Chapter 3: A Royal Princess
*Ariella*
“You leave me no choice. As Alpha, I declare that you shall be executed for treason against the pack.”
Marcus’s order to kill me echoes in my head, followed by the pounding feet of warriors chasing me. My throat is tight, strangling on a scream that I want to let out but can’t as I feel Marcus’s claws reaching out to slash across my back.
I jolt awake, my heart pounding. The warmth of the room and the soft scent of lilac that fills the air calms and comforts me.
Where am I?
The last thing I remember is collapsing in the woods after fleeing from Midnight Moon’s warriors.
Unfamiliar voices filter in from through the doorway. A man and a woman speak in gentle tones.
“The scars will fade in time, but her inner wounds run deeper,” the woman says gravely.
“What about her powers? Can you sense them?” the man asks.
Are they talking about me?
“Her wolf and her powers are dormant. I can only imagine the trauma she must have been through these last five years. Maybe with time and healing, they will emerge again.”
“Thank you, Talia.”
“You’re welcome, Your Highness. I’ll come back and check on the princess tomorrow.”
Soft footsteps move away and then the doorknob turns, and a man with the commanding presence of a royal Alpha enters.
I feel weak and groggy but still force myself to sit up.
“Take it easy, Ariella,” he says softly. I recognize that he was the one talking to that Talia woman. My eyes take him in, and a curious sense of familiarity hits me.
He stares at me for a moment and asks, “Do you remember me?”
I shake my head slowly, but something tugs on the void in my memory as I see that the color of his eyes and hair match my own.
He sighs, “My name is Eli.”
Before I can ask any questions, the door opens again, and someone else walks in. My eyes flitter between the two extremely handsome but almost identical men, confused.
“Hey, you!” The newcomer speaks as if he’s known me forever. His joyful grin is contagious.
“Ah, hi. I—” I start to greet him, but my words are interrupted by the third man entering. He also looks exactly like Eli, only he’s a bit larger than the other two.
Even though the room is quite large, with the three of them hovering over my bed, I am a little overwhelmed.
Eli notices my slight uneasiness and quickly introduces them. He points to the second man and then the third. “Ariella, this is Rafe and that’s Shawn.”
Although they are three strong, seemingly dominating he-wolves who can easily snap my neck with one hand, my instinct tells me that there is nothing to be afraid of because the worry in their eyes is genuine.
Whoever they are, they have saved me and have been polite and friendly. Right now, it is obvious that they were waiting for me to say something.
Meeting their gazes, I blurt out the only thing that comes to my mind. “Um, I’ll be honest. Please don’t be upset if I mix up your names. You all look alike. Eli, Shawn, and…?”
This is probably not what they expect my first sentence would be, and it’s quiet in the room for a moment.
Yikes. I want to bite my tongue–I should’ve thanked them first, right?
“Ha, ha, ha!” The second man bursts into laughter. As awkward as it is, I let out a breath of relief and relax a bit. “Don’t worry! I’ll teach you some tricks to tell us apart. I’m Rafe, the best-looking one, so remember that. We’re triplets, and we’re your brothers.”
I feel myself blinking at him in disbelief. “Brothers?”
“Indeed.” Rafe grins and his perfectly white teeth show. He points to himself. “Have you not seen the resemblance between you and us?”
Yes, I have, but I don’t have any memories of them at all.
“You have been through a terrible ordeal,” the largest of them, Shawn, I believe, says. “It’s natural that your mind needs time to heal. Listen, you are Princess Ariella Loveta, the only daughter born of the Alpha King Cyrus and Luna Queen Eleanor.”
My jaw drops. How is it possible?
“You are home in the palace,” Eli adds, “back where you belong with the Crystal River Royal pack, after far too long.”
“There must be some mistake,” I tell them firmly. “I was found five years ago wandering the woods starving nearly to death. I am certainly no princess, just a regular woman… or I was, until….”
