The First King

Several days had passed since the meeting of the kings and alphas had ended. After much deliberation, the men had decided on the Alpha and princess pairing. Now, the four Alphas traveled with Porter to the kingdom of Guilford. It was a small kingdom tucked away in a valley in the western lands. On the edge of the capital was Sella Castle, the kingdom's seat.

The Alphas looked around at the lands surrounding the castle. There was a large, manicured lawn in the front. To the west was a forest with tall trees. To the east was the city and small fields filled with crops. The castle itself was moderate-sized, but it was old. There were cracks on the facade, but nothing seemed to be crumbling. Porter got off his horse as the Alphas shifted into their human forms.

“Here we are,” he smiled as he looked at the wolves. “This is my home, Sella Castle. Please, come inside.”

“We would like to meet with your daughter first,” Julius stated as their feet remained unmoved.

“I’ll go get her,” Porter nodded as he walked through the door.

He bit back a scowl as he walked through the front hall. After questioning a few of the servants and guards, he found his daughter in her chambers. He knocked on the door, suddenly feeling nervous. Several tense seconds passed until the door finally opened. Before him stood a young girl with jet-black hair and copper eyes. She smiled brightly up at him, swinging the door open to embrace him.

“Father! They had not announced your arrival! I would have met you down on the lawn!” His daughter exclaimed as she looked up at him.

“No, no, it is fine,” he chuckled as he rested his hands on her shoulders. “I didn’t want any pomp and circumstance.”

“How was the trip?” She questioned as she stepped to the side, allowing him to enter. “Did the meeting go well?”

“After several days, we all finally came to an agreement, or compromises rather,” Porter answered as he walked in. Her room was tidy, except for a corner where she was whittling wood. He looked at his daughter with a sigh. “Prew, come sit down. I would like to talk to you about what was decided.”

“Is everything alright?” She inquired as she sat on a chair. Porter sat beside her, but his hands trembled as they rested on his knees.

“I’d like to believe everything is alright,” he finally replied. “Everyone agreed almost instantly that we needed to combine our forces. Alone, we could not push back the witches, but together we can. The problem was no one could agree upon who would lead. Then, I suggested it be a human and a wolf that wasn’t present at the meeting. Someone who perhaps was not in it for personal gain.”

“That makes sense,” Prew nodded her head. “But do you think a human and a wolf could work together, let alone lead?”

“They posed the same question to me. But then an Alpha suggested it be a union: a man and a woman. A husband and wife,” Porter stated tentatively. He studied his daughter’s eyes as he continued to talk. “The human kings put together a list of princesses, while the wolves gave us a list of unmated alphas. I and the other four human kings decided upon the Alpha.”

“Father…” Prew whispered as she stood from her chair. “Do not say you placed my name on that list.”

“Not only did I place your name on the list, but the Alphas chose you,” he said as he stood as well. He tried reaching out to Prew, but she backed away angrily.

“How dare you give me away as if I am some piece of property!” She yelled at him.

“You are a princess!” He bellowed back. “You are property to this kingdom! Do not act as if you are ignorant of this fact!”

“No, I just thought you respected me more than this! I thought you would, at the very least, give me a choice in the matter!”

“There was no time,” he replied with a sigh. “It shall not be long before the witches come West. Decisions needed to be made. The Leader Council saw you as the perfect fit.”

“Leader Council?” She questioned curtly. “Is that what you are calling yourselves? All you, old men, hiding behind the bodies of your soldiers.”

“Prew!” Porter snapped as he grabbed her arms roughly. “Enough of this! I beg of you, just do as I command, this one time.”

“It is not as if you are giving me much of a choice,” she mumbled, looking away from his piercing gaze.

“This is the life of a royal. I had no choice when I married your mother, but I made it work. I loved her, and we had you.”

“Love? You had mistresses the entire time you were married to my mother,” Prew hissed as she pulled away from his grasp.

Porter’s jaw tightened at her words. She was not wrong, but there were things that she did not understand. She could see the hurt in her father’s eyes after she spoke. With a huff, she turned her back to him. Prew was angry at him, angry that she did not even get a say. But she knew she could not fight it. It was not just his decision but the decision of other kings and alphas.

“Fine. I shall do the duties that are required of me,” she murmured. Porter’s head shot up at her words. She said his own phrase to him: I shall do the duties that are required of me. He said this to her repeatedly, but this was the first time she said them.

“Thank you,” he said with a deep exhale. He reached back out to her, but when his hand touched her shoulder, she shrugged him off. He frowned but stepped back. “Gather your bow and arrows. The Alphas want to hunt with you.”

