The Alpha's Unwanted Princess

Chapter Five~The Messenger

Nikolai laid in bed, staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep. It had been two weeks since the Princess’ arrival and he had gone through a whole range of different emotions. At first, he had been suspicious of her. Mostly because she was a Silver Moon Royal. Her silver hair and eyes reminding him of a horrific memory he would much rather forget. The memory of how his mother had been murdered when he was twelve and how It had been his fault.

He had been playing far too close to the dark forest when several Silver Moon Knights surrounded him. They had been patrolling the area for a good entry point into the Blood Kingdom, planning a surprise attack, when they had spotted him. They took the opportunity to capture him and their leader, a Silver Moon Duke, recognizing who he was.

He had found out later that the Duke was actually the King’s brother. Notorious for his blood-thirsty nature. His intent had been to kill him, Nikolai could see that in the man’s cold silver eyes as he raised his sword against a defenseless child. Before the Duke could strike him down, however, he heard his mother calling for him. He tried to call out to her, to warn her, but the Duke knocked him over the head with the hilt of his sword.

When Nikolai finally awoke it was to find himself lying in a pool of his mother’s blood. Her head hanging in the tree above him and her headless body lying beside him. Nikolai’s father never got over the death of his Luna. The battles that took place after her death were long and bloody. It was a very dark period in the history of their two packs. By the time Nikolai was sixteen, his father passed away, unable to bear to pain and heartache of a life without his Luna. His father claimed that his mother was his true mate. Something that was just a thing of legend in the history of werewolves. 

The legend said that it once was the way all werewolves found their mates but that something had happened, making it harder to imprint. So, when his father had claimed that his mother was his one true mate no one really believed him. Thinking it was only something he said to be romantic. True mates were only a fairytale.

After the second day with the Princess and seeing the way she had ridden that wild horse, something changed inside Nikolai. He no longer was reminded of his mother’s death as he stared into her eyes. Instead, he realized just how beautiful and different they were from her Uncle’s. Her eyes glowed like molten silver burning in a crucible over a scorching fire. She was far different than what he had been told Silver Moon Royals were like. She had spirit and passion and did things with her whole heart. She was not withdrawn or snobbish at all but rather bold and benevolent.

He had watched over the past two weeks how she had done her best to find her place in this new place that seemed determined to reject her. Each person she encountered only wanting to push her away, even himself, but she never backed down. She stood her ground and proved each one of them wrong about her. He even heard one of the soldiers that day who was working on building the watchtowers talk about how his wife had started to call the Princess the Luna, even though they were not married yet.

He saw the sun rising through his window, he had not slept the whole night. He sat up in bed thinking it best to just start the day now than try to fall asleep any longer. He stood up and made his way over to his water basin to splash some water over his face. He looked at himself in the mirror above his wash table, he looked awful. Thoughts of the Princess had kept him up all night. Thoughts about how his feelings had changed towards her but mostly about her odd behavior the past week. Not that he knew her well enough to know if this was odd for her. 

She had been acting a bit more withdrawn, constantly lost in her own mind. It was as if something had happened to her but she was not saying what it was. Had one of the soldiers done something to her? Did she have a problem with the servants or the villagers? After her first week here he found it hard to believe that something like that could bother her. She was amazing at winning people over. No, this was something much deeper and troubling. Could it maybe be because… of him?

After drying his face and putting on his trousers, he unexpectedly heard a huge crash coming from the other side of the door that connected their rooms. He rushed and yanked the door open, relieved to see that the Princess had never locked the door since the lock was on her side. At first, he did not see her. Her bed was empty. Then he heard a groan and a silver head pop up from the other side of the bed.

“Are you okay? Did you fall?”

She jumped at the sound of his voice, her silver hair in a tangled mess around her head. She had to push strands away from her face in order to see him standing there in the connecting doorway. She let out a little squeak and grabbed the sheet from the bed, wrapping it around herself, though Nikolai could see she was wearing a full nightgown underneath. Nikolai, however, had not had a chance to put on his shirt yet so he stood there only in his trousers.

“I—I’m sorry, Alpha, I had a horrible night and I must have fallen out of bed from all my tossing and turning.” She stuttered, looking towards the ground.

Nikolai could not help but smile at her innocence. Nikolai had had other mates in his life. Usually, the kind that only lasted a night or a few days at a time. He had made sure that any she-wolf he took his bed knew that this was not something that would last and he had never taken an innocent to bed, either. Only women of experience, mostly widows or she wolfs that came with a price. It was not really that he was a man of honor, it was just the idea of taking the innocence of a young maiden seemed like a lot of work. Nikolai just wanted to do the deed, have a little pleasure, and move on. 

However, as he stared at the Princess’s blush at the sight of his bare chest he could not help but notice how alluring she was. Her innocence was refreshing and downright adorable. Add on to that the tousled hair and her clutching the bed sheet so tightly herself, was this how she would look after a good bedding?

“Roxanne, come here.”

She raised her head quickly, her blush deepening. She cleared her throat and walked around the bed, stopping once she reached the other side but still far away from the doorway.

“Closer.” He said, motioning for her to come toward him.

She bit her lower lip and took another step, still too far away from him.

“Closer.” He smiled “I promise I won’t bite.”

She gave him a look that said she did not believe him and then took a few steps closer, now an arm’s length away from him. He reached out slowly, not wanting to startle her, and pushed her hair out of her face. Running his fingers through her hair in order to help it be a little less disheveled. He then moved his hand down the side of her face and placed it under her chin, making her meet his gaze, her silver eyes having that molten glow again that he found so mesmerizing. He took his chance and pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her, and leaned down to press his lips against hers.

