THE LYCAN PRINCESS

Chapter One The knife was pressed against Celyn’s throat when the palace carriage arrived. She didn’t scream. After twenty-two years in that house, she had learned that screaming never made anyone kinder. It only gave cruel people another reason to hurt her. Her stepmother’s hand trembled beneath Celyn’s chin. “Don’t move.” The blade was cold against her skin. Celyn stared into the woman’s face, trying to understand what she was seeing. Fear. Not anger. Not disgust. Fear. For the first time in her life, her stepmother looked genuinely afraid. “Ma…” Celyn whispered. “What are you doing?” “Quiet.” The knife pressed harder. A sharp sting cut across Celyn’s throat, followed by the warmth of blood trickling beneath her chin. Then came the sound of horses beyond the compound walls. Both women froze. Three sharp knocks thundered against the front gate. Celyn’s heart jumped. Her stepmother lowered the knife so suddenly that Celyn almost stumbled. “Go to your room.” “Who is outside?” “Now.” Before Celyn could move, the gate creaked open. Heavy footsteps entered the compound. A moment later, three men appeared in the doorway, dressed in black uniforms bearing the same silver wolf beneath a crescent moon. Royal guards. The tallest one looked directly at Celyn. “Celyn?” She instinctively stepped backward. “Yes.” His gaze dropped to the blood beneath her chin, then shifted to her stepmother. “Is she ready?” Celyn frowned. “Ready for what?” No one answered. The guard reached inside his coat and withdrew a sealed document. “To the royal palace.” Celyn stared at him. “Why?” “You don’t need to know.” “I don’t understand.” “You will when you arrive.” “I said I don’t understand!” Her voice cracked. The guard’s expression remained unmoved. “You have been purchased for royal service.” Silence filled the room. Purchased. The word echoed inside Celyn’s skull. Slowly, she turned toward her stepmother. “You sold me?” The woman finally looked at her. Instead of shame, there was irritation in her eyes. “You should be grateful.” “Grateful?” “For twenty-two years, I fed you, clothed you, and gave you a roof over your head.” “You made me work for every meal.” “You were a burden.” The words landed harder than the knife. Celyn swallowed. “And now you sold me.” Her stepmother’s jaw tightened. “What difference does it make? You were never going to amount to anything here.” Celyn’s eyes burned. Then she noticed someone standing in the doorway. Her stepsister. Watching. Smiling. “You knew?” Her stepsister shrugged. “I knew they were coming.” “How long?” “Long enough.” Celyn looked back at her stepmother. “Why didn’t you tell me?” “Because you would have refused.” “And you thought you could just sell me without asking?” Her stepmother’s expression hardened. “I didn’t sell you.” She paused. “I accepted the money.” Celyn stopped breathing. For twenty-two years, she had wondered why this woman hated her. Why she had been treated differently from her stepsister. Why every kindness in the house somehow passed over her. Now she understood. She had never been family. She had simply been useful. Something that could be worked. Something that could be traded. The guard stepped forward. “We’re leaving.” Celyn touched the blood beneath her chin. “Can I pack?” “You have five minutes.” Five minutes. That was all she had to gather the few possessions that belonged to a life she had never been allowed to call her own. She turned toward her room. Her legs felt strangely weak. She didn’t cry. Not yet. Maybe she had already cried too many tears in that house. Her room was barely a room. It was a narrow space beneath the staircase, with a thin mattress against the wall, a wooden stool, and a cracked mirror above the only table she owned. Celyn knelt beside the mattress and reached underneath it. Her fingers found the small cloth bag she kept hidden there. Three dresses. Two pairs of sandals. A comb. And a small silver pendant. Her fingers stopped. It was the only thing she had from her mother. At least, that was what her father had once told her. Never take it off. She had been too young to understand why, and her father had died before she was old enough to ask. Celyn slipped the pendant around her neck. The moment the metal touched her skin, warmth spread through it. She frowned. For one strange second, the pendant seemed almost alive beneath her fingers. Then the warmth disappeared. Celyn stared at it before shaking her head. “Probably my imagination.” She tucked it beneath her dress and stood. Before leaving, she looked around the tiny room one last time. She expected to feel sad. Instead, she felt empty. Perhaps because there was nothing left to lose. She picked up her bag and walked outside. Her stepmother was waiting. For a moment, neither woman spoke. Celyn stopped in front of her. There was one question she needed answered. “Did you ever love me?” Her stepmother stared at her. Silence stretched between them. Celyn waited. Just once, she wanted to hear something that would make the last twenty-two years hurt a little less. Her stepmother looked away. “Get in the carriage.” That was her answer. Celyn nodded slowly. Then she picked up her bag and walked away. She didn’t look back. Not even when she heard her stepsister laugh behind her. The journey to