CLASH of REALMS

ONE

THREE MONTHS. She had three months to find happiness or live in misery for the rest of her life. It wasn't as if Alpha Aberdeen was a monster. Dalton said he was a good man. He'd take care of her and make her happy. But no matter what he did, it couldn't compare to what her true mate did. She wanted to at least know how it felt to be with her chosen one. Her first kiss should be with him. She'd saved herself just for him. As the werewolf princess, every ambitious man wanted to mate with her because they would eventually be the king. A lot of men had made their intentions clear. Some even tried to make her submit to them. Forcefully. But she'd rejected them all hoping to meet her mate. Where? She had no idea.

She was twenty-five now, but she'd never even caught a whiff of his scent. Where was he? Was he dead or already mated to someone else? Almost all the men in the kingdom had come to the palace hoping she was their fated. Even the already mated ones tried their luck with the excuse of having two mates. Why then hadn't she seen him? Was there a wolf that didn't covet the throne? After much deliberation, Ariadne had concluded that he wasn't a werewolf. Which only meant he was human. Hence, her insistence on going to the human world. If he was there, she would find him and spend the remaining time with him before coming back to mate Aberdeen. Because werewolves would rather die than accept a human as their king. Even if he was her true mate. She'd resigned herself to living with someone she didn't love. Her mother had warned her that she would have to make some sacrifices for the throne.

As an only child, she was the heir and there was no wanting or not wanting the throne. It was simply hers, whether she liked it or not. A part of her accepted the responsibility. She'd lived in a palace since birth and lacked nothing. Anything she wanted, she got. Servants surrounded her, ready to cater to her every desire. So it was only fair that she paid for all the pampering she received while growing up. To cast the throne aside would be to be ungrateful, and Ariadne was everything but that. However, the other part, the one she locked deep inside her, abhorred everything. Down to her identity as a princess. If she was a normal wolf, she would be with her mate, regardless of his race. She would have the freedom to go wherever she wanted and do anything she desired.

As someone who grew up confined in the palace, she'd craved freedom. With all the servants and surveillance cameras around, she'd never been able to go unnoticed. The second she disappeared, enforcers gathered, forming a search party for her. She couldn't even go to the bathroom alone. There was always someone with her. Asking if she needed something. Everything she knew of the outside world she'd heard from Dalton. Her best friend who sneaked in human snacks and gossip. He'd convinced the king to install Wi-Fi in the palace, saying that they needed to be up-to-date with current affairs. Thanks to that, she was able to enjoy human movies. Tacky as they were, they helped her pass the time and forget her problems for a while.

A grunt had her turning to see Hilda forcing more clothes into the already full suitcase. She was her personal maid. A young woman who was two years younger than her with blonde hair and brown eyes. She was lovely and cute and the only person Ariadne could talk to freely. They both spent days daydreaming about their mates and the lives that awaited them.

"We can't travel with all that, Hil"

"We have to. You can't sleep without your pajamas and before going to bed, you need your cleanser, moisturizer, and make-up remover. Which reminds me, I haven't packed your make-up yet. Just because we're leaving the palace doesn't mean you will stop being a princess. You'll need all these things, your highness"

"Keith will probably send them back before we even leave. You know how he hates liabilities."

"I talked to the queen. She said the warlock won't be a problem"

Ariadne smiled. He'd turn her to dust if he found out she'd talked to her mother before talking to him first. Keith Barclay. First warlock in line to be the next chief. He'd been sent to be her guardian as punishment for something he did, but he wouldn't tell them what it was. What he'd made clear was how he hated babysitting a spoiled princess. He'd much rather go to war or fight his way out of hell than be there. Luckily, she didn't need his services, so they rarely saw each other. Until now. Her parent's condition was that she would take him with her or forget about leaving. She had agreed because she needed to find her mate.

Getting up, she went to where Hilda was and pulled her to her feet "I mean it Hil. We don't need to bring all this with us. We will buy everything we need. Have you forgotten about the shopping malls we saw on my laptop? We will visit every shop and get whatever we need. We'll even try online shopping" she whispered the last part. To which Hilda's eyes went round with excitement.

"Goddess, I'd forgotten about that. Yes. I will immediately put everything back to where it was"

She spent the rest of the night packing and unpacking. Ariadne couldn't sleep because she was too anxious so she settled on watching the maid. The hours dragged by and when it was almost dusk, they both fell asleep only to be woken up by a grumpy Keith. They had to leave early. It would be a long journey to the human world. Quickly they got ready then rushed to the front door where the queen was waiting for them.

"Ariadne, meet Eris. Your own personal enforcer"

"I have Hilda and Keith. Why do I need an enforcer?"