It was meant to only be a simple kiss, just to taste her. However, once he did he found he could not just pull away so easily. She tasted of sweetness and warmth, her lips soft and supple. He pushed his tongue between them and heard a moan come from Roxanne’s throat as she opened up for him, allowing him to explore. He could feel her lean into him as if welcoming him closer. His hands drifted down her back and explored her body, her hands having released the sheet so she stood there in only her thin nightgown.

Even with all the overwhelming pleasure, he felt from kissing her and holding her close, there was something else he felt. Like this undeniable pull between them. It was as if tiny threads were being woven between them, trying to make their hearts one. It was an intense feeling and one that Nikolai could easily give into. It felt so natural and right but it was also terrifying. He pulled himself out of the kiss roughly, taking a step back. He kept his hands on her shoulders, not wanting her to fall. He was panting for air, having realized that he had not been breathing during the kiss, lost in the strange pulling sensation between them. She was panting as well and as her eyes met his he could see the question burning within them but, he had no idea how to answer it.

What was that?

He reached down and grabbed the sheet, wrapping her in it once more and then taking a step back through the doorway.

“I’ll see you at breakfast.” He said, before shutting the door. Trying to put as much distance between them as he could.

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Roxanne sat at the head table in the dining hall, unable to focus on her food. She was just nibbling absent-mindedly on a piece of bread as a million thoughts raced through her head.

First, there were the nightmares she had been having since last week. Every night when she closed her eyes all she saw were those red eyes staring back at her. She heard whispering too but she was unable to make out any words. Not as clearly as that first dream about the prophecy. She had searched the library in the castle for days but had found nothing about the history of the Blood Kingdom or anything about a prophecy. She asked Bridget about it and Bridget had informed her that things like that were all kept in the Elder’s library in the town north of here called Midpoint.  

There was a large university there that all the scholars and inventors went to. It was a town all based on knowledge and preserving their history. Of course, almost all the inventions in the Blood Kingdom were war-based and the preservation of their history was more a preservation of battle strategies. Still, Roxanne was convinced that she needed to go there and get into the library. Something about this prophecy had to exist somewhere. They would have to go to the Elders eventually before they got married so maybe she could ask then?

Second, through all the constant questions about the prophecy, she now kept going back to the kiss Nikolai had given her that morning. It had been her first kiss but even still she knew that the feelings she had felt were not normal. How could one kiss produce such longing? It was as if that kiss had opened a door inside of her soul and now she was all too aware of this constant yearning to stay close to Nikolai’s side. This could not be customary, right? 

She peeked a glance toward Nikolai, he was deep in conversation with Roland and seemed to be ignoring her existence. It was obvious the kiss had not affected him the same way it had her. The way he had broken the kiss and pushed her away had stung a little. The kiss may have been amazing but the ending had left her ego a bit bruised. Had she been that bad at it? The way he had shut the door on her face had made her never want to kiss him again if that was to be how she would be treated immediately after.

Roxanne started working on her piece of cheese, still really not that hungry but never one to waste food, when the doors that led out into the castle square swung open.

“Alpha! We spotted some movement in the dark forest coming toward us!”

Nikolai stood up suddenly and Roxanne put down her cheese, looking up at his dark expression. Roland stood and started heading towards the door when another soldier came barreling into the room.

“It’s a Silver Moon Messenger!” He exclaimed.

Abruptly, the room exploded into movement. The soldiers who had been standing at the door moved out of the way for the Alpha and his Beta and all the soldiers who had still been eating filed right behind them. Roxanne sat there in shock, all this for a messenger from her home? It was as if they were all preparing for battle.

She stood up and ran to follow after them, She was in the back so no one noticed her, and Hez, her typical shadow, had not arrived yet that morning, They all were racing towards the outer wall where the Dark Forest laid just a few miles beyond. A huge crowd had accumulated, villagers now joining into the mass. Roxanne knew she would never be able to get near the front of the gathering this way so she decided on a better route. She turned off and headed towards the stairs that led to the walkway on the outer wall. Once she reached the top she could see Nikolai and Roland near the forest edge, the mob of people had stopped to give their Alpha and Beta space.

She ran across the wall knowing where a ladder was that she could throw over and climb down. She had found it one time when she asked Hez to walk her across the wall, wanting to see the village and castle from here. She found the ladder and threw it over, climbing down easily in the new trousers the tailor had made for her. She ran alongside the edges of the gathering, working her way to the front and then having to push through until she stood behind Nikolai and Roland.

She could make out movement within the Dark Forest before a Silver moon messenger emerged from the darkness. He did not look in the best shape, though he did not look injured. He was more frightened than anything else, it seemed. His traditional messenger clothing was dirty as well and she wondered if maybe he had fallen in the forest? Also, he was alone which was not normal, her father would have sent Knights. The messenger ran forward and handed the Alpha a scroll before falling on his knees and looking as if he had fainted. Roland crouching down to shake him, asking him what had happened. 

Nikolai opened the scroll and began to read it. She could not see his face but he looked tense from behind as he closed the scroll and looked towards Roland. Nikolai crouched down in front of the fallen messenger who had regained a bit of his consciousness, asking him once again what had happened. 

“We were traveling through the forest and they came! They began wiping us out one by one! Gone all gone!” he rambled, still not fully in his right mind.

Nikolai stood slowly and turned to face the crowd, he spotted her right away and his eyes widened in slight alarm before turning back to a dark expression. He focused right on her, ignoring everyone around her, and spoke in a soft tone. As if speaking only to her even though she knew everyone around her was still listening.

“The King and your family have gone missing…in the Dark Forest.”