Unknown Wolf

Princes and Princesses

To say my father was upset by last night's attack was putting it lightly as he spent the rest of the night bulking up his security measures and putting his mind at ease making sure that no one would be able to slip past the guards again. My room was locked up more secure than a bank vault. The Hart brothers were ordered to now guard me from inside my room, which made everything more awkward, and I tossed and turned while Wesley and Jordan stood guard at the bedroom door and balcony

Around 5 am, I gave up on sleep and grabbed some clothes, storming with them into the bathroom. As I brushed my teeth and hair, all I could do was glare at myself in the mirror. All the countless hours of training, and I still failed to protect myself. Now my father would see to it I had little to no privacy or freedom. The emotions from that thought alone caused me to slam my hands down on the counter and scream. I didn't care who heard. Thankfully, Wesley and Jordan were smart enough to know it was one in anger and frustration, and they didn't come barging in here thinking I was in danger again.

I quickly dressed in navy shorts and a white t-shirt. Braiding my hair back in a french braid to make sure it stayed out of my face. I waltzed out of the bathroom, knowing my anger must be coming off me in waves as I made it downstairs. I wasn't hungry. Instead, I just entertained some coffee on the patio, watching the sunrise and trying to calm my thoughts.

Wesley and Jordan stood quietly in the background. When do these guys eat or sleep? I wondered. My father was going to have to rotate them out for the night shift or something. Then I thought about two new guys being in my room at night, and my frustration with the awkwardness of that pissed me off even more. I placed my hand upon my forehead, looking down and praying my mind would just shut off for a few hours.

I wandered up to the classroom where my Aunt Rose waited. The corkboard is still up and ready from its previous lesson. It didn't stir me like it had done the day before as my fear had turned into anger, which I directed into determination. I was not going to be knocked down again, so I decided the only way to fight back at this was to pour myself into my studies and my defense/warrior training.

"As you know, this is King Blackwood's wolf form. Notice the unique coloring of his wolf. When in wolf form, you can open up to mentally talk to any other wolf in your pack or under your command and conversate with them. Alpha's can also mind link with each other if they are from the same kingdom. Kings, Queens, and their heirs with any wolf in their kingdom, and mates can mind link once they mark eachother even if they are still in different packs until one makes a move to the other's pack. This will come naturally as you will find out when you shift." Rose continued on trying to also keep me focused and away from the thoughts of last night. "This is the King in his human form."

She pointed out another photograph of a tall and muscular man standing about my father's height. He seemed to be more dense and bulky than my father. He had dark grey hair with black sprawled out through it and amber orange eyes that glared through you.

"His oldest son and heir to the throne is Ryker. He is twenty-five. He is known to be just as cold-hearted as his father and fearless. Some even call him mad with bloodlust." She pointed to another picture of a man who stood about 6'9", towering over even his father. He was powerful looking and seemed to have a permanent smirk glued to his face in every picture. He had long jet black hair and gold colored eyes that looked haughty. I glared at his photo with a hatred.

"This is his wolf form." she redirected. It was a picture of a massive black wolf with golden eyes leering out as if even in wolf form, he smirked at his prey.

"Finally, this is his second son. Rowen is twenty-three. King Blackwood seems to show favoritism towards Ryker as he favors his father more in looks and mannerisms. Rowen is more quiet and composed, but he is also a great and fearless warrior not to take lightly."

I stared longer at the picture of Rowen as if trying to figure him out from the photographs. He was as tall as his older brother, boosting all of 6' 9" as well, and I would be dwarfed standing next to them at 5' 6". He was strong and muscular too, definitely not someone to get on the wrong side of and between the brothers they looked like even matches.

Rowen stood confident but not leering like Ryker. He seemed unamused by all his surroundings as opposite to his brother's smirk. He had a moppy hairstyle of beautiful auburn hair that showed bright in the sunlight like a freshly cleaned penny and deep blue eyes like the sea before a storm. His features were a stark contrast to his father's and his brothers, and he stood out like a sore thumb that didn't fit right.

