The Demon Princess and Her Powerful Alpha

Secrets and Sunshine

Ardenti   

    The late afternoon sun hung in the sky above us. My skin sizzled in the warmth. The sun had never warmed me before. It felt more magical than all the power I had. "You're a goddess." Valerian informed me as his fingers traced over my still naked body. We spent hours rolling around together, talking, even laughing. Laughter was a foreign concept. It sounded strange to me, but he didn't seem to mind. 

    "Hardly." I laughed as he tickled my tender skin and goose bumps broke out along my side. Whatever I became with him was much softer than the demon princess I was accustomed to. Still, I could never be a goddess. 

    "You're so different, Ardenti." He commented sweetly. The depth of his voice told me he referenced more than just my body. 

    "This new look comes from my summer collection." I teased as I gestured to my nudity. 

    "It's lovely." He smiled with his full lips and white teeth; my breath left me at the sight. "...but the change goes much deeper than that." His lips pressed to the hollow beneath my ear. "You spent how many years as a demon and now your..." His voice trailed off. 

    "I'm still a demon." I assured him. His eyes roamed over the horns that sat atop my head. 

    "You are, but that isn't all you are." He agreed with a smile. We stayed silent for a while as I listened to his steady heartbeat, the calls of the birds swooping overhead, the wind rustling the leaves high in the trees. I had many things to worry about, but at that moment none of them mattered. "Tell me what brought all this on." He interrupted. I didn't speak, not sure how much I should say. "You can trust me. I swear you can trust me." I let out a great sigh. 

    "It all started when I met you in the woods. As you can well imagine, I didn't realize I had another form." I told him about shifting for the first time, how much my wolf loved him. I told him about my need for control and the deep need to get that back. I detailed my plan to end my wolf and regain the status quo. He growled beyond words at the pain of the thought. He grabbed my shoulder and shook me, barely in control. 

    I placed one hand over his, and the other over his heart. "I will never try to harm her again." I vowed. He relaxed then, believing my words. I climbed into his lap and hugged my body to his as I continued my tale. "Melisande never tried to get rid of my wolf. She pretended she would help me to remove the curse." I left out the details of the potion and how it removed the curse. 

    "I know of her." He commented. 

    "You have?" My eyebrow curved in question. 

    "Don't sound so surprised. I'm an Alpha of a rather powerful pack. Long ago, a seer foretold that our pack's destiny was to guard the moon gates. We take our duty seriously, part of that, is knowing about potential threats and allies. Melisande has made a name for herself." His voice revered her. I took pleasure in the fact I impressed him by making a house call to an ancient sorceress. "Melisande is not a practitioner of light magic. Why would she help you?" 

    "She doesn't use light or dark magic. She isn't evil. From her reputation and the conversation we had, I would guess the only force she honors is fate, and fate is neither good nor evil." He mulled over my words. Eventually, he nodded. 

    "You're right. We may not always like our fate, but it is not evil." There was pain in his voice. 

    "What fate upsets you so?" I feared he would to tell me I was what he regretted. He could not reject the mate bond, but he could tell me he didn't want me the old-fashioned way. 

    "My mother and little brother, Joran." He answered, solemn. 

    "What happened to them?" I held his face in my hands, imploring him to look at me. 

    "I was twelve and training with my father. They were out in the field near the pack house. She and Joran were on a walk, or something, I never knew exactly. The day was beautiful. I wanted to go and play with them, but I was going to be the Alpha. My father said I didn't have time to play. I needed to be strong enough to lead my pack." He stopped talking so long I thought he may not go on, but I waited patiently. 

    "We heard them screaming, and ran to them. It was..." He dragged in a ragged breath, a tear falling to his cheek. I wiped the drop quickly away. "They were dead, torn limb from limb. My father rushed me away, so I wouldn't see, but I saw enough. 

    "Who killed them?" My own tears nearly fell. My love and connection with him ran so deep his pain welled in my chest. 

    "To the best of our knowledge, a demon, but we never discovered which one, or why." He looked into my eyes hard. "Did you know about a demon sent to the Moon's Gate pack?" The faintest hint of mistrust flashed in his eyes. 

    "No, my love, I swear that I did not. In hindsight, my father kept me in the dark much more than I ever realized." His face relaxed. He believed me. I tried not to let the panic forming in my mind seep through to my chest. He would feel it through our bond if I gave in, but I knew what happened to human souls once they died. They all went to hell to be tested which was a nice way to say tortured. I had been one of those torturers many times over the years. Were his loved ones still trapped there? Was I one of their tormentors? I pushed the thoughts aside, sure that I would vomit for the second time in my life if I didn't. I would make sure they'd been pulled out of hell if it were the last thing I did. 

    "How long have you been cursed?" His voice was more composed than the emotion seeping out of him. His desperation to change the subject clawed between us and I cannot say I blamed him. 

    "As far back as I can remember." I did not tell him about the vision I had. It wasn't a real memory anyway, not one that I looked back on in my mind and saw as it happened. I was too frightened to face the devastating loss I suffered. I couldn't share with him, not yet. I hoped that I would in time. Perhaps, the truth would be easier when I had some answers of my own. 

    "How far is that, would you say?" He was so funny when he tried to be nonchalant. He probably had a better poker face than I gave him credit for, but the mate bond revealed his true intent to me. Maybe mine was too good. 

    “Are you asking a lady her age, my love?" I teased him. "That's rude you know." 

    "It's rude to ask a human that. I don't think there's any established protocol for immortal demon wolf hybrids." He nipped my shoulder attempting to lower my guard. 

    I sighed, reluctant to answer. "As far as I know, I'm nearing three thousand. The details are a bit foggy." He guided me off his lap and moved away from me. He brought his knees to his chest looking like he might pass out. 

    "Three thousand?" He sounded like the air had been knocked from his lungs. "I'm twenty-five." 

    "I assumed as much." My calm voice tried to soothe him. His brow furrowed. 

    "I cannot even begin to comprehend that much life being led." His distress rolled off him in waves. He erected a gap between us that seemed insurmountable. This powerful Alpha wolf felt inadequate beside me. 

    "Don't fret, my love." I rose to my knees and pressed my lips to his. "I spent little time on earth in all those years. Time moves differently in hell. Also..." I hesitated, not sure that I wanted to admit weakness even now. "The curse poisoned my mind. For almost all that time, I was a shell of my true self. The curse must have been weakening over the last hundred years or so, as I had more moments of lucidity." As I spoke, the truth of became embarrassingly clear. "I had started sweating in the heat." I laughed without mirth. "This is my first day on earth as my true self. I am the one who cannot comprehend how much living you had in your life." 

    He smiled at me, clearly comforted. "I think it's time I introduce the pack to their new Luna." It was my turn to pull away. 

    "I haven't decided to accept that title." I always believed I'd been born to rule, but now I didn't. 

    "Do you accept me as your mate?" He c****d his head to the side. 

    "You know I do." 

    "Then, you are already their Luna. Now, you just have to meet them and have your Luna ceremony." I smiled just a little. He rose to his feet, taking my hand in his. I waved my other hand and clean new clothes appeared on us. "Well, that's convenient." He laughed. As we made the walk out of the forest, we were truly one. We would meet the trials before us together.