal guard training," She stated while handing the guard her paperwork and ID.

He looked at me. "And you miss," He wrinkled his nose. No doubt detecting that I was not a wolf. Not that it mattered. Different species of supernaturals resided here, and even humans lived in the royal territory.

"My name is Calliope Anderson, and I am here for the work-study program," I said while handing him my paperwork and ID.

The guard nodded. "Give me a moment, ladies."

Bailey looked at me with a grin. "He is so hot," She giggled.

"Bailey, we just got here. Calm the hormones down."

She laughed. "I just said that he is hot. I am not going to start humping him," She glanced at the guard. "Yet at least," She winked at me as the guard walked out of the booth. We were both giggling as he handed us our paperwork.

"What is so funny, ladies?" He asked.

I leaned over towards the window. "My friend thinks you are hot."

"Calliope!" Bailey squealed while turning red.

The guard just laughed. "I am flattered, miss. My mate thinks I am quite hot too." He held up his ringed hand.

Bailey turned beet red and glared at me while the guard kept laughing. "Okay, ladies, here is a map showing you where to go. I circled each of your destinations as they are in separate places. Welcome to the royal territory of Lycanis." He handed Bailey the map. "Drive safe." He stepped away from the car and into the guardhouse and push a button, letting the barrier up.

Bailey stepped on the gas and would look at me. "Are you mad?" I asked her. She shook her head but didn't say anything. "You are mad at me, Bails."

"I'm not mad, Cal. Just embarrassed."

I rolled my eyes. "You embarrassed? Please." I laughed loudly, which made her laugh too.

"You suck, you know that." She said in between laughs. She handed me the map. "You are better at figuring out maps. Tell me where to go."

"Do you want to go to your dorm first or mine?"

"It doesn't matter. We can go to yours first unload your stuff. Then mine and unload my stuff and then find something to eat. I am starving."

"Dang, werewolf," I mumbled as I looked at the map and directed her to where my room was. I was staying in the palace, it seemed, which made me nervous. As we neared the palace, I got more and more anxious. This was a huge opportunity for me. We parked the car, and then Bailey walked with me into the palace. We went into a door for staff, and another guard behind a desk greeted us just inside the door. An older male with grey hair and brown eyes. He looked up as I walked in front of Bailey.

"Can I help you?" His gruff voice filled the space.

I held out my paperwork. "I am Calliope Anderson. I am here for the work-study program."

He took my paperwork and looked at Bailey. "And you?"

"Oh, I am here for royal guard training."

"Your dorm is across the way." The guard pointed.

"Oh, she is my friend, and I am here to help her find her room and unload her stuff."

"I'll need your ID then." The guard stated as he handed me my paperwork.

Bailey shook her head and handed him her ID.

"Miss Anderson, here is your room key." He handed me a credit card-looking object along with a pile of papers. "There is a map and the rules. Miss Williams, you may accompany Miss Anderson to her room. Your room key works on the scanner," He pointed to the door beside the desk. "And also for your room. You will be given a separate key for access to other places in the palace." He instructed.

We walked through the door and down a long hall of more doors. We found my room and walked in. It was a room big enough for two to occupy. It has a small kitchenette and a bathroom with two beds and dressers. A young woman was sitting on one of the beds, and she jumped as we walked in. She was a thin female about our age. She has long blonde hair with brown eyes and pale skin dressed in shorts and a tank top.

"Oh, you one of you must be my new roommate," She was looking between Bailey and me.

I stepped forward and held out my hand. "I am your roommate. I am Calliope."

She smiled at me and shook my hand. "My name is Darlene. I take it you are here for the work-study program too."

I nodded my head. "Yep. I hope you don't mind being stuck with a witch for a roommate."

Darlene shrugged. "I am wolf less omega. It doesn't make a difference to me." She looked at Bailey, who was standing awkwardly looking around the room.

"Oh, this is my best friend, Bailey. She is here for royal guard training." I introduced my friend.

"I can tell," Darlene looked Bailey up and down and smiled.

"Anyways, we are going to start getting my stuff."

Darlene nodded and pointed to the empty side of the room. "Your bed is brand new and ready to go."

