The Prisoner’s Princess Chapter 16

Isabelle

I woke up in Bryson’s burly arms, which surprised me. It was still early dawn, and I could hear the birds just starting to chirp outside. There was also the soft pitter patter of rain on the tent, meaning it was going to be wet and cold… I dreaded that. I was glad that I put my gear inside Bryson’s tent, and I had given Gabby mine. I was kind of surprised that he looked so peaceful in his sleep. His expression reminded me of a sleeping kitten compared to his regular, steeled look. It also surprised me that he wasn’t up yet, because usually he was already up at dawn, but this time it was me again. I wiggled to get out his arms, but he held onto me tighter. “We already missed the migration… we can slow down.” He grumbled with a soft growl.

I went back to sleep until it was bright out. This time, he was already up, and I could hear talking, and some snarling. That was more than enough motivation to wake up. In my pink pajamas I rolled out of the bedroll and grunted. I put on my hiking shoes and unzipped the tent.

“I didn’t know this was claimed land by you sir.” Pleaded what looked like a kneeling and bound teenage boy. He had white hair and ice blue eyes. Oddly enough though, he had the same ebony complexion as my grandmother. If he were with humans, they would assume he bleached his eyebrows and hair.

“What should we do with him Alpha?” Asked Beta Zack. He didn’t seem keen on what Bryson was probably going to say and I wasn’t either.

“Kil-” I cut him off.

“Let me talk to him.” I blurt, running up to Bryson and grabbing his arm. He raised an eyebrow at me. He sighed.

“I assume you’re going to fight me, but he was stealing food.” He said sternly, not looking at me, but glaring at the boy.

“…I was hoping I could just talk you out of it?” I tell him, and I saw a small frown form on his lips. He growled ‘no’. Seeing his fangs meant he was serious.

“Wildflower, we missed the migration. The food we get now is all we’ll get. On top of that, he’s a Rouge from the pack that’s been hounding us. I smell it on him.” He said sternly, and he was right. I smelled it on him too, but there could be a reason for it.

“But he shouldn’t have to die for it, daddy.” I said, giving him my puppy pout.

“Did you just- The boy dies. That’s final-” I cut him off one more time. I started to shed tears. I was an actress at heart, if only he knew. Well, he would this day.

“He’s probably alone out here, with nowhere to go, can’t we just hold him to see if he’s a threat first?” I say through wet eyelashes. I hugged his chest, and hid my face. The tears were genuine now because, as hard as I hated to admit it… I just didn’t want someone to die for having the audacity to exist. His eyes were black with his wolf. It surprised and startled the teen, like anyone else. Black eyes don’t exist technically. I’ve only ever seen my grandma with those eyes, but she’s the Wolf Queen... I always assumed she was just special. He looked down at me.

“Why must you shed tears for the damned, little one?” Said Ven. He had completely taken over, and I hugged his chest harder to keep him from moving. Well… I wouldn’t stand a chance at stopping him if he tried, but I was hoping he would see reason.

“He’s a pup Ven. Show a little mercy,” He snarled, and walked forward to the boy while dragging me with him. After about 2 steps, he picked me up and carried me with one arm. He stopped and wiped a tear away with my thumb.

“… My little mate, I feel your emotion…. I do not recognize this, but I do not wish to feel it.” He said with a soft snarl. He put me down and I ran walked behind him.

He stood in front of the kneeling boy; whose eyes were now albino pink with his wolf. He showed his neck in submission, and was completely silent. He smelled like rabbit… Ven looked down at him a long time, and sighed.

“Do not waste this... mercy.” He said it as if it were a swear word. “You breathe because of my little mate’s tears… if you make trouble, I will leave you to dry with your friends.” He pointed to the now wet, tattered wolf skins that swayed in the breeze. He took one look, and he was done.

“Holy crap…” He mumbled, and looked my mate in the eyes. He passed out when he looked up, to see Bryson’s wolf showing his fangs.

“Alpha, he could use our old tent. It only leaks a little.” Said Zack. Ven nodded a small nod in approval, but I wondered why he was still in control.

“Beta, after you place the pup in the tent, do a border check, and leave him bound. Rouges are like ants… there is never just one.” He snarled, which was deep enough to feel. Anyone else would have been afraid to be around a fired-up Alpha, but he made me a little aroused. He didn’t catch the scent though…. Thank the Lady, it would have been embarrassing.

