Ivory Snow

“Maria, come on! You know we aren’t supposed to be walking around the castle at night.” Ava scolded her younger sister with her usual impatience.

Maria rolled her eyes, her back to Ava as she rolled the dough out on the counter.

“If you are so worried about getting in trouble, then go to bed.”

Maria, who had only recently turned eighteen, had been helping their mother in the castle bakery since before she could reach the counters. Baking was her passion, something she did when she couldn’t sleep. That was how she processed things that were on her mind and worked out all of her stress.

Like her older sister being intolerable. A not so rare occurrence.

Maria had been doing this for years and had never seen another living soul in the kitchen that late at night. Which made it all the more perfect.

Out of the two pups their parents had, Ava was the oldest and the stubbornest. Maria was calmer and more patient.

Maria was satisfied with whatever life gave her, while Ava was always wanting more. Unlike the rest of her family, she wasn’t happy living a simple life.

Ava stomped her foot and gave Maria an irritated growl. “Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Ava spun away, letting her long black hair fly around her. “Simpleton.” She added in a low mumble.

Marie stilled her hands and closed her brown eyes, enjoying a small moment of silence. Just long enough to take a slow deep breath, letting the peace and tranquility of the kitchen soothe her wolf. She refused to let her poisonous sister taint her safe haven.

While the sisters were arguing in the kitchen, the young Prince Alexander snuck out of his suite of rooms on the other side of the castle. With his 21st birthday just a month away, his parents had begun to pressure him into choosing a mate. Alex had spent the last year traveling the kingdom, even kingdoms of their allies. All in search of his one true mate.

Sadly, he had yet to find her.

At dinner, his father gave him until the next morning to make his decision. Tradition called for him to take over the throne when he turned 21. In order to do that though, he needed a mate.

For the last few hours, he had been trying, and failing to sleep. Neither his mind, nor his wolf, would let him. Both were restless tonight.

None of the females he had met over the last year, or before, had captured his or his wolf’s eye. Sure, they were nice to look at. But that was the only good thing he could say about them. Alex never considered himself to be a picky person, but this was an important decision.

It would affect not only him, but also his kingdom.

He roamed the castle, with no clear destination in line, contemplating going to the royal gardens to let his wolf run free for a time. Maybe that would help.

He had barely hit the main floor when someone spotted him.

“Your highness!”

Alex inwardly groaned. He knew that voice. He kept walking, acting as though he had not heard her.

“Your highness!” The call was followed by the hurried footsteps of the baker’s eldest daughter.

Alex knew better, this female was persistent.

With a muted, yet exaggerated sigh, he slowed his footsteps, allowing her to catch up. As she grew closer, he turned to greet her politely. His mother would be upset with him if he were to be offensive to one of their subjects and pack members.

“Good evening, Ava. How are you this evening?” Alex kept his hands gripped behind his back.

She’d been known to take any opening to hold his hand. Something she had been doing for... ever, actually.

Ava stepped in front of the handsome Prince, grinning ear to ear, feeling as though a pile of gold had just fallen into her lap. She looked down, tucking an invisible hair behind her ear.

The shy act was old, and completely fake.

Ava was like all the others. She only wanted Alex because of his station. He knew this, she knew this, everyone knew this. And yet, she still acted like it wasn’t true.

“I’m doing well, your highness. How are you this evening?”

Alex swallowed back the groan, tired of the innocent flower act.

“I’m well, thank you.” He bowed his head slightly. “Have a good night, Ava.”

Alex made the two steps to go around her, avoiding eye contact. He did not want to give her any ideas. He may only have a few hours left to pick a mate, but she was not going to be it. His choice had nothing to do with her station either. That didn’t matter. It was her personality that was lacking.

Even though Ava did not say anything else to him, he could still feel her eyes watching him, hungrily monitoring his every step. The kitchen was coming up. Surely, he could escape her there. Everyone knew how much she hated being in there.

A late-night snack didn’t sound half bad either.

A smile came to Alex’s lips as he thought about the apple pie from dinner. He would have to see if there was any left. Nobody beat the royal baker and her family. That was sure to settle his mind. And his stomach. His wolf grumbled in his mind. Making Alex chuckle. Maybe some leftover chicken would be good as well.

Ignoring the light footsteps following from not far behind him, Prince Alexander pushed the door open to the kitchen. He hadn’t actually been down there in years, maybe ever. His father frowned upon the idea of him going into servant territory, as the King saw it anyway.

The King once told him that letting the servants be the alpha of those small territories was a kindness. Every wolf needed to feel ownership of something. To feel in control of their own lives. He declared that this kindness was why they excelled in their duty.

Alex didn’t know many of the kitchen staff, outside of Ava. She was a different story though. She wanted everyone to know her, she felt it was deserved because of her looks.

As the door swung open, the young Prince was hit with a scent that was so enticing that it made him forget all about the pie and his woes. Even his wolf was preening in his chest, forgetting about the chicken.

Maria sighed disappointedly when she heard the door open again. She should have known her sister would not give up so easily. Ava wouldn’t give up until Maria was back in their shared room.

