The Wolf Princess

Chapter 6. Betrayal

* Arriane *

I barely touch the food that Damien brought me, because after that conversation I lost all my trust in him. I'm too scared to go out, even as a Royal wolf I knew that the wolves in this area are no more than savages.

The bed is hard, my only consolation is that Damien gives me a bit of privacy.

"Princess you barely touch your food, are you not hungry? Sorry but you don't get the same luxury from the Palace."

His words has apology but his tone was mocking, I can see the changes on his eyes.

"I want to go back Damien, this is a mistake. I don't want to be here anymore!"

Damien's eyes turned even darker like something inside him had finally decided to stop pretending. For a seconds, he said nothing. He just stood there by the door, his shadow stretching across the small, dim room. The lantern light flickered against his face, carving sharp lines where warmth used to be.

"Go back?" he repeated softly.

The way he said it made my chest tighten. I swallowed a lump in my throat. "Yes. Please, Damien. You said this was just temporary. That you were helping me."

A bitter chuckle escaped his lips.

"Helping you, yes I said that," he echoed, shaking his head.

Something cold slipped into my veins. I forced myself to stand, ignoring how weak my legs felt. "You are helping me, right?" My voice trembled despite my effort to steady it. "You've always helped me. Ever since we were children."

That made him pause, he remembers those times in the Palace. Just for a second. And foolishly, my heart clung to that hesitation.

"I trusted you," I whispered. "I thought, I thought you were different from the others. That's why I choose to flee with you."

I didn't say the rest. Because it is my fault I liked him as a boy and that made me trust him, Damien has a cute puppy-like face.

That somewhere along the years, between stolen glances and quiet kindness, I had imagined a version of my life where Damien stood beside me, not as a servant, not as a guard, but as something more. But now he is changed.

His jaw tightened. "Don't," he muttered.

"Don't what?" I asked, my voice breaking. "Don't remind you that you used to care? That you used to look at me with respect and kindness?"

"Stop it, Princess Arriane!" he snapped, his voice suddenly sharp enough to cut. Silence crashed between us. My breath caught. And the fear slowly creeping inside my heart.

He had never raised his voice at me before. Not even once. He wouldn't dare. His hands curled into fists at his sides, like he was holding something back, anger, or guilt.

"I did care," he said finally, quieter now. "That was the problem before."

Hope flickered again, weak, and fragile. I took a deep breath.

"Then why are you acting like this?" I stepped closer, towards him desperate. "Why bring me here? Why lie to me?"

His eyes met mine. And whatever I saw there, it killed that last piece of hope that I have."

"Because caring doesn't feed people," he said flatly. "It doesn't even protect a pack. It doesn't give you power."

My heart pounded.

"What are you saying, Damien?"

He exhaled slowly, like he was done hiding.

"I'm saying," he continued, "that you were never meant to escape, Princess."

The room spun as I heard it clearly.

"No," I whispered. "No, that's not true."

"You think I risked everything just to play hero?" he laughed dryly. "You really are still the same naive girl from the palace."

Each word felt like a blade.

"I made a deal." The world stopped.

"What deal?"

He looked at me, his eyes gleaming this time, he is looking at me not as Princess Arriane, not as the girl he once knew.

But as something else. Something valuable.

"You," he said, "for protection. For power." My chest tightened so hard I couldn't breathe.

"You're lying."

"I wish I was."

I shook my head, backing away. "No, no, Damien, you wouldn't do something to hurt me."

"I already did." My back hit the cold wall.

"Tomorrow," he continued, his voice now eerily calm, "we leave this place. You're being taken to the Dark River territory."

The name alone sent a chill down my spine. He is selling me to the Dark River lands. Another pack of wolves. And at the center of it.

"Roden," Damien said, as if reading my thoughts. "The Alpha's son wants you."

My knees nearly gave out.

"No..." I gasped. "No, Damien, please, don't do this. You know what they are. You know what he is! He is the same as the Demon Alpha!"

"I know exactly what he is," Damien replied.

"Then how can you send me to him?!" I cried, tears spilling down my cheeks. "You grew up with me! You swore to protect me!"

"I am protecting something," he snapped. "Just not you."

That shattered me. The silence that followed was suffocating. I stared at him through blurred vision, trying, desperately, to find even a fragment of the boy I once knew.

"Did I ever mean anything to you?" I asked weakly.

He didn't answer. And that, was worse than anything he had said. After a long moment, he turned away.

"Get some rest, Princess," he muttered. "You'll need it. And at least drink the water. You can barely shift in your state right now."

The door creaked open.

Then he paused.

"If it makes any difference," he added without looking back, "you'll live. Roden doesn't destroy what he finds, interesting."

A sob broke from my throat. I escape the marriage from Alpha Daemon only to be taken to the son of the Dark River Alpha.

The door shut. And I couldn't believe it! The last person I trusted, was gone. I sank to the floor, my body trembling, my heart in pieces.

I had escaped a cage. Only to be sold into another. And this time. There would be no one left to save me. My father doesn't know and Alpha Daemon is not going to be back in the Palace after three days. I have to think something! I must think of another way.