I am uploading only the first chapter of this for now. I still have to finish Pet and get some progress on Controlled. So my two new stories - this and Lion and the Lamb - will only have the first chapters up until a couple weeks into the summer. Whichever story gets the most traffic by then will be put as priority.
Love you guys!
Chapter One
C A R O L I N E
My stomach rolled in disgust as I passed the many girls my age primping for the arrival of the King of Pigs - I mean Shifters. Yeah, yeah. King of Shifters. Not that the Shifters were pigs, but the King? Definitely. The foolish had never even met him and they were staring dreamily into space, as if he was standing there in front of him, flexing his biceps and abs for them. It was not only sickening, but pathetic.
Unlike them, I was not primping, nor what I daydreaming about the size of the King's... Personality. Let's go with personality.
I was human, and so wasn't going to be ball to meet him, thank heavens. Unfortunately for me, I'd already met him once before. Several years back when he made his first rounds as King. He was a dickwad.
Toyed around with me at the party because as a human, I was as good as a maid in his home. But here in my home, I was treated as an equal. Mostly because anyone who attempted to knock me down a few pegs got socked in the mouth, but still. I was respected well enough. Just the memory of the King's deep, sultry voice calling me pet names, his strong hands playfully pushing me and nudging me teasingly, made my fists clench.
I really should take some anger management classes. But my anger actually kept me safe around here. I trained with the other Shifters and could fight them in hand to hand combat, and some I could fight while they were in their wolf forms. All I had to do was fuel up my inescapable rage and they were usually out for the rest of the day.
"Kara. Please tell me that's not what you're wearing," my best friend, Alfie, groaned. Alfie was probably the only person that grounded me here. And I'd have married him for it if it weren't for two key factors. 1) I was only seventeen and 2) he batted for the other team, and had for as long as I could remember.
I snorted and pushed his shoulder. "Please. You know I'm not invited to the party tonight, nor to the meet and greet before hand. It's Netflix Friday. You know what that means," I claimed.
Alfie rolled his eyes, fixing the cuffs on his chambray button up anxiously. "It means you get to sit in your room and pig out until the wee hours of the night, while I have to deal with the drunk bimbos that get rejected. Just ask Jones if-"
"Hell, no. I am not going to spend two seconds breathing the same air as King-Alpha-Pig-Dickwad-Junior. I'm going to sit in my room, eat a bunch of empty calories, and send you pictures until you sneak away to come hang with me."
Alfie sighed, now running his fingers through his curly silver quiff. "It is different this time around. He's looking for someone to take back as his queen. He'll be here all weekend. How are you going to hole yourself up for three days?"
I rummaged through the fridge, producing two lemonades for us. He thanked me with a small smile before taking a sip. "I've got an impressive stockpile under my bed. I'll show you later. What are you so nervous about anyways? I mean, I'm sorry, I love you, but King Dickwad isn't your type, if you know what I mean... What's going on?"
Alfie burst out laughing, his blue eyes crinkling cutely. "You're right. He isn't my type. But his second in command is. And he is also on the lookout, I've heard."
I raised my eyebrows. "Seriously? Are you gonna hop on that?" I quizzed.
He grimaced. "Must you be so obscene?"
"It keeps you on your toes."
This earned me another eye-roll. "Whatever, weirdo. Let's go see your stockpile. His Highness will be here in a couple hours."
Six hours later I was surrounded by chocolate wrappers, a box of pizza, and an empty carton of mint chocolate chip ice cream. I'd drank two pink lemonades, and was about to start on the third when I sent my first picture to Alfie.
I was trying to occupy my thoughts with anything. My mind kept conjuring up memories from the last time he visited. He was an absolute douche, and I couldn't fathom why no one had kicked him out of the throne yet. It was the twenty-first century and there was a King. How dumb is that? That is just asking for trouble. But I was just a human, so my voice and opinion never mattered.
The meet and greet with the King started almost two hours ago, and the party wasn't scheduled to start till another two. It was going to be a long night.
And I was already bored. But it would only be a matter of time before Alf got bored of pack politics and came up to join me, which is why I had left almost half of the pizza for him. How could anyone even talk to one person for so long? What was so interesting about him? Or did it just take forever with the unmated females taking up time to grab his junk and rub their greasy breasts all over him?
I pouted at the camera to my best friend, purposefully leaving chocolate stains around my mouth. Within seconds, he had viewed it. But he never replied. That jerk. As if he didn't have anything better to do than just send me one excessively filtered snapchat in reply.
I waited a couple minutes before sending another one, but showing the aftermath of all I'd eaten so far, plus with a shot of the Disney movie playing on my laptop.
He viewed it again but I got nothing. I glared at the phone and got up, letting my trash fall to the floor as I paused my movie and pulled up mine and Alfie's jam. Love Me by the 1975. Music was playing downstairs, so no one would hear it even if I turned it up full blast. So that's what I did. Think of it as my own personal rebellion, even if no one would witness it.
In my pajamas - tight workout shorts, a muscle tank, and a sports bra - I started mouthing along to it, flipping him off in the camera because he wasn't answering me, before I cracked up laughing.
But I wasn't the only one enjoying my antics.
A deep rumble came from the opposite side of the room, and I jumped and spun around in fear.
"Hey, sugar."
