A GIFT FOR THE ALPHA

CHAPTER 5

Alpha Thane's POV

The moment the doors pushed open and she stepped into the room, I knew at once she was the one amongst the two maidens who stepped into the hall. Also, aside from that, she was the most elegantly dressed among the two and she wore a tiara.

She had lips as strawberries. Red and well-shaped.

Her eyes were deep blue as the oceans with long fluttering lashes that could make time stop as she scanned the hall.

She tugged nervously at the white opera gloves that stopped midway up her arms. Princess Larissa or whatever they called her was blonde. A triangular face with well-chiseled angular cuts that framed her face into what I would call perfection.

For the occasion, she was dressed in a pink ball gown that kissed the floor and bared atop a pair of beautiful creamy shoulders. She was beautiful alright, and that was what pained me the most as I studied her. How could the daughter of my enemy look this beautiful!

I was pissed. At exactly this time, the guests caught a glimpse of their celebrant, and rounds of applause filled the room. Sipping my drink, sulking under a breath, I used the opportunity to move away from the stairs still pained that the daughter of my enemy was this beautiful, not as I wished!

Cursing under a breath, I moved away, going stealthy amongst the people and promising myself not to cast another glance at the princess, offspring of King Stephan.

But her sweet scent followed me wherever I went, torturing me and threatening my existence. What was that smell, it must be what pulled me to her? Ah! Yes, lilies, one of my favorites. Now I'd have to hate that fragrance and stay away from her.

I couldn't help it.

The rounds of applause continued. And I just needed to take one more look at that face.

Stopping, I turned around and brought back my gaze to her. There was something about how she smiled sweetly and held the rail with one hand and her gown in the other hand while descending the stairs, that made my stomach flutter.

If I had any admiration for her, IF, it well ended the moment she descended the stairs and went into the arms of her father, King Stephan, my arch-enemy who has now brought himself standing at the foot of the stairs.

The crowd still cheered them.

Watching father and daughter bond and the crowd cheering them reminded me how much she was an enemy as much as her father, not even her beauty would change a thing. Not the way her scent still followed me and tickled my senses from across the room.

D@mn it! Of all fragrances, why must she smell just like my mother; the woman I've loved so much in my life? Appalling if I must say, and I hated it.

Gnashing my teeth, I looked away at last, while the guests continued to clap, and even Jake was clapping!

“What are you doing?” I quickly mind-linked with him from across the room. He was still with the maidens but they'd stopped with their conversation and were now applauding the princess.

Meanwhile, King Stephan led the celebrant to her cake.

Jake smiled from across the room. “Cheering, like every other guest should do.” He replied also using the mind-link.

“Shouldn't you be clapping too, brother, before they figure out you're an enemy; a spy?” Jake said and let a smirk taint his lips from across the room.

But I cannot deny the fact he made sense. I'd let my hatred for the princess and her father cloud my judgments tonight. Carefully holding my glass, I joined the others in clapping, grateful it ended almost immediately. Stopping, I exhaled and sipped my drink; noting how that felt like the worst two minutes of my life.

“I told you she was beautiful.” Jake came mind-linking again from across the room, he was still smirking.

“Tell that to the birds, Jake,” I said.

Eyeing him, I forced myself to watch her again, and she was blowing off the candles on her cake. It almost got me smiling but when she straightened and glanced at her father and they exchanged smiles, I recollected she was nothing but an enemy.

* * * * * * * *

Princess Larissa's POV

The reception was overwhelming, lasting until I have blown away the candles and cut my cake. And then I danced with my father to open officially the dance floor for the night.

“Thank you. Thank you.” I waved, smiled, and even dipped in a curtsey.

Exhaling, I moved away and joined my handmaid. She was standing alone by a corner, all smiles, as she watched me.

“Happy birthday!” Zia mumbled. We exchanged smiles.

“Thanks, Zia,” I mumbled.

She chuckled. “I wish you many more years filled with happiness and love, and all the good things life can offer,” she added.

This made the smile on my lips broaden into a grin. I was about to reply when my father came interrupting the conversation.

“Come with me, my dear,” he beckoned and grabbed my hand.

King Stephan took me with him to meet some royal friends while Zia waited. The first people he took me to was the Belguiz family, amongst others. I was grateful Prince Lucas wasn't around when my father led me to his family. Prince Lucas was busy in chatter with some guests.

Aside from King Namirez and his queen, I also got to exchange pleasantries with Lucas's twin sisters and his three brothers.

Done with the Namirez, King Stephan tugged me with him to another family, and another family. At first, the whole thing was interesting, and then it grew boring and I had to fake the smiles.

