Princess...

Chapter 34

"Alpha Lake." I nodded to him but kept my head bowed, knowing that anyone could be watching the encounter. He nodded back and moved past me inside, though I made no immediate actions to go inside. More than 200 wolves were swarming Salt lake City territory and it would only be hours before someone recognised me. As I entered the kitchen, I caught the familiar whiff of cologne and tensed; why did he always seek me out?

"Recognise your pack princess?" His words were casual, but I knew he truly had no idea which pack I'd been banished from.

"Perhaps I have Alpha Lake. Are all of the pack members settled?" I flipped through a cooking magazine on the counter idly, pretending to be interested in the information on the pages but I really wanted to know if the Alpha had noticed the missing family.

"All except for the New Orleans pack. The Alpha King says not to expect their arrival until later because of our feud." His voice was pained and I had to force myself to focus on the colourful pages in front of me instead of showing how relieved I was that my cover was safe. I nodded once, signalling that I no longer wished to speak with him but Delta Kurt entered the kitchen moments later

"The Alpha King has requested your presence outside, Alpha Lake." I took this as my cue to leave and headed into the workers quarters, not looking back until I'd closed the living room door where Louvel and Adolfina were watching werewolf news.

"Come on newbie, we have a few hours before the ceremony so we're catching up on the media." Louvel patted a seat beside her with her hand and I took it, giving the twins a small smile as I tuned into whatever the news was sharing. It was nothing of relevance to me, just information I already knew about the Alpha King's ceremony for his newest litter. I had been invited, along with my family, to the ceremony of the royal's first litter of pups. I hadn't even shifted yet but was given the opportunity due to my prospective status as a future Luna. I hated every second of it and had holed myself up in the royal library during the festivities, much to my father's distaste. The Luna Queen had taken a great liking to me, helping me sneak a book to a banquet or allowing me to hide behind her to read during boardroom meetings that lasted hours.

"You need to keep that thirst for knowledge alive, Accalia." She had ruffled my hair when we parted ways each time. That was a decade ago, would she recognise or even remember me now? I stood from the sofa and walked into my en suite bathroom, staring hard at the reflection of the empty shell that glared back. My skin had always been pale, I had inherited my mother's freckles with abundance, they littered my nose and cheekbones like a complex dot-to-dot picture that couldn't be completed. My eyes were dull and lifeless, the only emotions I ever noticed were pain or anger behind the stoic facade I tried to maintain. At the age of 14 I'd experienced more than any other wolf or human my age, and yet somehow 6 years later I was still living and breathing, despite my pleas to the Moon Goddess herself. A knock on my bedroom door told me it was time for the ceremony and I exited the bathroom, eyeing Jet who had entered my room

"Come on princess, everyone is outside already." I rolled my eyes at the nickname, and I knew I preferred it when Alpha Lupus used it. I nodded quickly and slipped on my black flats, running a hand through my hair as we exited the house into the sunlight. The Salt Lake City pack were all gathered on one side of the field, and I noticed all of the other packs gathered to the other side, a clear divide between the two. We hurried over to the edge of the group and I hid tactfully behind a few warriors who were chatting amongst themselves. The crowd silenced when the Alpha King appeared on the elevated platform along with two gorgeous toddlers; a boy and a girl

"Wolves from far and wide, I would like to introduce you to my two gorgeous children, Lucatra and Breena." Everyone clapped and I observed the children, blonde hair glowing in the sunlight and dark eyes, just like their parents. The royal Luna was to the left of her mate, a look of pure adoration on her face as she gazed down at her two newest children. Luckily, this ceremony was shorter than the mating one, as the children were already a part of a pack by blood; just as I had been. This was merely a formality, a courtesy that the Alpha King extended to his subjects and we were all supposed to be grateful that we got to experience it. The crowds dispersed shortly afterwards, though when I glanced around, I couldn't see Jet or anyone else I knew. A hand came to my shoulder and I flinched, spinning around to meet a pair of startling hazel eyes. I ducked my head quickly, knowing that all eyes would be on us as we spoke

"Alpha Lake." I greeted, my heart racing as I stared down at his dress shoes. I didn't know what his plan was for the evening, but my inner wolf knew it was going to cause trouble.

"Rogue Ace. I would like you to come introduce yourself to some of the Alpha's." My head snapped up to see Alpha Lupus' lips pulled into a confident smirk and I sighed, knowing that if I refused it would cause a scene. I nodded once and he held a hand out for me to lead the way. His hand rested lightly against my lower back, so faint I wasn't even sure if it was actually there. We came upon a trio that I didn't recognise, relaxing a little when I knew they would have no clue who I was

"Alpha Iowa, this is the rogue I took in not too long ago. Rogue Ace, this is Alpha Iowa." The pressure on my back increased and I knew this was a push to greet the men.

"Alpha Iowa it is a pleasure to meet you." My head was still bowed as I had been taught, trying to spare any unnecessary punishment this evening. When Alpha Lupus was satisfied that we had no connection, he moved on to other packs. We did this several times as the sun set but a strong scent overlapped my senses, causing my head to shoot up and I glanced around quickly, searching for the source of the scent. My eyes fell onto my brother Rafael, who was strolling leisurely onto the field and my heart stuttered, not realising how unprepared I was to see him again. He had barely aged since I was banished, but then again nor had I. That was the benefit of being a wolf, we aged slower after shifting and I knew if he saw me, my cover would be blown

"Oh dear god princess. The New Orleans pack Alpha has just arrived. Let's get this over with." I didn't respond but allowed myself to be pulled along to greet him. "Alpha Orleans! So glad you could make it. My condolences for your loss. This is the new rogue I took in. Rogue Ace, this is Alpha Orleans." I glanced up to see Rafael glaring at me silently but kept his composure in front of Alpha Lupus

"Alpha Orleans, it is my pleasure to meet you." I may have been shaking like a leaf at this point, but it didn't matter because it appeared my brother wanted to save any confrontation for the moment

"Rogue... Ace, was it?" I nodded slowly but kept my head bowed "It is a pleasure to meet you as well." With a firm nod, he disappeared but I couldn't relax; if Rafael was here, that meant Z'ev and Annik weren't far behind. Whilst Alpha Lupus was distracted by his Beta who had come to discuss the Farkas pack's arrival, I ran inside of the house and didn't stop until my bedroom door had slammed shut behind me. I didn't care if Salt Lake City's Alpha came looking for me; if Z'ev was here I had to either escape or be killed on sight, or risk being dragged back with the asshole that ruined my innocence. I paced back and forth for what felt like hours as I desperately tried to calm my inner wolf. I needed to come clean to Alpha Lupus, no matter what my punishment was.