The Alpha Princess

CELINA

Swiftly, I force a smile onto my face and point toward the exit.

“Actually, I just spotted my friend. I—I’m going to go fetch her and then call it a night. Need to look fresh enough to get my neck bitten into and all that.”

I laugh nervously at my own joke before stepping back. His body language seems confused as I try to exit with my dignity intact, but the moment I’m out of sight, I break into a run.

“Jenna!” I holler as soon as I reach my bedroom.

The moment the door swings open, the nauseating stench of vomit hits me. I follow the putrid smell and almost shriek at the sight before me.

Jenna’s auburn hair is matted with vomit as she groans on the floor, right next to the toilet. Her skin is an unhealthy pale shade, and she’s drenched in sweat.

“Jenna!” I plead, lifting her frail body into my arms. “What’s happened to you?”

Her dress is stained with vomit and a large wine stain. There’s a sharp, bitter smell barely concealed by the stench of her sickness. What could it be?

My eyes dart around the room and land on a shattered wine bottle soaking my carpet in red. Did she drink something?

“Jenna, honey, please say something,” I implore, brushing her hair away from her face. “Can you tell me what happened?”

Her eyebrows knit together as she tries to focus on me. I quickly remove my mask and gently touch her face. “It’s me. Celina.”

She groans, her lips losing color beneath her smeared crimson lipstick. It’s smudged. Was she kissing someone? Is that why she left me at the ball?

“My stomach… It’s burning,” she manages to say.

My gaze falls on her hands, which are cradling her stomach. Ignoring my instincts, I take a deep breath and immediately gag. Wolfsbane. Someone has poisoned her.

“Help!” I scream, both aloud and through our mental link to the pack’s head doctor. She’s asleep. I try again. “Help! Anyone!”

“Celina,” a deep voice echoes as my door swings open.

“In here!” I respond, struggling to hold Jenna as she goes limp.

“What happened?” Prince Christopher demands, stepping into the bathroom.

“Someone slipped wolfsbane into her drink,” I inform him as he lifts Jenna from me. “Follow me. We need to take her to the infirmary,” I say, already on my feet and sprinting ahead.

I let my aura flare, immediately drawing attention as I dash through the corridors. “Healer Benson,” I growl through the pack’s mental link. I feel her mind jolt awake. “~Infirmary. Now. Wolfsbane poisoning~.”

With my werewolf speed and Christopher’s lycan stride, we reach the infirmary in less than two minutes.

“Lay her on the bed,” I instruct him as I fling open the doors to a stark white room. I rush to the medical supply room and grab ipecac. In a blink, I’m back at Jenna’s side.

She’s barely conscious, so I have to hold her face as I force the bitter liquid down her throat. Within minutes, she’s retching into a bucket Christopher found while I support her by keeping a hand on her back.

“What the hell is happening here?!” Healer Benson bellows, storming into the infirmary in her pink nightgown. Her green hair is piled atop her head. She glances at me, still in my formal attire, then back at Jenna. “You mentioned wolfsbane?”

I nod. “I lost Jenna during the party. She linked me after ten minutes, saying she needed help and was in my bathroom. I smelled the wolfsbane. Judging by the wine stain on her dress and the broken bottle in my room, I think that’s how she ingested it.”

“I’ll go investigate,” Christopher says, leaving immediately.

“I gave her some ipecac to induce vomiting,” I inform Benson, moving to hold Jenna’s hair away from her face.

“Keep her sitting up,” she instructs before leaving. She returns after Jenna’s sixth heave, attaching an IV and administering another medication.

After fifteen minutes, Jenna starts to relax. Benson gives me a nod, allowing me to lay Jenna back on the bed. She inserts an oxygen tube through Jenna’s nose and adjusts her bed to a sitting position.

Jenna finally opens her eyes, her chocolate orbs still full of life. “Well, one of us looks like crap, and it’s not me.”

I laugh, relief washing over me. “Don’t scare me like that.” I squeeze her clammy hand. “I thought I was going to lose you.”

“I’ll die after I kick my ex in his precious jewels, since he clearly enjoys them being played with.” She raises an eyebrow. “Unless you want to do it.”

“I’ll let you have the honor.” I wink at her. “Something to look forward to in the future.”

She groans. “I don’t know if I’ll get the chance, considering I won’t survive the Claiming in this state.”

I place my hand on her face. “Jen, I’m personally excusing you from this year’s Claiming. I’ll slit any councilman’s throat who dares to argue.”

She grimaces. “I’ll still get matched up.”

“Hey, me too,” I chuckle. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and get matched to each other. We can start the Amazonian Pack and abolish all forced mating practices.”

