I Will Save You, My Princess

Rhiannon It was bright and sunny the day my life ended. My wolf, Keia, was out for a run in the idyllic fields of Hollyhock Pack. Hollyhock was mostly fields of flowers, meadows, and the best kinds of forests. The Hollyhock Pack shared their lands with the Holly Faeries, a faerie clan known for being kindly pacifists. Really, looking back, it was all too good to be true, but I was too naive to see it. Hollyhock was the perfect place to spend my summers. Until it wasn't. It was my 21st birthday, and I'd gone on this run because I knew I wouldn't get one later because of the party. It's a big deal when the princess has a birthday, after all. Especially for my parents. I'm an only child, and my mom couldn't have any more children after me. I was it, sole heir to the throne and the darling of the Greater Wolf Nation, at least, I was when I was little. When I was little, my parents let me go anywhere I wanted (within reason), and I was well-known across the land as a fun-loving fairy-tale princess who grew into a lovely young lady, but that's not how everyone saw me, as I would find out. Ever since I turned 18, my parents have kept me under tight security. Like, really tight. My daily run was the only time I had away from my guards, and I had to report to them where I intended to go and when I'd be back. Any time I was around other people, I was flanked by guards. I'd had to badger and bother my parents to allow me to run on my own, but they finally relented. Their sudden protectiveness when I turned 18 was definitely weird, but they had never given me any reason for it. At least on my runs, I got to remember what it was like to be carefree. Keia frolicked through a dappled, sunlit copse, stopping to smell some wild camellias blooming in verdant colors that were stark against the green of the grass. I enjoyed letting her dance around and have fun. She's rather silly when she's playing like that. She approached some trees, hopping side to side like she was feinting with some imaginary foe-- A web of pain, sharp, lancing across my body like acid running down my back, burning ropes making a net of fire-- Keia tried to shake them off, but she stumbled over her feet as the net of silver tightened around me. The last thing I remember was a man leering over me as someone injected wolfsbane into my flank. ~o0o~ Rhiannon I was in and out of consciousness for a long time, never quite waking up, but close enough to sense people and movement around me and feel the regimen of needles in my hip. At one point, I could tell I was being moved, either in a car or train; I wasn't sure. Goodbye, Hollyhock. Hello, hell. When I finally woke up, I ached all over. My head was pounding, and it was hard to think straight. I was in a small room, the size of a walk-in closet, but the walls were stone, and the floor was dirt. I was in a long white shift, which was better than being naked, but not by much. Before I could really get my bearings, I was yanked upright on my knees by a chain around my neck. Only then did I realize I was collared in silver. I hadn't noticed that extra pain on top of my already throbbing body. I'd been given enough wolfsbane to keep me sedated and weak for who knows how long. The man yanked on the chain again, and I finally twisted my head enough to look at him. It was the same man I'd seen as I was going under in the silver net. He had the same leering grin on his face that he'd had then. I snarled at him, in too much pain to say anything coherent. He yanked the chain harder, this time enough to send me spluttering and choking. "Just because you're a tight little princess doesn't mean I'm gonna put up with a Miss Priss attitude, got it?" He yanked the chain again. "Who are you?" I forced the words out of my bruised throat. The man's grin widened. He looked like a rat, with slicked-back hair and yellow teeth. He was a wolf, though, that was for sure. I had a knack for sensing creatures and their ranks, and from what I could tell, he was high on the totem pole but not an Alpha. A Beta or Gamma, maybe. Whatever pack we were in must have been an awful one if this guy was one of the people in charge. Though I guess the fact that they kidnapped and drugged me should've made that clear. "It doesn't matter who I am," he chuckled, but it was not friendly. "You're an Omega, then?" I goaded, knowing full well he wasn't. It was dangerous to get under his skin when he literally had me in a chokehold, but I wasn't going to let him think he had beaten me. Unfortunately, he did beat me. With his fists. Very hard. He avoided my face, though. Guess I had to stay pretty. There was a sharp knock on the door. "What the hell is going on?" came a deep voice from outside. In the brief distraction, I could feel Keia try to reach out to me. The wolfsbane and silver had her fighting to keep me awake and lucid. She barely had the energy to communicate with me, which was the point of the wolfsbane injections. Even if I wasn't collared, I wouldn't have been able to shift with as weak as she was. What is it? I tried to coax something out of her, but she was struggling. The man holding the end of my chain opened the door slightly, but the guy on the other side threw it open, nearly hitting my captor in the head. "Hey, watch it!" he shouted, but the new guy paid him no attention. His gaze was on me, and when I looked into his face, I was mesmerized by his golden eyes. Mate! Keia gasped before falling silent once more.