Yes, Your Highness (18+)

09

A month had passed, and Riley hadn't uttered a single word to me since the truth came crashing down. It felt like I was being caged, trapped like a wild animal, all because I had kept the village's biggest secret hidden for so long. I possessed an extra set of teeth, a strange and unique feature that I could have used to assert my ownership over what I deemed mine. But despite having that power, I never actually marked anyone. He had marked me, however, leaving his mark on my skin, but his frustration grew when I consistently refused to reciprocate, even after a whole year of us being together. My wolf remained stubbornly resistant to him, distancing itself from any connection. As days turned into weeks, it felt like he was slowly losing hope, but deep down, I started to fear I might have been mistaken in thinking he was ready to give up completely.

He began to speak again, his voice laced with frustration. A surge of memories washed over me, each one more painful than the last. I had endured brutal punishments—endless beatings and the suffocating isolation that followed—each moment crafting a prison from which I desperately tried to escape. "You tried to run away, Stephanie," Riley spat, his grip on my shoulders firm, pinning me against the cold, unforgiving wall. His eyes, usually filled with arrogance, now shimmered with hurt, as if his heart were an open wound. 

For years, I had hurled disdain at him, masking the vulnerability that threatened to unravel my defiance. I had been thrust into the role of pack Luna, a position I never asked for, a role dictated by a power-hungry arrangement rather than love. I had dared to hope that the relentless tide of despair had finally receded, that I could carve a new path for myself, only to be blindsided by the relentless storm of my reality once again.

I found it impossible to hold his gaze, the weight of his presence suffocating. "You think I wanted to run?" I shot back, my voice trembling with barely contained anger. "Do you honestly believe I wanted you as my mate? Have you looked in the mirror lately, Riley? Do you even recognize the monster you've become?" My words hung in the air, heavy with pain, but his expression remained sorrowful, a stark reminder of the man I once thought I knew.

"I only became what I was destined to become, Steph," he murmured, his breath warm against my hair. There was a weight to his words, an inevitability that hung in the air between us. "But you were not destined to hurt me, you ass," I shot back, my voice sharp with frustration. Before I could finish, his hand clamped around my arm, a firm grip that both startled and anchored me.  

"You will keep quiet," he warned. "You are my mate, marked as mine." His wolf's aggression came through his voice. Rae retaliated and bit his hand, prompting a fierce growl from him. "You will be my Luna. No matter what, you can't escape!" Ro scowled.

I had managed to slip away, navigating the village through a hidden passage that I had discovered only a month prior. The air was frigid, snowflakes spiraling around me as I trudged through the white landscape. It felt as though the cold had seeped into my bones, and nothing—absolutely nothing—could warm me if it meant the price was a return to Riley. He had betrayed my trust, and in response, I felt it only fair to conceal my own truths from him. 

Riley had transformed, morphing from the sweet, affectionate partner I once knew into someone harsh and demanding. He insisted I provide him with pups, yet I wasn't ready for that kind of commitment. The thought alone was suffocating, and I found myself firmly rejecting his desires. I didn't want to take that step, not now.

The sound of footsteps reached my ears—footfalls that I initially believed belonged to Riley. However, my attention was quickly diverted by a familiar presence lurking in the shadows of the trees. It was the same imposing black bear I had encountered just a month earlier, its golden eyes gleaming with a haunting familiarity. I recalled the stories spoken around the village fires, warnings about the woods, and what it truly meant if anything found me out there alone.