NOLAN

He pressed his ear to the door but heard nothing further.

He knocked. Nothing.

Without thinking, he gave the door a little push, and it swung open.

Yena was sprawled out in bed with a white bedsheet wrapped tightly around her dramatic curves. She was talking in her sleep.

“Evan…” she whispered.

Nolan tensed. She was dreaming about the boy. The brother.

His pulse increased. His heart started hammering away in his chest again.

“Where did you put…” Yena continued, her voice soft and sleepy. “The chocolates… Where are my chocolates?”

Nolan stifled a laugh.

“Greedy girl,” he whispered.

A breeze drifted through the hall and swept a chill into the bedroom. Yena shivered in her sleep.

A quilt was on the floor in a heap, having fallen off the bed.

He waved his hand. It slid back up onto the bed, covering the girl as she slept.

Her body relaxed and her breathing grew steady and quiet.

Nolan let himself look at her soft round face for just a moment longer. Then he turned and left. He pulled the doors closed behind him silently.

It would have been easy to let the wolf take over.

Just a few steps over to the bed.

His desire for this girl was truly terrifying. He was not sure what he might be capable of around her.

He leaned on the wall beside the door and thought about the shape of her body. All he wanted to do was touch…

He went to his bedroom and locked himself inside.

YENA

I woke with my stomach growling.

I dressed and went downstairs to find a beautiful sight waiting for me in the dining room — a big table full of amazing looking food.

Pancakes, fruit, and a little pitcher of syrup. Bacon, eggs, and fried tomatoes.

I might’ve been dreaming about this exact meal last night.

The room was empty until I sat down and a maid came in. She poured me a steaming cup of coffee from a gold teapot.

As she walked away, I noticed a small dish on the table with a closed lid.

I opened and it found it was full of chocolate truffles.

I smiled.

This was it. A little delicious luxury that was starting to make the whole princess thing actually sound appealing.

When the maid came in again, I asked her if she knew if the prince was around. She said he went to a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new werewolf orphanage. He’d left early, before the sun came up.

Thank Goddess, I thought.

I let myself relax and really enjoy the feast in front of me.

Everything was amazing. The berries were impossibly fresh. The bacon was crisped to perfection.

But even though I finally felt refreshed with some calories, sugar, and caffeine in me, my brain was torturing me, replaying the embarrassing scene from the night before over and over in my mind.

I hated Lily.

I prayed that Nolan would somehow forget the whole thing.

He wouldn’t, of course. But maybe he could take it easy on me just this once and at least pretend.

Lily felt my anger and promised she’d never try to take me over again without my permission.

So at least it wouldn’t happen again. I hoped.

After breakfast the deaconess found me. Then my luxurious little moment of peace was over, and she rushed me over to etiquette training in another wing of the palace.

Then it turned into an unpleasant morning.

The deaconess’s name was Rafaela. She had big, round eyes that gave her an appearance of constant urgency.

The first thing we did was practice different kinds of bows and curtsies. There were specific ones to use depending on who else was in the room when I saw the Lycan king and Luna queen.

These would be my in-laws, I argued. Couldn’t I ever just be myself around them?

That made Rafaela’s big eyes get even wider. Apparently, my ignorance about royal customs was wildly offensive. After that, she was even meaner and pickier about my performance in the lessons.

The last thing I had to do, she said, was get changed for a lunch meeting with Nolan and Luna.

I gulped. That would probably not be fun.

We went to a changing room and she brought out a white dress with floral embroidery on the long, flowing sleeves. I was relieved. It looked like it would fit.

Rafaela pushed me behind a wooden screen and told me to get undressed while she prepared the dress. I could dress myself, I told her — I’m a grown woman and can put on my own clothes.

She started reprimanding me, like everyone here apparently was in the business of doing, when one of the prince’s attendants came in through the open door.

I guess the deaconess didn’t hear the door over her scolding chatter. She jumped when the man stopped right beside her and spoke.

I heard the distinct sound of fabric ripping, and a gasp.

“Oh, Goddess,” Rafaela whispered, her voice shaky. “What have I done?”

I threw my clothes back on and came out from behind the screen.

She’d torn the left sleeve, a big long rip through the delicate fabric, starting at the hemline on the wrist.

It was a little alarming to see her get so distressed at the thought of upsetting Luna. Especially since I’d be on my way to see the woman any minute now.

This was the woman who raised an arrogant, indifferent prince. A woman who could instill such fear in her servants, they trembled when they made the slightest mistake.

“It’s okay,” I said. “I can fix it.”

“That’s very kind,” she said, “but I will tell Luna what happened and accept my punishment.”

“No,” I said. “Really, if you have a pair of scissors and some thread, I’ll just change the sleeves a little.”

She squinted at me and said in a dubious tone, “Alright.”

She got the supplies and talked to the attendant while I worked. I heard him telling her that Nolan was on his way to escort me to the meeting.

It only took a minute. I cut both sleeves up to about the elbow and hand-stitched a couple quick, loose hems. The fabric was forgiving, and I was able to make some pleats in the sleeves that would actually be more flattering on me.

This time Rafaela did not argue when I told her I was going to dress myself. I changed quickly and came out to find the attendant gone, and the deaconess looking me up and down.

She bowed her head slightly and said, “Thank you, Miss Yena. It looks beautiful.”

I shrugged and said, “It was no problem. This is what I do. I study fashion design and I’m going to start my own clothing line someday, a luxury plus-size brand.”

She looked at me with an odd expression.

“What is it?” I asked.

“I should…” she started, faltering. “There are some things you should know, Miss Yena.”

“What kind of things?” I asked.

“Precautions,” she said, “for your time in the palace.”

NOLAN

The prince returned in the afternoon, having received his mother’s summons for a lunch meeting with him and Yena.

He heard voices coming from a room close by… Yena and the deaconess. He walked over to check in on her lesson.

It appeared the morning’s training must have been over. The girl was dressing for the meeting already.

Nolan checked his watch. He was running late.

Apparently, so was Yena. Rafaela was pacing outside a screen. He saw Yena’s shadow moving as she changed her own clothes on the other side.

Odd, he thought.

He wondered how the girl had managed to persuade the deaconess to allow her to do such a thing.

Yena emerged in a beautiful dress and two women spoke quietly.

The prince heard Yena say that she was studying fashion design in college and planned to start a clothing line.

There were scissors and thread on the bed, and some torn strips of fabric.

Had Yena just tailored her own gown? It was gorgeous. And fit her perfectly.

He forced himself to walk away.

The girl had ambition. It was impressive.

It occurred to him that this was why he had so insulted her the night of the ball. Why she did not care about the prince’s promise of wealth and a life of ease.

The girl did not care if she was poor and ordinary.

Because she had a dream. And talent.

Nolan stepped away. He would come back for Yena in a few minutes.

This new information he had just learned… it felt familiar.

He had been with his last girlfriend, Gina, for a long time.

Until she left him.

For a new life in the human world.

He wondered, now, if Yena could do the same.

Nolan pulled out the key to his study and reached for the doorknob, but it swung open before he touched it.

The secretary, mid-step on his way out, let out a startled little bleat.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness,” he said with a small bow. “I’ve just left some mail on your desk.”

The prince nodded.

The mail was in a pile. A few envelopes, correspondence he’d been expecting.

And one postcard.

On the front was a glossy photo of a city skyline backlit by a pink sunset.

A human city.

He flipped it over.

I miss you Nolan, it read in neat handwriting.

Looking forward to seeing you soon.