The Alpha Princess

Celina

I wake up, pleasantly surprised to find my neck unmarked. What’s not exciting to me, is my mother asleep next to me. She snuck in after I had fallen asleep and just told me to accept it. Too tired to argue with her, I just accepted it. I know she’s just worried about me. Never have there been such brutal attempts on me before. Then again, this is the last year of my Claiming.

That’s when dread fills me. One more. I have one more Claiming to make it through, for my neck to remain unmarked. Not like it’s going to matter anyway. Maybe they’ll let me have a say in who they choose for me. Why do they even want me to be mated? Why do they care that most she-wolves are marked and mated by twenty-two? It likely has something to do with the fact that most wolves will have finished college and are planning the rest of their lives.

Slowly, I slide out of bed so as not to disturb my sleeping mother. Quietly, I get dressed in the traditional white sundress; the same one every single female will be wearing today. It’s thin and cheap. This allows the girls to shift without sacrificing their own clothes. It’s not restrictive and easily tearable, so it won’t hinder us if we’re forced to do a sudden shift.

My wolf is restless, ready for the fight of her life. She enjoys destroying the weaker wolves, and proving she is the strongest wolf there. Nothing gives her more satisfaction than forcing a powerful wolf to submit to her. She has a bit of an ego. Truthfully, we both should be the next Alpha King, well Queen, but I just don’t want it right now. Truthfully, I enjoy it too, but staying stagnant in one place doesn’t sound appealing to me.

I glance at the clock and find that it’s seven a.m. The Claiming starts at nine a.m; females are released at eight to get a head start. I can hear the voices of the other she-wolves; talking loudly in the common area downstairs As usual, I’m the topic. I wish Jenna was here. She’d help me shut those bitches down. Never in our history has there been a wolf who has gone past two Claimings without being marked. The fact that there seem to be attacks on me before the Claiming has stirred up more gossip than needed. Right now, my sexuality, beast, and character are being slandered. Right now, they’re wondering if I’m just not being chosen by the males because I’m weak and there is something wrong with me.

“Let’s go have some fun,” I tell my wolf and go to open the door. I open the door to the massive wing that was added on to hold guests. There are sixteen hundred rooms total in the Alpha King’s massive house. The house is roughly the size of a city block. The main part of the house is presented first and then splits off to accommodate the guests. Each of our staff has their own rooms as well; expected to live here full time. A mile in the back are housing for guards and soldiers; though the Gamma and Beta live in the main house.

The grand staircase shows about a hundred she-wolves that are awake. I let out my full aura as I go down the stairs, instantly making every female bare their neck to me, and the guards placed there to keep them from being prematurely marked. My bare feet bad against the cold stone as I move past them with my head held high. I truly do not care if they think I’m a nightmare wolf, but my wolf and I will not tolerate being thought of as weak. Especially when all these wolves are in their first Claiming. If they want to survive, instead of trash-talking me, they should have asked me for advice. Now they’re on their own.

I walk past them, feeling a looming shadow behind me. I know for a fact that I have guards stalking me right now. That’s true for all the females here. There have been a few times when a weaker male will try to mark an unsuspecting female before the Claiming starts. I pull my aura in as I exit the wing, letting every female relax in there.

Smugly, I make my way to the infirmary. When I get there, Jenna is still hooked up to oxygen. Zeke is gone, waiting for the Claiming to start, but Miranda is laying on the bed next to her. Silently, I sit next to Jenna and take her hand.

Her eyes begin to flutter so I shush her and push the hair from her face. “It’s okay Jenna. I wanted to check on you before everything starts.”

Her eyes begin to well, seeing the dress I wear. She knows what this means; I didn’t magically get out of the Claiming this year. We all knew there was no chance, but there is always a vain hope that we’ll be excused. “Kick their ass Cel, and be careful.”

