The Hidden Wolf Princess (#3 of the Hyle pack)

Hi my dear readers, if you have been here for some time, WELCOME BACK! If this is your first time reading any of my books, I highly recommend reading my other books first.. (this is #3 of the Hyle pack!! #1: The Dying Alpha , #2: Milo) It will help you with some of the characters in this story... Enjoy! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- A new day A new life And a new me… I was staring at myself in the mirror of the local hair salon, eyes big with shock, wonder and a new-found appreciation for myself. I had had long platinum blonde hair for all of my life, or at least, as long as I could remember anyway. My hair had grown so long over the years, it almost reached below my butt. Remembering all the fights me and my father had had, every time I asked him if I could go to a hairdresser. He would always just look at me, his eyes filled with so much rage, screaming at me, that a true princess kept her hair long and healthy, and that there was no way in hell that I would ever cut it off. Not even an inch… Well, guess what dad? I smiled wide as I looked down at the long locks of hair that were lying on the salon’s floor. As if they were parts of my old life, parts that I had let go with every cut the scissor had made. I looked back at myself, my eyes opening wide as I looked at the new me. My platinum blonde hair reaching just past my shoulders. Knowing that if I would make some curls in it, it would reach just up to my shoulders. The hairdresser asked me multiple times if I was really sure to cut off such a big piece of my hair. But I had just nodded, determined to stick to my plan. A new day A new life And a new me… And after looking at myself for a good five seconds, I smiled wide at my own reflection that was staring back at me. I LOVE IT! I turned my head in different directions, this was the new me. The new me that was independent, the new me that would not be afraid of her father or grandmother anymore. The new me that would live her life the way she had wanted to live it, and not to let it be lived by the people who were living inside of a palace, far, far away from here. This was the new me, this was Ivy, this was not a princess, not anymore. I paid the hairdresser for cutting my hair with the first money I had ever made on my own. I had found a job as a barista inside a small coffee shop downtown. It wasn’t that I was making big money working there, but I loved having a job for the first time in my life. And I had never felt any happier than the day that I had gotten my first paycheck. I finally felt alive! I walked outside, secretly looking at myself as I passed by shop windows. I also noticed the looks that different male wolves were giving me, as they passed me down the street. Making me bite my bottom lip as I tried to hold back a smile. This was something else I still needed to get used to; male attention. Inside the palace, it felt as if no one ever dared to even look at me. And if they did, I was sure that my father would make sure that they would never try to do it again, ever. I sighed deeply, a sigh of relief, a sigh of happiness, and I smiled as I entered the street where I lived now, where I had just moved into my small condo. My very own place. At least, by half of it. I was sharing the condo with Addison, or Addie as I called her. She was a feisty red head, with playful freckles on her nose and cheeks, and a mouth like a sailor. She was everything I was trying to become. Independent with not a care in the world. I was pleasantly surprised as I reached the door to my building, seeing that my cousin Milo was standing outside, looking as if he was waiting for me. And sure enough, I was greeted with his smile as he saw me. His eyes grew big as he spotted my new hair style. “Well, well, well… Looks like living inside the Hyle pack suits you well!” He laughed as he pulled me into his embrace. And it was, I loved living here. I loved the freedom of making my own choices and doing what I wanted for a change. “Love the new hair, by the way!” He grinned as he looked at it again. “Thank you.” I answered him back as I took my keys to open the door. “You want to see my new place?” I asked him, opening the door to let him inside. “Of course, that’s why I’m here.” He nodded, as he followed me inside and upstairs to my condo. I opened the door and smiled wide as I turned to look at him. “It’s not a palace, but it’s mine and I love it!” Milo nodded, smiling as he looked around. “You don’t have to defend yourself to me. I am still living inside my parents-in-law’s house after all.” He grinned as he looked back at me. “About that! Me and Ginnie are having our mating ceremony next weekend. I would love for you to come. Your mother will be there as well.” My eyes grew wide as I looked at Milo. I missed my mother so much. In fact, she and my uncle Mario, Milo’s father, were the only ones I had missed about that awful place. But I couldn’t help myself to feel worried as I heard his words. If my mother came, my father wouldn’t be too far behind her… Milo saw my worries and he nodded his head at me. “Don’t worry, it’s just my dad and your mom. Your father is not coming. He had some business to take care of, so I’ve heard.” I nodded. Thanking the Moon Goddess herself. I wasn’t ready to face the man. I wasn’t sure at that point if I ever would be ready to face him. And I sighed in relief as I thanked Milo and told him I wouldn’t want to miss his mating ceremony for anything in the world. Milo had just kept smiling at me. Somehow, he knew or sensed that the relationship with my father wasn’t normal or healthy, but he had never asked me about it. And for that, I was grateful. Maybe someday, I would be ready to talk about it. But that wasn’t today. We were both pulled out of our normal conversation as the condo’s door flew back open and a hurricane in the form of Addison stormed inside. Her hands filled with shopping bags. Addie turned around as she faced both me and Milo. Her eyes grew big as she watched my cousin up close. “Congratulations on getting hitched! Are you guys having a big ceremony for the entire pack to come and see?” She asked as she turned around, dropping her shopping bags on the floor as she never looked away once. Milo pulled up his nose as if he was smelling something really bad. “Oh hell no, we’re doing something intimate and small, just our closest friends and family.” Addie rolled her eyes as she sighed deep, reminding me of an old Hollywood actress. “Seriously? When I will have my mating ceremony, it will be the go-to-event of the year.” Milo gave me a look, while I just shrugged at him. Yup! That’s my roommate, alright. “If it does comfort your partying mind, Addison, there will be a party for the entire pack to celebrate our mating ceremony tomorrow.” Milo winked at me and I smiled back at him. I knew Aiden, our Alpha, was throwing this party to celebrate Milo’s return home, after being away for some time while he was under a magic spell by our very own grandmother, trapping him inside the palace walls. The forsaken palace that I had called my home for most of my life. But since Milo hated the idea of a party being thrown in his honor, he quickly had renamed the party in honor of his mating ceremony to Ginnie. To be honest, there wasn’t really a title needed for this party at all. As long as there was a party planned, along with alcohol and male wolves, Addie would be standing in the first row to enter inside. And when she had heard the words ‘party’ and ‘celebrate’ she had started to clap her hands and jump up and down like a crazy person. So much that Milo looked at me as if she was a nutcase, saying goodbye to me and exiting our condo very fast, where he left me behind with a grinning Addie, who was already making plans for the big night. “Oh my Goddess Ivy, we are going to have the best night ever!” She yelped as she almost jumped into my arms. I just smiled back at her, not even knowing what to expect at that point. I had never been to a party before. I mean, I had attended a ball or two, but as I thought about a werewolf party, flashes of a TV show called ‘Jersey Shore’ flashed in front of my eyes, and I wondered if I even wanted to go to this ‘party’ in the first place.