Chapter 3 Chapter 3

"Fine," I said, avoiding eye contact, which had become a little too difficult for my liking. For some reason, whenever this Alpha male looked at me, my stomach felt hot and strange.

He took his time letting go of my chin, his silver-grey eyes staying on mine for a few seconds longer than necessary. "I will be seeing you around."

I watched him walk out of my bakery, and my wings went completely flat.

What had just happened?

What had I gotten myself into?

I already had enough problems waiting for me at the palace, and now the most feared werewolf in the kingdom knew my biggest secret. I dropped onto one of the wooden chairs and covered my face with both hands.

There was no way I was going to sleep tonight.

I was right.

The next morning, my best friend, Lily, found me sitting behind the bakery counter with my head resting against a bowl of flour.

She stared at me for a few seconds before slowly placing her basket on the table. "You look terrible. What happened to you?"

I lifted my head and gave her a tired look. "My father decided that I am getting married."

Her mouth fell open.

"To Arundel?"

I nodded.

Lily pulled out the chair opposite me and sat down. She had been my best friend since we were children, and she was one of the few fairies who never judged me for wanting a life outside the palace.

"You're joking."

"I wish I was."

I told her everything that had happened at dinner, including the way my father had announced the arrangement as though he were discussing a trade agreement. By the time I finished, Lily was shaking her head in disbelief.

"That explains why the palace looked like it was about to explode this morning. There were servants everywhere when I passed through. Your mother already has people preparing flowers, fabrics and invitations."

I groaned and dropped my forehead onto the counter.

"She works fast."

"She is Queen Vera. Of course she works fast." Lily laughed before becoming serious again. "Anaya, you can't marry Arundel."

"I know."

"What are you going to do?"

"I have no idea."

Before Lily could answer, the bakery door opened.I looked up.Arundel walked inside.Of course.

He looked around the bakery with an expression that made my blood boil. He was dressed in an expensive dark-green coat embroidered with silver thread, and his hair had been carefully styled. Everything about him screamed royalty.

His eyes moved from the wooden tables to the flour-covered counter and finally to the baskets of bread cooling near the window.

"So this is where you've been spending all your time."

I stood up. "What are you doing here?"

He gave a small laugh. "I wanted to see this place you have chosen over your family."

"You followed me."

"I wanted to know where you disappeared to every day. Surely you didn't think nobody would notice."

My jaw tightened.

Nobody was supposed to know.

My mother had been the only person who knew about the bakery. She had made me promise that I would never tell anyone else about it, especially my father. I had kept that promise.

Until now.

"How did you find this place?"

Arundel walked toward one of the tables and ran his fingers across it before looking at the flour on his hand.

"I followed you."

"You stalked me."

"Call it whatever you want."

I stepped in front of him. "Don't touch anything."

He raised an eyebrow.

"This bakery belonged to my grandmother," I continued. "You don't get to walk in here and mock it."

"I wasn't mocking it. I simply don't understand why a princess would choose to live like this."

"Because I actually like it."

He smiled, but there was nothing warm about it.

"You will be a queen one day. You should start behaving like someone worthy of the position."

"I would burn than become your wife."

His smile disappeared.

"You wouldn't dare."

"Try me."

For the first time, the arrogance in his expression faded.

"If you do anything to sabotage this alliance, Ayana, I won't keep your little secret."

My stomach dropped.

He stepped closer, lowering his voice.

"Imagine what your father would do if he discovered that his daughter has been sneaking across the border into wolf territory and spending her days playing baker."

I stared at him.

Everyone was using this place against me.

The one thing I had inherited from my grandmother, the one place where I had ever felt like myself, had somehow become a weapon they could all use against me.

"You're horrible," I whispered.

Arundel straightened his coat. "I'm simply reminding you where your responsibilities lie."

He walked out without another word.

I remained standing behind the counter long after the door closed.

Lily came toward me and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"You don't have to marry him."

"I know."

