The Princess And The Alpha *Excerpt Only*

Cityscape

Ryan continued to fight with me when I suggested that he stay home and rest while I took the car out to a nearby human town for fresh food. He argued that if my parents did end up figuring out where we were and the stumbled upon him without me they would almost certainly think he had killed me and would then kill him. I thought the idea was foolish; my parents would be awfully concerned if that situation occurred, but they never gave orders to kill people on sight. There would be days of interrogation, and by then, I would've figured out what was going on and gotten to the castle.

Ryan didn't care and he told me that I was wrong the entire time I worked to get the little Honda Civic in running condition. I grunted at his words as I milled around the little garage and finally gave up, just fully ready for him to shut up about it.

"Fine!" I shouted, "You can come, but I want you to let it drop. Maybe this whole thing wasn't the best plan, but it's what we've got right now, so please, just let me do as I see fit from now on, okay?"

Two hours later we were walking up and down the aisles of a local grocery store like a normal couple. Well, I mean, we probably looked normal but there was no denying the fact that I hardly knew the man that was standing next to me. However, I was quickly learning that we had very different tastes when it came to food. He hated tomatoes which nearly broke me because I could live off tomatoes. We stocked up on foods we both liked so the cart was filled with vegetables, juice, milk, and plenty of fruits. Ryan even convinced me to buy peach tea, something that sounded a little gross to me because I liked coffee and dark, strong teas.

I was almost impressed with how long we had gone without arguing when we reached the small clothing section and I froze.

"Come on, you'll need some clothes to wear if you actually plan on staying a while." Ryan pointed out.

He was right too, I had some clothes in a bag I had brought, and my mom had left a few articles of clothing from her last adventures in the cabin, but it wasn't enough and some of the articles wouldn't fit my body properly. Plus, I could definitely use a couple pairs of shoes.

"What are you waiting for?" Ryan pushed when I timidly poked at a rack filled with cheap tee shirts.

"Well, I don't actually know my size or anything." I whispered.

"What? How do you not know your size?" he demanded.

"I don't ever shop for myself, okay? Just let me figure it out, go find some clothes that you want to buy." I snapped, shooing him away with my hands. So what if I never bought my own clothes? It couldn't be that hard to figure out, but it was embarrassing to admit. In fact, those whole shopping spree had taken me completely out of my element, but I wasn't ready to admit that out loud, Ryan seemed to be doubting me enough already. When he left in search of new things as well I began pulling shirts off racks and holding them up to my body, trying to see if they'd fit, then repeating the same thing with pants, underwear, and bras. I must've looked like a fool, but I hardly cared, I just needed to be dressed while I figured out our next step from the cabin.

"Are you done?" Ryan groaned, coming back to me with his arms loaded up. He dumped the clothes on top of the food with a huff and smirked slightly when he saw that I was holding up a hot pink bra to my chest.

"Yes, yes, I'm done." I blurted, tossing the bra into the cart. My cheeks instantly turned red with blush, but I spun away from Ryan so he wouldn't see.

We wandered through the store, looking for any last minute items we didn't think of buying like shampoo or deodorant. Once we had wandered up and down every aisle I announced that our escapade was over and it was time to pay. I hummed idly as the woman scanned the items through the till, my eyes following each thing until I noticed a small box that I didn't take off the shelf myself.

Just as I was reaching for it, Ryan grabbed my arm, "You can't pay with a credit or debit card." He murmured, nodding to my wallet. "How much cash do you have?"

"About three grand. Why can't I use my cards? I always use my cards when my parents let me go out." I protested.

Ryan seemed a little confused by my lack of knowledge but he just whispered for me to trust him and do as he asked. For a brief moment I debated doing the exact opposite of what he said just to see what kind of reaction I would get out of him, but I decided against it. He was terribly afraid of being found, and out of the two of us, he had more experience in these kinds of situations so I gave the cashier the needed amount and began loading up the shopping cart with bags.

Once we were out of the store Ryan asked me for some money. I thoughtlessly handed him a hundred dollar bill and told him I would be loading up the car. He returned from his choice store just as I was slipping on my seat belt and preparing for the long drive back.

The drive home was relatively quiet. I softly asked why I wasn't allowed to use my credit cards and Ryan explained that they could easily be tracked and there was no doubt that my parents would be monitoring my transactions closely. He told me that if we got low on cash we would have to drive further, into a big city that was a few hours away to throw off my parents.

We returned to the house just as the sun was going down and I began yawning. The stress of the day and all of its crazy events had kept me wide awake, but now that everything was slowing down and I was able to breathe a sigh of relief I was becoming more exhausted by the minute. Ryan hardly looked any better. Those wild green eyes were dulled, his face covered in rough stubble, and his skin pale for tiredness. We both silently agreed to unpack our groceries and retire to bed for the night.

"You aren't going to argue with me this time?" Ryan asked through a massive yawn.

"No, there's only one bed in the cabin and I doubt you'll want to sleep on the couch." I murmured as I slipped into the bathroom.

I heard Ryan laugh a tiny bit just as I shut the door behind me and began pulling off my clothes. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and stared unknowingly for a moment, horrified. My hair was sporadic and ratty looking, knotted and bunched up because of the wild natural curls I had. My wide eyes looked unusually small because they lacked mascara and eye shadow while my cheeks appeared to be especially pale, no a swipe of blush on them. I hardly looked like the elegant princess I thought I was. I looked more like a homeless man, in fact.

And seeing myself like that caused a whole wave of insecurities to crash over me. My hips were quite wide, but they were usually hidden under gorgeous gowns so it hardly mattered. My legs looked large and cellulite was spotted along the back of them, which made me cringe. My arms were weak and thin, but they had a layer of fat that jiggled if I moved my arm the right way. And to make matters worse my breasts were hardly the large, perky things one would expect. They were average and a little saggy if I was being fair.

I quickly turned away from the mirror, realizing the longer I looked the more I would dislike. I leapt into my modest pajamas to cover up the bare skin and tried to shake the awful thoughts out of my head. But I still wondered if Ryan saw all those gross details when he looked at me.

No, I couldn't do this to myself. I took a deep breath to help restrain all the negativity and flung open the bathroom door, ready to look collected and tough.

Luckily for me, the only sound in the bedroom was Ryan's soft breathing as he slept.

****What do you guys think is in the little box?*****