The Alpha's Bodyguard

The she-wolf of the lycan

Gold Moon Pack House

Present

Valery's POV

Despite her physical and skill tests qualifying her as the top candidate, there was something about Cindy that didn't quite convince me, a suspicion that, after my boss's strange reaction, raised quite a few doubts in my mind. I knew my Alpha very well, and I knew that when he made a decision, he didn't back down. But with Cindy, it was different. When I thought he wouldn't hire her, he changed his mind.

It was so sudden that I even considered the crazy idea that my Alpha had been a victim of some kind of mind control, but how? Something like that could only be done by a lycan, and Cindy, if she were one, wouldn't be applying for a security position; it didn't make sense. Lycans were too powerful to be servants or employees of anyone other than another higher-level lycan.

However, I would be attentive to every move of the new escort, and at the slightest change of pace I detected, I would act. Alpha Falinni was my biggest concern.

Cindy Smith's Residence in Gold Moon Pack

Present

Ivania's POV

Mr. Darkwood came to visit me at the house he had rented for me within the boundaries of Gold Moon Pack territory. The place would not only be my residence while working as Alessandro's escort but also our operations center to exact revenge against the Falinnis and, when the time came, against the king who had stolen the crown that rightfully belonged to me as the sole and legitimate heir of my murdered father.

"I knew you wouldn't have any trouble securing the position, Ivania," Darkwood said after uncorking a bottle of champagne. "But I'm still not convinced that this position is what we need for an infiltration."

I took the glass he offered, and after moistening my lips with the bubbly drink, I asked for the reason for his reluctance.

"I think it's perfect. Starting tomorrow, I'll be close to him, I'll know all his movements, and I'll even listen to his conversations. Remember that, as a lycan, my hearing is much superior to that of other wolves. Even when I'm far away, I'll be able to hear everything he says."

Darkwood took a big sip of champagne and nodded. "That's precisely what I fear the most, Ivania, that you'll be so close to him. Don't forget that he's your mate and that now, with your wolf, she'll be inclined to be excited about her partner. It won't be like five years ago when she wasn't even with you."

Darkwood's words weren't without truth, and that issue worried me too. Hiding my wolf every time I was near Alessandro was going to be quite a challenge, but I had already agreed with her, with Belona, that it had to be this way, for us and our revenge.

"Reclaiming her allowed you to advance in your lycan powers, Ivania, but having her with you can now also be your greatest weakness," Darkwood concluded with a look that managed to send shivers down my spine.

I didn't regret rescuing my wolf, but he was right. Now Belona was the only one who could betray me.

Lycan King's Palace

4 years before present events

Ivania's POV

"Are you sure about this?" Darkwood asked as he rubbed his hands together, blowing warm breath onto them. It was an hour before dawn, and it was so cold that your snot would freeze. "Entering the lycan king's palace and reaching his library won't be easy. It's a suicidal mission."

My eyes were fixed on the huge window of the palace library, the place where, according to my ally's informants, the reliquary containing my wolf was kept.

"We won't have a better opportunity until the next full moon," I replied, barely flinching from the cold. "This is the coldest night of the season, the guards will be holed up in their watchtowers, barely bothering to make a nighttime round. The cold is on our side."

Thanks to Darkwood, I had managed to train some of my lycan abilities, but I still needed my wolf to reach my full potential. It was necessary to reclaim her, to enter the palace library, and to obtain the reliquary where she was confined.

"The only thing that really worries me is the loyalty of your sources," I said after inspecting the dark suit and the condition of the lockpicks that would allow me to enter the king's residence. "It's still surprising that my wolf could be confined there, in a jewel. I had never heard of such a thing."

Darkwood blew on his hands again before responding. "The legend about the curse is true. You are the thirteenth descendant of the dryad who was cursed by the witch Ravena, and it is because of that curse, that your wolf was born separated from you, confined in that reliquary which now also houses the tree of your ancestor."

If I hadn't been raised in a society where myths, legends, and creatures that humans considered non-existent existed, I would never have believed the story about the curse with which a witch condemned one of my ancestors, a dryad who, having wished to be able to separate from the tree that bound her so she could win the heart of a lycan prince, turned to a witch who confined the oak that held her in a reliquary that the dryad could hang around her neck, thus transporting it wherever she went, without losing the bond that connected them.

But like all stories involving a witch, this one ended with a curse that fell upon me. Being the thirteenth descendant of the union between the dryad and the lycan prince, I was born without a wolf, a condition I hoped to change that very night.

"Well. The last round just passed. With this cold, I trust they won't do it again until dawn," I said as a farewell. "Good luck, princess. May the Goddess be with you."

"The Goddess will play her part, don't doubt it," I replied to Darkwood. "I just hope you play yours too and inform me of any eventuality."

With these last words, I plunged into the darkness of the night, heading to steal the jewel in which my wolf was imprisoned.

Parking lot at Gold Moon Pack House

Present

Ivania's POV

Despite my mentor and protector's precautions, there was no turning back. I was the escort of Alpha Alessandro Falinni, and this was my first day on the job.

I parked my motorcycle and put on my uniform, along with the bulletproof vest.

Valery, Alpha Falinni's Beta, came out to greet me with the day's orders.

"Today, the Alpha has a very important meeting with some Chinese investors at a city restaurant at noon, but before that, we will stop by the Secretary of Energy's office, where the Alpha will also have a meeting."

I nodded as I took the itinerary Valery handed me. Besides those two places mentioned by the Beta, Alessandro would visit other less important locations. One in particular caught my attention.

"What about this one, ma'am," I asked Valery, pointing in the direction of a building in the city. "Is it a residential apartment?"

Valery checked the address and nodded.

"Yes, it's the last stop we'll make today before returning to the pack house."

I thought Valery would give me some additional details about that place, but she remained silent, so I asked.

"It's Miss Stephanie Astor's residence, the eldest daughter and heiress of the pack that her family governs," the Beta replied. "She is Alessandro's fiancée."

Fortunately, Belona was hidden because otherwise her heart would have sounded with a loud "crack."