But knowing and finding a way out were two completely different things.

By nightfall, the bakery was silent.

I had barely finished cleaning when I heard the bell above the door.

My heart immediately started racing.

I knew who it was.

Xavier stood in the doorway.

For one second, I considered disappearing.

Instead, I stayed.

Somewhere deep inside me, I wanted answers. If fairies really were killing wolves, I needed to know. I couldn't spend the rest of my life wondering whether everything my family had taught me was true.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"Put on your cloak."

I frowned. "Excuse me?"

"Your hood too."

He turned toward the door.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll find out."

I hated how calm he always sounded.

I grabbed my cloak anyway.

Minutes later, I followed him through the forest.

The deeper we went, the less familiar everything became. The trees grew taller and darker, their branches twisting above us until they blocked out most of the moonlight.

Eventually, Xavier stopped.

I looked ahead.

Beyond the line of trees was the wolf territory.

I refused to take another step.

"No."

He turned around. "No?"

"I am not crossing that border."

"You already did yesterday."

"That was different."

"How?"

"I was rescuing a pup."

"And tonight?"

"You haven't told me anything."

Xavier looked at me for several seconds. His face remained unreadable, but his voice softened slightly.

"You want to know whether your people are responsible for the deaths."

I swallowed.

"Yes."

"Then trust me."

I stared at him.

Trusting a werewolf sounded like the stupidest thing I had ever heard.

Yet somehow, I nodded.

We continued walking.

The journey seemed to last forever. My wings remained tucked beneath my cloak as we moved deeper into wolf territory. The forest here felt different from the part I knew. There were no glowing flowers or floating lights. No tiny magical creatures moved between the trees.

Everything was darker.Rougher.Even the air felt heavier.Then the trees opened.I stopped walking.A village stretched across the valley below us.

Warm lights glowed from wooden houses built between enormous trees. Smoke rose from stone chimneys, and I could see wolves moving through the streets in their human forms. Some carried baskets, others walked beside children, and a few stood outside what looked like small shops.

It wasn't what I expected.

I had imagined monsters.

Instead, I saw families.

Xavier continued toward the village, and I followed him until a massive castle appeared beyond the houses.

I stared at it.

The structure was built from dark stone and concrete, with enormous walls surrounding it. Tall towers rose into the night, their windows glowing with warm orange light.

It was nothing like our palace.

The fairy kingdom was filled with crystal towers, flowing water, flowers and glowing bridges. Our buildings were bright and elegant, almost as though they had been designed to exist among the clouds.

This place looked like it belonged beneath the earth.Dark.

Powerful.

Almost frightening.

And somehow, fascinating.

Xavier climbed the stone steps.

Two warriors immediately moved in front of us.

Their eyes went straight to me.

One of them growled.

I instinctively stepped closer to Xavier.

"Move," he ordered.

Neither man did.

More wolves appeared behind them.

Their eyes remained fixed on me, and the hostility rolling from them made the air feel thick.

"She is a fairy," one of the warriors said. "You brought a fairy here?"

Xavier's expression hardened.

"I said move."

The warrior shook his head. "Have you lost your mind, Alpha? If the council sees this, they'll think you've betrayed us."

Another wolf stepped forward. "Your father was killed by fairy magic. How can you bring one of them into our home?"

My chest tightened.

Xavier stepped between me and the warriors.

"Stand down."Nobody moved.His eyes changed.

For a second, I saw something wild behind them.

Then his voice dropped into a cold command that made every wolf around us go silent.

"No one touches my mate."The entire courtyard froze.

I stared at him.

Mate?

The word was impossible.Fairies and werewolves could not mate.Everyone knew that.Even the wolves looked confused.One warrior slowly turned toward another as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard.But Xavier didn't look confused. I actually almost believed him but my head told me that was impossible. He was just lying to protect me?

He looked completely certain.His hand reached for mine.I should have pulled away.Instead, I let him take it.