The hidden Lycian Princess

Episode 4

*Gabriella’s POV*

I wake up in Marco’s arms, and Roxy purrs contently in my head.

So I close my eyes and try to get back to sleep.

But I hear a noise outside the room, so I get up and see who is outside the door.

When I open the door, I freeze in fear of the man that stands in front of me. He smells like death, his eyes are black, and his face is void of any emotion.

The brood of a man stares down at me and sniffs the air.

I walk back towards Marco and the bed, hoping he wakes up.

As my legs hit the end of the bed, I move my hands back and tug on Marco’s leg. I hear him move, and before I know it, he is in front of me and lets out a snarl “get away from my mate.” he growled.

The strange man sniffs the air then moves around the side of the bed.

“Prince Marco, we meet again” his voice makes my skin crawl, but I don't take my eyes off the man.

Marco guides me towards the window and balcony. “Gabriella, You need to shift,” he says as he pushes me outside, so I close my eyes and let Roxy take over the shift is fast.

I look back at Marco, and he looks at me. “I will find you,” he says as he shifts and begins fighting the strange man. I don't hesitate. I jump from the fourth floor and run towards Ashton’s side of the packhouse. I see wolves fighting, so I run to the forest and hide in the trunk of a hollowed-out tree. And wait for Marco to come.

It feels like hours, but it's only been minutes when I hear a wolf howl, so I sneak out and see if the fighting has stopped, and I see bodies lying on the ground and warrior wolves helping the injured. I look around for Marco, but I don't see him. My heart begins to race, but then I see Marco’s wolf fighting a dirty brown wolf. I start to run towards him, but a grey wolf stands in my way. I snarl at him, and the wolf stays calm then moves me towards a cellar. I feel safe with the grey wolf. There is something familiar about him.

So I stay near the cellar and watch him run towards Marco and help him fight the dirty brown wolf.

I begin to feel helpless. Wolves are fighting around me, and I have no idea what to do. I have only known about this world for two days, but something tells me I need to fight. I move around to see five children all huddled together, so I move closer to them and lay down in front of them, blocking the children from the fight. I close my eyes. “Roxy, we have to protect the children.” and that is when I feel my wolf getting bigger. I hear the children gasp, then snuggle into my side, and I wait for Marco to find me.

*Marco’s POV*

When I woke up to see Greyson in my room, my Lycian wanted blood. He has been the reason the war has gone on for so long, and I knew sooner or later that he would come.

Now that Gabriella is here.

I was hoping for later because Gabriella has no idea how to fight. She is defenceless. I was relieved when she ran into the forest.

But when I saw her running towards me, my heart sank. I was thankful that the Alpha stopped her and moved her to a safe place.

Now I can focus on the fight with Grayson. He has always been tough to fight, but tonight, I intend to kill him. It is the last time he kills anyone.

I snap at his feet and take my time to get him off guard. I don't show my true wolf yet. I want to wear him down. He moves to bite the back of my neck, but I roll him off and get down low. Then I see the alpha running towards us, and he takes Greyson down and stands over him. I circle both wolves and watch as the alpha Rips out Greyson’s throat. I run towards the other wolves fighting to help; then, I feel a pull towards the side of the house. My Lycian senses something is wrong with Gabriella.

So I turn and run towards her scent. When I get there, I see five wolves standing around her, snarling but not moving.

I pounce on one of the wolves and then move in front of Gabriella. I let my Lycian takeover, and we grow. I watch the wolves scatter, and I stay like that, waiting for the fighting to stop.

Then I see the alpha come around the corner, and I let my wolf go back to its usual size.

And watch as the alpha searches for something. I step back to give the alpha room, then Gabriella moves. Her wolf is still significant, but when I see the children huddled into her, I understand why she wasn't moving or defending herself.

Gabriella was protecting the children who had no time to hide. They had been startled awake as we were and ran. So I move close to Gabriella and muzzle into her while the alpha shifts and moves to the side and gets a bag of clothes out so he can get dressed. He looks over at Gabriella and i.

“Thank you for protecting my pups, princess”, he says as he picks up the children and places them on Gabriella's back, then begins walking to the back of the packhouse. I shift and bend down and kiss Gabriella's head “we should follow him,” I say as I start walking in the direction of the Alpha.

He opens the door for us and lets us into the house, then begins looking for unwelcome guests. When he is sure we are alone, he takes the children and places them on couches, then looks down at Gabriella.

“You can change back. It's safe.”

So Gabriella shifts back to her human form, and he hands her a blanket so she can cover herself up.

“You can't stay here.”

The alpha says, and Gabriella nods.

“I understand, sir,” we say as she walks towards him and hugs him, then looks over at me “we had better move before more come for us, Marco. How long until we get to my birth parents.?”

I look out to the horizon and notice the sun is coming up. Then I smile down at Gabriella.

“We should reach your parent's lands tonight.”

She smiles, then nods, then looks over at the Alpha.

“I will go get my things,” Gabriella says as she walks away. I watch her walk up the stairs then turn my attention to The Alpha.

“We will need some wolves to travel with us to the border,” I say, hoping the alpha will help us leave safely. I watch the alpha run a hand through his hair. He looks at me and smiles

“Ashton can accompany you to the border, but I can not spare any more.”

I smile “thank you. I will get my belongings, and we will leave. Sorry if we were any trouble.”

I go to walk away, and the alpha grabs my arm.

“You are welcome back any time, but now wolves know where Gabriella is. It is best to keep moving.”

I smile up at him.”

“I understand.”

He lets go of my arm, and I walk towards the stairs. I look up to see Gabriella coming down carrying my belongings and holding up my trousers with a smirk on her face.

I hold my hands to her, and she throws me my trousers.

I pull them on, and then we walk to the door where Ashton is waiting for us. I get confused when Gabriella gets excited at the sight of the girl with Ashton.

I watch the women embrace, then look at each other and smile.

“Sara, I can't believe you are here?” Sara grins, then look over at me and grins.

“And you must be Marco Ashton filled me in on who you are, and it is okay I will keep the secret of who you are. I might be human, but Gabriella is my best friend, and I am coming with you both.”

I look at Ashton, and he smiles “she has a gun filled with silver bullets and has had training.”

I watch Sarah, and she has two side arms and a bag full of supplies on her. I chuckle

“Pleased to meet you, Sara.”

I say as I shift into my wolf and wait for Gabriella to go; I don't wait for a reply. I begin walking into the forest, knowing they will follow me.

And we begin our journey to the Lycian kingdom.

*Gabriella’s POV*

I follow Marco while Sara is on Ashton’s back. We walk through the forest, and I notice wolves hiding in the shadows of the trees.

I look over at Ashton in his wolf form and notice he nods towards the wolves, and I sigh a relief they are here. If we need them, I am learning that no matter what I do or where I go, I will always be in danger.

I pick up my pace and walk next to Marco; then, I get startled when I hear his voice in my head.

“Stay close to me, Gabriella.”

I look over at him and nod “okay.”

I reply as I try to work out how he did that. I hear Roxy chuckle in my mind.

“We can communicate in our minds with any wolf or human”, she informs me, and I sigh. I have so much to learn about who I am. It feels like I will have to learn on the journey because if we have another fight come our way, I won't be able to hide next time.

So I continued to walk, admiring the beauty of the forest and thinking of how the wolves were fighting, trying to remember how they moved so I could put what I saw into action because I have a feeling we are being watched by wolves who would love to have me with them.

I look around and notice that Ashton has moved behind me, and Sara is now walking on foot with her guns in her hands; and I know that we have an uninvited company waiting for the right moment to ambush us.