Being the princess of all werewolves is not easy, but finding a mate is harder. Annabeth's royal life is turned upside down when she meets her mate, Kate.
Soon, she finds herself stuck between two choices: her duties to her family, and her love for...
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"Do we have to go?" Delta is nervous, I can hear it as clearly as I can feel it.
„Is it even safe out there?" I ask Ann, squinting my eyes as I survey the forest, the luminous white snowpack reflecting the sun, burning in my eyes but I keep looking, standing hesitantly in the doorway.
"Yes," she says and nudges me impatiently on the shoulder, "I made sure of it, my patrols have been running this part of the palace grounds for half an hour now."
"Your patrols?" I cock a brow. Since when does she have her own patrols?
"Well, if you want me to be correct, it's our patrols. I collected a favor from a friend, and they've been running the parameter for us to assure it's safe."
"I don't want to go."
"Why not? I thought you'd be thrilled to meet Nora." Delta has been talking non-stop about our next run and implied more than once that she'd be extra happy to have some fluffy white polar bear-like company.
"I am but-", she grows silent for a moment, clearly looking for a way out of this, "Before was nice, right?"
"It was," I mumble. Delta is flooding my mind with pictures from earlier, the feeling of Ann's hands on my body, and how she tasted. My heart picks up its pace and I feel hot all of a sudden. "You are a wolf, not a chicken, so stop it."
"Kate?" I see Ann staring at me expectantly.
"Oh, yeah, I was just- You know how wolves can be... What if a patrol sees us?"
"What if? Kate, what exactly do you think they will see?" her light and casual yet teasing tone makes the heat leave my lower body, for which I am grateful, to creep up on my face again. Yes, what exactly do I think they might see? "Besides, as long as we go no further than the narrows to the northwest and the training grounds to the northeast, we won't meet anyone. "
I nod, but still, I can't get my legs to move. It's as if I'm glued to the door as if an invisible tape wants to keep me inside.
"It won't hurt as much anymore; the first time is always the worst. And this time you have me, okay? You don't have to go through it alone." She squeezes my hand encouragingly, and even tugs on it a little.
"Promise? I don't know if I can survive a shift like the first one again," I admit.
"Promise. Come on, it's half the fun when it gets dark!" It's a rare sight to see Ann like this, bubbling with excitement and anticipation like a child. She lets go of my hand and jumps off the porch nimbly, laughing.
"Ann!" I yell as I see her bare feet skid in the snow and for a moment it looks as if she might fall, but with a few frantic rowing arm movements, she holds herself upright. "You can't go out like this!"
I stare at her in shock. Why didn't I notice that? She's just standing there, grinning like a maniac over her shoulder, dressed only in one of my oversized shirts. It's barely large enough to cover half her butt. Not, that I don't love what I see but... "You'll catch your death!"
