The Alpha Princess and Her Enemy

Now or Never

Wrenna POV

The low hum of the engine and Brenley and Damian’s cheery singing was the only thing keeping her sane as she clutched the scent hiding spray tightly in her hand. She’d been using it on Brenley since the day he’d been born—curtesy of her witchy aunts—so no one would smell Brad on him.

Everything would be fine…she just had to make sure to reapply after every shower, bath or swim.

“Old McDonald had a farm,” Damian sang out, smiling.

“E-I-E-I-OH!” Brenley chanted happily.

Wrenna smiled as she watched them, until the dread returned in the pit of her stomach. Memories of last weekend reemerged.

Her birthday weekend.

*Flashback*

Wrenna stretched as she woke, a smile on her face—eyes still closed. Then her lids flew open.

Her twenty-first birthday.

Her head whipped to Damian’s side of the bed, but it was empty. Was he planning on surprising her?

Her wolf stirred, inhaling deeply. Today she would finally know the answer to the question she’d been asking herself for years. Was Damian her mate?

She sniffed the air, searching desperately for that telltale spark. Nothing. But maybe he wasn’t close enough yet…

Happy birthday, pumpkin. Her father’s voice brushed her mind, pulling a smile to her lips.

Thank you! How’s Bren? She asked. He’d taken Brenley overnight to give her a full night’s sleep. She’d meant to spend it deepening her relationship with Damian, but all they’d managed was a sappy romcom, curled up together. Sweet. Intimate.

“What if… we’re not mates?” she had whispered during the movie.

“You mean… like the last two and a half years?” Damian teased gently, lacing their fingers.

“I just don’t want to get my hopes up.”

Now, lying in bed on the morning of her twenty-first, her heart hammered as footsteps padded down the hall. The door creaked open, and there he was—balancing a tray of pancakes and fruit, hair still damp from the shower, sleeves rolled. His grin made her breath hitch.

“Happy birthday, Wren,” he said.

Her smile trembled. Why wasn’t she smelling anything? Maybe he wasn’t close enough. He set the tray on the bed and brushed her fingers with his.

Nothing.

Her wolf recoiled, silent. Tears burned her eyes.

Damian saw. His smile faltered, softening into something sad but steady. He slid the tray aside and sat down beside her. “Hey,” he murmured, taking her hands. “Even if we’re not mates… it doesn’t change what I feel. I care about you, Wren. Always have, always will. And as long as we both want this—” his thumb stroked her knuckles, grounding her, “—then that’s enough for me.”

*End of Flashback*

Her eyes burned with fresh tears as she pushed the memory away—staring out the window. The singing died down and she felt Damian’s warm steady hand on her knee, squeezing slightly.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay. “He won’t notice. And even if he does… Brenley’s mine—ours. You both are, Wren. I’ll be by your side the whole time.” he smiled softly. Wrenna laced her fingers with his, exhaling—a little stress leaving her body.

After another hour of driving, and stopping at a gas station so Brenley could poddy, they pulled up on the dirt road that led into the woods.

The tension in her shoulders had eased slightly after Damian’s earlier reassurance, and for the first time that day, her lips curled up into a mischievous smile.

“You know… if they’re trying to get rid of all the Alphas, this would be a good way to do it, right? All the Alphas, Lunas and pups in one place…” Wrenna joked, causing Damian to chuckle softly.

“You and your conspiracies,” he shook his head. Wrenna was low key obsessed with conspiracies—but it was Killian she usually obsessed over them with. He was just as bad as her.

Parked cars crowded the clearing as the dirt road cracked beneath their tires. Wrenna’s wolf prowled restlessly inside her head, claws raking, a low whine vibrating through her chest.

What’s wrong? she demanded, wincing at the ache behind her eyes.

I—I don’t know. I feel…strange, her wolf stammered, trembling on the edge of something.

The car jolted to a stop. Damian reached over, brushing her cheek with his thumb, steady as ever.

“Remember, I’m right here.” His smile was gentle, grounding—so achingly normal it only made her chest tighter. He slipped out to grab Brenley, who had dozed off in the back.

Her fingers clenched the door handle. The second she pushed it open, the world shifted.

A scent hit her like lightning. Cedar. Smoke. Wild, intoxicating. Her lungs seized, heart lurching.

Mate.

Her gaze snapped up, colliding with stormy blue eyes across the clearing. Eyes she knew as well as she hated. Brad.

No. Goddess, no. Not him.

Her wolf howled with joy, pressing hard against her skin, but Wrenna’s stomach dropped. The bond sang through her blood, sparking every nerve, undeniable—her nightmare coming to life.

Brad’s lips were curved downward, his frown in sharp contrast to the laughter of the blonde clinging at his side. But his stare… it was intense and locked on her, burning into her. The same recognition blazing there, mirrored in her own racing pulse.

The world slowed down—everyone around them disappearing. She felt the urge to go to him—but she dug her heels in the ground. Brad’s jaw was clenched, as if he was fighting the same urge.

No, not going to happen. Besides, he didn’t seem keen to come to her either. This bond—it was a mistake. A cruel joke. Was the Moon Goddess laughing as she watched them? Was this what Gods did for entertainment?

