The Alpha Prince And His Bride
Episode 2

The shocked gasp I suddenly heard forced me to break away from Ariana. My wolf demands that I do.

And that’s when I saw her.

She hurdled into a corner, clutching her wedding dress tightly as if it were the only thing keeping her from running.

My bride.

Her beauty in person was nothing compared to the picture of her I had seen just yesterday; as much as I hated to admit it, she was the most beautiful woman I had ever laid my eyes on; never had I seen someone look at me with such innocence and purity and it freaking undid me in a way impossible to explain.

But it was not her beauty or innocence that made my gut twist; the hurt and shock in her eyes. the protective instincts within me suddenly overpowered every other emotion raging through my body right now; the need to take away her pain was almost unbearable.

My wolf was raging inside me, and it took all of my self-control not to let him loose. I’d never felt him fight to be free this much before; his behavior confused me.

“This is the hideous woman you’re supposed to marry?” Ariana asked, breaking the silence and bringing me back to reality.

Princess Lucy’s gaze went over to Ariana, and not a single word came out of her mouth. However, Her beautiful lips parted, making me want to k**s it gently.

“Damn, babe, I think your future wife is mute.” Ariana continued with her insults.

Her gaze returned to me again; the confusion there was suddenly replaced with fear. Was she scared of me? The thought of that made me sick to my stomach. Before anyone could say anything else, she spun and ran off.

I paced again, fighting to control my raging wolf who wanted to run after my bride. the solid and unknown feelings caused me to hate the princess more than I already did. I didn’t know anything about her, and already, she had my emotions all over the place.

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LUCY’S POV:

I ran and ran and ran.

Not for the reason you may think, I was accustomed to being treated the way that woman spoke to me; what scared me was my immediate reaction to the Prince. Something within me was pulling me towards him, and whether or not you chose to believe me, I could have sworn a voice within me said ‘mate.’

I can’t believe it; I was already going insane on my first day at this place.

Hearing voices, feeling an immediate pull to someone I didn’t know, feeling jealousy …what was happening to me?

My heart was racing, and the stabbing pain of betrayal was eating at me raw; seeing the Prince wrapped his arms around another woman was enough to make me puke.

I fell back against the wall, trying to keep myself together. come on, Lucy, be strong; you don’t even know the Prince, so what if his arms wrapped around someone who wasn’t you…you shouldn’t care.

I considered asking my family to cancel the wedding but knew that would end up in a huge uproar, with me collecting a slap to my face, most likely from the queen.

Whether I liked it or not, I was stuck in this situation with Prince Austin.

…………………………………

My eyes scanned my surroundings nervously; I didn’t know anyone in the room besides my family. To the front of me, King Jeremy and his wife stood with welcoming smiles, along with another person I assumed had to be the Prince’s sister.

And, of course, none other than Prince Austin was suitable beside me, but I dared not raise my eyes to look at him after my earlier reaction to him. His gaze was burning into my body, however, and against my better judgment, my traitorous body responded desperately.

Traitor.

“There is no need for a full-on introduction; let’s just get the wedding over with.”The queen announced.

Wow, so happy to get rid of me, I see.

I saw King Jeremy give his wife a quick, confused glance before responding.”If that’s what you wish, let’s start the ceremony.”

The marriage officer motioned for Austin and me to stand facing each other, and the rings were brought forward; the vows were quickly spoken between us, almost rushed.

“Please accept this ring as a token of our marriage and a symbol of all we share.”

Austin reached for my hand, and the moment we touched, my body jerked alive, a small gasp escaping my mouth at the shock of the feelings stirring inside me.

What on earth was that?

My eyes snapped up to Austin, and our gazes locked; he seemed to be at war with himself as he quickly placed the ring on my finger and let go of my hands as though they had burnt him.

Thankfully, the officer finished the vows without a mention of kissing the bride…I mean, even if he did, there would be none of that since Austin stormed off as soon as he declared us husband and wife.

My family, of course, found his actions hilarious since any embarrassment on my part was like diamonds served on a tray to them.

On the other hand, Austin’s family seemed upset at his behavior and tried to reassure me that everything was okay. I didn’t know how to react to their hospitality since all I’ve ever known was hate from everyone around me.

“Well, I guess this is it; goodbye, Lucy.”The king spoke up, the queen and my step-sister repeating his words.

“Don’t you want to stay longer until she gets more comfortable?”King Jeremy inquired.

“That won’t be necessary.”The queen cut in.”We have more important matters to see about.”

My heart ached at their immediate dismissal of me; how could they let me go so quickly after years of having me by their side without a proper goodbye? They, indeed were cold, heartless beings.

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“So this is Austin’s room and where you will stay.”Princess Maya, Austin’s sister, pointed out to me. I dragged my gaze from the beautiful princess to evaluate my surroundings.

His room screamed masculinity, not a pinch of a woman’s taste. Nevertheless it was a beautifully crafted room with paintings on the wall and a huge bed in the middle. The massive stereo system next to the television caught my eye since I was never allowed the luxury of having one of those in my last home.

Maya suddenly cleared her throat.”Am, about Austin’s behavior earlier today, please don’t take it too personally; this whole marriage came as a shock to him, and I believe he just needs a little time before he adjusts to married life. I hope you can give him that time .”She pleaded.

I brought my gaze back to her and gave her a slight nod.

She suddenly cracked a huge smile.”I’ve always wanted a sister; I’m happy I won’t be the only girl around here from now on. I know we will get along just fine, and I want you to know that you can always come to me if you need someone to talk to.”

“Thank you for being so nice to me,”I replied honestly. It felt nice to meet people who were nice to me for once; I just wish it were under different circumstances.

After a few hours of the princess giving me a tour of the entire palace, she finally left me alone in the room so I could get settled in by myself; I fell back against the bed, my senses suddenly on overdrive as I took in what was most definitely Austin’s sexy masculine scent, it was all over the bed, I turned and as if I had no control over my body whatsoever, took a sniff at the sheets, inhaling deeply.

And, of course, that is precisely when Austin chose to come storming into the room; he paused as soon as he caught me in the act, his eyes zeroing in on my hands tugging at the sheets, his eyes flashed with something I couldn’t read before he slowly shut the door behind him.

His entire movement screamed menace as he walked over to the bed.

Oh no.

What was he going to do?