the palace was quiet. Too quiet. Celyn sat opposite the three guards, watching familiar villages disappear behind them. The houses became fewer. The roads grew wider. Soon, she no longer recognized anything outside the carriage window. “Why me?” she finally asked. No one answered. “Who requested me?” The oldest guard kept his eyes on the window. “It isn’t our place to say.” “Was it the king?” His jaw tightened. Celyn noticed. “You should be careful when you arrive,” he said. “Why?” He hesitated. “Because the palace isn’t what you think it is.” Before Celyn could ask what he meant, the carriage slowed. She turned toward the window. Her breath caught. The palace stood beyond enormous iron gates, its black towers rising into the evening sky like something from a nightmare. Silver banners hung from the walls. Guards stood everywhere. Yet no one looked relaxed. Servants hurried across the courtyard with frightened expressions. “What is happening?” Celyn asked. No one answered. Then— A roar exploded from somewhere inside the palace. The horses reared violently. Celyn screamed and grabbed the side of the carriage as it lurched beneath her. “What was that?” Another roar followed. Deeper. Louder. Shouting erupted across the courtyard. “Seal the eastern wing!” “Where is the royal healer?” One of the guards immediately opened the carriage door. “Stay here.” “What is happening?” The guard looked back at her. For the first time since they left her home, Celyn saw fear in his eyes. “The king is awake.” Celyn stared at him. “The king?” His expression darkened. “His wolf.” Another roar shook the courtyard. This time, every wolf within the palace grounds began howling. One after another, a terrible chorus rose into the night. Celyn went still. Something had changed inside her. She felt a strange pull beneath her ribs. Not fear. Something else. Something was calling to her. Her hand moved instinctively to her chest. “What is this?” The guard stepped closer. “What?” Celyn opened her mouth, but no words came. Then she climbed out of the carriage. “I said stay here.” “I need to know what’s happening.” “You don’t.” He caught her wrist. The instant his fingers closed around her skin, something strange happened. His wolf went silent. The guard froze. His eyes widened. Celyn stared at him. “What?” He released her immediately. “Nothing.” But she had already seen his face. He was afraid. Before she could question him, another roar echoed through the palace. The strange pull inside her grew stronger. Her pendant suddenly burned against her chest. Celyn gasped. Then she heard something. Not outside. Inside her head. Come. Her eyes widened. She didn’t understand why her feet began moving. She only knew she had to follow. Celyn walked through the palace doors. Nobody stopped her. She moved through the corridors, following the invisible pull drawing her toward the eastern wing. The closer she got, the hotter her pendant became. Then a guard stepped into her path. “Stop!” Celyn froze. “Servants aren’t allowed here.” “I—” A tremendous crash exploded behind the doors. The guard turned. The doors flew open. And Celyn saw him. The king stood in the middle of the chamber. Tall. Broad-shouldered. His black shirt was torn across the chest, and blood ran down one arm. But Celyn barely noticed the blood. It was his eyes that made her stop breathing. Golden. Wild. Predatory. The guards immediately lowered their heads. “Your Majesty.” The king didn’t acknowledge them. His gaze remained fixed on Celyn. Something inside him went completely still. For years, Kael had fought the beast within him. His wolf had always been restless, furious, demanding control. But now— Silence. Absolute silence. Kael took one slow step toward her. Celyn stepped back. “What is your name?” Her mouth went dry. “Celyn.” The moment the name left her lips, something inside Kael changed. His wolf slammed against his mind. Not with anger. Not with hunger. With certainty. Mine. Kael stopped breathing. Impossible. He had spent years fighting his wolf, refusing to surrender even an inch of control. And now, after all those years, the creature had awakened for a girl who had walked into his palace only moments ago. A servant girl. Celyn suddenly gasped. The pendant against her chest had become unbearably hot. Kael’s eyes dropped to it. His entire expression changed. Recognition flashed across his face. He knew that symbol. He had seen it once before. Twenty-two years ago. On the night the royal heir disappeared. His gaze snapped back to Celyn. “Where did you get that?” Celyn looked down at the pendant. “My mother gave it to me.” Kael went completely still. Behind him, one of the older guards whispered, “Your Majesty…” Kael didn’t answer. Because the girl standing before him was wearing the crest of the royal family. The crest belonging to the child the kingdom had lost twenty-two years ago. The missing princess. The royal heir. The girl everyone believed had died. She was standing in front of him. Alive. And somehow, she had spent all those years believing she was nothing more than a servant. Kael stared at her. The kingdom had mourned its princess for twenty-two years. But the princess hadn’t died. She had been hidden. Raised as a servant. And somehow… she had just walked straight into the palace.