“Wren? Could you take him? I’ll get the bags.” Damian’s voice cut through the haze, so ordinary against the maelstrom tearing her apart.

She forced a smile as she gathered Brenley into her arms, hugging the toddler close to her body. Brad’s eyes dropped to the boy, and for a fraction of a second something raw flashed across his face. Was it surprise? Then his gaze cut to Damian. Narrowed. Accusing.

Wrenna’s breath hitched. He thought Brenley was Damian’s. Good.

She clutched her son tighter. Let him believe it. Let him think she’d moved on. Because she had. She’d moved on. Damian was her future. Brad was her past—and she intended on keeping it that way.

Across the clearing, Brad’s lips twisted into a laugh at something the Alpha beside him said, but the sound rang false. His eyes were still burning a hole through her.

“Something wrong?” Damian asked quietly, stepping in close, bags in one hand, the other settling warm and steady at her lower back.

Her throat went dry. Should she tell him?

No. It would crush him. Better to wait. Better to find Brad later, drag him somewhere dark and quiet, and rip the bandage off. Reject each other. End it before it could begin.

“No, everything’s fine.” She forced another smile, not sparing Brad another glance. He hadn’t been there for her—Damian had—and he deserved her loyalty. Her attention.

But as they climbed the steps toward the cabin, something in her spine straightened. She’d puzzled herself into the background these past years, juggling motherhood, studies, and her quiet sham with Damian. It had been easier to keep her head down, to stay small.

But that wasn’t who she was. Not really.

It was time to remember. Time to remind everyone — Brad, the Council, even herself — that she was Wrenna Dravenwood. Alpha. And no one was going to make her feel small again.

Omegas working for the Regional Council, handing out sleeping arrangement charts, guiding each Alpha family to their rooms. Wrenna huffed when she saw who they were sharing the West wing of the large cabin with.

Brad and Sienna. Or course. She was surprised to see they didn’t have any pups yet though. Were they even marked? She hadn’t been able to get a good look of Brad’s neck, but if their smell was anything to go off of—they had.

“We can always just ignore them,” Damian quipped, one corner of his mouth pulled up. “Or we could do the adult thing and form an alliance…your dad had one with Brad’s mom, right?”

Wrenna nodded. “And with his dad for a while. But they had a falling out over Talia,” she said—as memories of the kind woman that had helped her through her mother’s death resurfaced. She had never asked what had happened—never cared. Her father wouldn’t have cut ties with them if it wasn’t bad.

“Well, this is nice,” she smiled, as she surveyed the suite they’d been given. The sitting room was huge, with a fireplace built into the wooden wall. Two large white plush couches stood proud among the rustic interior. A massive TV hung on the wall.

Wrenna found Brenley’s room first. It had a bed for a toddler, and had bright-colored paintings all around. A variety of toys stood in boxes in the far corner—blocks, Playmobil, cars, …

As if he’d sensed them, he stirred in her arms, eyes opening.

“Play,” he said sleepily. Wrenna laughed, kissing him on the head before putting him down. His chubby little legs wobbled as he ran over to the toys, dropping on his knees, grabbing the largest dinosaur from the trunk.

Wrenna watched him for a while, before heading off to explore the rest. Their own bedroom was massive—with a very large king bed in the middle. It had red silky cheats with white rose petals strewn all over it.

“We could make good use of this bed later,” Damian growled softly from behind her. His body heat radiated on her skin, his warm breath in her ear. “I can’t wait to finally have all of you… to make you mine in every way.”

Heat rose to her cheeks and core at the same time—but her wolf huffed inside of her mind—head on her paws. “Not ours,” she said. Wrenna rolled her eyes. The beast had been whining inside of her mind ever since she’d seen Brad.

“Really?” Wrenna asked seductively, raising an eyebrow—turning to face him. “What happened to… I want you to be one hundred percent sure?” she said in a mock deep voice.

Damian smirked. “Seeing the way you reacted to Brad both times has me convinced you’ve chosen.” He murmured, rolling one of her curls around his finger, “or am I wrong?” he added. Without waiting for an answer, he pushed her up against the door, claiming her lips in a breathtaking kiss.

He pushed his hard c**k against her thigh and Wrenna moaned in his mouth. Goddess, only a day ago, she’d wanted this—yearned for it. But now…

She had to reject the bond with Brad first. She had to do it today, before her wolf got too attached to the idea of them being mated.

Then she, Damian and Brenley could be a family. A real one.

She pulled Damian closer as if it would change everything—change the fact that she was bound to another and was lying about it--hiding it from him. Kissing him—it had just started to feel natural, but now it felt like a betrayal to Brad.

She gently pushed Damian away—disgusted at her own thoughts, her warring emotions.

“Let’s save that passion for later,” she winked, forcing playfulness into her voice.

He smirked, pressing one last kiss to her jaw before grabbing the bags. Her wolf wasn’t smiling. The beast prowled at the edge of her mind, restless, snarling at her lies.

Wrenna pressed a hand to the door, trying to steady her breath. She had to end this. She had to find Brad and rip the bond to shreds before it consumed her whole.

Now or never.