Betrothed to a Prince, In Love With My Bodyguard

We Marry for Responsibility, Not for Love

Red's POV

“Tempest Elianna Crescent, if I hear one more word of complaint about this betrothal, I swear to the Moon God I’ll wring that tiny little neck of yours.”

He doesn’t mean it. He’s pissed, for sure—my father only uses my full name when he’s pretty damn livid—but he would never hurt me. 

I have a lot of names. To my friends, I’m Red. It’s an uncreative nickname inspired by my long, vibrant red hair—an even more uncommon color in wolves than in humans. To those who don’t know me, I’m the Crescent Princess—the daughter of the Crescent Moon Pack’s alpha, who also happens to be the King of Canis, Kingdom of Wolves. 

To those who are pissed at me, I’m Tempest Elianna Crescent.

“Give her a break, Will,” says Kat, my stepmother, as she glances at me with sympathetic, brown eyes. I like Kat’s eyes. They aren’t nearly as bright and fierce as my late mother’s—the same golden eyes she passed down to me—which is ironic, considering my mother was the Oracle of Peace and Kat is a bloodthirsty warrior. 

“I’ve spent my entire seventeen years on this planet being taught that the Gibbous Moon Pack are our mortal enemies,” I say to my father. “Now you’re telling me I have to marry one of them?”

He groans. “I never said they were our mortal enemies.”

“You didn’t have to! It’s common knowledge! Not to mention, Sophie Gibbous has made it her mission in life to make my high school experience as miserable as possible.”

Not that she’s been successful. I might not be the most popular girl in school, but I’ve got Corrin, Rowan, and, of course, my brother Eli. I don’t need Sophie or any of her cronies.

“Well, I’m not asking you to marry Sophie. Has Dominic ever treated you that way?”

My mind wanders back to the limited experiences I’ve had with the so-called Gibbous Prince. He’s not a real prince—Eli is the one true Prince of Canis, just as my father is the one true king—but the Gibbouses were the royal family in our homeland of Meridian, and the kingdom hasn’t forgotten it yet.

Dom is handsome, that’s for sure. He’s well over six feet tall, with the muscles you’d expect to find in a future alpha like him. He’s got blackish hair and blackish eyes to match, both slick and charming. He’s never been unkind to me, I suppose. But he’s never really talked to me, either, despite the fact that we’ve been attending the same schools for all our lives.

My mind wanders next to Rowan, but I refuse to let it linger there. I can never be with Rowan for a million different reasons. Especially now.

“No,” I finally admit. “He hasn’t treated me that way. But that doesn’t mean he’s my mate. I’m only seventeen. What happens if I turn eighteen and find my true mate elsewhere?”

My father scoffs. “The concept of ‘true mates’ is outdated and primitive. Your inner wolf may try to convince you that its infatuation with someone makes him your ‘true mate’ when it awakens, but you can’t let it control you. We marry for responsibility, Red. Not for love.”

He’s calling me Red again, at least. “You married Kat for love,” I point out. Kat was married and widowed before, just like him, but to the Delta of our own pack—a strong position, but not one considered fit for a queen.

Kat looks down at the ground, cheeks turning pink. My father glares at me. “My first marriage secured our place in this kingdom. I did my duty. And I lost my wife. If a day comes where you lose your husband, then, and only then, will I give you my blessing to marry for love.”

I sigh. He’s right, I suppose. His marriage to my mother, who was the daughter of the Alpha of the Eclipse Pack, had brought the two strongest packs closer together and signaled to the Gibbous Moon Pack that they had no chance at reclaiming the throne. But the Gibbous Pack is stronger now—even stronger than the Eclipse Pack—and it’s my duty to do the same thing my father did back then: bring our packs together.

“Okay,” I finally say. “When?”

He and Kat both exhale with relief. “We’ll throw the engagement party next weekend,” he says. “As for the rest, we’ll wait until after your eighteenth birthday, and your graduation.”

I nod wordlessly.

He reaches his hand out to cup my cheek. His light blue eyes twinkle in the moonlight filtering in through the windows. “I’m proud of you.”

When he leaves, I glance at Kat. “All that time you two were married to other people… Did you love each other?”

Her eyes are sad when she answers me. I can tell she knows that her words will hurt me, but Kat has never been one to sugarcoat the truth. “Yes.”

- - - - -

“Red, you ding dong, wake the hell up!”

I rise from my bed, rubbing my eyes sleepily and cringing at the incessant banging at the door. I recognize the voice, of course. It’s Corrin, my best friend, who also happens to be my bodyguard.

Lame, I know. If it makes any difference, we were friends first. She’s the daughter of our Beta; our friendship was basically written in the stars.