Zia and I continued to exchange glances from across the room, rolling our eyes and chuckling at my situation.

Suddenly, Zia frowned and clutched her stomach. Excusing myself from the group, I walked back to her. “Hey, are you alright?” I asked, searching her face.

She held her waist. From the expression on the girl's face, she was in pain but I didn't know how deep. “It– It's my monthly visitor, it came very early this morning and with a lot of cramping," she paused and dragged a breath. ”-the cramping just returned!”

That was it! No wonder Zia didn't show up today until evening.

Briefly, I fell into a flashback of how my day had begun.

I woke up with a headache, yes, that was my reward for staying up late imagining all that my father and Zia had told me about the werewolves.

Jerking out of bed, I had hurried out of my room practically asking every servant that walked past me for Zia, but no one seems to have set eyes on the girl. Today wasn't her day off and Zia, as I know, hardly reports to duty late. So what could have gone wrong? Always the first person I see when I wake up and the last person to leave my room after I retire for the night.

I was worried.

Painfully, there was no way I could access her in the city and find out what was the problem. I wasn't only forbidden to leave the castle. My father prohibits that I ever send a servant or a knight on an errand beyond the walls of the castle.

My life was ruined.

As for Mrs. Muffins; the only channel via which I could reach Zia, no longer worked in the palace.

Roughly a year ago, while announcing her retirement in the throne room, King Stephan had said I was grown up and didn't need a nanny anymore. Thus, a woman I grew up seeing as my second mother was taken away from me, and her daughter was given to me as a handmaid.

Before her promotion as my handmaid, Zia worked as a royal servant in the castle but one very dear to me. Our friendship and close bond was the reason King Stephan didn't hesitate in making her my number one handmaid. I had two others.

So this morning, when Zia didn't report to work, the two other handmaids had filled in the vacuum.

But I was bored and missed Zia. I had gone strolling this morning around the castle, watching as the servants set the ballroom for the party tonight. I had eaten my breakfast alone in the tea house as my father was busy again.

I skipped lunch with the excuse I wasn't hungry and had taken nap. My joy knew no bounds when I woke up and saw Zia staring in my face.

Was it the excitement that made me forget to ask her the reason she was away in the first place? We began bonding straight away and I was dressed for the ball. And when we were alone, Zia explained having asked her mother about what we discussed last night.

“What did she say?” I asked.

“My mother said it's true, that our kingdom is named after a goddess.” Zia had reported and I was quiet, still finding it difficult to believe the story.

Exhaling, I brought back my attention to the present, to the party.

“Your monthly flow?” I stuttered. Quickly scanning the room, I brought back my gaze to Zia. “You need to get some rest,” I whispered.

Zia looked at me. “But I can't leave you, Your Highness. Briana and Nicole have retired for the night, who will replace me now?” she said.

“Zia, we should be worried about you and not me, I can manage for the night.”

“What if King Stephan notices?”

I glanced at my father, and then brought back my gaze to Zia. “If he asks, I would explain to him, he would understand,” I soothed.

Minutes later, I accompanied Zia out of the ballroom and we headed for my chamber.

We entered the room and shut the door after us.

“You can lay on my bed,” I offered.

“You know I can get into trouble if someone walks in here and sees me laying on your bed.”

We stopped before the bed. I smiled. “True, but if you lock the door from inside and only open it when you hear my voice, you'll be fine,” I said.

Exiting my chamber, I re-entered the ballroom to the sight of my father still caught up in chit-chat with his friends.

Heaving a sigh, I descended the stairs, glancing at the people waltzing on the dance floor.

My wandering gaze catches sight of my betrothed flirting with a maiden by a corner. I scoffed and finished descending the stairs.

Grabbing a drink from the tray of a passing server, I resumed scanning the hall. And unexpectedly, my wandering gaze jammed those smoky eyes, intense, as he looked back at me.

A shudder hit my spine and glided down, I gasped, feeling my n*pples harden under his gaze. Who was this guy? Why was he alone and not talking to anyone?

Was he a prince? Or some noble from a neighboring country?

As if reading the numerous thoughts bubbling in my head, he looked away and sipped his drink.

Good grief, that moment he looked away, it felt as though a kind of wildfire was put off my body and I regained my senses.

I looked away and also gulped my drink.

Who was he? I really needed to know.

Bringing back my gaze on him, I began moving towards him. But halfway through, as though knowing I was coming for him, he straightened and moved in the opposite direction towards the main door.

Wait. Was he running away or avoiding me?

I followed him.