Page 6 of Crowned By The Blood Alphas

I’ll be there… forever.

We pass through the Wilderwall and I’m immediately struck by the intense poverty when we travel through the first village. Young boys and girls in their dirty rags and bare feet follow our wagons. They’re not wearing much, but they look healthy enough and have smiles on their faces as they tease and taunt the soldiers in the rear.

“Where are their clothes?” I ask Garrick as I watch the kids dart away, laughing as a soldier shouts at them.

“These are simple creatures,” Garrick says, not showing the least bit of curiosity. “They change from their human skin to their wolf skins as easily as you change from your riding clothes to your dining dress. They have no need for silks from Greyvale or dresses from Fallowhaven. I doubt if they even cook their meat. These savages probably eat it raw off the bone. Oh, but… I’m sure they’ll have a chef familiar… with human food.”

I just ignore him and watch the children. I gasp when a little girl bursts into a small wolf and darts off into the forest. Just like that? It was as easy as that?

A few of the rambunctious boys start tossing pebbles at the rear guard, laughing at the pinging sound the stones make on his metal armor. The guard draws his sword in warning and turns toward the boys.

“Hey!” I shout, leaping out of the carriage before it comes to a stop. “Sheath that sword at once!”

“Princess!” Garrick shouts, leaping after me.

I’m already charging to the back of the party, about to tear the guard a new one. He’s smarter than he looks and quickly sheaths his sword.

“I was only rearing to scare them is all,” he says as I stare him down. “Sorry, Princess.”

The girls and boys watch me curiously. They may look strange to me in their tattered rags, but I must look like a character from a fairy tale in my pink dress, silk shoes, and ribbons in my blonde hair. They openly gawk at me in wonder.

“They’re just playing,” I say as I head over to the wagon. I’d like to give them some sweets, but when I pull back the tarp, I see that the wagon is full of jewels and gold coins. I gasp as I quickly cover it again.

“Here, Princess,” Garrick says, reaching into the second wagon and giving me a loaf of fresh bread. It’s still warm from the bakery.

The kids rush over as I walk up to them, breaking off bits of bread. Dirty hands grab and fight as I hand portions out, making sure everyone gets a piece. They devour it in seconds and watch me in awe as I wave and then head back to the carriage.

“Why are the wagons filled with jewels and gold?” I ask Garrick when we’re rolling toward the Blood Alphas’ castle once again.

“Guards are expensive,” he says. “And your father needs the whole northern border secured for three years at least. Three wagons such as these will be rolling into Varkhar once every season.”

I hope some of it trickles down to those kids back there and all of the other villages in the kingdom. I just hope the pair of kings aren’t totally selfish and keep it all for themselves.

But any man who can share his queen with another can’t be inherently selfish.

I’m curious about these Blood Alphas. I think about them the whole way to the castle.

I’d like to see them.

From a distance of course.

Royalty or not, they’re still barbarous creatures and not fit to be around a distinguished, civilized princess like myself.

Chapter Three

King Cassius

What have I done?

In my three years as a king of Varkhar, I have made exactly one tactical mistake, and that was underestimating the number of shifters attending our coronation. Thankfully, I have never made a mistake on the battlefield, and I don’t intend to start now.

Although, this predicament we got ourselves into with the humans may be the start of many, many tactical mistakes. Unless I can figure this out…

I stretch my arms and neck, hearing the little cracks and crunches from being hunched over this giant map for far too long. It’s a massive map of Varkhar, the Blood River, Aurevale, the Wilderwall, and the wild lands to the north. My eyes are locked on it as my mind races for solutions that refuse to come.

It seemed to be a good idea at the time. Three wagons full of jewels in exchange for security along King Corwin’s northern border. The humans, with their flying arrows and pointy sticks, are no match for the Hollowborn, and they were being slaughtered in droves as they attempted to repair their ancient, crumbling wall.

The choice was simple, really. Either let the wall collapse and watch as the Hollowborn devour the human kingdom, in which case, we would have had to increase patrols along our western flank for the rest of eternity. Or, get paid in an abundance of riches by the absurdly prosperous citizens of Aurevale to increase patrols along their northern border for a limited time.