Marcus comes to mind as I trail off. Thinking of him cuts like a knife.
“Until?” Shawn asks, but I can’t bring myself to even begin to tell them the horrible truth, so I shake my head.
“It’s alright, Ariella,” Eli says understandably. “Whatever happened before, you are safe here with us now.”
Shawn nods. “We’re here for you. You can trust us. Anything you need, you just need to say it.”
“Thank you.” I manage to give Shawn a grateful smile. I think of something. “If what you said is true, can you tell me what happened to me? How did I get so lost?”
Shawn and Eli exchange a look, and Eli nods. Shawn looks at me tenderly. “Ariella, we lost you and our parents five years ago in an accident. We thought you had died. We’ve been looking for you ever since. Thank the Goddess that we made it just in time to bring you back.”
I gasp. “I can’t remember any of that.”
“The healer said it may take some time for you to recover your memories,” Eli assures me.
I stare at them, trying to process all the new information. Eli moves to sit next to me and gently grabs my hand. His gaze is caring and warm.
“Don’t you worry. You’re home now, and everything is going to be fine. We won’t let anything bad happen to you again.”
Shawn and Rafe both nod in agreement.
Even though we’ve only spent a few minutes together, I already know what they say is true. Perhaps the bond between us has always existed, in our blood, regardless of whether I remember it or not. And it feels so good to have a family.
To be loved and cared for.
Tears well up once more, yet this time, they are not born of pain.
Rafe speaks hastily, “Hey, Ari, don’t cry. Did we say anything wrong?
I let out a brief chuckle while wiping off my eyes. “It was happy tears. Don’t worry.”
He releases an exaggerated sigh. “Phew, you scared me!”
I inhale deeply and tentatively turn to Shawn, asking, “I genuinely want to do something to repay all of your kindness. Is there any task I can undertake here?”
Eli turns me down. “No, you don’t need to do anything. The only thing you should do is rest.”
“Let me help, please, so that I feel I’m useful. If I’m truly a princess, there must be responsibilities I should take on. I would like to try, please?”
Eli doesn’t say anything right away and looks at Shawn, who thinks for a moment and suggests, “If Ari really wants to do something, we should let her. Perhaps it’ll help bring back some of her memories too. You know how much I hate sitting around doing nothing. I don’t think it’s fair to ask that of Ari either.”
Rafe also jumps in. “I agree! Don’t we have the big party coming? Ari will need to be prepped for that anyway.”
Eli glances over the three of us and finally gives in. “All right. In that case, get some rest today and tomorrow, you can help with the party.”
“I can’t wait!” I grin cheerfully.
***
“The gathering of the Crystal River and the Everstone kingdoms happens every five years,” Rafe explains after taking a sip of coffee. “How are the pancakes, by the way?”
“The best I’ve ever had!” I answer honestly.
This is the first real meal since I arrived at the palace. Palace healer Talia had insisted that I eat only a small amount of plain bread and fresh vegetables for a couple of days, saying it’s best to have small, light meals after I just wake up.
“Great.” Rafe continues to provide information on the gathering. “There would be representation from both royal packs, along with Alphas and Lunas from our country.”
“We will formally present you as the lost princess returned!” Shawn explains.
The idea of being the center of such attention makes me feel anxious and queasy. Will anyone there recognize me as the former Midnight Moon pack Luna?
“But—”
“No buts. It’s been decided. You may feel a little uncomfortable being the center of attention, but you’ll get used to it. You have to. Now–” Rafe pulls out a stack of paper. “I always get stuck with organizing the guest list. You offered to help, so you can assist me this year. Also, here are the names to memorize. As the princess, you may end up speaking with some of the guests.”
“Okay….”
I take the paper and start looking over the list.
Suddenly, the blood in my veins turned to ice. My fingers tremble and I almost drop the paper.
My gaze fixes at the middle of the page.
Alpha Marcus Keenan and his Luna Lilith of the Midnight Moon pack.