I was in that dream again.
Grass wet with dew brushed against my bare legs as I glided quickly through the adow, barely feeling the ground beneath my feet. My eyes were scanning for another glimpse of the majestic creature I’d just gained sight of a mont ago before it bound between two large pine trees.
I knew if I followed the gorgeous white pony further into the woods, I would run into him again.
...
“Don’t touch !” He raised his voice, but he didn’t sit up, and his arms lay limp at his side. He wore a mask over his face. Only his onyx black eyes were visible to .
“Do you want to die?” I retorted as I inspected his body for wounds.
“...I don’t care,” he replied quietly.
My hands paused. For so reason, his words broke my heart a little, even though he’d almost killed just now.
I lifted my gaze to et his. His eyes were so deep, so dark, like infinite wells, and I feared that if I spent too much ti looking into them, I might not be able to extricate myself from their depths.
“Well, I do, okay?” I said. “My father would yell at if he finds out I left soone bleeding to death in the wild! Relax. I’m just going to bandage up these wounds.”
He grunted a bit when I lifted him off of the ground, but he didn’t fight back anymore.
Silence filled the air, and I felt I had to say sothing, so I started with the basic question. “What’s your na?”
He looked at with those dark eyes and answered, “I don’t have one.”
“Really? That’s strange, because I don’t have one either.”
He cocked his head to the side and gave a look that was a cross between confused and annoyed.
“It’s true. People just call girl.”
“Girl?” he repeated.
“That’s right. Girl,” I gave him a big smile. My father had told that smiles were one of the most effective ways to make friends.
But instead of returning a smile back to , he almost seed a bit uncomfortable and moved his gaze away from mine. “And what are you doing out here in the woods all alone?” he asked.
“Um...” I tapped on my chin. “Have you heard of the Sun Blossom flower?”
His eyes widened slightly, and I could see that he had heard of it.
I continued, “You know, the flower that grows on the side of the mountains. I’ve heard they’re beautiful, and sll wonderful. That’s why I ca. My friend was leading there...”
“Your friend?” he glanced around imdiately, his tone wary.
“Yes, my new friend. A little white pony...”
He let out a breath of relief, and then said matter-of-factly. “Those flowers, they’re not easy to get.”
“My mother also said it was a fool’s errand.” I rested my hands in my lap. “But I love flowers. Don’t you?”
He shrugged and looked down at the ground.
But then, the fire was suddenly extinguished. His whole body was taken by the blackness.
It turned unnervingly silent, and I started to get scared.
“Are... are you still here?” I couldn’t stop the trembling in my voice.
“Is sothing the matter?”
The sound of his voice startled . I looked up in shock, my mouth agape as he stood in front of again.
“Wh-what just happened?” I asked him.
He thrust his hand at . In it was a beautiful Sun Blossom flower in full bloom, its delicate purple petals speckled with gold flakes that sparkled in the sun.
“You said you wanted one,” he said, handing the flower to . “So I got one for you.”
Speechless, I stared at the flower. “How did you—?”
He didn’t answer , and the darkness seed to seep in all around again until it was nearly pitch black. I could barely see him.
“Hey!” I shouted, wishing I knew his na.
I tried to reach out to grab him, and that was when I noticed the blood.
It was everywhere, dripping from my hand, sinking into the fabric of my pants, and the sll of it, rusty with aluminum, filled my lungs.
The blood was coming from him!
“Boy?” I shouted. “Are you all right? Boy?”
He looked at . I could see the whites of the eyes behind his mask, but in that stare, I saw no traces of life.
His breathing had stopped, but the blood continued to pour from him.
A shrill scream escaped from –I realized he was dead and that the darkness was about to consu .
My lungs were heaving and my heart was pounding out of my chest as my eyes flew open and the blackness faded away.
It took a mont to rember where I was. Brushing my hand over my face, I sat up in bed and looked at the figures of the other girls sleeping in twin beds across the room.
Right. The palace.
My mind went to what had happened yesterday in the prince’s office. It was no wonder I’d had such a bloody version of my recurring dream after that.
The first rays of dawn filtered in beneath the curtains, and a glance at the clock told that it was still quite early. It was unlikely that anyone else would be up, except for the servants.
But I couldn’t go back to sleep. Not after that.
Quietly, I got out of bed and decided to head to the garden for a bit of fresh air. Being outside always lifted my spirits.
The morning air was crisp so I inhaled deeply, feeling more optimistic and peaceful with every breath.
Nothing about being here would be easy. I wished that my father were here so he could give advice about how to proceed. Luckily, his lessons had been engraved in my heart. I would find a way to make it through this trial to get back to my ho.
Beside was a particularly beautiful rosebush. The blooms were a soft pink with traces of white, and they slled divine. I paused to breathe them in, looking at the glorious pink and gold sunrise in the distance.
Everything was going to be all right. I just knew it. Peacefulness settled around , and I found a asure of contentnt in the solace of the morning.
And then... noises caught my attention and they quickly ushered my resolve away.
The sound of sothing crashing hard to the pavent echoed through the rose bushes, and then I heard what I thought were growls, followed by muttered curse words and grunts of pain.
Looking around, I saw the shapes of two people fighting one another, and I imdiately recognized one of them. He was the last person I wanted to see right now.
Prince Theo. He was being attacked... again. Really, how hated was he that this kept happening?
