Page 17 of Chased By My Grumpy Alpha
“How long do I have?” I ask.
“Don’t count on more than half an hour before they wake up and raise the alarm,” Daciana says. “Now, get on.”
She shifts into a large, brown wolf, and I realize she means to carry me to the woods. I don’t protest, even though it strikes me as odd; wolf shifters don’t ride on each other’s backs unless they are mates. Selene follows us in her wolf form; her brown fur has streaks of white in the tail.
We enter the Wyvern Woods and reach the markers at the edge of the territory. I quickly take a sip from the vial, and then Daciana shifts back as Selene’s wolf approaches. I climb onto her back, and she begins running down the mountain. The trees that grow here are thick, and once we are a good distance out, she stops.
This is where we have to part ways, I realize.
“Thank you,” I tell her when she shifts back, my voice thick with emotion. “Both of you. You’re risking everything for me.”
“You’re our friend,” Selene says simply. “Friends protect each other.”
Daciana didn’t follow us. I don’t know what their plan is, but I’m grateful to them. “You won’t get in trouble?”
“We know how to cover our tracks.” Selene cups my cheeks, tears in her eyes. “Be safe. Be happy. Forget this place ever existed.”
I try to memorize her face in the moonlight. I will never forget these two women—the only ones who ever showed me true kindness.
I hug Selene again, and then I slip into the forest with Luna in the basket and my bag on my back, leaving behind the only life I’ve ever known. Behind me, my friend melts back into the shadows, returning to her and Daciana’s dangerous game of pretending they had nothing to do with my escape.
The woods are full of night sounds: owls hooting, small creatures rustling through the underbrush, and somewhere in the distance, the howl of a creature that could be a wolf or perhaps something worse.
But for the first time in my life, the darkness doesn’t feel like the most dangerous thing around me. That honor belongs to the pack I’m leaving behind.
Chapter Four
Lucian
I stride through the palace hallway, my boots hitting the marble with more force than necessary. This whole cross-mating decree was a waste of time. My father should have just sent me to deal with the packs that have been siding with Draven.
It would have been wiser to make an example of one pack. The others would have fallen in line. However, King Alaric is a merciful king. At least, that’s how my father likes to portray himself. He’s a cunning man, shrewd to the bone, which is why he’s still ruling at the age he is.
The throne should have come to me two years ago, but he can’t seem to let go of the power.
“Prince Lucian!”
Seth Rowan, my childhood friend and one of my right-hand men, is hurrying toward me, his red hair in disarray. He’s hobbling, most likely due to the sparring session we had this morning where I nearly broke his leg. It’s his fault for being cocky. I refuse to feel guilty.
I slow down but don’t stop walking, and then I feel his hand slam onto my shoulder as he wheezes, “Are you deaf, Lucian? I’ve been calling your name!”
“I heard you. You should move faster.”
His eyes narrow. “I would if you didn’t practically dislocate my leg this morning. Healer Erin says it’s going to take two days to heal. Thanks for nothing.”
I come to a halt. “Suck it up. You have to train the recruits this evening.”
Seth is also the commander of one platoon of the army. As the crown prince of the Wolf Kingdom, I am commander-in-chief of the entire army; there are four platoons in total, and Seth and Leon, my other right hand man, oversee two of them.
“I don’t think the training session will be happening.”
The look on my longtime friend’s face has me frowning. “What do you mean?”
“Your father’s looking for you. And he’s not happy.”
I resist the urge to roll my eyes. My father is never happy with me. The two of us are always clashing. “Leon’s waiting for me in my office with some information. I’ll come after—”
“I wouldn’t put off the King. He’s pissed.”