Maria finished rolling the dough into small balls and laid a cloth over the top of them. If she left them there to rise, they would have fresh rolls for breakfast. They would blend splendidly with the fresh raspberry jam she and her mother made the week before.

After she laid the cloth on top of her master pieces, Maria took a deep satisfying breath. But it wasn’t the smell of dough that caused her lips to curve and her eyes to close. There was a new scent in the air. And it most certainly was not her sister.

Alex walked up slowly, not wanting to disturb the serenity of the female as she finished her task.

Who was she? Was she new to the castle? She had to be.

Surely, he would have smelled this intoxicating scent around the halls had she lived there longer.

At her soft exhale, he couldn’t hold back anymore. He slid his arms around her waist and left a gentle kiss on her neck.

Maria did not react the way she would have normally, if a strange male had been so forward. There was something about his touch and his scent that immediately calmed her wolf and put her at ease. More so then all the nights she had spent baking in the kitchen.

“Who is this beautiful female in my kitchen, so late at night?” Alex whispered softly in her ear.

Maria giggled, relaxing into his arms. “Your kitchen? And here I was under the impression that it was mine. I live here more than my own apartments after all.”

The male behind her chuckled, sending vibrations throughout her whole body. She slowly turned around, needing to look into the eyes of this male she had not yet met.

Was he a new guard to the castle?

She gasped as her eyes fell onto the prince. Maria automatically tried to step away, her eyes lowering to the ground in fealty.

Alex wasn’t having any of that. In fact, he was sure it was him that needed to bow to her. He tightened his grip on her waist, not allowing her to move. Both he and his wolf were in pain with just the idea of it.

“I’m sorry, your highness. It is your kitchen. I should not have been in here at this late hour.” Maria felt ashamed and embarrassed with her actions.

Alex pressed under her chin with his finger and lifted it up. “It is more yours than mine, my love.”

Maria blushed and reflexively tried to look down again. He refused to let her face move even an inch away from his.

A crease formed between Alex’s eyebrows. “How long have you worked here? I don’t recall ever seeing you around the castle before.”

Pride swelled in Maria’s chest as she prepared to tell him who she was. She knew very well how much he enjoyed the treats she made. It was something her parents often bragged to others about.

“I was raised in the castle, my Prince. I am Maria. My mother is the royal baker. I have been working with her for many years. As for why you haven’t seen me, well, I rarely stray into the castle halls. I have never had a need.”

There was a twinkle in Alex’s eyes as things began to slide into place. “You make the pies.”

Maria blushed again and bit her lip. “Yes, my Prince. I make many of the treats you like.”

Alex hummed in the back of his throat, wondering if she tasted as sweet as her treats. She certainly smelled better than them.

Maria noticed his eyes on her lips, which made her lick them. She giggled again when she heard the deep growl that had to be his wolf. Alex loved the sound of her laugh. He tightened his embrace of her as he lowered his nose to her neck, letting his wolf inhale as much of her cinnamon scent as he could.

“Mine.” Alex’s wolf pushed forward and growled deeply into her neck.

Maria’s heart skipped a beat, both in excitement and in shock. When she daydreamed about finding her mate, she always assumed it would be someone in the village, or one of the guards. Never had she ever dared to dream about mating with the Prince. Not that she would be complaining either.

Within that next beat, his lips softly found hers.

Ava watched from the doorway as the Prince chose her own sister to be his mate. Both were so caught up in each other, not one of them noticed the seething female standing only a few feet away.

Over the next few weeks, she refused to speak to anyone at all. She was too busy fuming over it. No one was prettier than her. She was as well known for her beauty as Maria was for her baking.

For years, Ava had been trying to get the Prince’s attention. With the pressure his parents were putting on him, she thought for sure that he would want to at least pick someone familiar, someone the household and the pack were already familiar with.

In a way, she had been right.

She never would have believed it if she hadn’t seen it for herself.

This wasn’t the end though. She would get what rightfully belonged to her, one way or the other.

Ava played her part well, as the dutiful older sister to the Queen. Just thinking the word made her want to sneer. Maria always got the best of everything.

Soon, more logs were thrown into the fire of her anger. People began discussing the beauty of their new Queen more than they did her own.

A year after the coronation, came the next announcement. Maria was pregnant with their first pup.

To welcome the birth of the new Princess, the royal family held a large celebration. Family members from all over the kingdom came to give their blessings.

One in particular took quite the fancy to Ava, as was her right.

Most males had difficulty keeping their eyes off her. This one was a Count, the King’s cousin in fact. She had already tried her luck with the King’s younger brother, Duke Andrew. Unfortunately, he had met his mate before Alexander met Maria.

The good Count had already found his mate as well. But both she and the unborn pup she carried did not survive the birthing process.

The Count was taken enough by Ava’s beauty that he spent his week at the castle wooing her and trying to convince her to be his chosen mate.

She let him think he was working for it. The attention helped to soothe her and her wolf. As long as she didn’t try to see if Alex was watching, regretting his decision, that is.

Moving away from the castle was almost a relief to Ava. She no longer had to watch her sister enjoy what should have been hers.

With the new distance between them, Ava could more thoroughly plan out her revenge. Her plan to take what should have always been hers.