I kiss her cheek. “Gladly. Now go back to sleep, and I’ll visit after the Bloodening. Mara is craving a good fight today. It is our last after all.” I give her one final squeeze and make my way back to the east wing.

After being allowed to eat, after everything I was about to eat is taste tested, I sit in the corner of the room on a plush beige chair to read. I wish I knew where my phone was, and I’m pretty sure I left it in my room. I don’t even know if I’m allowed back in there yet.

The sound of a crystal bell makes me look up. Carefully, I put down my book and go line up with the other she-wolves; in order of rank. I take my place in front of the alpha she-wolves, making them growl at me. They do not like second ranking. My eyes flash a dark bronze color, making them take an automatic step back and bare their neck. I give them a dark smirk and turn my head back to the giant glass door.

My father comes to stand in front of the room. “Ladies, welcome to the one hundred and twentieth Claiming Ceremony. The majority of you in this room will leave with a mate. In rare cases, some of you will emerge without a mate; and that’s acceptable as well. I want to remind you of the rules. You are allowed to fight someone trying to mark you. You are not allowed to kill; unless your life is in danger. You must remain in the wooded area of my territory. Do not enter any of the cities. Do not artificially cover your scent. You have one hour to have a head start, and five hours for the male wolves to track you down and mark you. We will have lycan and werewolf soldiers patrolling the areas, making sure everyone is obeying the rules and being safe.”

My father turns to me, “You’re up first, Princess Celina. Since you’re the oldest here, do you have any advice for our new females?”

I smirk, “Cover your scent, find some high ground, go for the throat, and never submit to a wolf weaker than you.”

My dad gives me a look that questions if I’m being serious. He shakes his head. “Go ahead, Celina.”

I kiss his cheek and skip past him. In an instant I feel hundreds of eyes on me the moment I enter the clearing, also known as the backyard. I put my hands behind my back and keep my head held high, strolling into the woods. After I’m deep enough in the woods I jump into the trees and jump from branch to branch to cover my scent. After clearing three miles, I jump from the trees and then cover my scent.

I stop when I get to a small clearing. There are white daisies and they’re just high enough for what I need. Grinning, I allow Mara to come forward. My bones begin to grow and bend, painfully morphing my body into a giant wolf. White, luscious fur spreads over me while Mara pushes to the front of my mind, ready for what comes next. Patiently, she lies down in the field of flowers, camouflaging us.

For hours, I watch wolves run right past us, not paying any attention to the clearing. Why on earth would a wolf be hiding there? One after another, I hear she-wolves cry out when they’re marked. Mara is growing impatient while I just sit in the back of our mind; calmly waiting. I glance at the sky, a little over an hour left.

My ear perks up when I hear something coming from downwind. I get up and spin around, swiping my claw as I go. My claw connects with the face of a black-furred lycan. The beast is massive and stands three feet over me. I’m not small, but I still cannot stand on two legs.

I bark a laugh, recognizing the lycan. Declan. He growls, getting ready for the attack. A sharp growl cuts off my responding one, signaling another male has entered to make his claim. The sandy wolf is nearly as tall as me and strong, so he might stand a chance against Declan.

I jump to the side, making Declan turn, dodging a sudden snap at me. I grab onto his neck, his blood filling my mouth as I throw him into the alpha. I’m always hesitant to bite the first wolf since their blood will make an easier trail to follow.

Declan gets to his feet and smacks the alpha wolf as if he’s a foam ball. The alpha crashes into the tree and doesn’t get back up. Well, that’s one less I guess. Declan growls as he stalks toward me, getting onto his forelegs, “Mine,” he growls, pushing his aura out to me.

Mara barks a laugh as I push my aura, crippling his. I may not be able to speak in wolf form, but I sure as hell can intimidate. His beast takes a step back and then growls, snapping at me. I jump to my right and then in the air when he lunges. I land on his back and sink my teeth into him as I twist; getting my legs on the ground before tossing him away like the piece of trash he is.