She gives a weak laugh. “I’ll settle for Eddy’s head on a pike. Who the hell fakes a three-year engagement just to avoid the Claiming? The bastard could have waited one more month.”

“A coward, that’s who,” I tell her, suppressing my anger toward that pathetic flea for the moment. “Is that why you were in my room?”

Tears well up in her eyes, and she nods.

“I tried to kiss someone to distract myself. It didn’t work, and I felt disgusted. I couldn’t find you, so I went to wait in your room. I thought I’d have a glass of wine while I waited, but—” Her eyes suddenly widen. “You didn’t drink any of that, did you?”

I shake my head. “No, I didn’t. Let’s focus on you. I’m worried about you.”

She scrunches her nose. “It smelled different, but I thought it was just the brand. I’ve never seen it before. ‘Pour Mon Ami.’ What does that mean?”

“It’s French,” I say. “For my…for my something.” I think for a moment, then a wave of dread washes over me.

I slowly lift my head. “For my mate. Whoever gave me that bottle was trying to poison me, but you got caught in the crossfire.” I look at Jenna with heartbreak. “I’m so sorry, Jen.”

Jenna shakes her head and pushes herself up. “Were they trying to kill you?”

“I’m not sure, but I don’t think so.” I look at my arm where my scar hides beneath my gloves. “If they weren’t trying to get me out of the Claiming, they may have been trying to weaken me to give someone a better chance at marking me tomorrow.”

Jenna’s face twists in a grimace. “I’m glad I took the fall, then.”

I wince. “Jenna, I’m so sorry. I should have alerted the guards when you found the wine.”

She gives my hand a comforting squeeze. “I’m just as guilty. I didn’t think anything was off either. I only smelled you in the room, and there was no scent coming from the bottle…” Her voice trails off as we both come to the same realization.

“There was no scent,” we echo each other, our eyes meeting.

“Jenna!” a woman’s voice calls out.

A woman with fiery-red hair and deep-blue eyes steps into the infirmary. Her pale skin is dotted with freckles, adding to her beauty. This is Miranda, Jenna’s mother. Her brother Zeke is following close behind her.

“What happened?” Miranda demands, taking a seat on the opposite side of the bed and grasping Jenna’s other hand.

“I had some bad wine, Mom. I’m okay,” Jenna quickly reassures her, shooting me a warning glance to keep quiet.

“Jenna, please be more careful with what you drink,” Zeke says. “I saw the state of Celina’s room. The cleaners are in there right now dealing with the aftermath.”

Then he places a hand on my shoulder, prompting me to look up at him. “You’ve been summoned by the lycan king and your father.”

I let out a sigh. “Any chance you can tell them you couldn’t find me?”

He gestures toward the door. “Prince Christopher and Prince Ruben are waiting to escort you.”

“So, is that a no?”

“Princess Celina,” a stern voice calls, and I see Ruben’s face by the open door. “Will you be coming willingly, or will we have to drag you there?”

I shoot Jenna an exasperated look before hugging her. “Remember, you’re excused from the Claiming, so I better not see you out there.”

I rise and head toward the princes. “Stupid failed attacks by idiotic beasts…,” I mutter under my breath and continue to grumble profanities as I make my way to my father’s office.

The moment I open the door, I bare my neck, halting my complaints, and lift my head with dignity. My father and the lycan king are perched on the edge of his desk with a chair in front of them. Just great.

Without being prompted, I take a seat and say, “Whatever it is, the answer is no.”

“Celina, you need to understand that you’ve been attacked twice in less than forty-eight hours,” Dad says, crossing his arms. “King Exzecial has offered some of his soldiers to protect you from these rogue attacks.”

“It wasn’t a rogue,” I inform him softly. I know exactly what’s going to happen when I reveal this. Goodbye, freedom.

Dad’s face contorts in confusion, his complexion reddening. “What are you saying, young lady? Were you trying to avoid the Claiming?”

I scoff. As if I’d give up my last fight for my freedom! I’m going to earn my freedom, not cheapen it. I just have to survive this last Claiming, get my degree, and then I’ll be out of the council’s reach forever.

“No,” I say firmly. “Jenna found a bottle of wine in my room before we left for the party. I didn’t think much of it. I assumed it was just another gift from a hopeful suitor.”

I notice Christopher tense in the corner of my vision. His fists are curled so tightly, they’re turning white.

Not to prolong my time being interrogated, I ignore him and continue. “The label read, ‘Pour Mon Ami,’ which translates to ‘For My Mate.’ I’m guessing it was from someone at the party. There was no scent.”

I can’t help but glance over at Christopher again. I can feel his hostility radiating toward me, and it looks like claws are extending from his fingers too.