She’s not wrong to call me a ding dong, I muse as I rise from the bed and open the door for her. If she’s already made it to my room, that means it’s time for us to leave for school, and of course I haven’t so much as taken a brush to my hair.

“You never brush your hair, anyway,” she points out when I say this. “Get dressed. You have three minutes.”

She’s not wrong about my hair, either. Its long, tangled waves that come down to the small of my back are far too much hassle to brush. Besides, I’d rather spend my time training than grooming.

I pull on a black tank top, a pair of worn-in jeans, my combat boots, and my leather jacket. Pretty much the same thing I wear every day. Corrin only laughs when she sees me emerge from the walk-in closet.

“You’re certainly consistent,” she says as I pop into the bathroom to brush my teeth.

Along with being my best friend and bodyguard, Corrin is also my fashion consultant. Usually I ignore her advice, but every once in a while, it comes in handy. I think of the party my father is throwing me the following weekend and decide I’ll need her advice for that.

“I have to tell you something,” I say as I spit and return my toothbrush to its holder. We exit my room and head down the hallway to the small staircase. It’s a three-story climb down to the main floor of the castle, and unfortunately the building’s too old and fancy for elevators. It once belonged to elves, according to my father. “It’s… big.”

Corrin’s misty, gray eyes bulge with interest. Her eyes look so much like her brother’s that I have to look away. “Well?” she pushes.

“I’m going to tell you now, and then you’re not going to say anything when we get in the limo with the others,” I warn her. “Okay?”

She crosses her arms. “Fine. Now, tell me!”

“My father has betrothed me to Dominic Gibbous.”

Corrin stops dead in her tracks. “What?”

“I know,” I say in a hushed voice, tugging at her arm and pulling her forwards. “I tried to fight it, but I’m sure you can imagine how that went for me.”

“But… you…” She seems to be at a total loss for words. “When?”

“After graduation, and after my eighteenth birthday.”

“Your birthday’s in three weeks! Graduation’s in a month!”

“I’m aware—thanks.” I roll my eyes. “He’s throwing the engagement party next weekend.”

“Oh, sweet Moon Goddess,” she curses, hanging her head. “This is too much. Does Eli know?”

“No, and neither does Aurora. I’ll tell them both soon, I just…”

Aurora is my stepsister—Kat’s daughter. She’s widely considered to be the most beautiful and quiet she-wolf in all of Canis. We get along fine, though we don’t exactly talk much. It’s not her I’m worried about telling; it’s my brother Eli.

Once Eli knows, Rowan will know.

We reach the castle doors, which two Omegas open for us. The limousine is stationed outside, and given how late I slept in, I feel pretty confident that all three of them will already be there.

“End of conversation,” I tell Corrin. “For now.”

The moment I open the door, the smell of leather, gunpowder, and freshly chopped wood overtakes me, as it always does when I get near Rowan. They say this happens when a wolf meets her mate, but I’m not eighteen yet, which means my inner wolf hasn’t awoken to tell me who my mate is supposed to be. 

I think I just really like his smell. 

I can smell the others, too, but their scents are nothing compared to his.

He grins at me, dimples forming in his cheeks and laugh lines forming around his wintery eyes. Though similar to his sister’s, Rowan’s are more of a silver than a gray—brighter and sharper. I could drown in them. Sometimes, when I don’t catch myself, I start to.

“Overslept again?” he teases me. “What’s that, four days in a row now? Might be a new record.”

I shove him playfully as I take my seat next to him. My breath catches in my throat when I touch him, as it always does. Rowan is Corrin’s brother, the future Beta of our pack, and Eli’s bodyguard, which means he is ripped beyond measure. He is also older than me or Eli; he graduated last year, and now comes to class solely to shadow and protect Eli. If his long, shaggy, sandy brown hair didn’t give away his age, his rugged, scruffy, dark beard certainly would.

I stare at his beard for longer than I should, imagining burying my fingertips in it and pulling his face in towards mine for a kiss. I think back to the time I made the mistake of kissing him, four long years ago, and immediately shake this thought away.

“What were you, Dad, and Kat talking about last night?” Eli asks me as Corrin takes her seat next to him and the driver pulls off. Aurora is there, too, sitting on the end, as usual. She gives me a small smile before sticking her nose back into her book. “I heard shouting.”

I stiffen at the question, and Rowan seems to sense it. He always seems to sense exactly what I’m feeling, which means he probably knows I’m in love with him.

“I’m not quite ready to go there yet,” I say, unable to bring myself to lie to my little brother.

I feel Rowan’s eyes on me, but I force myself not to look back at him. 

