The Rejected Werewolf Princess by Didiadeyemi

CAMILLA'S POV

I woke up to fingers running through my curls. I made a sound underneath my breath and nestled closer to the source of heat that I knew ultimately belonged to Ryker. He chuckled under his breath before pressing a soft kiss to the top of my head. I was fully awake by this time, but I had no intentions of opening my eyes anytime soon. “It's morning," Ryker's voice was soft and teasing by my ears. “We need to talk, Camilla.”

“I know," I mumbled as I moved closer to him. “I just want a few more seconds, can you give me that?”

“I could, but it is very late in the morning and if you don't get up now, you might be pissed with me later,” he whispered and I groaned but ultimately knew he was right and pulled my eyes open. He had a small smile on his face. “Good morning, baby.”

He leaned down and kissed me softly. There was always something heart warming and calming about waking up next to him. It was my own calm before the storm, my own brief moment of peace before the drama of the day began. It was that little piece of bliss that I could count on every day of my life and I lived and breathed for it. I smiled up at him and he stared at me like I had hung up the stars.

“We need to talk,” his voice was soft but there was an edge in his eyes, something that had me knowing that whatever he was about to say had the potential to wreck my day. I sat up slowly, pulling the blankets up to my chin with it. “I need to tell you so that we can get our stories straight before we talk to Juan and Christine.”

“Is it that bad?”

“It is and fuck, Camilla, I don’t even want to talk to you about it but I made a promise last night and I have to," the way he was speaking terrified me and with each passing second, I could almost feel and impending sense of doom.

It was kind of ironic that we were having the conversation with him fully clothed and me stark naked but I was used to us having the weirdest conversations in the weirdest of places. I sat up straighter and cleared my throat.

“I'm listening," I said trying to keep the fear and worry out of my words. “I'll try to keep a clear mind but forgive me if I am unable to."

“She wants Christine dead.”

I paused, blinked at him twice and then rubbed my ears wondering if I had heard him wrong. I blinked again wondering if he was going to disappear or laugh and say that he was joking but he didn't. It didn't matter how long I stared at him, he didn't move, he didn’t flinch and I knew deep in my heart that I heard right.

“Why would she want that?” I couldn't understand the reasoning behind it. “What does Christine have to do with anything?”

“She wanted me to offer up Christine in exchange for you. She said she would attack the palace, kill Christine and leave. That was her condition to leave you alone.”

My eyes widened to the point of saucers. “What did you say?"

“Of course I said no, what do you think I said?” he sounded a tad bit annoyed that I even had to ask. “I think this is more than just getting revenge at this point. She wants to hurt us, she wants to make us feel the hurt.”

“Christine is in danger then," I finished and he nodded. “What do we do? Do we talk to Juan about it? He has a right to know, right?”

“Juan is going to panic and that is the last thing he needs right now. All I told him is that she is going to attack, but I didn’t tell him about her ultimatum with Christine. I don’t want him to look at me differently.”

“He wouldn't”

Ryker snorted. “Even you took a second to ask what I had chosen when I told you. It is normal for a mate to pick his own over the others. Most men would have picked the ultimatum and I wouldn't blame him if he did."

“So you want me to lie”

“I want you to be aware because no one else will be. I can also hear her in my head. I was right about that. She was talking to me inside of my head. She never said a single word."

“How does that even work?”

“I think it happened when I heard her voice for the first time. I don't think it is something I can get out.”

“So what do we do?”

“There is nothing we can do," he sighed. “We sit and prepare for them to attack.”

He pressed a kiss to my head and got out of bed. I watched as he started to get dressed for the day but I didn’t move from the bed. It wasn't until he had gotten to the door that I realized that there was something I wanted to ask.

“Why did you tell me all of this?" I asked and he stilled with his hands on the door. “I understand you telling me about Christine, but the other, why? You didn't have to."

“I don’t know,” he admitted after a minute of silence. “I did it because I wanted someone to know. I am tired of trying to figure it out myself”

“What happened to wanting to protecting me?”

“It is easier to protect you if you know what is happening. If you are trying to figure it out on your own, then you will get hurt."

After our heavy conversation that morning, we spent the rest of the morning tending to our kids and meeting with the elders. They had nothing more to offer other than what they already gave to us. I ended up leaving the conversation more frustrated than before I started. There had been no signs of the sirens, not even at the same sea shore where Ryker had found them the night before.

We were in the middle of the meeting with the elders when there was a knock on the door. Neither of us were expecting the interruption, it took us all by surprise. When I saw the guard behind the door, I knew instantly that it was bad news. The look on his face held fear and apprehension. Even before he opened his mouth, I knew what I was going to hear.

“There is something you need to see,” he said and we were immediately on our feet.

We followed him as quickly as we could and watched as he led us straight to the front of the palace where there was a man standing. He was fighting against the hold of the guards who were keeping him in place. He was repeating a phrase over again and it wasn't until I got closer that I realized what he was saying.

“I need to see him!” he screamed trying to get out of their hold. He sighted Ryker and I and strained against their hold even worse. “I need to see him.”

“See who?” Ryker asked when he got closer. “See me?”

“No, see him. The one who knows the mistress, I need to see him."

I turned to Ryker with confusion etched in my brows. I didn't know what he was talking about and apparently neither did Ryker because his expression perfectly matched mine. He stepped forward towards the strange man and he didn’t seem to calm, his behavior only got more erratic.

“Do you know where he is?” Ryker asked and he nodded. Ryker stared at me, a silent question in his eyes and although I didn't quite know what he wanted to do, I trusted him and nodded. “Release him."

“Your majesty," the guards began but Ryker held up a hand to stop him.

“If he knows where he is going, then let him lead us there”

The guards shot each other wary looks before releasing him. For a second, there was peace before he took off down one of the hallways. It was absolutely absurd that we were letting a complete stranger roam round the palace but I trusted Ryker and if Ryker trusted that this was the best idea, then I was willing to go with it.

It took a while for me to realize that he was going towards the dungeons. He led us down towards Ansel’s cell. Ansel looked like a shell of himself, he was bruised all over and there were open wounds and sores all over him. I nearly flinched when I saw him but the stranger didn't as much as blink.

“Why do you want to see Ansel?" I asked once he stopped. “Also, how did you know where he was?"

He looked at me and it was at that moment I realized that his eyes were a bit glossy. He was looking in my direction but it seemed more like he was looking through me. He opened his mouth to speak and what came out was an ear splitting scream. It was also at that moment that I realized that he was not wearing any ear buds.

“Someone grab him, he might be under her control!” Ryker yelled out but before the guards could get to him, he turned towards Ansel and reached through the bars to grab him. His skin was burned in the process but it was almost like he didn't realize what was happening.

He managed to grab Ansel by the shirt and pulled him towards the bars. Ansel didn't even fight, he had lost whatever energy he had left during the days of t*****e he had undergone. The stranger stared at him and it happened in slow motion. One minute, he held Ansel and the next, he was twisting his neck and a loud crack reverberated through the air.

I stared with my mouth wide open as Ansel’s body slumped to the ground. His chest didn't rise once. The guards managed to get to the stranger but it was too late. He had done what he came to do. He turned towards me and blinked once.

“What am I doing here?”