“I see,” Dad says, snapping my attention back to him. “In that case, stay here. Exzecial, can you and your sons investigate who entered her room? I’ll deal with the overeager wolves.”

I groan, allowing my head to flop back onto the chair, and close my eyes. “Can I just go to bed? I have to dodge teeth tomorrow.”

Dad takes a moment to respond. “You can stay in one of the rooms where the other female Claiming contestants are. It’s heavily guarded. Your mother will bring you a change of clothes.”

“Chris, make sure she gets there safely,” Exzecial quickly adds.

CHRISTOPHER

Celina’s eyes flutter open at my father’s command. She’s not looking at me, but I’m captivated by her light-blue eyes. Time seems to slow as she takes a deep breath, drawing my attention to her chest. I can almost see her heart beating.

My gaze trails down her pulsing blue veins, leading me to the necklace that conceals her mark. I yearn to tear it off and sink my teeth into the soft, creamy skin beneath.

My beast, Rajin, starts to growl. “Mine! Mine! Mine!” he repeats as he paces restlessly. He can sense her wolf, feel her strength. He wants her.

My canines start to descend, and my eyes turn black as my beast nears the surface. My claws extend, and I can feel my bones starting to shift. Ruben shoots me a warning look.

A memory flashes in my mind. My father’s stern gaze on my brother and me. “Under no circumstances will the princess be marked in the Claiming. Do I make myself clear?”

The Claiming. If I mark her before the Claiming, my life is forfeit, regardless of who I am.

“She is ours!” Rajin roars, struggling against my control.

“She won’t be ours if we’re dead,” I retort. “We can’t mark her until the Claiming, and we’re not participating. If we defy the Beast Council, we’ll be sentenced to death.”

Reluctantly, he calms down, and Celina sits up with a sigh, releasing my mind from her spell. I glance at the clock on her father’s desk. Only three agonizing seconds have passed.

“All right, we should probably get going,” she says. “Maybe I’ll get lucky and a lycan will take me out,” she mutters next, causing my beast to growl furiously.

“Ma—”

“Don’t say it,” I warn him. “Our life depends on you not saying that word.”

“Prince Christopher,” Celina calls, standing by the door. “Are you coming?”

I nod and turn away from my father and Ruben, unable to speak with my canines still extended. She sighs, like she’s disappointed.

“Not much of a talker, are you?” she says as I step into the hall with her. “That’s okay, I guess. At least you’re not trying to sink your teeth into my neck.”

I almost laugh at the irony. “Do people usually try to sink their teeth into you?” I ask, doing my best to hide my jealousy and retract my canines.

“Only during this time of year. It brings out the crazies. Any alpha would love to have the alpha king’s daughter as their luna.”

Rajin growls at her words, but I ignore him. “Any particular crazies we should be aware of?”

She purses her lips in thought. “I didn’t think of it earlier, but my ex, I suppose.”

Ex? “Why do you think that?”

She blushes slightly, her heart rate increasing. “Well, he proposed to me six months ago, and he didn’t take my rejection well.” She sounds embarrassed, rubbing her neck as jealousy flares within me.

“What do you mean by that?” I ask, struggling to keep my composure.

“He’s been harassing me nonstop. I had to move apartments. My father has security following me at school. I’ve changed my number six times, and he keeps finding it.”

She shakes her head. “He even called me today and said he’ll see me at the Claiming. I rejected him again, but his words were ‘After tomorrow, you won’t have a choice.’”

My irises flash gold, forcing me to close my eyes. I pinch the bridge of my nose to hide it. “Does this deluded bastard have a name?”

“Declan,” she says. “Are you okay? You seem to be in distress.”

She’s not mistaken. “I’m okay. Just worn out,” I lie hastily. “You’re not the only one who’s traveled today.” I drop my hand and open my eyes. “Why doesn’t your dad just make him leave you alone? He can’t defy the alpha king’s command.”

She shrugs. “Because he’s a lycan.”

Someone I can take down, then. “I’ll look into it and see what I can do.”

Suddenly, she turns around, and I realize she’s standing in front of a guarded staircase. Four lycan guards are glaring at me.

“Well, this is my stop,” she says, gesturing behind her. “Thanks for walking me here.”

She exposes her neck to me, a sign of her submission and respect; it sends my beast into a frenzy.

I nod quickly, squeezing my arm as I bow. “Good night, Princess.”

She lifts her head, soothing me slightly, and smiles. “Please, call me Celina.”

She turns to ascend the staircase. To keep my eyes from following her all the way up, I glare at the guards, pushing my aura; they instantly expose their necks.

“Have a mated male guard her door all night,” I command.