The Tangled Princess

Chapter Two

I was panicking. I knew I would find my mate soon, but I never expected him to be a werewolf, nevertheless the werewolf king himself. How could I even want a mate after what happened to my mother? I couldn't even fathom the possibility of having a mate. I didn't know if I could even love someone.

"I think we should think about it before accepting each other, Alpha," I said in a calm voice.

"Care to enlighten me why, Princess?" My heart melted at the sound of his voice; he had a deep voice, and his mellifluous tone completely embraced the air around me like the evening perfume of night flowers. I shook my head to clear my wayward thoughts.

"Well, there are many reasons for that, Alpha. First, we are of different species. You are a werewolf, and I am a witch as you must have noticed. The second reason is that we both have our own kingdoms to rule. I will rule the witch kingdom one day,  so I can't be your Queen," I said in my utmost business-like tone, feeling extremely proud of myself for uttering those words.

"Princess, I am not a werewolf. I am a hybrid. Half-witch and half-werewolf, so I am not shocked to know that my mate is a witch. And about the kingdoms. For me, my mate comes first and then my kingdom. We'll do something about it some other day, but first I will have to convince you to accept me," he reasoned in his deep, husky voice.

"You don't need to do anything," I said with a tone of finality in my voice. I thought he would get angry the second I said that, but I was absolutely shocked to see a smirk break out on his expressionless face. But his expression wasn't sweet - far from it, it was predatory.

"We'll see about that," he said. I was shocked to hear him say those words, but at the same time, I felt my magic bursting inside me. It seemed like my magic could jump out of my body to his. It was annoying to constantly exert energy in controlling your own magic.

"Consent is important, Alpha! If I say no, it is no," I said rather forcefully.

"I am not forcing you to do anything, Princess. I was just asking for a chance, and you said no. I respect that completely," he said, calmly.

"Alright, Alpha," I conceded. There would be no complication in our situation if we could both respect each other's opinion.

"Can you at least call me by my name?" he questioned with the same business-like tone that he was using throughout our conversation.

"Alright," I said, but he was still looking at me expectantly. "Conrad." My voice sounded so timid that even I did not recognize it for a second. An emotion flashed in his eyes, but he covered it quickly. I wished I could recognize that emotion, but he was really good at hiding them, and I wasn't an eye reader. He went towards his pack after bowing to me.

He was an idiot, a complete idiot. Everyone knew that a king never bows to anyone, excluding his queen. He basically announced to everyone present here that I was his mate. I narrowed my eyes at him, and by the look of satisfaction on his face, it wasn't him who was an idiot. I was. He wanted everyone to know that I was his mate, and he made it clear to everyone that I was his. Werewolf traits could only be hidden for so long; I rolled my eyes at his childish behaviour. I could see my father looking at me questionably, and I nodded to him. There was no point in denying. He would have never bowed down to me if I was not his mate, no matter how much he admired me. So I couldn't even say that he was impressed by my powers and was an admirer. That would never happen to him.

"He will be a good mate," an older voice said from beside me. Selene was a clairvoyant, a prophecy witch, but more than that, she was family to me. She had already told me that I would meet my mate very soon. I was prepared for it, but I never imagined it would be the werewolf king.

"I don't doubt that, Selene," I acknowledged. I never said he wouldn't be a good mate. I knew he would keep his mate happy, whoever she would be. I winced when my magic snapped angrily at that thought.

"I know your reasons, Princess. But closing yourself off because you're scared to lose is not the way to live life. You take risks, you fall, and you get up again. Without risks, life will be dull and tedious," Selene said with a soft smile on her face, blue eyes twinkling with happiness.

"I understand, Selene." I looked at her without hiding my emotions, hoping she would understand. "But when you have responsibilities, you can't take the risk of falling when you know that if you fall, you may be unable to get up again."

She was looking at me with wise and knowledgeable eyes. It seemed like she wanted to say something but couldn't do so. Her power came with limitations - she could hint future and recite prophecies, but she was unable to tell anyone's complete future.

"It will be worth it, Princess," she said while looking at someone behind me. Without turning, I knew she was staring at Conrad. My magic was getting harder to control; I was losing energy rapidly by preventing my magic from controlling my body.

"And one more thing - he is staying here for a week," she said smirking. She bowed her head while I was looking at her with wide eyes. I turned to the Alpha King who was obviously listening to our conversation. He furrowed his eyebrows and turned to my father who was talking to the royal beta.

I sighed. It was going to be one hell of a week.

Thank you so much for reading my book! I really really appreciate it!