The Princess And The Alpha *Excerpt Only*

Prep Work

The next few days blew by me in a wild flurry of rushed events and sessions. I spent a lot of my time 'planning' my gala, which mostly meant my mother asked me questions about what I wanted then completely ignored what I had to say. It would've frustrated me beyond believe if I hadn't been completely disgusted by the whole idea and thoroughly distracted. I knew that I was furious with Ryan- how could he even suggest that I be a luna when I was to be a queen?- but I certainly was not looking for another man to fill his shoes. I needed time to come up with a game plan. I needed to think about how I was going to break this to my parents, then to the werewolf community.

Still, the busy days were a good distraction. Yes, I wanted to figure out what to do, but I also needed to be away from Ryan, to be a princess and pay attention to my duties. Plus, I wanted some time with my father. I knew that he had put up a good defense when I had brought up Ryan's rogue pack, but I hoped with time he would come to explain things to me. And I wanted an unbiased opinion from him. My father was sweet, and he probably loved me too much for my own good, and I feared that if I waited too long and he found out who my mate was he would try to sugar coat the reality to save my feelings. I wanted facts, nothing more, nothing less.

Sadly, in between picking out the colours of flowers and lipsticks, I barely had any time with my father, and when I did he always steered very clear of the topic. I desperately wanted to ask him, make him spill all the details and names and stories, but I was worried. As much as I had tried to behave normally I knew I wasn't doing a smashing job of it. I had gone for runs when I hated them, I was distracted, moody, not sleeping, not eating. I worried that someone would start connecting the dots if I asked too many questions.

So I stayed relatively silent, did as I was told, and tried not to be awfully rude to Preston when he tailed me a little too closely. And since my façade kept me busy the gala was approaching faster than I had imagined.

Unfortunately for me, the reality of what I was setting myself up for didn't sink in until I saw a handsome stranger staring at a painting in the sitting room the night before the ball.

"Can I help you?" I said hotly. I had forgotten that I was supposed to be a gracious host, but my frayed nerves ebbed away my hospitality.

The tall, relatively thin man turned around and appraised me with sparkling green eyes and when they landed on my face he gave me a dashing smile that almost made me feel bad for being such a brute.

"I'm sorry, I don't think we've been properly introduced." He said, bowing gracefully. His voice soft and smooth. His movements were refined and polished, like he had been raised to be royal and I instantly thought of how different he was from my roughened up mate. "My name is Lucas, you must be the princess."

"Yes, I am the princess." I grunted, narrowing my eyes. "What are you doing in my home? Did the guards let you in here? Do my parents know you're here?"

Lucas straightened up, unbothered by the lack of a curtsey and he continued to smile at me, "Yes, your parents know I am here. And yes, the guards let me in. I'm here for the ball."

"The ball is tomorrow." I spat, still glowering.

"I am aware." He agreed, "But I come from Canada, you see, so it would be hard for me to get a flight all the way to Germany tomorrow that would still allow me to be on time for the gala. So I will be staying here for two nights, then the day after the gala I will be gone." He explained.

"I see." I snarled, "And now that you've been allowed in the palace you think that you are allowed to poke around at our personal belongings." I swung around him, almost using the large skirt of my lavender dress to shield our possessions from his prying eyes.

"I didn't mean to offend." He said gently, dipping his head in apology, "It's the first time I've been in a palace of any kind and I suppose I got carried away with my observations. If you do not wish for me to continue my sightseeing, then I will certainly retire to my room." He proposed.

"Wait," I blurted as my eyes traveled over his slight frame, "you must be an alpha then."

"Yes, your Highness, I am." Lucas responded.

I blinked as my mouth dropped open, preparing to say something stupid, but I snapped it shut quickly. The man before me certainly did not have the look or the demeanour of an arrogant alpha. But I didn't want to offend him by saying so. Trying to collect myself, I gave him a quick nod and moved away from him.

"Am I dismissed, Princess?" he called as I strode away, nearly dashing to my bedroom.

"Yes." I called back. The only sounds after that were my heels clicking against the floor until I opened my bedroom door and slammed it shut behind me.

There, in my room and finally alone I jammed my eyes shut and began claw for the zipper on the back of my dress. this was real. This was happening. I would soon have a house filled with men who would be competing for the chance to have my attention, and I was supposed to select one of them. Or maybe more? I don't truly know what my parents expected me. I didn't know if they wanted me to narrow it down to five men, or a single one who would become my husband before I could protest.

All I knew was that I had no idea what was coming my way and that my true mate was not going to be attending the most important gala of my life.