“Why?” She questioned as she looked at him curiously.

“They want to see your skills,” Porter answered. “So, go out there and give them a good show."

Prew scowled, but she walked across the room. She grabbed her bow and quiver before following her father back outside. She walked beside him, holding her head high as she saw the four men standing together on the front lawn.

"Gentlemen, this is my daughter, Prew, Princess of Guilford," Porter announced.

The Alphas looked at the girl. She wore a man's shirt and trousers, not a dress as they had expected. She was also tall, and she was not thin. They looked at her exposed tanned skin and at the muscles that were on her arms and legs.

"This is your princess?" Julius questioned as he furrowed his brows.

"Were you expecting some damsel who sits inside reading and knitting all day?" Prew demanded with a frown. "Because if that is what you want, then you chose the wrong girl."

"Such venom coming from a human female," another Alpha remarked as he smirked.

"Your father claimed you have fought in skirmishes. How many men have you killed?"

"I have killed four men," she answered honestly.

"That's all?"

"I am sure there are more who died due to infections from wounds that I inflicted. Sorry, I forgot to follow up after I helped to chase them from my father's lands." She scoffed.

"For a princess, you are rather rude, especially to men your father invited," Julius stated as he crossed his arms. He glared at the girl, waiting for her to break eye contact.

"Sorry to disappoint you," she replied with a frown. "Would you not be rude after finding out you were auctioned like cattle?"

"Ignore Julius," one of the men said as he stepped closer, his hand held out to Prew. "I am Gray. This is Sebastian and Leo. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Prew reached out, shaking his hand, but she did not respond. Meeting them was not a pleasure for her. In her mind, she would rather spend the rest of her life scooping manure with her bare hands than standing before them. Gray looked out to the west, toward the woods.

"Can you hunt?"

"Of course I can hunt," she replied curtly.

"Then, I'd like to invite you to come hunt with us," Gray said as he smiled at her. "I see you have a bow. Why not come with us, and we can see who is the first to take down a deer?"

"A deer? Sure." She shrugged as she walked away. Prew went to the woods, stopping at the edge by a stump. She whistled loudly, but nothing seemed to come to her.

"What is she doing?" Julius questioned as he looked at Porter.

"Waiting for Meeka," he chuckled.

Before Julius could speak, a palomino horse came out from the side of the castle. He pranced over to Prew, stopping beside her. The Alphas looked at the colossal horse and watched as Prew used the stump to climb up onto him. But there was no saddle nor reins on the horse. She gripped his mane, clicking to urge him forward. The wolves growled, suddenly realizing that she was starting the hunt without them.

"Werelia Inttum," the men said in unison before shifting. This was an incantation that all werewolves knew. Though they were wolves, some chants took little magic or used the magic in the air. This particular one would allow them to shift from human to wolf form without their clothes disintegrating. This way, they would not be naked once they returned to their human forms.

The four wolves sprinted into the woods. Three of them branched off in search of a deer, but one wolf chased after the princess. It was Julius, stalking her as if she were the prey. He followed the scent of her horse as he made his way through the trees. Once he saw her, he crouched down in the brush. His front paws dug into the dirt, ready to lunge, but then an arrow suddenly whooshed by him, clipping his ear.

"I won't miss next time, wolf!" She called out to him. "If you are trying to spook my horse, you won't succeed. All you will do is scare away the deer."

Julius growled as his ear twitched in pain. He watched her thighs tighten around her horse as she spurred him forward. Prew glanced over her shoulder briefly to see that the wolf did not follow. She smiled to herself as Meeka trotted through the woods. Her eyes scanned the tree line, looking for any movement. She pulled back on Meeka's mane until he came to a slow walk.

Prew pulled an arrow from her quiver and nocked it on her bow. There was chittering from a bird, and then the sound of feathers flapping filled the air. She turned, watching as pheasants flew out from a nearby bush. Releasing the arrow, Prew watched as it whizzed through the air, hitting one of the pheasants in the neck. Clicking her tongue, she urged Meeka to go toward her kill. She leaned over, grasping the end of the arrow, pulling up the dead pheasant with it.

Prew reached into her quiver, pulling out a thin rope. She wrapped it around the pheasant's feet. Gently, she pulled her arrow from the animal, then tied the other end of the rope to a loop on her trousers. Meeka continued through the woods, scaring other pheasants out of their hiding places. In total, she shot off her arrow three times, killing three pheasants.

