Chapter 7
TAJ
The first exercise had begun. I wasn’t much for showing off and the last thing I wanted was to be in a field with sweaty men in barren temperatures. We were being watched like cattle too. A decent crowd had gathered and if not watched by the crowd it was the guards who had all focused their attention on me.
Like I could get away with Miss Princess Huntress in the vicinity.
The woman could sniff me out in her sleep.
My eyes found the Princess in the sea of men stretching to the side instantly, so fast in fact that it was alarming how quickly I found her. Still, I watch her skin pull as she reaches upward, her muscles tense, her bones cracking in a satisfying pop. She stood like her father: tall, proud and deadly. Most women warriors put their hair up but she had it down, the wind blowing her black hair in all directions yet still managing to look refreshing and put together.
She moved as if she was in some summer music video and not in actuality a tournament warm up in frigid weather. It was annoying but I couldn’t look away.
She catches me staring, giving me that god infuriating smirk that she inherited from her father before giving me the finger.
Proud little shit.
A guard calls her attention and she turns away from me, giving me a full view of her tight leggings and the large muscle that bubbled.
What am I doing?
This infuriating shit is in the way of my freedom. She is the sole reason why I needed freedom in the first place, as she had found me and locked me up. Kept me so closely watched and restrained I barely survived the year. I shouldn’t see her as anything but an enemy right now–
But then…
How can she not be mated yet? Surely some man would have professed his love for her already? Who would let someone like her go?
I don’t understand it.
Did no one catch her interest? What is her interest? What does a woman like that want from a mate? Well, she’s from these lands, a place where having a mate is a weakness. She might not want a mate to begin with. They get in the way of everything. A distraction no one needs, especially not her.
Why am I even wondering about this?
I stared harder at her back, shooting glares at any of the men that lowered their gaze inappropriately…
It’s hard to see that this woman, this person I have been teasing since I met her, is actually some kind of legend. She is known across the whole world and it isn’t just because of her royal blood. We all know of her gallant life, fighting wars for her mother, catching slavers and freeing slaves, and getting her hands dirty just because she wanted to. She’s quick as a whip, her mind just as strong as her body and she fears nothing. Literal songs have been made for her.
Many have come to see her today… many men especially have come to see her. With the Alpha forbidden to come near the tournaments before it starts in fear that he might come to his beloved daughter’s aid, the men that come openly gawk unafraid of his wrath.
She’s beautiful, I guess. If you are fond of the Princess like beauty that’s rumored to be more beautiful than the Moon Goddess. She’s tough looking too, with her lean muscles from years of training and fighting, and then there’s that painful looking tattoo on her entire shoulder. Her hair is black as the night but shines brighter than the moon when the light reflects it, her eyes the bluest blue it can ever be. It was its own shade of blue, bright and almost sparkling. The mischief in her movements, in her eyes, isn’t as daunting as her father’s, but intriguing and compelling.
There was something frightening about her beauty, like if one were to stare at her for too long it would blind you.
Damn, Josephine, Princess, Satan, whatever you want to call her.
Damn it all.
Suddenly, my chest hurts and the simple act of breathing is a struggle.
“What is your deal with the pretty Princess, Voss?” One of the contenders asks when Josephine begins her forms. She moves swiftly, an art form with her precise and well practiced attacks as she brings her fists out, feet kicking perfectly in an arch. This was the Princess.. Who should have been Queen. This was the daughter of the Alpha, trained and raised by him. It showed. “You planning to kill her when she least expects it or what?”
I inspected the man that addressed me, looking up and down. A peasant from one of the provinces, hoping to win the glory of the title by some miracle just because he’s some prized warrior there. He’ll be dead in an hour. “What’s it to you, short stack?”
“You’re awfully interested in her.” He whispered under his breath, looking towards Josephine. People are clapping for a complicated combination that she makes. “A lot of people have been talking and we can’t tell if you’re planning to take advantage of her or something similar to that.”
I smile, the smile that speaks of the evil hidden under my skin and the twisted way I live my life. “If I told you, I’d have to kill you.”
“Or we can report you for harassing the Princess and the Alpha- her father- will have you killed in your sleep.” He threatens back but it’s weak, his voice is weak and his knees are shaking. He’s scared of me. He should be.
“Do it.” I taunted. The thrill of a prey in front of me drove my wolf into a frenzy. “Well?”
“You’re fucking crazy.” He snaps, taking a step away from me. “It’s true what they say! You’re a fucking maniac.”
My predator instincts were going mad, wanting to chase and scare. The thrill of the hunt is at my fingertips. All I had to do was reach–
Suddenly, I’m punched in the stomach and I lose the breath in my lungs. I knew who exactly had hit me. No one else would. “Miss Petrov,”
“Stop scaring the competition.” She reprimands, her blue eyes narrowed. “I like my prey ripe and fresh.”
I stared at her for a long time, as if seeing her for the first time. Blue eyes. Black hair. Fierce. Oh so fierce.
Hmmm… very curious.
This foolish, driven and curious girl.
She’s playing with fire and she doesn’t even know it or does she and she likes keeping me around because it keeps her on her toes. I heard her father is like that, he likes the thrill of danger nearby.
Is that what she wants? Danger?
So many questions.
But only she can answer them and I don’t even know if she knows the answer herself.
What are you playing at? She had asked me but really the question should be asked to her. What is she playing at? Do I get under her skin? Do I spark some kind of fire inside her? What is it? What is it with her? With us?
I needed to know.
It was driving me insane.
More so than usual.
“You look awful when you frown.” I told her straight and unblinkingly.
She’s quick to attack back like always. “And you look awful when you think. It doesn’t suit your brain dead image.”
“Words so sweet I think I might actually fall to my knees.” I teased, leaning down to look at her.
She hates that.
She hates the implication that people look down on her.
So I do it more.
Her blue eyes gleam with a hunger to win like no other. “You’ll fall to your knees alright.”
“I don’t kneel for anyone, Josephine.” I whispered in her ear. She smells like the bleak cold, a sort of rich herb and sharp pine. It was the smell of someone that loved to spend her time outdoors, lying down on the snow for long hours and with a start I realized that I liked it. She smelled like something wild… untamed and it was dizzyingly pleasant.
“You will kneel for me.” She smirked, eyes twinkling and mischievous, the promise in her voice chilling. “One way or another.”
Is that right..?