Chapter 2
I could feel the unmistakable power that was emitted from the person who was standing behind me, a strange sense of pulling to turn and look at him. The guards in front of me got down to their knees. I turned around to see a man at least a half-foot taller than me, lean, not muscular like the others, but yet he looked like someone who, if he wants, can break someone in half if he wants to. His light brown eyes shined under the morning sun and his rusted skin looked almost divine under the blue sky, but the most striking feature was his platinum hair. He met my eyes for a moment, held me there, I felt a force a thousand swords can’t fight and the wind picked up, rusting through his short platinum mane.
He stepped forward, and I fought the urge to step back and refused to look away from him. I kept my eyes locked on him, but soon I felt my thoughts melting away. He stepped one step closer to me, my lips parted. I sucked much needed breath as I felt bare under his blazing gaze.
Then he looked away from me, and I turned away, finding my heart racing faster than the horse's hooves.
"She is not just the princess of mortal land; she is the future princess consort of the Apha prince and the future queen."
"But Your Excellency...
"Yes?"
I gather my thoughts and look back. His eyes were neutral now, giving nothing away, and he was challenging them without blinking an eye. He kept looking at them until they stepped back and bowed in submission.
"Let her in," said the man, his whole being radiating with power.
"Who are you?" I can’t help my curiosity anymore.
He turned to me, his expression at ease once again.
"Lord Xendorite, at your service," he said with a polite nod. "If that is all, I will take my leave, Princess." He looked at me for a moment longer and stepped closer to me, leaning toward me. I had this sinking feeling that he was searching for something in my gaze. I leaned away a little, but he was close enough for me to get the strange cinnamon and woody scent wafting over me. I could see the little silver flecks in his brown eyes, and my breath caught in my throat.
"Good luck," he said in a low voice, trembling down to my very bones, and he walked away. I let out a breath, realizing the cold wind was hitting my face. I was unaware of the warmth that surrounded me when he was near. Was it truly this cold before? I shivered, looking at his back as he walked away, his hands clasped behind his back and his broad shoulders flexing beneath the white coarse-cloth shirt. I felt the heat rise in my cheeks again, so I touched it. What is wrong with me? Why do I feel so warm—am I running a fever?
"Your Highness, are you alright?"
Nora’s voice put me out of my thoughts, and I nodded.
"Let's go inside."
I took a deep breath and went inside.
"Princess, you should think it through," the Alpha King said.
Standing there in the center of the big circular hall of the lunar valley, where the Alpha King holds court, I once again felt like a commoner rather than a princess. I should feel this sting in the center of my chest while I look around at everyone; shouldn’t I be used to this? The distance, the coldness, and every pair of eyes, including my father's and my half brother's, look at me like I am someone they have never seen before, and I have no right to be there. I looked straight into the eyes of the Aplha King.
"I have thought it through, and I thought werewolves do not shy away from a challenge."
"We don’t." Alpha Prince stood up and narrowed his eyes.
"But we are different princesses." The voice was familiar, the same one that tried to question Sansa’s presence there. I turned to see the dark eyes; he was around my age, or he looked around my age. One can't really tell with wolves.
"You are a frail human, and this is an alliance; there is no need for this to become so dramatic; you are not a potential mate for the Alpha, and you have no right to challenge him," one clan member said.
"My fragility should be tested on the field, don’t you think? And you want an unwilling bride for your son," I looked at the Alpha King, who, surprised, didn’t show any hostility to me for being out of line, but by the time the words were out of my mouth, my father’s face was blue with anger.
"Or your alpha prince is all right with an unwilling bride; that doesn’t say much about him, does it?" What else could I do? All I've ever heard about wolves is that they are easily provoked and that they are filled with manly pride. This was the only way to provoke the Alpha Prince.
"It's enough!" My father's voice boomed. He marched down to the center of the hall and lowered his voice for me. "You have embarrassed me enough; I won’t stand for you..."
"It's alright, King Henry. "I accept Princess Rossette's challenge," Prince Kyln said emphatically.
My father turned to see the prince, and Alpha's eyes moved for a moment from his son to upward and then back at me, and he nodded. Giving the tormentor his blessings.
"This is ridiculous."
"Absolute disrespect,"
"I can’t believe my eyes,"
Some more words of disagreement were murmured under their breath, and my father glared at me.
"If I lose this alliance because of your stupidity, I will make sure you pay for it!" He hissed under his breath and strode out with the other werewolves. Prince Klyn gives me a glance and walks past me. The last was the Alpha King, who got up from the seat and stood in front of me.
"I hope you know what you are doing, Princess. This might not be the result you wish for," there was a sense of concern in his voice as he spoke to me. I stepped back a little and nodded.
"Perhaps, with all due respect, your majesty, this alliance is not relevant to me, and this is the question of my freedom."
He paused for a moment, as if to study me, and then nodded. He, too, walked away.
I looked up to see where he was looking, and there was an empty balcony. Something told me someone was standing there. But who?