A pained look crossed his eyes, and when I thought he was sad enough not to talk about it, it disappeared. I thought I imagined it. Just how good was this guy at making faces? To be honest, he wore his emotions on his sleeves. "I may have been in a situation like that, but that's none of your business, right?"

I smirked. "Yes, as long as you give me what I want. What's your plan to give me what I want? I could kill you if you don't. After all, you just called me a princess. You know what I am capable of doing." I snapped my fingers, and my claws elongated. It was one of the tricks I had up my sleeves to show people I wasn't weak.


"I've been known to have a trick or two up my sleeve. How about today's evening? I promise to make you as free as a bird." He didn't seem one bit fazed by my act. If anything, he regarded me with his eyes like a cat without claws. They weren't degrading, but... yeah. I was a cute cat that amused him.

For a moment, I hesitated.

"Having doubts?"


I clicked the roof of my tongue in annoyance.

"I mean, I get that I am a stranger. Anyone who is a princess will feel this way. Not safe."


"You make me safe." I said it without thinking. I cleared my throat after a minute. I just needed to get a grip on myself because I was beginning to act pathetic. I gave him a stiff nod. There was nothing that would happen to me. Xoxo would be on the lookout, I was sure.

He was practically glowing. "So it's a yes?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Amos. Let's make it happen." Without waiting for his reply, I scurried back to my room, relieved. A close call indeed. After a few minutes of burying my red face into my pillow, I remembered that I did not ask him where we should meet. Could things have gone any better?

"Argghhh," I screamed into my pillow. Then I raised my head. "Did you see that, Xoxo? A nice man saved me today!"

Xoxo giggled, "Princess, you're always up to something. Maybe it's time for a new plan."

"No way! Today was different. I felt it in my fur."

"Do you really think so?" Xoxo doubted, but I wasn't listening. I had a feeling something special was happening. Oh no! My feet, yes, my feet! I jumped from my bed into the bathroom, hoping to wash and clean up before Daryl came in. It wasn't long after I had wiped my feet that she came knocking and entered, not waiting for my response. Her father had given her the authority to do so. No matter how I complained, he never let me be on my own. This morning's encounter with Amos Cod was a miracle. I looked forward to seeing him again.

I slumped on the bed, pretending to be asleep, slowly sighing when Daryl stood in front of me, wearing a stern expression, and maybe unaware of the narrow escape that had just occurred. She better be kept in the dark, or my father will hear about it. Daryl was my friend and maid, but the only downside was that she told my father things for my safety.

There were many things I considered our secret. I stopped telling her after a while of being betrayed. But it increased my level of monitoring and questioning. She wouldn't want to lose her job, would she?

"What were you doing, Princess?" She asked, not buying my act of sleeping by this time of the day. She was also scanning my disheveled appearance. I hoped she would give credit to the sleep that made me look like I was in a tornado. The realization of that made me bite the side of my cheek. It could mean one thing: I had conversed with Amos looking like this.

"Sleeping obviously, before you woke me up." I yawned for effect.

"You look like you have been awake for a long time, and an awake princess is not good." Daryl wasn't buying that either.

I gasped. "Do you wish for my death?"

Darryl shook her head with a smile. "You know what I mean. Did you go to the library again?"

I shook my head too. "Why would you ask that?"

"Because the library makes you forget yourself. There is a time for everything!" Daryl began, and I knew the talk was about to come. Yeah, her lecture talk. All my mind was on was how to get to the stranger again.

"Darryl, is my father planning something big?" I asked out of the blue, making her pause.

Her eyes narrowed on me in suspicion. "What do you mean?"

I shrugged, as if it were nothing when it was everything to me. "There could be a big party or something, new people... a certain prince or something?"

Darryl was quiet, observing me like a mother hawk. She was also allowed to do so. I expertly avoided her eyes. The walls seemed to be more intriguing than her dull, observant eyes. I felt self-conscious all of a sudden.

"Princess, we are at war. Your father has no time for that. If there is an event, you will be the first to know because you know who he is. He would parade you around like a trophy."

I sighed. She was right.

She paused. "He may be looking at new chamber boys or something."

My head turned in attention. Yes, go on.

"Boys who would help him out in a lot of things and also who can fight, but not now."

I wanted to ask her desperately what she was talking about. The war must have prompted my father to pick a person he could trust to take care of him. I swallowed, wondering if I should take my questions up a notch. "Which means there would be new faces in the pack house."