Rose reverted to a picture of his wolf and continued to describe them and go into detail about their lineage and about our history with us battling them on and off for hundreds of years. I stared at the picture of Rowen's wolf, beautiful and red, like his hair with bright blue glowing eyes. I became lost in thought about what my wolf would look like and trailed off for a minute, thinking about if I would look like my mother in wolf form.

Finally, I came back to focus on Rose as she continued and started to talk about Lady Blackwood. She had originated from Blood Moon Pack, which is one of our packs set near the human realm's Ireland. Her family had been heartbroken to find she was mated to Blackwood, and after he took her away, they barely were able to have any contact with her. She is apparently where Rowen gets his looks from, including the auburn hair. She was said to be a very gentle woman and kind, which only made Roland despise her more. Supposedly, she was attacked by Rogues when their youngest, Rowen, was only eight and killed.

I learned that werewolves gained most of their power after they were able to shift into their wolf form. Therefore, a young werewolf would be no match against one that had already come of age. Another reason my father took so many measures to protect me.

We then become stronger with training and experience along with finding our mate and cultivating our bond with them. Being separated from our mate could cause us to grow weak in certain situations or if separated for too long. It also could drive our wolf inside crazy to the point they are uncontrollable.

I continued to learn not only about the Blackwood family but about rogues and historic battles for the rest of the day.

Luckily, my two night guards were women warriors. The rooms on either side of me were made into quarters for the Hart brothers and the other for my new night guard so even when resting they weren't too far from me if needed in an emergency.

Seeing as I hadn't slept well the night before for obvious reasons I was glad to have my head hit the pillow at the end of the day, and slept peacefully through the night even with my new guard in the room.

************

Time started to fly by as I was emersed in my studies and training. I got much better at fighting. Learning battle techniques as well as different fighting styles, and gained endurance and strength along with knowledge. I was proud of myself, and my instructor Aaron seemed to be impressed. Sparing, I was taking guards down, and they weren't taking it easy on me either. It made me feel better, and it gave me confidence in my skills.

The months passed by, and before I knew it, it was early December. My birthday was coming up in a week on the eighteenth. My father had won the argument about having my dress fitting at the manor. My aunt didn't put up much of a fight after the attack on my room, and we're I was almost kidnapped. Even though no other such events had occurred over the last several months.

Today it was decided that my studies could take a break. After learning about all the packs, our history, and about our enemies and alliances, my classes changed to etiquette and dance lessons. I was tired of learning and preparing and was glad to be on a break from everything for a bit.

My Aunt Rose and cousin Isabelle were in my room beyond excited that our fitting was today. Isabelle and I both stood on platforms while several women worked busily around us, fitting our dresses precisely to our bodies. These were the gowns we would be wearing to my party. My aunt had been calling it the Starry Night Ball.

Isabelle's dress, from what I could see, was stunning on her. It was a navy blue embroidered tulle flared A line full-length gown with a sleeveless fitted bodice and sheer jeweled neckline. The crystals embroidered into the dark blue material made it look like the night sky with stars floating on it. The seamstress must have been an artist at her work with magic hands that brought her imagination to life.

I couldn't take my dress completely in as I didn't have a mirror to look into from where I was positioned. What I could see was that it was a beautiful classic white A line floor length gown that shimmered in the light as if it was made of stardust. It had a lovely sweetheart neckline with sheer up from the top of the sweetheart cut to swoop around my neck and make see-through long sleeves. The sheer fabric was embellished with pearls that made it look like small snow drops had collected effortlessly upon my arms and chest. I knew it must look stunning, and I was excited to wear it at my upcoming event.

My Aunt Rose was in awe at our dresses herself. She had already had her fitting, so we weren't going to be able to see her dress until the night of the ball. She did tell us it was silver. She told me that in the invites, she had put a dress code that the only colors to be worn to the event were white, black, blue, or silver to coincide with the theme.

I had to admit they had me finally excited about my party and were taking my mind off my nerves and fears as they rapidly spoke of all the special details that were being worked out for the event. The two of them were humming like happy bees with excitement and chatter around me. I was finally comfortable enough to say I was ready for the event and to take my place in our world.