FIVE HUNDRED YEARS AGO
“Welcome, Princess. May I take your cloak?”
Rose smiled at the maid and handed over her cloak. “Yes please. Thank you.”
“Rosy!” Her sister’s voice rang through the house. Soon, Rose was blessed with the sight of her younger sister as she hurried towards hertoo fast for a female who looked like she was going to break her water anytime, she feared.
She hurried forward and met her sister halfway down the hallway. Their hands met in a squeeze before she leaned forward to kiss her cheeks. “Should you be on your feet at all, Penelope?”
Penelope made a show of looking around, and then leaned in to whisper, “Not too loud, or Darius will appear out of nowhere and force me to go back to bed. Again. I’ve been lying around all day!”
Darius was her sister’s mate. The two had mated a year ago, much to their parents’ displeasure.
As werewolf royalty, the two princesses were expected to end up in high profile, arranged marriages that empowered the royal family.
So when the younger princess eloped with the son of a former aristocratic family that had been stripped of its status after a failed attempt to usurp the throne two generations ago, it hadn’t sat well with the royal family.
The only reason Darius was still alive, Rose believed, was because Penelope had not been the Luna Princess. She also happened to have been their father’s favourite. Which meant while she broke his heart thoroughly, he couldn’t bear to punish her outside striking her name from the family register.
If Rose tried something like that, she would never get away with it. She washad beenthe Luna princess, and was doomed to her fate.
Soon after her sister eloped with Darius, their father expedited her bonding to Marcus, one of the most powerful Alphas in the Kingdom. One of the most ruthless, fear-inducing, merciless werewolves she had ever met.
She was no longer the Luna Princess of the ruling family, meant to become ruler after her parents. She was now the Luna of Marcus, Alpha of Blood Moon. Her younger brother was now the Alpha Prince, and he’d inherit the throne that had been her birthright.
She had spent her entire life preparing to be the best werewolf queen she could be. Now, she was reduced to the Luna of a cold monster.
Her father had refused to answer when she demanded why he had suddenly stripped her of her birthright. It was as if he was punishing her for Penelope’s disobedience.
Nonetheless, she never harboured any ill feelings towards her sister. She was happy for her. She and Darius were fated to each other, and better than that, they were madly in love.
Penelope was so happy. Rose could never begrudge her that.
If only she too could have the same guts to disobey their father. But he had ensured she would never have that chance. The moment her fated one appeared, he had him killed. The same fate met Marcus’s fated one. There was no fairytale awaiting her on the other side of destiny.
Penelope ushered her to a drawing room, where the maid served them tea soon after.
Rose was visiting because Penelope was due soon. She planned on staying for a few weeks after the baby came. Really, for as long as she could stay. She was not in a hurry to get back to Blood Moon. Never was.
Unfortunately, she rarely got the opportunity to get away from her new pack. This time, she had a good excuse, and she was going to use it for as long as she could.
“He is treating you well, yes?” she asked, referring to Darius. She didn’t doubt his devotion to her sister, but she had to ask.
Penelope’s face lit up. “He is wonderful to me. He is a good man, no matter what people say about him.”
Rose reached over and touched her sister’s hand. “I know.”
Growing up, Rose had always been protective over her younger sister. It wasn’t until Penelope defied everyone for Darius that she realised her little sister was braver than she had imagined.
Mating with Darius not only got her disowned by her family, but also shunned by society. None of that weakened her resolve to be with her fated one.
They talked for hours until it was evening and Darius came back. The three had supper together, and then the couple was off to bed.
Rose was assigned a guest room on the first floor, overlooking the backyard. The house was high on a mountain, and surrounding it was the territory belonging to Mountain Blacks, Darius’s pack. The pack had lost a huge chunk of their land after their Alpha’s failed attempt to take the throne over a century ago.
After staring at the moonlit scenery for quite a while through the window in her room, she decided to take a closer look. She could even go for a run.
Throwing her cloak over her gown, she left her room and took the stairs. She slipped out through the backdoor and came to a garden alive with vegetables and fruit trees. She admired the small farm as she went towards the treeline.
She was walking by the barn at the edge of the compound when a sound from inside drew her attention. She went still and listened. The sound came again. It was a cry of pain.
Instantly, she turned towards the barn, keeping her footfalls light as she approached the door.
A streak of lamp light shone through a gap in the door, and she stepped forward to peer through it. A feminine gasp filled the air just as she did, and she almost jumped forward, ready to rescue the damsel in distress.
But then her eyes fell on the source of the sounds.
Her hand flew to her mouth before her gasp could fly free. Across the room was a man and woman in the throes of passion. That sound she had heard came again. It wasn’t one of painit was pure pleasure.
The woman’s fingers splayed across the man’s bare back as he mounted her, his hips moving between her legs. He was so muscular, and tall. With every thrust into the female’s body, his ass tightened, his back muscles bunched, and his head fell backwards.
Rose jolted when the woman’s voice came again, asking her lover to take her faster.
So it was clear the woman was not under attack. Still, her feet remained rooted to the ground, her eyes on the coupling happening inside the barn.
The sheer magnificence of the male’s body as he moved between his lover’s body captivated her. She wondered how it would feel like to be the one on the receiving end of that power, that body. How it would feel like to have such a male inside her.
Her core clenched, and her face flamed with a mixture of shame and arousal. The tingle that she now felt between her legs was so rare that she was not willing to let it go just yet.
The man moved faster, and the woman cried out louder, and then, with a growl, he gave a powerful thrust and went still. His growl reverberated through the barn, sending shivers down Rose’s spine. She was so enthralled that she didn’t catch herself before her wondrous gasp left her mouth.
The male’s head spun, and dark eyes met hers through the small gap in the door.
For a moment, she froze. Then her senses rushed back to her and she turned and fled on shaky legs.