Mountain Warrior

Power

Garam struggled against her father's men as they pulled her out of the carriage. One-on-one she knew she could've bested them, but with her hands tied behind her back and her head still fuzzy from the drugs, she was too weak to do more than make things difficult for them.

"Your father has Kwan. Behave or your bodyguard will be the one to suffer the consequences. Understand?"

She stopped struggling and gave a small nod. Kwan was still alive. She couldn't let anything else happen to her loyal bodyguard because of her actions. She had promised that she would keep him safe.

The ropes binding her hands were cut loose and one of the guards waved his hand in front of them.

"This way, Princess."

They walked to the entrance of a palace. It looked similar to her home but it felt different. It was a little worn from being up in the mountains and exposed to the elements, but the biggest difference was the feeling Garam got. It felt oddly welcoming. Perhaps it was the lack of guards guarding the gate. At the entrance to her father's palace, it was heavily guarded to stop anyone from entering who shouldn't.

Instead, there were just two guards there to greet them. At least, she assumed they were guards even though they wore no uniforms. What was most shocking about them was that they both had their arms exposed. Garam had never seen a man expose so much skin.

Her father's guards went to walk past them, but were stopped.

"We will take the Princess from here."

"I have orders to place her in the hands of your leader, personally."

"We have orders not to let you in. Either hand over the princess to us or take her back with you."

Her father's guard scowled but relented. He definitely couldn't take her back to the King. The guard grabbed Garam by the arm and pushed her into the arms of one of the mountain warriors.

"Fine, but you should know that she's a handful. Enjoy your new life, Princess."

Garam's head was starting to clear so she went to attack the guard who was mocking her, but the mountain warrior caught her and held her back.

Her father's guards laughed as they walked away. Garam let out a noise of frustration.

The mountain warrior let her go and started walking into the palace.

"Come on, Princess. San is waiting for you."

For a moment, Garam looked back at the path leading away from the palace and considered running for it. But something made her turn back and follow them. Perhaps it was because of the strange feeling this place gave her, or because the guards had called their leader by his name. No one called her father by his name, even in private.

When they reached the main courtyard she found herself surrounded by men, all of them dressed similarly to the two who had collected her from the gate. There wasn't a single woman in sight. What had her father sent her into?

A prickle went up the back of her neck and she wished she had made a run for it earlier. However, it wasn't too late.

Garam turned and ran back in the direction she had just come from. One of the warriors tried to stop her and she knocked them down easily as her attack took them by surprise. One by one she evaded them. Although she could tell that they were excellent fighters, they also seemed hesitant to hurt her in any way.

Apparently, she wasn't as recovered from the drug she had been given as she thought. She started to tire and her head began to ache again. She backed away bumping into something solid. She turned around to find herself face-to-face with a wolf. Or rather a bare chest covered with a painted wolf.

Before she could push him out of the way, the man had restrained her. Garam could tell that this man was different from the rest of the mountain warriors. She could feel the strength radiating off of him. His lips pulled up into a small smile as his sharp eyes gazed down at him.

"Hello, my wife."

This confirmed what Garam already knew. The man holding her, the only one who had been able to subdue her, was San, the leader of the mountain warriors. Her husband-to-be.