Chapter 2
I turned around to see Damon standing
there.
His hands were clenched into fists, and he
looked like he was about to be sick.
“What’s up?”
Damon gave me a stiff nod. “I’m already
bound to someone else. I hope you’ll
respect that, Princess.”
I actually laughed.
“Damon, did you seriously think I was
going to pick you?”
He faltered for a second. “You’re the
Princess. You’ve got options. Why make
this harder than it needs to be?”
I looked down, trying to hide how much
that stung.
“Don’t worry. I won’t be bothering you
anymore. You can go live your dream life
with your mate.”
Damon’s eyebrows pulled together.
“Princess, what’s that supposed to mean?”
I was debating whether to tell him about
choosing Rhett when someone came
barreling toward me out of nowhere.
I lost my balance and hit the ground hard.
Before I could even process what
happened, Talia was on her knees in front
of me, practically sobbing.
“Please forgive me, Princess Astra! I didn’t mean to–please don’t punish me!”
I rubbed my aching arm and stared at her, completely confused.
Talia was the daughter of my father’s Beta
-basically werewolf royalty–but every
time she saw me, she acted like I was
going to rip her throat out. Even when I’d
done absolutely nothing.
Damon had given me hell about it plenty
of times, convinced I was terrorizing her.
Seeing her bang her head on the ground
until it was red, Damon rushed over and
pulled her up. “Hey, it’s okay. It was just
an accident. No big deal.”
Then he shot me a look that was pure
warning.
I watched this whole performance
without saying a word.
Seeing his reaction, Talia dropped back
down to her knees with fresh tears
streaming. “Princess, I deserve to die!
Please, just this once, have mercy!”
I pushed myself up off the ground and
looked down at her.
Damon thought I was planning to make
her life hell and completely lost it.
“Princess Astra, she didn’t do it on
purpose! Acting like this–bullying people
just because you can–how do you expect
to lead a pack? How is anyone supposed
to respect you?”
Bullying people just because I can?
She’s the one who knocked me over, I
hadn’t said a damn word, and he was
already throwing accusations at me.
Maybe I’d been too nice to him. Maybe
he’d forgotten exactly who he was talking
- to.
He wanted to see me abuse my power?
Fine. I’d show him what that actually
looked like.
I grabbed Talia by the arm and slapped
her hard across the face. “Remember this
-that’s what bullying actually looks like.”
Damon’s eyes went wide, but he was too
shocked to stop me.
Seeing the red handprint blooming on
Talia’s cheek, he pointed at me in pure
rage. “Princess Astra, you—”
Slap!
I backhanded him too.
“Call me Princess.”
Damon just stood there, stunned. I’d
always treated him like he hung the moon
– this was the first time I’d ever laid a
hand on him.
His jaw was clenched so tight I could hear
his teeth grinding.
“Fine. Just fine. Real classy, Princess.”
“Come on, Talia. We’re leaving.”
Watching them walk away, I felt this
hollow ache in my chest.
Damon wasn’t always like this with me.
When I was seven, I fell into the river
during a pack run and nearly drowned.
Damon saved my life.
Out of all four Alpha heirs, besides my
cousin Rowan, I was closest to him.
He used to help me with my training,
encourage me when the pack elders were
being harsh, and even take punishments
with me when I screwed up.
Everything changed when we got older
and I figured out what it meant that he
was my intended mate–that everything
he learned, everything he worked for,
was all so he could stand beside me
someday.
He couldn’t handle that arrangement. Felt
trapped, like he had no freedom. Started
pulling away from me.
Then he met Talia at some inter–pack
gathering and fell for her gentle, scholarly
vibe.
I let out a bitter laugh.
If he knew I’d picked Rhett instead of him,
he’d probably throw a party.
