The Rejected Werewolf Princess by Didiadeyemi

CAMILLA'S POV

After the talk about a scream, Ryker started to act weird. He was almost fidgeting in his seat and looking over his shoulder every few seconds as if he expected someone to attack him or something. I understood that he was concerned about the sirens, so was I, but I could tell that there was more.

He stayed for about half an hour after that before finally excusing himself and disappearing to goddess knows where. Audrey didn’t ask for her dad once, I wasn't sure if she was too distracted that she didn't notice or if like me, she had noticed that he had been itching to leave. I managed to put her down for a nap and went out in search of m; mate. He had his wall firmly up so that I couldn't detect even a hint of his emotions. It was definitely infuriating but I couldn't exactly blame him. It had been an exhausting day.

I was searching for him when I bumped into Christine. She had a bowl of fruits in her hand and she looked up at me like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar. I raised a brow at her and she shrugged.

“I'm pregnant with twins apparently,” she mumbled through a mouthful. “I'm allowed to eat like a pig”

“I wouldn't dream of judging,” I teased and she rolled her eyes. “Have you seen Ryker yet?”

She shook her head. “Is everything okay? No one will tell us what happened, I don’t even think anyone knows what happened. All I know is that one of the elders is in the cells and the guards are now tasked with wearing ear plugs.” “Not just the guards- everyone,” I corrected and her brows furrowed in confusion. “You would want to sit down for this, it is a very long story.”

I led her towards one of the closest benches and told her everything. Her eyes widened with each word but when I got to the part about what happened to Ryker, I glossed over it because it was his story to tell and not mine. I wantes him to be comfortable enough to let it out and if he never was then it was going to be our secret.

By the time I was done, Christine just sat there staring at me for so long that I thought I had spoken a different language. She opened and closed her mouth a few times before letting out a deep sigh.

“I was wondering why you were covered in blood,” she mumbled after a while and I couldn't stop myself from laughing. With everything going on, I couldn't believe I had forgotten to get myself cleaned. “Come, I think you have scared enough of the soldiers with the way you look. No offense, but I don’t know how your kids didn’t scream their heads off.”

“Aurora probably thought it was paint,” I said more to myself than to her as I stood to my feet and followed her up the stairs. “Audrey might have known what it was but then again, there isn't a lot that Audrey doesn’t know right now She knows more than we do.”

Christine hummed in agreement. “So we have sirens on the loose. Do we ever get a break around here? First we had to deal with vampires and then witches and now sirens? Do you think your mum had it this hard?”

“Honestly, yes,” I responded after thinking about it for a while. “My father had to deal with the vampires too and that is the only one that we know of. Although, I definitely think we have it worse.”

We got to the room and she helped me out of my dress and into the bath so I could scrub the blood off my skin. Mos of it had dried off and I watched the water slowly turn pink while trying my hardest not to think about the innocent guard that had lost his life because of us. He was someone's child, someone's friend, someone's lover and he had died, just like that. He seemed so pure and innocent, even the way he spoke to me, all he wanted to do was help. “Camilla,” Christine snapped and I turned to her. “Your skin is turning red, you need to stop scrubbing.”

I didn’t realize I had been scrubbing at my skin that hard. I mumbled an apology although I wasn’t completely sure what I was apologizing for. I got changed into something more casual than I would have usually never worn around the palace but I couldnt bring myself to care. There was so much that we had to do and find out.

“I need to find Ryker,” I told Christine once I was dressed and she nodded.

“I know you do.”

“I don’t know the first thing about beating sirens.”

“We'll learn,” she reached out for my hand and squeezed. “This won't be the first time we go into a battle blind and we haven't lost so far, have some faith in yourself, we aren't going to lose now.”

“There's a lot at stake,” I whispered. “You didn’t hear about Audrey's vision, the palace front of the palace bathed in blood, you don't-" I stopped because I remembered that Audrey had a vision about her too, one I couldn't bring myself to say out loud. “We have kids now.”

“I know, and I would be lying if I said it wasn't terrifying. I still don’t know what exactly happened out there but if it scares you this bad then it scares me. I cannot imagine facing an enemy that speaks and I see something completely different. This is uncharted territory and I could spend my time losing my mind or I could do everything possible to make sure that my kids come into a world without sirens trying to kill their aunt”

I couldnt stop myself from laughing. “We'll figure it out”

“I know you will, now, let's go find Ryker for you.”

It took us nearly another hour before we found him. We searched the private library, his office and even the gardens. I was just about ready to give up when we walked past my mother's old bedroom and I heard a sound. I hadn't even thought to check it but Christine had opened the door and Ryker sat on the bed turning over one of her carvings in his hands.

“Can you take it from here?” she asked and I nodded. She squeezed my shoulder slightly with a smile. “Good luck.”

I waited until she had gone back down the hall before walking in and closing the door behind me. It was just us in complete silence and it wasn’t until I stopped in front of him that he finally looked up at me.

“You changed your dress,” it was a statement of fact so I felt no need to respond. “At least you got the blood off you! “I would have liked your help.”

He said nothing in response to that, simply gestured to a book I hadn't noticed on her dressing table. “I got it from the library. It has a few things on sirens. Did you know that they are considered one of the most brutal and blood thirsty species? They lure predominantly men to their deaths with singing and the charm in their voices.”

“Is that why I wasn't affected?”

He shook his head. “They can infect women, they just choose not to most times. I'm not willing to take the risk though. They also have a knack for revenge, they will go to the ends of the earth to exact vengeance on one they feel wronged them.”

“They're not going to stop until you're dead.”

He shook his head. “No, she doesn’t want to kill me, she wants to kill you.”

I cocked my head to the side. “You killed her husband, why would she want to kill me?”

“Because, death would be too much of a gift. She would want me to suffer, she would want me to feel the same pain that she feels and her daughter feels. She would make me watch you die and that would be her vengeance.”

I swallowed deeply as I asked my next questions. “How do you know that?”

“Because it is what I would do,” he cleared his throat and stood to his feet. He tried to walk past me but I grabbed hi upper arm.

“You didn’t pass the test, did you?” I asked and he stilled. He knew what I was talking about, there was no need for me to elaborate.

“Not completely, no. I didn't kill you, so I passed, but I killed him and killing someone with magic does something to you. I don’t know how to explain it. I can feel it, you know? I can feel the pulse beneath my fingers, I can feel the very essence of your life in this room and I know that I can take it away in a second. Does that scare you?”

“No”

I wasn't lying either. There was nothing about Ryker that could scare me. I knew him arguably better than I knew myself and I knew that no matter what, he would not hurt me. I didn’t care if he had the powers to turn the entire world to ash, he would never hurt his family and that much was certain.

“It scares me,” he admitted. His voice was barely over a whisper, I wouldn't have heard him if I wasn’t standing very close to him. “It terrifies me to know that one wrong move and I could kill someone. I didn't even touch him and the worst part is that I don't feel bad for it”

“l wouldn't either,” I shrugged eliminating the final bit of space between us. I thread my fingers with his and lifted it to show him. “You're touching me and I'm not dead. I don’t care if you didn’t pass completely or if you passed by a hair's breadth, what matters is that you passed and you beat this thing so I need you right now so we can beat the sirens too.”

“I don't want you near them.”

“Tough shit, Ryker, this is about me and you now. We're in this together whether you like it or not so you can

either sit here and throw your pity party or we can find out how to kill that bitch. It is your choice.”