The Alpha and the slave princess

The moon goddess is a b!tch!

Elara’s POV

The scent was pulling at me. It was stronger than the smell of anything that had ever had a pull from me. It is more than the heavy perfumes of the women, and the wine. It was a deep, earthy smell like cedar wood and the cold air right before a snowstorm.

My heart started to beat in my throat. It couldn't be, there is no way.

My wolf, who had been silent and grieving since the day my father died, suddenly let out a low howl inside of me, she is unsettled and I know why.

I knew that smell. I had smelled it in his room, on his skin when he grabbed my neck, and in the fabric of the furs he made me sleep on.

It was Julian, only now, it was different now. It wasn't just the smell of a man. It was a pull. It felt like a golden thread was tied to my heart and he was on the other end, jerking it. I looked at the guards.

They were busy watching the young couples dance around their mates. They weren't paying attention to the alpha’s slave in the gold dress anymore. I wonder what their alpha would say to that.

I stepped off the platform. My bare feet were silent on the cold stone. I moved through the shadows at the edge of the hall, heading for the side door he had used. Every step I took made the scent stronger. It made my skin tingle and my breath come in short gasps. This is crazy! Absolutely crazy.

When I pushed the door open, it led me to a long, dim hallway lit by only a few torches. The music from the hall has become a bit dull now, with a thumping sound behind me. I followed the scent down the corridor.

I stopped in front of a heavy wooden door at the very end of the hall. This was his private study, a place even the guards weren't allowed to enter without permission. The scent was coming from behind this wood, thick and overwhelming.

I reached for the handle. My hand was shaking. I knew I should go back. I knew that if he caught me out of the hall, he might hurt me or hurt one of my people. But the pull was too strong and I also needed to know why he had called me a slut and then run away.

I pushed the door open just an inch, the room was dark, except for the glow of the fireplace. Julian was standing by the window, his back to me. He had taken off his heavy black coat and thrown it on the floor. His white shirt was unbuttoned at the top, and his hands were gripping the stone windowsill so hard I could hear the rock groaning.

He was breathing hard, his shoulders rising and falling. “I told you to stay in the hall," he said. His voice was a low growl, deeper and more animal than I had ever heard it. He didn't turn around, but he knew I was there. He could scent me just as I could scent him.

"Why did you leave?" I asked. My voice was small in the large room. "Why did you put me in this dress and then tell me I look like a slut in front of everyone?"

Julian turned around slowly. His silver eyes were glowing in the dark, bright and wild. He looked like he was in pain. He looked like he was fighting a dangerous war inside his own body.

"Because I can't look at you!" he roared, taking a step toward me.

I flinched, but I didn't run, I couldn't.

"I put you in that dress because I wanted to shame you," he said, his voice shaking with rage. "I wanted to see you stand there and realize you are nothing. I wanted the pack to see that the Silvermoon Princess is just a girl I can dress up like a doll."

He stopped right in front of me. The scent was so strong now that I felt dizzy. It was coming off him in waves.

"But then I saw you," he whispered, his eyes scanning my face, my neck, and the skin showing through the gold fabric. "I saw you walk in, and I didn't see a slave. I didn't see a traitor's daughter."

He reached out, his hand trembling as he touched the silver collar around my neck. His skin was burning hot.

"The Moon Goddess is a cruel b***h, Elara," he said.

I felt the world tilt. My wolf was screaming now, recognizing the truth before my mind could. The scent, the pull, the way my heart raced when he was near, it wasn't just fear.

"No," I whispered, shaking my head. "No, that's impossible. You killed my father. You destroyed my home."

"I know," Julian said. He grabbed the leather lead attached to my collar and jerked me toward him. Our chests crashed together. "I hate you. I hate your blood. I hate everything you stand for. But the scent doesn't lie."

He leaned down, his nose brushing against the pulse point in my neck, right above the silver metal. He took a deep breath, and I felt a shiver run down my entire body.

"You are my f**k!ng mate," he growled against my skin.

I felt like I was falling. This was the worst nightmare I could imagine. The man who had taken everything from me was the one the Goddess had chosen for my soul. He was the person I was supposed to love, to protect, and to belong to for the rest of my life.

"I won't accept it," I said, my voice breaking. I pushed against his chest, but he was like a wall of iron. "I will never be your mate. I would rather die."

Julian pulled back to look at me. His face was a mask of agony and desire. He looked at my red lips, and for a second, the anger in his eyes turned into something else.

"You think I want this?" he asked. "I want to break you, I want to watch you suffer until you beg for death. But now, every time I see you cry, it feels like a knife in my own heart. Every time I see the bruises I gave you, my wolf wants to tear my own throat out."

He gripped my waist, his fingers digging into the gold fabric. “You are a curse, Elara," he whispered.

He leaned in, his lips inches from mine. I knew I should turn away. I knew I should spit in his face. But the bond was taking over. My body was betraying me, wanting his touch, wanting his kiss, even though my mind was screaming in horror.

"Kill me," I whispered against his lips. "If you have any mercy, Julian, kill me now."

"I can't," he said, his voice breaking. "And that is my punishment."

He lowered his head and pressed his lips to mine. It wasn't a gentle kiss. It was a battle. It tasted like a deep, desperate hunger. It was the kiss of two enemies who were being forced together by a fate they both hated.

As he kissed me, I felt the gold dress sliding against my skin. I felt the heat of his body. And for a moment, I forgot the ruins of my home, I forgot everything.

Then, Julian pulled away, his eyes wide with horror at what he was doing. He looked at me, then at the silver collar he had put on me, and he let out a choked sound.

"Get out," he said, turning his back to me again. "Go back to the hall. You must tell no one."

I stood there, my lips burning and my heart shattered. I looked at the man who was my mate and my greatest enemy.

"You can't hide from the Goddess, Julian," I said, my voice shaking. "You can chain me, and you can call me names, but you are tied to me forever. And I will make sure that bond burns you as much as it burns me."

I turned and ran out of the room, the gold dress fluttering around my legs, leaving him alone in the dark with the scent of the woman he was supposed to hate and damn forever.