The Alpha Princess

Celina

I wake up slowly. My body feels bruised and battered as if I had just gone through a week-long battle. I’m sleeping out on the balcony with my sheet still wrapped around me. I’m sitting in a chair so maybe it was just a dream.

“Bitch, you wish,” Mara chuckles to me; looking very different from her traditional wolfy self.

I groan and look at my normal-looking hands. “You could have at least done it alone,” I tell her while I stumble to my feet.

“It wasn’t my call, and you’re lucky I covered you up instead of leaving you in the nude.” She starts licking her paw and admiring her new nails.

I try shifting my claw and wince at the electrical pain. I drop to my knees as I cradle my abused arm into my chest. “Great, I still can’t shift.” Looks like I get to go through that hellish pain again. If she got to drag me into it, I’m making damn sure she’s joining me for my turn.

“You better get inside before the guards make their rounds. I doubt you want any of them seeing you in the buff.”

“When I figure out how to walk, I will,” I say when I try to get to my feet. “You just had to shift last night. How am I going to fight today?” I grit my teeth and manage to get to my feet. I scream internally and take a step with bone-shattering pain. Maybe I can push the coronation off until I can walk into the bedroom. That should take two weeks at least.

“Rajin is waking Chris,” Mara tells me with very little interest in her voice.

“He couldn’t do that earlier?” I demand and take another step.

“He just woke up. Your prince isn’t the only one that got their ass kicked by that smoke.” She playfully nudges me while painfully taking another step.

“Celina,” Chris yells while he opens the balcony doors. “Are you okay?”

I give him a dirty look. “Mara shifted last night. What do you think?”

“Wait, he did what,” he demands and comes running over to me. “Did you sleep out here?”

Man, he’s slow in the morning. Okay, just because my body feels like I’ve been put through a blender doesn’t mean I get to be a bitch. I just need to save all my hostility for Damian today.

“I passed out sometime after Mara’s shift.”

“Mara’s shift?” Chris asks, scooping me up and holding me in his arms. “Why would you pass out?”

“Because my body shifted with hers,” I grimace and rest my head against his chest. “I blacked out after she took control. Does your spine break like that every time?” If so, I’m never shifting again.

“Okay, you’re getting a hot bath,” he tells me, making a beeline straight to the bathroom. “You shifted too?”

“Right when she did, but I can’t shift still. I tried.” I grimace and hold up my hand to show him. “It still really hurts to try. Is that normal? Ruben told me my wolf shifts then my body slowly makes the change so I can. ”

“No,” Chris tells me; sounding worried. Gently, he places me in the white bathtub. “It’s not supposed to happen like that. It’s even more disturbing you can’t shift after your body already did.”

“Maybe it’s just exhausted,” I tell him while he tucks my bathtub pillow under my neck. I turn my face into his arm and nuzzle it a little while my eyes close. I know I am. “What time is it?”

“Four in the morning.” He takes a heavy sigh. “Move over. The last thing I need is for you to drown.” He starts filling the tub at that point; putting in salts, and oils, and finishing it off with a very pink bubble bath. He strips off his clothes and slides in behind me, allowing me to use him as a pillow so I can rest my eyes.

He starts scratching the back of my head, making me feel instantly relaxed. “Cel,” he begins before hesitating.

“Hmmm?” I ask him, already half asleep from his magical fingers and the warm water.

“You and Mara shifted together, correct?”

“We started at the same time, but it wasn’t always the same body part that was shifting.” Lucky bitch didn’t have her spine break like mine. Maybe because she got time to ease into it. My body felt like it was forced into it. Even when I shifted into my wolf for the first time, it was much more natural to me and not nearly as painful.

“So you shifted at the same time, just not together,” Chris summarizes out loud in a voice that can only be described as “thinking out loud.”

I give a pathetic shrug, “I guess. Either way, the only way I can describe what it felt like, was demonic torture. Nothing about it was easy, especially my face and spine.”

“Spine?” Chris asks; sounding a bit alarmed.

“My lower back was the worst, but the whole thing went. No wait, the face was worse.” I shudder when I recall that moment.

“Cel, let’s keep this just between us,” Chris tells me, kissing the top of my head. “No one needs to know that you shifted. Not until you’ve fully recovered.”

“Agreed,” I murmur; nearly asleep. I may have shifted, but I’m counting it as Mara’s shift. I mean, I’ve never turned from a wolf to a lycan before, but at some point she needed to shift our body, right?

“Rajin says Mara looks beautiful by the way,” he tells me in a whisper; now stroking my hair. “And you’re absolutely glowing. Now get some rest. You have a big day today.”

