Their Hidden Princess Chapter 101

Two weeks later…

I slammed the door to the car that dropped me back on campus. I heaved a sighed and let the driver walk past me to grab my bags. To my right, a large wolf in a jet-black suit got out of the front seat of the car. We made eye contact, and he gave me a curt nod. I looked back forward and heaved a heavy sigh.

This was my life now.

After my attempted kidnapping, I’d been sent back to the castle for the winter solstice. For two weeks, I barely saw anyone other than my maids and the wolf who’d rode back to school with me. He was my new bodyguard, assigned to me by mother after the vampire’s attempt to kidnap me.

His name was Bubba, and he was a gruff ex-warrior from a pack in the Northeast of the United States. He reminded me of what Hollywood thought a Marine was. He barely spoke, grunting and nodding seemed to be his preferred methods of communication.

But, I was stuck with him.

As he went around to meet the driver for suitcase hand off, I was still trying to figure out how I was going to get away with a bodyguard. According to everyone on campus, I was a nobody. Why would a nobody need protection? That truth was, I wasn’t a nobody. Underneath all the nonsense I used to cover my identity, I was the Luna Princess. There was a prophecy about me being a weapon to destroy all the residual vampires from the Great War.

I was still unsure of the prophecy before the holiday. But then, my mother, Queen Victoria Luna, had brought me to the prophecy room. There, in shimmering gold ink on a piece of parchment, was my life story. Seeing it made it feel more real, and the words burned even more.

“Born of royalty, bound to five,

The collison of dark and light,

Remaker of olden times,

Night to his knees,

Light to rise,

Balance is once again in sight.”

I stood there slack jawed as I read it. Then my mother gingerly tapped me on the shoulder and told me I was going to save us all. It was the last time I saw her during the Holidays. The morning before I returned to the prestigious Alpha Academy, we’d had breakfast. Neither of us really spoke. I figured that Victoria felt guilty for all the pain she’d caused.

She’d left me at a human orphanage until I was eighteen, then swooped in and tried to marry me off. She thought that by being with my fated mate, it would awaken my powers. It was only by my protest that I wound up at Alpha Academy. If I could graduate, then I wouldn’t have to marry one of the sons of the High Alphas.

But that had all been a rouse as well. In order to unlock the power to vanquish the vampires, I did have to be with a fated mate. The marriage candidates were my mother’s way of trying to do that. The High Alpha’s she’d won the war with all had kids. If I had a fated mate, she’d figured they’d be a son of one of the High Alphas.

I huffed another sigh. I hadn’t seen any of them since my kidnapping attempt. I’d come to know them all, some better than others. My nerves ran down my spine as I thought about them.

Kind, stern Maximus Wolfham.

Polished, mature Valentin Lunerly.

Intelligent, protective Thorne Blywitch.

And harsh and violent Kairos Moonraiser.

I bought my lip to keep myself from groaning. Kairos was the bane of my existence. He’d previous tried to murder me because I was wolfless. But, something within him had changed. He’d been one of the two people to come save me from the vampires.

Now, he was still sharp around the edges, but he was softer around me. It made the fact that the third of our three round sparring was a week from my return to campus, much worse. I was supposed to fight him or risk being volun-told to get off of campus if I didn’t.

As Bubba lifted my bags into my dorm, I stopped short. He turned around and frowned at me. “Princess?” he said softly.

“I told you, Bubba,” I swiped my hand over my face. “You can’t call me that on campus.”

“Sorry Prin—er – Miss Smith?”

I gave him a soft smile. “Thank you,” I sighed again. “I think I’d like to stay outside a little longer, if that’s okay?”

“Of course,” Bubba said. “I’ll bring your bag to your room then stand by.”

“Thank you,” I said, softly.

Bubba grunted back at me before dragging my bag into the dorm and letting the door slam shut behind him. I couldn’t help but sigh again. I looked out on the campus lawn.

It was fairly late, almost eleven, so most of the students had retired for the evening. The January winds were light and breezy that night, gently whipping the top layer of fresh snow up into the air and around my face. I burrowed my face further into my scarf and walked further into the lawn. My boots crunched on the bottom layer of old snow.

I walked across the lawn and wound up in the center of it, once again. I tipped my head back and looked into the stars. Part of me hoped maybe, just maybe, there would be some sort of instructions. Maybe a manual to tell me how I was supposed to still remind incognito, juggle four men who we’re trying to win me over and not fail all my classes.

To my chagrin, there was nothing in the sky besides a few stray snowflakes. I cupped my hand and watched as one hit my skin and melted into it. I bit my lip and watched the water seep into my skin.

Someone cleared their throat next to me and I immediately snapped my head up. My claws jerked out of my hands immediately and I dropped into a defensive stance. A snarl escaped my lips.

The person held their hands up and then dropped them with a half snort of a laugh. “Déjà vu?” he said.

I blew out the breath I didn’t know I’d been holding and stood up straight. “I’ll say,” I grumbled. “You need to stop sneaking up on me.”

“You’d think that you’d be more aware of your surroundings, given the recent events,” The man said, plainly. It didn’t sound malicious, but I knew better. I narrowed my eyes at him.

“What do you want, Kairos?”

Kairos Moonraiser ran a hand through his hair. It was shaggy enough that it curled around his ears. His face was framed in auburn. The freckles on his skin had become more pronounced since I’d last seen him. I figured he’d spent the holiday somewhere warm as his skin had a sunny hue to it. Above his freckles, his dark gold eyes were wide and intense. Just like every other Alpha on campus.

“Is it wrong of me to check that you’re okay?” he mumbled.

“Not wrong. Just weird,” I replied, still on edge. “You saw me leave campus, completely fine.”

“Then I didn’t see you for two weeks,” Kairos said, plainly.

I paused then sighed for the millionth time that night. “Your point?”

“Our last challenge is in a few days,” He mumbled.

“It is,”

“My offer still stands,”

I snapped my head to look at him. His face was soft. The only hardness was in his eyes. I licked the front of my teeth in thought. I turned back to look up at the sky.

“No,” I finally said.

“No?” Kairos repeated. “Zora, come on—”

“No,” I repeated and turned back to look at him. “You’ve been trying to get me off of campus since I started here. I beat you once. I can beat you twice. I deserve to be here. And I’ll be damned if you don’t let me prove it.”

I started to walk past him, but he caught my arm and jerked me back. I whirled around and landed pressed to his broad chest. His eyes were staring down at me with this violent intensity. The blacks of his pupils were steadily growing wider. I watched as he wet his lower lip then parted them.

Something deep and intense flared in my stomach. It was enough that I shook myself out of his grasp and jerked away. I gave him one more look before I turned on my heel and walked back to my dorm.