Page 91 of The Wolf Prince
An odd expression crossed his face, something that certainly resembled guilt or regret, and I wished I knew the cause, but then Ty kissed my hand, and the look vanished just as quickly as it had appeared.
He insisted on staying the night with me—and by insisted, I meant he kissed me into a submission he didn’t honestly have to work so hard to secure—and I didn’t argue. I loved having his warm body against mine, and his strong arms wrapped under my neck and over my waist as we slept.
With him beside me, it didn’t take long at all for me to drift off into a deep sleep. I experienced the most vivid dream I’d ever had. Vivid, terrifying, and familiar.
Smoke filled the house as people shouted from outside. “Protect the alpha! Protect the princess!”
I glanced at my hand. I was holding onto the hand of a woman, looking up into her face as she smiled sadly at me.
A man with my coloring and my facial structure spoke quietly and urgently. “We won’t be able to hold them off. Get the baby out.”
I wanted to protest, to tell them that I was hardly a baby, but I couldn’t do more than watch what was happening.
The woman began to cry, but all too soon her tears turned to anger. “I’ll kill them all.”
A knock on the back door startled the woman. She and the man grabbed weapons, preparing to fight against whoever was on the other side of the door.
“It’s only me.” It was the voice of a young boy.
They both rushed to open the door, and before I could stop her from dropping my hand, she spun to crouch in front of me. “I love you. You’re the most perfect princess. I want you to go with him.” She pointed toward the boy. “He’ll keep you safe until we can find you again.”
The woman’s words were reassuring, but her face was wet with tears. She looked so sad and helpless. Again, I wanted to comfort her.
The man touched the boy’s shoulder, then gave a sharp, hard shake. “Always remember your purpose. I’m counting on you to keep my girl safe.”
The woman wept, choking on her sobs as the man knelt in front of me. He cupped my face, studying every feature. “I love you so much. Always remember who you are, my little princess. You’re royalty.”
The boy stepped forward and took my hand, leading me out the door. Tears streamed down my cheeks, and I screamed. I didn’t want to go. I wanted to stay with the man and the woman.
The boy pulled me along, and I turned to look back at the woman. Her eyes were sad as she watched us walking down a long path that seemed to keep getting longer. She shifted into wolf form just as the front door flew open. A loud bang reverberated through the air, and the wolf fell to the ground.
Something deep within my chest seemed to shred, like a bond breaking. I cried until there were no more tears left to shed.
We ran for what seemed like hours, the boy pulling me toward the snowy woods with fierce determination. I glanced around, trying to make sense of the red-stained snow.
“Don’t look! We have to get to the boat!” the boy shouted and tried to distract me from what I was seeing. Death. Blood. All of it so vivid.
I didn’t know what he was talking about. He couldn’t have been much older than me, but he was bigger. I didn’t know how to drive a boat, so it didn’t make sense to me that he would. Fear rolled like a little ball in my belly, and I pulled against his hold. But then a chorus of angry shouts came from behind us.
“Get her! Get the girl!” I heard it loud and clear as if whoever was shouting was right next to me.
“Run faster!” The boy tugged hard at my hand, almost dragging me through the forest.
He tripped over a tree root and pulled me down to the ground beside him. He covered his mouth, clearly in pain. His ankle was bent at an unnatural angle. No way were we getting farther. There would be no boat.
“Keep running and hide in the bushes near the flowers.” He scowled and reached for his ankle. “I’ll find you there, but I need to hide until my leg can heal.”
The voices moved closer, and the boy’s eyes widened. “Run! Now!”
I did as I was told and ran as fast as I could. I was tiny. I fit through whips of switches and vines that seemed to be growing around me as I ran. But the fear let me ignore the pain and keep moving. I didn’t want the men to catch me.
I was sad. So very sad.
When I finally made it to the bushes and the field of lavender, I crouched down and hid. The overwhelming scent of the lavender filled my nose. It tickled.
A long time passed, but I had no way of knowing exactly how long I’d been hiding. I must’ve fallen asleep because I woke up with a start and discovered an unfamiliar man standing over me.
He squatted beside me. “Don’t worry, little one. I’m going to make sure you’re taken care of.” His voice was soft, sincere, and I wasn’t scared anymore.