"Thank you," I said to her and walked out of the room with Bailey. "She seems nice," I said to Bailey.

"I think she is into girls," Bailey mumbled.

I shrugged. "So?"

"Well, I'm not."

"So?" I said again as Bailey rolled her eyes.

She snorted as we walked back outside to her car. She opened the trunk and grabbed a couple of my bags while I grabbed the other bags and pillow. "I guess I am good-looking to both genders." She laughed as we walked back into the palace. The guard stood up and held the door for us.

"Thank you, sir," I told him, and he just nodded. We took my stuff to my room and set everything on the bed. Darlene was cooking something in the kitchen and singing. She stopped and turned to us. "You have a nice voice," I told her.

"Uh, thank you," She shrugged shyly before turning back to her food.

Bailey nudged me. "You are just embarrassing everyone today."

"Shut it, Bails." I laughed, and we walked back out of the room. "Let's go take care of your crap."

She stuck her tongue out at me. We drove over to the dorm, housing the guards in training. There were several buildings around it. According to the map, those houses the future alphas, lunas, and other ranked positions for training. After getting the room key for Bailey and the same stack of papers, I got we headed up to her room. She was lucky and had no roommate yet.

Her room was smaller than mine and had no kitchen, just a bathroom with two beds and dressers. She sighed and chose one of the beds. "I'm a little jealous of your room now." She laughed.

We unloaded her car and set her stuff on the bed she chose. "So, food. There is a cafeteria here, but I want something else," She said to me.

"I'm down for whatever you are down for, Bails."

"I thought I saw a bistro on the way here. Let's go look for that." She grabbed her purse, and we walked back to her car. We drove around looking for the bistro. Not finding it, we settled on an old-school-looking diner. "Mmm, a greasy burger will work." She licked her lips.

Inside we were seated and looked around the place. It was full of werewolves and a few humans. I saw Bailey checking out a couple of males across the restaurant. I had to admit the males were hot, but I found myself turned off by male werewolves after everything that had happened with Harley. We ordered our food, and while waiting, one of the males walked towards us. He was tall with tan skin and short brown hair. He had brown, almost golden-colored eyes. He glanced briefly at me before turning his attention to Bailey.

"You are new here." He said to her.

"You are correct." She replied while sipping her soda. "My name is Bailey," She held out her hand to him.

He grabbed it. "My name is Shane. I am training for the royal guard."

"Me too," Bailey stated with a huge grin.

"That's awesome. I have a thing for female warriors." He smirked and waggled his eyebrows while sliding in next to Bailey.

The waitress showed up with our food. Bailey had ordered a big burger with fries. I had ordered a turkey and bacon wrap with onion rings. Shane looked at Bailey's food. "I see you aren't afraid to eat."

Bailey shrugged. "Training takes a lot out of a girl." She smirked at him as I ate quietly.

Shane looked over at me. "And you?" He sniffed the air. "You aren't a wolf, are you?"

"No, I'm just a witch that grew up around werewolves."

"Cool," Shane replied. "Witches are cool."

"I'm not a very good witch," I said as he turned back to Bailey. I sighed and ate my food while they chatted.

One of the other males walked over to us. "Shane, what are you doing?" He was a bit shorter than Shane, with black hair and brown eyes. He looked at me and smiled. "Hi, I'm Peter."

"Calliope," I replied.

Peter turned to Shane, "Are we still going to the club?"

"In a minute, Pete." Shane nearly growled. He then turned to Bailey. "Would you ladies like to go to the club with us? It's one of the hottest places in the kingdom."

"We both have to get up early," Bailey responded. "I don't want to show up on my first day hungover and tired."

Shane sighed. "Fine. You are one of those types." He got up. "Come on, Peter." They both walked away. Peter looked back and smiled at me.

Bailey frowned as the guys walked away. "Don't worry about him, Bails. There is nothing wrong with being dedicated to your training."

"You are right, Cal. Screw them." She laughed as we finished our food and headed back to our rooms. We both opted for a short night. She dropped me off in front of the palace. "See you tomorrow, sometime." She waved as I got out of the car.

