I Will Save You, My Princess

Alpha Bane's Speech

Luca

Esme was in fine form that evening as we waited for my father's speech before the pack run. I was in my usual spot, up front but slightly behind my father. He wants me behind him but still visible so everyone can see his powerful son as a pillar of strength ready to be deployed against enemies or agitators. I hated the role, but I played it well.

Today, Esme had weaseled her way up next to me. I'm not sure how she'd managed it, but no one had told her to move, so she stood glued to my side in front of the gathered crowd of people. She clutched at my arm, trying to twine our fingers together. I shouldn't have let her kiss my cheek earlier because it seemed to make her think she could continue touching me.

I made a fist so she couldn't fully hold my hand. Instead, she dangled from my arm like I was the only thing holding her up. A weaker man would've been pulled sideways by her weight. I am not a weak man.

"I can't wait for this to be us someday," she whispered in my ear, her breath tickling the bare skin of my neck.

"What?" I mumbled, only half paying attention.

"When it'll be our turn to stand up here together and give pack speeches," Esme rolled her eyes like it was obvious, and maybe it would have been had I been paying attention.

I didn't respond.

She nuzzled her face into my shoulder.

I couldn't wait to get back to Rhiannon. This was going to be a long night.

~o0o~

Rhiannon

My neck was itching. It didn't hurt this time, but it was insanely itchy and prickly. Keia wouldn't stop whimpering. I was just getting angrier and angrier. I started pacing, despite the ache in my body at the continued motion. This was going to be a long night.

~o0o~

Luca

My dad took the stage. He didn't need a microphone nor a moment to silence the crowd. They went quiet immediately. My dad, for all his many terrible faults, commanded respect just from his presence. I had to give him that. He was a very powerful wolf. Half the pack worshiped the ground he walked on and thought he was the best Alpha they'd ever seen, thought he was responsible for bringing our pack out of obscurity and turning it into one of the strongest ones in the kingdom. Which, yeah, he did, but he did it with cruelty and violence. I wondered how many of the people who worshiped him knew exactly who he was and what he'd done. How many knew, and how many were ignorant to his true character?

His voice projected loud and clear. He seemed excited, and I didn't like that. What excited my dad was usually blood, torture, or war. "Bloodwater Pack," he addressed the crowd, "Before we start our sacred tradition of running under the full moon together to showcase our unity and strength, I have an announcement to make."

The hair on the back of my neck started to stand up, and Alaric started sounding the alarm. Something is not right, he warned me.

"Everything that I do," my father continued, "is for the strengthening and betterment of this pack. I strive to bring us forward from the ashes of our past, to prepare for the future, to ensure that our children grow up strong and hearty and able to carry on the pack legacy. I know we will raise strong wolves for the advancement of the pack. To that end, I proudly announce that I have found our next Luna."

I froze, as did everyone in the crowd, until a cheer went up from somewhere, and everyone chimed in, howling in celebration. My father basked in it.

Who did he mean? Surely, he didn't mean Esme. There was no way he was 'announcing' my engagement to Esme tonight, especially since everyone in the pack already knew that.

Esme, however, clearly thought he was announcing her because she squealed, gripped my arm tighter, and bounced on her heels. She leaned over and pressed another kiss on my cheek. "Does he mean me?" she asked me excitedly.

Before I could even mentally voice my worst fears about who he meant, he silenced the crowd again with a wave of his hand and continued. "I have found," my father paused for dramatic effect, "your next Luna and my next wife."

My blood ran cold. He was talking about Rhiannon. Was he just going to tell everyone that he kidnapped the princess? How was he going to spin this around to be palatable? The pack was loyal to Bane above all else, but they were also loyal to the crown, as all good wolves should be.

"I cannot reveal her identity just yet," Bane continued. "But she is beautiful, she is strong, and she shall bear me many great pups."

I wanted to puke.

"Adding her blood to mine will strengthen the pack in a way that you and I cannot even imagine. All will be revealed soon enough, but for now, I must keep it a secret for her safety. I want everyone to know that tonight is not like any other pack run. Tonight we celebrate the future of Bloodwater. We celebrate the future of the pack, the future of your Alpha." He raised his arms and everyone began cheering and howling again.

Esme put her nose on the bare skin of my neck.

I jerked back, "What?" I demanded. People could still see us, so I shouldn't be so rude, but I was not in the mood for any of this.

"Nothing," there were tears coming from her eyes. "I just thought--" she pressed further into my neck. Her nose and tears were cold, and I leaned my head further away, but she must have taken that as an invitation to come closer because she fully embraced me now.

I wasn't sure what to do because the pack had quieted, and I was still visible to them. There was a high chance they would be paying attention to my reaction to my father's words.

"I thought he was going to announce about us," she said quietly.

I didn't know what to do, so I patted her back awkwardly. Despite my disdain for her behavior, I didn't want to be rude. Even though I had Rhiannon now, I didn't want to hurt Esme, but I wasn't sure exactly how to go from there. Esme was a good person, and she deserved better than what she got in Bloodwater.

"Uh," I scrambled for something comforting to say. "Everyone already knows about us though." I immediately regretted using the word 'us' because that implied I still wanted her, and she caught on to that. She perked up.

This was going to be so complicated. How was I going to extract myself from Esme? How was I going to tell her about Rhiannon? She was going to be hurt by this process.

If only I'd known that my reluctance to hurt Esme was already hurting Rhiannon, I'd have broken Esme's heart in a second.