“Isabelle, don’t excite my wolf again.” Grunted Bryson, and I wondered … why did his wolf have so much control. He wouldn’t answer that.

“So, that we missed the migration, what do we do now?” I ask, changing the subject.

He looked at me with a raised eyebrow. “Well,” he said letting his claws extend to scratch his head. Lady they looked like razors. “I’m going hunting. The salmon run is almost here, we could probably make a net and catch some, smoke them, and try to make it here a month or so until just before the first snow. Either that or try trading with the HalfMoon pack. They’re about 29 miles from my next campsite.” he said scratching his chin.

“…. Is that a good idea?” I ask with concern.

“No, that’s all I could think of. But you’re a princess, I assume if you shed tears with your pouting, they will give you what you want.” He teased with a stern face.

“Are you mad?’ I asked, holding his arm while we walked.

“Always.” He responded flatly. He kneeled to my eye level, and kissed me in front of everyone. He put his hand behind my head, kissing me and roughly licking my lip. He explored my cavern with his tongue, and my legs became weak. I could feel the wetness start to form, but I could not hide it. He snarled loudly, pulling away… I was so embarrassed, but I wanted more…Lady damnit.

“And now I’m not.” He said with a sly smile.

Bryson then walked around the camp, mending things and fixing the fire. He also had gotten a hacksaw from his things and a small axe. He had me worried when he walked past the teen’s tent, but thankfully, he continued. He looked to be gathering large sticks and logs.

While he did that, I focused on what I could do. I got the pups to gather firewood, while me and Gabby got what we could, and made the biggest pot of soup that we could without stressing our supplies.

Do not go near that pup. His voice boomed in my head with a growl. It made me outwardly flinch, and Gabby looked worried.

“Are you ok?” She asked worriedly.

“Bryson told me not to talk to the new member.” I said slightly agitated. How dare he order me around. I want him to order me… said my wolf licking her lips. She did a little spin, wagging her tail. I sighed. That level of arousal was hard to ignore…

“My Luna, he only worries of your safety.” Said Gabby. She was right, but I hated that if I did what I wanted, it would probably start a fight.

“But I am Luna. I feel like I should talk to him. It is my job to calm and see new members.” I said with a frown.

“Yes… but I would not try to fight Alpha, you will not win. Instead, what I did with my mate, is that I would wait a moment, to let him calm down. I would bring it up privately, that you both do not feel that you have to show face, or over express yourself. Perhaps try a half hour after the young man wakes up.” She said truthfully and stirred the pot one last time. It was the last of the elk, potato, carrot, and wild onion stew with rosemary. It was great, I already tasted a spoonful, but soon we would need to get more spices.

I could hear him walking to the camp, and he had a boar slung over his shoulder, and held a live one by its back legs. The dead one had already been gutted, while the living one squealed for mercy. “Isabelle, Gabby take the food off the fire and come help me. The piglets are just at the end of the clearing. They look just weaned, so we could raise them until when the food runs out, and Beta defeated two Rouges at the border. He’s fine though.” He said proudly. It was the flash of his wolf at the surface that alerted me to this. He was proud that he provided for his mate, and his leadership was protecting the pack, even when food is no longer guaranteed, and we were so few.

I ran to him, and had to nearly jump to kiss him on the cheek. “Thank you Alpha. Now we have backup.” I was genuinely glad that he found them. Now we had a means to have more meat. We used a little rope to tie the scared little piglet on a leash, while Bryson cleared a big circle that had dry grass already sprouting out the ground. He was strong enough to drive thick logs into the hard ground, and tied it all together with the last of the rope we had.

While he did that, I helped Gabby catch the little guys one by one and put them in the pen. If we would have left them out there, they could just be snatched up by a fox or something…. It was 7 in total. They could eat all the shaved potato skins and guts and other gross stuff that we didn’t eat, because pigs will eat anything. We made them a bowl of soup to share and put snow in it to cool it down. We even used some old tarp scrap to make a small makeshift roof to keep them out the weather. They were scared of me, but when they saw I had a big bowl of food, they all ran to the slop I made for them.

I heard, even from the distance of the camp, that the young male was waking up. Now was not the time to bother Bryson… his mood was only slightly improved, and I still had to make sure that everyone else was fed and warm. He had a pretty big gash in his side, most likely from the hunt. It was already half healed though, but it didn’t stop me from worrying. Boars are dangerous…. That’s why I never hunted them.