Seeing that the Prince was clearly gaining an upper hand, I decided it would be best to get back inside. But as I began to move, I stepped on so dry leaves that rustled noisily.
Shoot!
Dropping to my knees behind the bushes, I tried to hide myself, praying neither of them noticed –but it was too late.
The combat seed to be interrupted by and ended shortly. Just then, I heard a familiar voice order, “Co out now, or I’ll kill you!”
I had no choice but to show myself. But as one last attempt at self-preservation, I grabbed so dirt and sared it on my face, ssing up my hair and putting leaves and sticks in it before I stood and walked to the opening, where he was already standing.
I prayed that I was ssy enough that he wouldn’t want to look at . That way, he wouldn’t recognize as the sole survivor of the bloody event in his office yesterday.
Prince Theo’s expression was hard. His dark eyes narrowed, and his white shirt was open about halfway. My eyes imdiately went to his chest, but then I dropped my head so that I wasn’t staring at places that I shouldn’t.
The sound of approaching footsteps on the path behind him gave a bit of hope that maybe soone would co along and spare from certain death.
“Alpha, I’m sorry I couldn’t make it on ti. Are you okay?” The footsteps finished in quick succession as Jake, the Beta, stopped next to the prince, but Prince Theo raised a hand to stop him.
“What are you doing here?” Instead of replying to his Beta, Theo questioned .
“I was only passing by, Your Highness,” I said in a quiet voice.
“Oh, really?” Obviously, he didn’t buy it. “You may look a ss, but I rember you.”
Swallowing hard, I tried to co up with an excuse he might like for being outside. “Yes, that’s true. I was... on my way to the kitchen... to learn how to cook for you... but I got lost...I...” I lifted my eyes only slightly to try to read his face.
“Enough,” he interrupted . “You’re the eighth woman who has tried to approach since last night.” His voice was a low rumble, and with every syllable, a new tremor of fear passed over . “Let make this clear. Leave alone unless you want to die.”
“Alpha,” Jake tried to remind him, “But the king’s order says–”
“Do you realize that she caused him to get away?” I assud he was referring to the attacker just now.
“Yes, Alpha.” Beta Jake glanced at and dared not to say more.
Prince Theo’s eyes locked on again. I felt fear coursing through my body. He took a step closer to , and I cowered, but my feet remained planted for worry of what would happen if I backed away.
“The next ti you interrupt , I will end you. Do you hear ?” His words were as cold as ice and chilled to the bone.
“Y-yes, Your Highness,” I managed to get out, and finally he lifted his gaze off , and walked away with his Beta.
Once I saw him turn the corner out of my sight, I muttered under my breath, “Do you really think everyone wants to marry you?! So arrogant! If it wasn’t for my pack, I’d never set foot in the royal palace....”
It was just a whisper, rely more than a thought, but my eyes widened as I saw Prince Theo had reappeared from the corner, staring at .
Every hair of my body stood up, and my instinct told I was in grave danger as the prince paced back toward . His face was still cold as ice, but I could sense a hint of anger from it.
Oh. My. Heavens. He’d heard .
I forgot he was one of the most prestigious Alphas in the world and was blessed with extraordinary sight and hearing.
He flew back at , getting right in my face.
“Say that again?” he said through gritted teeth.
I was already dead. I might as well be honest. So I shouted out loud, “Do you really think everyone wants to marry you?! So arrogant! If it wasn’t for my pack, I’d never set foot in the royal palace!”
It was the truth.
He took a step back. He stared at and seed to be at a loss for words. His chest moved slightly faster than usual, as if he was trying to keep pace with his breath. “You....”
“You’re the one who asked to say it again!” I blurted out. Whatever! I was dood anyway. What could be worse? I’d had enough of this damn place!
Theo said nothing more, but I could see him clenching his jaw. I knew my ti was up.
Tears threatened to spill down my cheeks, but I held them back. I thought of my family–my mother, my father. They would miss .
“Take her to my backyard, Jake,” he ordered coldly.
My eyebrows furrowed as I considered what that ant. I knew he wasn’t asking his Beta to take on a friendly outing.
“Alpha?” Jake asked. “Are you sure? You know—”
“Take her!”
The temperature around us seed to have dropped dramatically, and I couldn’t control the chill that kept climbing up my spine. What was he going to do to ?
“Yes, Alpha,” Beta Jake replied, and then he gestured for to co with him, that look of sympathy even more evident on his face now.
Jake led through the gardens and I obediently walked near him, but I could hear the footfalls of the prince behind us.
It didn’t take long for us to co to a large gated area. My instincts told there was great danger on the other side of the walls.
Beta Jake sighed and opened the gate. I didn’t need anyone to shove inside. I’d been ordered to enter, so I did.
“They haven’t been fed breakfast yet.” Prince Theo ca up behind us. “But that’s about to change.” One corner of his mouth pulled back in a snarl. It was the most evil smile I’d ever seen. “They’re all about to have... breakfast.”
I turned around and looked at the inhabitants of the courtyard.
Lion.
Tiger.
All fierce predators.
I didn’t need an explanation.
Breakfast was .
“It’ll open when they’re done eating.”
Then, Prince Theo locked the gate himself, leaving facing the animals.
And they were all waiting for ... waiting for their breakfast.
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