The Wolf Princess

Chapter 2. The Portrait

* Alpha Daemon *

A few days ago...

"What!?"

The cup almost broke when I placed it back on the table. Uncle Zephyr holds a portrait while we are talking inside the archives of the Alpha house. He serves as my beta of the pack.

"I'm saying that you have a wedding proposal to make on the Blood Moon pack, Lowell family. His Majesty the Alpha King offers his daughter in marriage. I heard they turned down an alliance with the Dark River wolf clan."

I groaned while he was smiling. "Don't look at me like that Beta Zephyr, do I need marriage just to bed a she wolf?"

The smile on his face instantly faded.

"Watch your tongue, Daemon," Uncle Zephyr said, his voice dropping into something colder and sharper. "This is not about your, appetites as an Alpha wolf. This is about power. Territory claim. Survival. And more importantly the reputation of our pack."

I leaned back against the table, crossing my arms, unimpressed. The only one who can raised his voice at me is my Beta, and only because he is my uncle too. Him and my Aunt are the only living blood relative I have in the Shadow pack. And I treasure them both.

"Survival?" I scoffed. "The Shadow pack has survived without bending its knee to anyone. I don't need a bride, what we need are stronger warriors."

Zephyr didn't argue immediately. That was unlike him. Instead, he studied me for a long moment, as if weighing whether I was still worth the patience he had always given me.

Then, without a word, he stepped closer and placed the portrait that he was holding on the table in front of me.

"I thought you might say that," he murmured. "So I brought this, and at least take a look at her before you disagree."

"I'm not interested in-"

My words cut off. Because my eyes had already fallen on the portrait. And for a moment, everything stilled.

She wasn't what I expected.

Not the overly adorned, hollow-eyed princesses raised for politics. Not the fragile, painted dolls meant to be traded between packs. No, she looked different.

Princess Arriane Lowell looked, alive on that portrait.

Her gaze, I noticed, those brown eyes didn't bow. Even captured in stillness, her eyes held something fierce. Defiant or rebellious. Like she would rather burn than be owned by any man.

Her hair cascaded like midnight silk, framing a face that was both soft and dangerous. And there was something in the way her lips were set, not quite a smile and not quite a challenge, that made something unfamiliar stir in my chest.

I didn't like it. I straightened slowly, my jaw tightening.

"She looks..." I stopped myself.

Zephyr smirked faintly. "As beautiful as a flower, isn't she?"

I exhaled through my nose and shook my head, irritated. "Trouble and delicate. I don't like women that are too delicate for my taste. And isn't she just eighteen?"

"No, she just turned nineteen," he said, folding his arms. "She looks exactly like the kind you need, Alpha Daemon."

I picked up the portrait this time, my fingers brushing the edge of the frame. My wolf stirred beneath my skin, restless and curious. That had never happened before from just a picture.

"What do we know about her?" I asked, my tone quieter now, measured. But my tone is of that of someone who is already interested.

Zephyr's eyes gleamed. He had been waiting for that question. This isn't the first time an Alpha has send me a message expressing their interest in wanting me as their son in law but the Alpha King has topped them all.

"Not obedient," he said. "They say she's not easily controlled. She's refused three suitors already. Including the Dark River Alpha's heir."

A low chuckle escaped from me.

"So she's being difficult."

"She's dangerous as well," Zephyr corrected. "And the Alpha King still offers her to you. He admires the strength of our warriors and you as an Alpha."

I tilted my head slightly, eyes still locked on her face.

"Hmmm, I thought I didn't have a good reputation. Why?"

"Because only a wolf like you could handle her," he replied. "Or break her and the Alpha King chooses the strongest candidate for his daughter and as of now you are the top."

That word, break, sat wrong in my chest. Strange thought but when I look at her my mind works differently. I set the portrait down, but not before one last glance.

"She won't break that easily," I said flatly.

Zephyr raised a brow. "And you know this how?"

I smirked, though there was something darker behind it now.

"Because if she were the type to break."I tapped the edge of the frame lightly, "she wouldn't look at the world like that."

Silence stretched inside the archives. But my Uncle looked at me with a smile. Then I turned away, grabbing my coat. In denial of what I truly felt on that pretty face being handed to me. Deep inside I felt lucky, well I know how the other single Alpha's drool over the Princess of the Alpha King.

Zephyr's voice followed me. "So? Is that a yes Alpha Daemon?"

I paused at the doorway. For a moment, I considered saying no again, walking away, as I always did from anything that tried to bind me. But her eyes lingered in my mind.

That fire mix with defiance. I wonder how she would react in front of me. That challenge on her pretty face.

A slow, dangerous smile spread across my lips.

"Prepare the envoy," I said without looking back. "We'll visit the Blood Moon pack tomorrow."

Zephyr chuckled under his breath. "I knew it, no man in his right mind would say no to that pretty face."

I stepped into the corridor, my wolf restless beneath my skin. Not for war or for power. But for the first time in years it craves a she-wolf.

I got curious over a woman. And something told me. Princess Arriane was not going to be easy to claim. But it even fueled my interest deeper.

I didn't want an easy lay. A little bit of a challenge coming from a she wolf would be a breath of fresh air for me. Until the day I arrived at the Palace and saw her majesty in person.

Now, I am staring at her back as she marched away from us inside the grand dining hall. Disrespecting her father the Alpha King. Saying no to my proposal, I gritted my teeth and groaned, this isn't what I signed up for. The Princess is a total brat!