Eli shrugs. “Okay. What are we thinking for after school? Anybody up for fencing?”

“You don’t need any more fencing practice,” Corrin tells him with a laugh. “You’ve literally out-fenced the fencing master.”

“She’s right,” says Rowan. “You need to practice your horseback riding.”

“Oh, come on! What do we have cars for? Besides, in a little over a year, I’ll be able to shift at will, and riding a horse will be the least of my concerns.”

“A lot can happen in a year,” Rowan points out. “And they don’t allow cars in Vila.”

Vila, the kingdom surrounding our own on all sides, is the kingdom of the faeries, who use their spells to keep us hidden from the outside world—namely, the vampires. The faeries don’t allow any modern technology in their kingdom. If we ever need to leave Canis, we won’t be able to use our cars.

I like when Rowan talks to Eli like this. He’s like the big brother Eli never had. Sometimes I think he is even wiser than my father.

“I say we knock out two birds with one stone,” I suggest. “Horses and archery.”

The bow and arrow has always been my favorite weapon, just as swords are Eli’s, guns are Rowan’s, and spears are Corrin’s. Like Eli said, none of it will matter much once we can all shift, but like Kat always says, it’s never a bad idea to master a weapon.

“Seconded,” Corrin says cheerfully. “And, given that it’s Friday, I’ll add the suggestion that we bring our camping gear and sleep under the stars.” She glances pointedly at me. “Maybe by then you’ll be ready to share your news with us.”

- - - - -

The only thing that feels harder than having to tell them all about the betrothal is the thought of seeing Dom. We don’t have class together until sixth period, the last one of the day, but I know we’ll see each other at lunch, if not sooner. Does he know yet? Will he approach me? Will he have the good sense not to say anything about it in public?

My heartbeat begins to quicken as Corrin and I head to the dining hall. The packs have established tables in the cafeteria, and the Gibbous table isn’t far from ours. Sophie Gibbous undoubtedly claimed her territory near ours on purpose to torture me.

The moment we step into the lunch line, I feel his eyes on me. Eli and Rowan fall in just behind us, and I smile at them, trying to ignore Dom’s piercing gaze, but before long, I weaken, looking back at him. He’s already sitting down, eating. His dark eyes are glued to me. Is it hunger I see in them? Curiosity? My heart is pounding, but is that because of the way he is looking at me, or the close proximity to me that Rowan is standing?

“Red! Snap out of it!”

I blink, tearing my eyes from Dom’s at the sound of Eli’s voice to realize that I’ve fallen half a dozen feet behind in line. I shuffle forward, grabbing a banana from the line and blushing.

“The hell was that about?” Eli asks me as we finish gathering our lunches and make our way to our table. “Since when do you and the Gibbous Prince eye-f**k each other in the cafeteria?”

I resist the urge to slap him. I steal a glance at Rowan, whose expression is dark. “I wasn’t eye-f*****g him. I don’t—”

But before I can finish, Corrin clears her throat, and I turn to see Dom standing next to me.

I glance behind him at his own table. Sophie and her friends are glaring daggers at me. I wonder if they know yet; I have a feeling they do.

“Hi,” I say awkwardly to Dom as I set my tray down on the table. Eli and Corrin take their seats, but Rowan remains standing, watching Dom with narrowed eyebrows.

“Hi.” Dom’s voice is deep and soothing. He towers above me, easily six inches taller than my five-six; he even has a few inches on Rowan. But he seems gentler than I expected, which eases the intimidation factor. “How are you?”

“I’m good.” Please don’t say anything. Please don’t say anything. I c**k my head fractionally back toward the others, silently indicating that he should be careful with his words. “You?”

He seems to catch my drift. He offers me a small smile. “I’m great. Received some really exciting news last night. Hoping when the word gets out about it that other people will be as excited as I am.”

He’s not exactly being subtle, but at least he’s not giving it away. His code language is actually very sweet. Already, this version of Dom Gibbous is much better than I had feared. Maybe marrying him won’t be so bad.

“I’m sure they will be,” I say. “Looking forward to hearing the news.”

His smile spreads, and he lifts a hand—whether to touch me, to hug me, or to high-five me, I have no idea—then thinks better of it and lowers it.

“Well,” he says, “I’ll see you around.”

And he heads back to his table.

I lower myself shakily down into my seat, noticing with surprise that Rowan is still standing. I glance up at him. His eyes are on the Gibbous table.

“Row,” I say, and his eyes turn reluctantly to look at me. “You okay?”

He runs a hand through his long, messy, sandy brown hair before taking a seat. “Yeah,” he mutters darkly, sounding anything but. “I’m fine.”