Darryl stretched out her hands, which I took. It was time for the activities of the day. I zoned out as she reminded me about my princess duties. She said I had to be an elegant wolf in an arranged marriage. I didn't like that, but Daryl warned about the dangers outside—a war that was like big flames. Scary!

I was tired of hiding, so while I bathed, I decided to tell her. There was so much more than being an elegant wolf. I knew that deep down.

"I want to be more than just a princess. I want to learn to fight and to be strong."

"You are strong, and we will fight." She mumbled, drying my body and taking me to the room to get dressed. After we were done, she guided me to the sparring room, where I had to learn how to fight like an elegant wolf. It was definitely not what I wanted. She shifted into her wolf, and we got into fighting.

It became boring quickly. Just as I was sweating and about to end it all, a guard walked in. He was among the special ones that went with my father to meetings. He claimed my father wanted me to help him with something since I was a good judge of character.

"Finally!" I sighed, removing my gear and telling him I would be with him in five minutes. Knowing how much my father despised lateness and dirt, I quickly took a shower and changed into the simple floral gown Daryl brought along. She brushed my hair up to a bun and left my front hair down on both sides. She curled it up to make me seem like a princess. I was glad she didn't add my crown. They were too much.

Part of me hoped he wasn't about to introduce a husband. I would fight tooth and nail if it wasn't Amos Cod. My father, Alpha Lucas, entrusted me with the task of selecting chamber boys for his upcoming war travels. It was a task that I considered very boring. Imagine picking out boys for my father's travel just because I was a good judge of character. But I preferred it because my father trusted me enough.

Oh.

It was better either way. I hurried down the stairs, ignoring Daryl's warning to be careful with the stairs so I wouldn't trip. Of course, I needed someone like Amos to hold me before I fell. Not long after, I found my father seated with his back turned to me and about five strangers eying me.
I was breathing hard from the run and had no idea I would be walking into a garden full of dazzling young men.

This was it! I knew my father was going to ask me to pick... My eyes suddenly met the gaze of familiarity—Amos, the stranger who interrupted my escape. He was the last person I expected to see among them. They were chamber boys, the closest to the Alpha, but still, the words 'chamber' and 'boy' were still there.

Right now, I should act like I haven't seen him before, but I could feel his eyes on me. They were twinkling with knowing mischief, like we shared a secret between us. I didn't even tell him to hide the fact that he saw me in my morning look. I almost tripped and fell to my death, caught trying to escape from nothing.

Embarrassment painted my cheeks, but beneath the blush, I was still curious as to what a handsome wolf like him could be doing under my father's command. He could be a guard or something else, definitely not a chamber boy. I hardened my face because my father would not appreciate my smile.

"Princess Ana, you are here." He greeted me as soon as he saw me. His eyes raked my clothes, and he gave a stern look to Daryl, who cowered in fear. "I will pardon this mistake today. Where is your crown?" Back to my clothes again.

I swallowed. "In my room. Father, why am I here exactly?"

"To help me. I need someone I can trust." He said, dismissing my unspoken protest. "Pick out my chamber, boy. It must be someone I can trust. He must put my life before his."

What? How would I know who was who? I eyed the five men who seemed enthralled—by what exactly? Who were these people claiming to give their lives for the Alpha? From the pack? They could be beta if they worked well too. This must be a test. There was no way my father would put strangers here and ask me to pick one without having assessed them himself.

I turned to them like a professional. "Tell me your names."

"Tyree."

"Sam.

"Amos."

I froze.

"…"

This was my chance. I should pick him for my father, but I could be playing into his plans. I shook those thoughts out of my head. "Tell me about your skills."

They all began to say amazing things, which even had my father nodding his approval. Tyree and Amos seemed to know what they wanted more of. Soon, it came down to the two of them. I decided to go straight for the bull's horn.

"Amos, tell me more than just your skills," I asked.

I caught the sign my father gave me. He wanted Tyres to be his chamber boy. Nope. He asked me to choose, and it's Amos. If he wanted Tyree, why didn't he just pick him out in the first place? Hm.

Amos wasted no time in answering with a smile and even cracking jokes that made Daryl forget where she was. But the Alpha didn't crack, and time flew. I got so used to listening to him speak that I forgot what I was here to do.

"Enough!" The Alpha thundered.

I held my breath.

Please, let it be Amos.