The Wolf Princess

Chapter 3. The Boy I Like

* Arriane *

I turned my back on them and ran through the hallway, because I didn't want anyone to see the tears that fell down from my eyes. This is not what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. There are still places I want to see and marrying into that Demon wolf is just like dying! How could my father do this to me?

"Princess Arriane, are you alright?"

Amira was worried as I got inside my chambers and cried on my pillow. I know she was behind me because I felt the warmth of her hand rubbed my back.

"Please leave me alone Amira, I don't want to talk to anyone right now."

She sighed before retreating slowly. "As you wish Princess."

I waited for the door to close then I got up from the bed. I searched my drawers beside me and there I found a note.

"Come find me when you needed someone to talk to Princess, I'm just a few steps away from you."-Damien.

My fingers trembled as I traced the ink of his name. Damien. Even written so simply, it stirred something dangerous in my chest, something warm, something I wasn't allowed to feel.

I closed my eyes for a moment, pressing the note against my heart as if it could steady the storm inside me. Of all people, why him? Why would my father marry me off to that Alpha.

Why not Damien? He listens to me and he cares, a quiet voice whispered within me. Go find him. Because he sees you, not the princess, not the pawn of the Blood Moon pack, just you.

I swallowed hard and wiped my tears with the back of my hand. My reflection in the mirror looked nothing like a princess, my eyes were red, my lips trembling, my dignity scattered like broken glass.

And yet, my feet were already moving. I slipped out of my chambers quietly, careful not to alert the guards stationed along the corridor. The castle halls felt colder tonight, heavier, as if the walls themselves knew of my fate and mourned it in silence.

Each step I took felt like rebellion. Not against my father or against the pack. But against the life they had already decided for me.

The note crinkled softly in my grip as I reached the western wing, the quieter part of the palace, where few dared to wander at this hour. My heart pounded louder with every step, echoing in my ears like a warning.

Or a promise. Then I saw him. Leaning casually by the tall arched window, bathed in silver moonlight, as if he had been carved from the night itself. Damien is kind even when he is just the son of our Palace servants.

He didn't look surprised to see me. Instead, his lips curved slightly, almost knowingly.

"I was beginning to think you wouldn't come, Princess Arriane."

His voice was low, calm and steady in a way I desperately needed. Unlike the thunderous voice of my father or the arrogant voice of that Alpha Daemon.

I clenched the note tighter. "You knew I would."

A soft chuckle escaped from his lips. "No," he said, pushing himself off the wall and stepping closer. "I only hoped."

The distance between us shrank, and suddenly, the air felt different, thicker, charged. It made me feel alright, forgetting my current state.

"Why did you leave that note?" I asked, my voice barely holding together.

His eyes softened, and for a moment, all the teasing vanished. "Because I heard the rumors even before Alpha Daemon arrived here in the Palace," he admitted quietly. "And I knew, you wouldn't be able to carry that revelation alone."

That was all it took. The tears I tried so hard to suppress broke free again.

"I don't want this, Damien," I confessed, my voice cracking. "I don't want to marry him. I don't want a life that feels like a cage."

He didn't interrupt me. But I heard him sighed. Then he just stood there, listening.

"I want to live," I continued, my breath uneven. "I want to choose for myself, for once. Is that too much to ask?"

Silence stretched between us, but it wasn't empty. It was full of understanding. Then, slowly, carefully, Damien stepped closer. Close enough that I could feel his presence, and his warmth, my heart began to betray me.

"No," he said softly. "It's not too much Princess, you have a choice."

His hand lifted, hesitant at first, as if giving me the chance to pull away, but when I didn't, he gently wiped the tear from my cheek.

"You deserve more than a life chosen for you." My breath hitched.

"Then why does it feel like I have no choice?" I whispered. His jaw tightened slightly, something dark flickering in his eyes.

"You always have a choice, Princess Arriane," he said, more firmly now. "The question is, are you willing to face what comes after?"

I stared at him, my heart pounding harder than ever.

"What do you mean?" For a moment, he hesitated.

As if what he was about to say, would change everything. Then he leaned closer, his voice dropping to a whisper meant only for me.

"If you don't want to marry that Demon Alpha..." he said slowly, "then run away Princess."

My eyes widened.

"Run?" I repeated, breathless. His gaze locked with mine, intense, and unwavering.

"I can help you," Damien added. "But once you make that choice, there's no going back. You won't just be defying your father and the elders."

His voice lowered further.

"You'll be starting a war." The word hung between us like a blade. A war. My heart raced, fear and something else intertwining inside me.

I looked at Damien, at his handsome and kind face then I realized. This wasn't just about escape. This was about him.

"Why would you help me?" I asked quietly.

A shadow of a smile touched his lips, but his eyes, they were something deeper. Something unspoken.

"Because," he said, "You're not the only one who wants to break free."

And in that moment, I knew I am not going to be alone. I nodded.

"Then let us get away from here."

"Not so fast Princess, we need to plan this carefully. And for now we can't make a move. Alpha Daemon and his warriors are still here in the Palace, let us wait for them to leave."

I look at his eyes, and I agreed. "You are right, it is much easier to deal with our own soldiers but not with the wolves of that Demon Alpha."

Even thinking about him made my skin crawl, he isn't that bad looking but I hate the aura of domineering arrogant men. Just like my father he is an Alpha, whose command requires obedience. And more than that he exudes a much powerful strong aura than any warrior that I have met.