"Bye, Bails. Good luck tomorrow."

"You too, Cal." She waved before driving away.

I sighed and walked into the palace and waved at the guard. He just smiled as I walked past the desk.

"Did you have a good dinner?" He asked.

"We went to some 50's style diner. It was delicious." I told him.

"Have a good night Miss Anderson." He said as I opened the door.

I entered my room, and Darlene was lying on her bed watching something on a tablet. Her eyes flicked to me as I went over to my bed and began unpacking.

She sat up on her bed. "So, are you working in the kitchen?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Are you?"

"Yep. I am here on the work-study program too. I don't know what I want to go to school for, but I just needed to get away from my old pack."

"I know what you mean. I am studying music. Which I am surprised since there were no music classes in the pack school."

She sighed. "Werewolves don't have much need to learn music. But Queen Jemma insisted that the university teach music."

"You know what they say. Music soothes the savage beast."

She laughed. "Do you play an instrument?"

"Sort of." I had the weird ability to pick up any instrument and automatically know how to play it. I don't know where it came from. Aunt Juni just said that it was a witch thing. But the few witches I knew could not play instruments.

"My favorite to play is the harp. This old witch who lived in our territory had one and let me play it when I was younger. Then she died, and I never saw it again."

Darlene frowned. "That's sad. Hopefully, you'll find one to play here. I know there are pianos in the palace you can play."

"In the palace? They just let anyone play the pianos?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. But there is an orchestra that plays at all of the royal functions. Maybe look into joining them."

"Thank you for that. I will look into it. Even though I have never played with a group." I put some of my clothes in the dresser and the small closet. Then I arranged my electronics on the desk. Finally done, I flopped onto the bed. "Oh, this is a nice bed."

Darlene laughed. "Yeah, they don't cheap out on the mattresses. I guess they used to have crappy mattresses, and someone complained to the Queen. And she had all of the mattresses replaced."

"The Queen sounds like a nice lady," I told her.

"Queen Jemma is awesome. I have spoken to her a few times, and she treats me like we are equals. She listens to what I have to say to her and doesn't talk down to me or others. " She explained. "So, anyway. What pack did you come from?"

"Forest Moon. My uncle is the beta."

Her eyes widened. "Wow. I came from Silver Crescent. I am just an orphan that was raised with the other orphans by some old lady. I have no idea who my parents are or were."

"I never met my parents either. Well, I guess I did. I was two when they told my Aunt Juniper to take me and run." I told her. I was now thankful that I at least had my aunt and uncle. "Did they treat you alright?"

Darlene looked at the ground. "The lady was alright. Strict but not abusive to us. The other pack members liked to bully us. I was so happy when I got the scholarship to come here. It's a new start."

"I know what you mean. I had my aunt, uncle, and cousins. They treated me well. And my two best friends. But the rest of the pack either ignored me or shunned me because my aunt and I are witches. They treated her well because she is the beta's mate. But I was subject to bullying. Mostly by the future alpha."

Darlene snorted. "It's always the future alphas, isn't it? I swear they are all a bunch of pricks."

"Must be. However, my best friend Myra is the alpha's daughter. So maybe it's just the males."

"I don't know the alpha's daughter at Silver Crescent was my main abuser. I told her parents once what was happening, but they didn't do anything."

I sighed. "That sucks. That was my situation. I just stopped saying anything. However, Myra beat her brother up a few times for me. But I couldn't wait to be away from that place."

"It's a whole new beginning, Calliope. It may be hard work, but it will be ours." Darlene declared.

I could tell we were going to be good friends. "Amen, Darlene." I finished arranging my stuff and then settled on my bed to call Myra. She told me that her brother had been acting all bummed out. He was locking himself in his room and not talking to anyone. She had no sympathy for him. After that, I told her about the palace and my roommate before deciding it was time to hang up. "Goodnight, Myra. I miss you."

"I miss you too, Calliope." She said sadly.

We hung up, and I looked over at Darlene. She was already asleep. I got up from my bed and went into the bathroom and showered, and put on my PJs before crawling into bed, eager to start my first day.