Declan lets out a pained howl when he slams into a tree. His body is trembling as he gets to his feet. That’s right pretty boy, get up. I let out a low growl while Declan struggles to stay standing. He points a finger at me. “You’re mine Celina. I’m not going to stop. You belong to me.”

I roll my eyes and run at him, running in a zigzag so it’s harder to track. I take a final zig when he reaches to smack me; his claw just grazing my arm. I twist my head and bite into his torso, causing him to scream in agony when I hear another wolf approaching us. I throw Declan into the running wolf, knocking them both to the ground. Declan doesn’t get back up, and the small shaggy wolf under him is pinned underneath him. I give the terrified wolf a smirk as I turn around and go into the woods. Time to move on.

I pass several hiding she-wolves, and some males, while I make my way to a new location. Every single one of them gets low to the ground, afraid to approach my wolf. I will admit I wouldn’t want to be near me. My entire front half is covered in blood and it’s only highlighted in my white coat.

I go about two miles further into the trees when I meet my next foe. He’s teamed with three werewolves. That’s always a mistake. Once they get their prize in sight, they always turn on one another. I sit down and watch them snap at one another, trying to decide who gets to make the first attempt to claim me. They immediately start fighting. Tired of this, when the first goes down I grab the weakest one by the neck and swing him, knocking both of the males to the ground. I grab the closest to me and slam him down on his buddy, knocking them both down.

I lift my head, hearing the sound to signal that there is a half-hour left in the Claiming. I turn and walk away from the four damaged wolves. Mara and I are both on edge. Usually, there are more. We have been practicing hiding our scent, but not this well.

A hard yelp makes my ears perk up. It was not from someone being claimed. I start racing through the woods, heading straight for another pained cry. With my strength, I find the source in a matter of minutes. A black lycan is standing over a male wolf, stepping on his legs, making the wolf howl in pain. I growl, recognizing the hard scent of a rogue, and it’s coming from the lycan.

The lycan looks up and grins, smacking the wolf away like he weighs nothing. This so isn’t fair. I destroyed the only lycan to have entered this year. “I knew I’d find you this way.”

He’s hunting me? I hear a gong ringing out. Five minutes left until the end of the Claiming. This lycan is not part of the Claiming, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t going to go for my neck.

The lycan steps towards me, “I’d prefer if you didn’t make this harder than it has to be.” His voice is so disorienting that I have to shake my head. He launches at me at a speed faster than I anticipated. He snags my shoulder and slams me to the ground when I try to dodge him. I snap at his arm, locking on it. I yelp out and immediately let go, my mouth burning. Wolfsbane.

The lycan laughs as he puts more strength into it. Defiantly, I bite down hard on his arm again, feeling his bone snap in my jaws. I twist in a roll, dislocating his arm and exposing his neck, while the acid burns my skin and mouth. While he screams in agony, taken by surprise by my strength, I slash through his throat with my claw making him cry out in pain. He snaps at my neck, in one desperate final attack. Quickly, l let go of his arm and bite through his neck, giving a hard shake, causing a sickening snap of his breaking neck to sound.

I don’t understand what happened next. Someone slams into my back, knocking me hard into a fall, so I lose my footing and land on the lycan I still held in my mouth. There is an overwhelming sense of burning in my mouth while something hard clamps on my neck.

I scream out, just aware of how close that thing is to my neck. I’m rolled over to face a purely silver lycan. I groan internally, another rogue. I snap at him, though I can feel my body struggling. Damn Wolfsbane. I don’t know how much longer I can maintain this shift. The lycan lets out a victorious howl, lowering himself to mark his claim. When he opens his mouth he’s knocked over by a golden lycan.

“Mine,” the gold beast roars one second before biting into my neck, marking his claim on me. My wolf cries out while I lose my shift. “Mine,” the beast growls after he lets go. My vision fades out when the ending bell chimes out, with the golden lycan stalking toward the silver lycan.