Wolf Princess Sold to the Dragon King novel Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Alpha Inhaled, Stumbled, Then Froze. Fuck.

Two hundred heads turned the second she stepped through the doors. Ten of them wore crowns.

She recognized about half. Alphas she had played princess for in the past. Some of their territories were nowhere near Lunaris.

The room did a collective exhale, and conversations picked back up.

"Stonehowl wanted her for his son. Can you blame him?"

"Unique, I’ll give her that. Strange hair."

"The Beta’s son carried her in this morning. Poor thing."

She tuned the rest out, scanning for her father. The odds of Cassian or Tyler not mentioning her wolf were zero. The damage was done. Her plan was to claim that it was her first shift if it came up. Given she’d woken up in her bed and not in chains, and was now playing princess instead of playing prisoner, there was a chance her father considered it a headache not worth addressing.

He stood at the head of the hall with his arm around Maria, and was deep in conversation with an Alpha she didn’t recognize.

Maria caught her eye, and Guinevere gave a small smile. An alliance formed over shared trauma. Efficient. Unexpected. She had a feeling she was going to need every favor in the building before the night was over.

Her father turned. Showtime.

"Daughter, you are looking better."

Every eye turned in their direction. The king approached her, offering a practiced smile and a hug.

She had been performing warmth with this man her entire life. They were both very good at it.

"Father. You’ll embarrass me in front of kings."

There were some low chuckles.

"Come, let us begin."

Those words settled like ice in her stomach.

She took her seat next to Cassian, Tyler on her other side. The seating arrangement of her nightmares. Dinner theater at its finest.

Cassian sat stiff, eyes forward. Silent. Tragic.

Tyler, on the other hand, was looking at her like a man who had recently discovered she existed and was deeply confused about the timing. He had grown up with her. And he had tied her wrists less than twelve hours ago. So there was that.

His eyes landed on her throat. Then the place where her dress stopped at her breasts. Then her mouth. Her lip was bruised still. Swollen. Probably her best feature in this lighting. Lovely that he noticed.

The double doors of the hall opened, and a man entered whom she didn’t recognize. The night was already off to a rich start.

STRANGER NUMBER ONE:

He was definitely an Alpha, flanked by three. All looked important. Or at least expensive.

"Ah, the guest of honor. King Shadowfell."

The room went very still.

The most powerful man on the entire continent of Nyros, ruler of the largest pack and the most territories, was quite young. Attractive.

He froze mid-step, pupils dilating, and stared at Guinevere like the rest of the room didn’t exist. Two hundred pairs of eyes darted between them.

Heat rose low in her body. One she had never felt before and had no business feeling here and now. Her wolf stirred, lifting its head for the first time since the forest.

She blinked, momentarily disoriented, then forced her gaze away first.

He shook his head, seeming to also be pulling himself out of that. Whatever that was. Then he glanced at her father, jaw tight.

"Renwick. Thank you for the invitation. I don’t usually accept them."

"A man who declines every invitation and then accepts mine. I’m flattered. Or should I be curious?"

Shadowfell let the silence sit for three seconds longer than was comfortable.

"The night is young. We’ll find out."

He and his entourage sat at the second most important table in the room, directly across from the dais. Close enough that avoiding eye contact would take effort.

"Unbelievable," Cassian muttered into his goblet.

"You’ll survive," she shot back under her breath.

Cassian drained half his glass in one pull, still refusing to look at her. "Shut the fuck up. If it were up to me, you’d be in silver, not silk."

"Half your wine in one go and a death threat before the first course. Pacing, Cassian."

"A bitch who doesn’t know how to address an Alpha. Another reason you deserve silver."

STRANGER NUMBER TWO:

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