The Alpha’s Wild Princess

6

I stared blankly at him for a few seconds not sure if he was being serious or messing with me. He did not blink.

Definitely serious,

“Excuse me?”

“The elders think that our union will broker peace among the pack despite the war, and I support that thought too. You will too, if you have any sort of loyalty to the pack.”

I knew exactly what he was doing; he was trying to guilt-trip me into whatever f****d up decision the men had come up with and was mansplaining their reasoning. I was just some kid who was being told what was best for her, and I had to go along with it.

Fuck them.

“No.”

For the first time, I got a reaction out of him, he’d not expected an outright refusal.

Why should I be loyal to a pack that had done nothing for me all my life? I’d been bullied, not only by my father and brother but in school, for being the Alpha’s daughter. Later in life, I’d been hated for being the tyrant’s daughter even though I’d never given them any reason to hate me.

I had just one friend in the pack, Faye. And she’d been my friend only because Magnimus was her father. We’d practically grown up together.

“I don’t care about loyalty to a pack that was ready to watch you murder me less than twelve hours ago. And I would rather die than marry you, so you can take that back to the elders while I await my execution.”

“Do you understand what you’re saying?” he asked, his tone cold and angry.

“I think you’re the one who doesn’t understand.”

“You think dying is a better option? You have no idea the good you could do for the pack. This is the right decision…”

”Right decision for who? Me? Or you?”

He went silent at that, and for the next few seconds, we were both engaged in a death glare. I’m not sure who won when he nodded once and looked around the room one more time,

“I guess I gave you too much credit. I thought you were smart,” he said. I hated the disappointment I heard in his voice.

Of all the things I’d expected, that was the last thing I thought would affect my decision. I hated that I cared at all. When he walked out of the room, I had a strange urge to call him back.

But he had destroyed my family. I may not have been head over heels for them, but blood was still blood. What sort of daughter would I be if I relented and married him?

Phoenix would not think twice if it benefited him.

A small part of my brain reminded me of that fact, and I knew that it would have been the same with my father, but I was neither Phoenix nor Alexander Lonsdale. I was Prairie, and I was tired of letting the men in my life make their own twisted decisions based on what they thought was best for me.

The room felt colder in his absence, and I stared at the ceiling restlessly, unable to go back to sleep, getting used to the idea that my death was imminent.

CHAPTER 4

NICHOLAS

"W

here's Lucas?" Fiona walked into my office without warning, and my eyes jerked up to meet hers looking around the office in search of my nephew.

"It's a nice place you got here," she said sarcastically before I could respond to her earlier question.

"I'm sure he's around somewhere," I replied, ignoring her statement about Alexander's study. She continued to walk around the study not bothering to hide her displeasure.

Fiona Langston had been my sister's best friend before she was killed by one of Alexander's men at a rebel raid a few years ago. They had been inseparable since they were kids, and Fiona had been Lucas' godmother when he'd been born. I knew for a fact that she hated the Lonsdales more than anyone.

"How can you stay here?" She turned to ask me, her face forming into a deep frown.

She was only a couple of years older than me, but her small frame made her look younger. Her brown, pixie-cut hair made her look even smaller, but what she lacked in stature she more than made up for with her fighting prowess and unrelenting spirit.

"These people killed your mother; they're the reason your sister - "

"I don't remember asking you to rehash the past, Fiona." The coldness in my voice caused her to stand straight, and her eyes fell.

"I'm sorry," she said quickly,

I sighed. Using the Alpha card to stop her from speaking her mind was not my intention, but she had crossed the line.

She had been a lot of help since Felicity died. My sister had named me as her son's guardian, but Fiona had been more of a guardian to him in the past two years than I had been.

"He's not here, Fi," I said to her, softening my words. She nodded before walking away. She stopped at the door turned and asked,

"Nicholas? Is it true that you're going to marry that woman?"

She said the word 'woman' like it was the most irritating word on the planet. It seemed like she'd barely stopped herself from calling Prairie a b***h. I shook my head knowing it had to have been Ryland who had told her. It was not news that should have gotten out, but I would not rule anything out, given the tight-knit relationship within the pack.