For a moment, Prew forgot that she was there to hunt deer. For a moment, she forgot about her father selling her off, pairing her with someone she did not choose. She closed her eyes as she inhaled the musty smell of the woods. Meeka stopped walking to munch on a small patch of grass. As he did so, Prew listened to the forest. She could hear the squirrels and birds that played in the trees overhead. She could hear the sound of the wind as it blew through the leaves. But then she opened her eyes. There was a wolf walking nearby, breaking the brittle leaves and sticks beneath their feet.

Prew looked around, noticing the wolf to her left. He was not walking toward her but stalking a deer that was about a hundred feet away. She smiled as she nocked another arrow. She nudged Meeka to move a bit, adjusting her position so her arrow did not fly against the wind. Once in a good spot, she let her arrow go. It passed through the air, missing the trees and sticking the deer on its broadside.

The deer jumped, startling the wolf that was preparing to lunge at it. With an arrow in its side, the wolf watched as the deer took off, followed quickly by the princess on her horse. The deer did not run far, only about 50 yards, before collapsing onto the ground. The wolf howled, calling for the other alphas to come in his direction.

As Meeka approached the fallen deer, Prew jumped to the ground. She drew her dagger, kneeling quietly beside the animal. She held her hand out to his nose, trying to see if he was still breathing, but it wasn't. As she tucked the dagger away, four men approached her. At first, they were quiet as they looked at her. Not only had she taken down the deer, taking it from under one of their noses, but she also killed three pheasants.

"How many arrows did you lose?" Julius inquired curiously.

"Only this one," Prew answered as she pointed to the broken arrow that stuck out from the deer's side. "The buck must have slammed into a tree as he ran."

"Did you not lose any arrows when shooting the birds?" He questioned.

"Nope," she smiled as she stood. She reached into her quiver, pulling out a bloodied arrow. "I used the same one for each kill."

"Well, color me impressed," Julius chuckled as he approached the deer. "Is there a clearing nearby where we can skin this beast?"

"Sure, put the deer on Meeka and follow me," Prew replied.

Julius and Gray lifted the deer, tossing it onto the back of the horse. They followed Prew until they came to a small meadow. On the edge was a small creek. Gray and Julius took a thick rope from Prew and used it to hang the deer upside down from a tree branch. Sebastian and Leo gathered some pieces of dried wood and used them to create a fire nearby. Prew sat on the ground, plucking the feathers from the birds.

"Do you use their flight feathers for arrows?" One of the Alphas questioned curiously.

"I mean, they can use them," she nodded with a shrug. "But I prefer to use the flight feathers from a raven if I can."

"Any particular reason for that?"

"They are thick and sturdy, great for fletching," she explained as she took one of her arrows from the quiver. She ran her fingertips along the end of a feather. "There is also a story my mother told me about a raven. He was the spectral messenger of the gods, giving those who were worthy sweet dreams and prophetic whispers. So, for me, if I use the feathers of a raven, it is as if each time my arrow flies, I am sending a message from the gods."

"Well, that is rather dark," Julius remarked as he walked over. "Do you have a dagger, princess?"

"I always have a dagger," she replied, removing it from her belt. She held it out to Julius, but he shook his head.

"Go gut the deer," he instructed to her.

Prew frowned, but she did not argue with him. This was not the first animal she would have gutted, nor would it be her last. She walked up to the deer, running her hands along its fur. She placed her dagger at the end of the animal, making an incision down the stomach to the throat. She ensured that she did not go in too deep so as not to pierce the intestines or stomach. Gray went over, using his bare hands to break apart the sternum of the deer. This allowed Prew better access to pull out the inner organs.

Once the deer was emptied of its contents, the other wolves stepped forward. Prew's hands and forearms were filthy, but she did not make a fuss about it. The Alphas put their hands into the deer, coating their fingers with blood. They stepped up to Prew, surprising her by covering her face with the red, sticky substance. She groaned in protest as two hands held her arms, keeping her from pulling away. The alphas stepped back, admiring their work.

"Now we have accepted you as a Luna," Julius stated as he smiled. Prew looked at him angrily, though she was surprised to see him happy.

"You shall make a great leader and Queen," Gray added as he nodded his head to her.

"Why did you wipe blood all over my face?" She scowled as she tried to wipe it off with her shirt.

"It is what we do for new Lunas and Alphas," Julius chuckled as he patted her head. "It is an initiation, a way for us to show you that we accept you as a leader of the wolves. You should be proud of yourself. You are the first human female to be accepted as a Luna. Your skill with the bow, your impeccable hearing, among other things, have impressed us. We look forward to waging war under you."