I nod and listen to Chris’s steady heart to lull me to sleep. Finally, Mara is settled and basking in Rajin’s attention. My soar muscles are finally relaxing. I know I should stay awake, but there is no way on this earth that I can manage that. Hopefully, I can think more clearly when I wake up.

My body isn’t nearly in as much pain when I wake up. There is still plenty of pain, but my bones no longer feel shattered. Now that I think about it, my body was probably figuring out bone placement earlier and hadn’t fully healed. Mara is now asleep, so I’m guessing she had just finished the shift and held on to keep an eye on me.

I sit up in our bed, realizing I’m wearing Chris’s shirt while I look around the room for him. After glancing at the clock on my nightstand, I find it’s ten minutes after two. How in the world was I allowed to sleep this late? That might explain where Chris is. He’s probably covering for me. That is likely why my phone is missing as well.

Slowly, I get to my feet. Finding I’m pain-free, I decide to start getting ready. The actual coronation starts at five. The actual ceremony takes place at four and is closed to the public due to recent events. I’m okay with that, considering it’s one less chance for my body to be brutally assaulted. I wasn’t planning on Mara shifting last night, so I’m going to have to hang back. Maybe I’ll get lucky and Damian won’t show. Yeah, I don’t have that good of luck.

After washing my hair, I dry it and create fresh curls with it. I twist my hair and pin it over my shoulder; allowing me to keep my hair down, but I still can show at least one of Chris’s marks. Once my hair is finally styled the way I like, I do my makeup light and natural. I put on a light amount of highlighter because I know pictures are going to be taken.

When I’m content with my make-up, I go and find my gown in the closet. It’s tradition to match your beast, so I’m wearing a white gown. To commemorate Chris and Mara, I have golden and bronzed leaves stitched into the fabric. Slowly, I step into the dress and carefully zip it up. It has a sweetheart neckline that has a laced backless top. The skirt flows straight down to the ground but looks so delicate and weightless that it moves even in the slightest breeze. After adjusting the detailed sleeves, I put on a pair of gold four-inch stiletto heels.

With Mara still asleep, I check myself over to see any sign of last night. The only thing I can find is the absence of the scars Danny was so kind to give me the day we met. I doubt anyone would notice. My muscles are slightly thicker, but, again, I doubt it’s noticeable to anyone but me.

With ten minutes to spare, I start heading toward the grand throne room. Everyone is bustling past me in the halls; trying to get everything ready for tonight. The closer I get to the throne room, the fewer people I find. I wouldn’t be surprised if I found the entrance to be empty. No one will want to be near when Damian shows up. Also, the press is just outside. After the last few weeks we’ve had, we’re a little tired of them.

“What aren’t you telling me,” I hear Ruben yell from the throne room. “Where is Celina?”

“I’m going to go get her,” Chris responds in an eerily calm voice. I know that voice, he’s close to snapping.

“Chris, what is it?”

He hesitates before speaking to him. “Can I speak with you in the hall?”

I take a step from the door to use the wall to shield me, and start pretending to be fixing my hair. The doors open and Chris immediately stiffens. He glances behind the door to see me. I feel my breath catch in my throat when I look at him. He’s utterly stunning in his tux and looks so regal that my jaw opens slightly. Before he notices, I close it. I can’t believe this man is mine. He has white stars pinned on his collar, next to his duel marks, to attract the eye to it. He’s proud of them, and he’s making sure everyone knows he was twice claimed.

“Cel, when did you wake up,” Chris asks before scooping me into a hard embrace. I can feel his worry melting off him with every second I’m in his arms. He pulls back to look me over. “How are you feeling?”

I give him a gentle smile and touch his chest. “Much better than this morning. I woke up a few hours ago.”

“You’ve been asleep this entire time?” Ruben hisses, immediately closing the doors. “Are you feeling okay?”

I wave him off. “I didn’t sleep much last night.”

“Why?” Ruben demands, looking me over. “Why do you look different?”

“What do you mean?” I ask him while I nervously adjust my hair.

He ticks the reasons off on his fingers. “Your eyes are brighter, your hair is thicker, your skin is perfect, you have more muscles than before…” He trails off when it hits him. “You shifted last night didn’t you?”

“Shh,” Chris hisses and speaks in a lower voice. “Her wolf did, and so did she, but she still can’t shift on command.”

“What?” Ruben hisses, glancing at me. I give him a guilty look but my response is cut off by the doors opening once more.

“Celina, there you are,” my mother says and grabs my arm. “We’re starting soon. Where in the name of the goddess have you been?”

I give Ruben a pleading look while I grab Chris’s hand to drag him along. “Just relaxing and taking my time getting ready.”

“You should have been here hours ago. Now get up there,” she hisses at me before pushing me down the aisle to take my seat.