The Alpha Princess And Her Dragon Mate

A Confession

The look of disgust she makes at his words has him laughing. Alaric wasn’t used to rejection before; even as a teenager, he had a string of women fawning over him, each trying to gain his interest. Maybe it was the lack of interest that drew him to this particular wildling. He didn’t understand her. One moment it appeared she was trying to seduce him, and the next, it looked like she might vomit if he so much as touched her. She was a puzzle he had been trying to solve for weeks with no progress.

Alaric was aware that only werewolves who committed some sort of unforgivable crime were sent to his island. The werewolves had some twisted belief that his kind were more monsters than men, and that they would tear apart the first person they saw who wasn’t one of them. He didn’t blame them for their ignorance. His people had been residing in this closed-off empire for two centuries, and very little was known about his kind by the outside world.

And the same went for him. He lacked connections on the outside, which was why he still knew very little about the pretty Luna under his care. Where had she come from? What had she done to be brought here? Did she have no family outside looking for her? And most importantly, what did she want with him? Why did she force herself into his proximity even though she clearly didn’t want him?

He had so many questions that he feared he might never get answers to. His Luna was a woman of many secrets, and she looked like she would protect those secrets to her dying day. He reached out to brush a strand of hair from her face. Her body tensed at the touch, but she didn’t pull away.

“What is it you want from me?”

The question took Sabrina by surprise. She looked at him with beautiful gray eyes that had the King’s cold heart beating fast in his chest.

“What do you mean, Your Majesty? What could I possibly want from you?”

“That’s what I’ve been wondering. There have been chances for you to get closer to me. I’m sure you’ve noticed I don’t take my other women out for hunting—except for Rosaline. You’ve turned down each and every one. You don’t want riches or the power that comes with being my woman.”

“Believe it or not, there is no power in being a kept w***e. It is rather degrading.”

She had no filter, at least not today. Alaric thought he preferred her like this—when she wasn’t pretending.

“Then why did you agree to come back with me?”

“Because...” She paused, looking hesitant to continue. But at this point, she probably knew he might just dig out her past himself if she refused to say anything. So she continued. “I was hoping to make you fall in love with me.”

Alaric hadn’t expected that. He’d played out multiple scenarios in his head about why the Luna was doing what she did, but this reason had never popped up. Unlike the other women in his harem, she held no affection for him. So why would she want to make him fall in love with her?

“Why?”

“Being in love with me improves the chances of you helping me get revenge.”

“Revenge?”

“You wouldn’t understand!”

“Then explain. We have all night.”

She frowned at the thought of pouring out her heart to him. Sabrina stared down at her hands absentmindedly and thought about how this situation would play out if the Dragon King knew the truth.

“I... I was born in a pack right across the ocean. It’s not very big, but my father was a respectable Alpha, and even the Lycan King respected him greatly. My mother died while birthing my sister, and ever since, it’s just been the three of us. I don’t know how he does it, but Dad leads the pack so well and still manages to raise us. I was his first child, and he had a lot of hopes for me...”

Sabrina told him about the training she had been put through from the tender age of six. Even when others warned her father about putting so much expectation on her, when they told him Sabrina might just end up disappointing him by presenting as an Omega or Beta, he never gave up on her. He knew she would be great. And her presentation day had been the happiest of her life because her father had looked so proud.

It had all been a dream come true. Sabrina would one day take over her pack as the first female Luna, and she would have by her side a trusted companion and mate, Beta Edwin. Together, they would lead the pack to greatness. She’d believed this for years, until her world came crashing down that night.

She remembered the blood, her father’s cooling body in her hands. She saw Eleanor’s face every time she closed her eyes, her words echoing in the back of Sabrina’s mind.

“I still don’t know why she did this. If she... if she had told me she had feelings for Edwin, I would have broken off the engagement. Even after knowing what she had done, I was willing to forget everything, to forgive, as long as she... she helped me.”

Alaric placed a comforting hand on her clenched fist. “Fate has been unfair to you.”

“Fate is never unfair to anyone. My father is dead, and I’ve made peace with that. But Eleanor and Edwin are still out there. I am not going to just sit in a castle and let them live a happy life with my father’s blood on their hands. The Lycan King, the Blood Moon Pack, all of them—I will make them pay.”

“And you needed my help for this?”

“You’re not going to help me.” She had already come to this conclusion. After all, it had been her own wishful thinking. Alaric didn’t know her well enough to wage war against an entire race for her. She brushed off his hand harshly.

The King sighed, his expression composed, giving no indication of how he might have felt about the whole thing.

“Even if I had fallen in love with you, the werewolves and dragons have a truce. We do not attack each other. We’ve lived in peace for years. It’s not something that can just be disrupted—not even for you, pretty Luna.”

“I should have expected this much.” Sabrina wanted to laugh at how delirious she had been to think this man would be of any help to her. “Then there’s really no point in pretending, is there? There’s no reason to be here.”

“Your father would have wanted you to live a good life. Revenge would only—”

“You don’t know my father. You can’t possibly fathom what he would have wanted. If there is nothing else, Your Majesty, I wish to be alone now.”

Alaric looked reluctant to leave, but even he knew he couldn’t push it. Some time alone would do the woman some good. It must be quite disheartening to be betrayed by one’s family like this. Alaric could relate.

“How old are you? To have to go through such an ordeal, even the most tolerant adult wouldn’t survive it unscathed.”

“I will be nineteen in two months.”

He winced in obvious discomfort. “You are a child. Dragons go through their awakening at nineteen. Only some extremely talented individuals have them early. You are still... so young.”

“If you had known this, would you have kissed me?”

“No. I do have morals.”

“I don’t really care about your morals. I just... want to be alone.”

“Then I wish you a good night, Sabrina. Try to get some sleep.”

She gave him no response and continued to watch him with blank eyes as he walked out of the room. Alaric closed the door softly but didn’t leave immediately. He remained standing outside the wooden barrier, listening to the woman shuffle around. The sound of something shattering echoed, followed shortly by the Luna’s broken sobs.