"Because she can go into places Keith won't be able to go. Like the bathroom. Make no mistake girl, the world is a dangerous place. If I could I'd send all the enforcers with you but that will only draw attention to you. Hence the reason I chose Eris" She nodded knowing if she raised any complaint, they'd never leave.

"Is that all?"

The queen reached for her hands surprising her. She didn't remember her mother initiating any contact between them after she'd turned ten "Stay safe. Always watch your back" Was that worry she heard in the queen's voice?

"With Keith and Eris, I will be just fine so please don't worry"

"Good. If you die out there, I will find someone else to be the heir" Was that meant to be a threat? Because in her eyes, she would go to any lengths to escape that damned throne.

"Goodbye, Mother. Take care of yourself" She waved them off then spun around and went back inside. They didn't talk much unless it was about the throne. Ariadne opened her mouth to properly introduce herself to Eris but the woman speared her with a hard glare before pivoting on her heel and heading to the car. She looked at Hilda who only shrugged her shoulders. Yet another person who didn't want to waste their time guarding her.

"Hop in Princess," Dalton said sticking his head out of the driver seat window "Let's get this party started" Her day lightened up.

"You're coming too?" She asked thinking of sitting next to him in the front seat but it was already occupied by Eris. She couldn't ask her to move so Ariadne reluctantly got in beside Keith.

"I wouldn't miss this for anything. As your bff, I want to see the kind of man the moon goddess chose for you. If I like him, I'll sneak him in and out of the palace whenever you want"

Hilda slapped the back of his head which earned her a glare from Eris. She ignored the enforcer and said "Watch your mouth. We are still in the palace"

He shrugged "So what? Once she's the queen, she can do whatever she wants. It would be so cool if you could form your own harem. Watching naked men parading around the palace would make my days so much brighter"

"Drive," Keith barked, his eyes closed.

"Ari, imagine those well-tanned six-packs and muscled thighs", Dalton continued, unfazed by Keith's tone. Although he did start the engine.

"I thought you said you didn't swing that way?"

"I have rediscovered myself. It turns out..." The rest of his words were muted. She could see his mouth moving, but couldn't make out what he was saying.

"It turns out?"

He huffed "It turns out your protector is overprotective. He doesn't want you to be tainted by my filthy words."

She looked at Keith in shock. Their interactions had been little to none so she didn't really know what he could do. In the palace, no one could hurt her which meant he hadn't had a chance to do his duty. Now that they were out of the palace, she was going to find out what he was capable of. Someone in line to be the next chief had to be powerful. Would he risk his life to save her if she was in danger?

"If you keep on staring at me I will gouge your eyes out," he said without opening his eyes. She turned to Dalton.

"So where do we begin?"

"Relax Princess. I have everything all planned out"

By that, he meant they would spend their first night out in a rundown motel. Some words were missing from the sign so it ended up reading p***s. The paint was coming off the walls and the entrance was filled with all kinds of trash. One look at it and Hilda was already protesting

"Let's find another place. I bet there are cockroaches littering the walls"

"Sweet girl, you're a wolf. Don't tell me a mere cockroach can scare you"

"It doesn't but Ari can't sleep in that filthy place. Let's find another hotel"

"It's late," Eris said her voice hard "Either check-in or sleep in the car"

"You can't speak to the princess like that" Hilda started fuming "Your job is to protect her. Unless she's in danger, your opinion isn't welcome"

"Hil..."

"No. She's been glaring at us since we met and I don't like her attitude. If she didn't want to come along then she shouldn't have. I'm sure lots of other enforcers would be glad to be your protectors. It's not too late. You can go back to the palace. We'll manage just fine"

"How dare a maid..." She growled, a speck of gold appearing in her eyes then to their surprise, got out and left. Going back the way they'd come.

"I'll go talk to her. You guys check in" Dalton went after her. Ariadne shook her head at Hilda.

"You didn't have to tell her off. Maybe she's sad because she had to be separated from her mate"

"Ari, can you start worrying about yourself? How can you stay in such a filthy place?"

"Don't worry. I'm not as delicate as I look"

"I still don't like it. I'll see if there is something better nearby"

There wasn't. So they were forced to stay in the p***s motel. It wasn't that bad. Even though the beds were almost falling apart and the mattresses thin, the sheets were clean. Besides, it was just for one night so it didn't matter. They booked two rooms. One for the girls the other one for the boys. Ariadne worried that Dalton would say something and Keith would turn him into a frog or cat. Their personalities were complete opposites. But if they could share a room with Eris then the two could make do. Because she hadn't been able to sleep the previous night, she fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

When she opened her eyes again she was surrounded by three wolves glaring down at her. Their fangs dripping saliva on her. A scream caught in her throat.

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