The Alpha And His Rejected Fae Princess

A Narrow Escape

Third Person POV

Sadie woke up with excitement. Today was a special day, one that she had looked forward to all year. She woke up Deidre, and Deidre came awake with a bit of a shock, staring at the little girl whose face was alight with happiness.

"Deidre," she trilled "Do you know what day it is today?"

Deidre fought back a grin. She sat upright and surveyed the child thoughtfully, rubbing her chin with a wide smile on her face.

"Hmmm," she said. "Is the circus here?" she teased.

The little girl shrieked with laughter. Her shoulders shook up and down. "No silly," Sadie said, her raven black hair bouncing around her face.

Deidre pretended to think again, "Is it my birthday?" she guessed.

Sadie snorted. "No, Deidre,"

Deidre giggled. "I think it might be your birthday," she teased, grabbing the eight-year-old girl and tickling her as she giggled and shrieked.

Deidre stopped tickling Sadie and got up, giving Gray a pat on his furry head. She'd gotten used to the odd creature and had grown quite fond of him. He was so protective of Sadie, and the little girl adored him. She rifled through her dresser Sadie watching her with wide, open, excited eyes that sparkled.

"Are we going to do something today?" she asked.

Deidre started to get dressed. Sadie hopped from one foot to another. Deidre glanced at her and grabbed something from the dresser, handing it to the stunned girl. It was a small present, wrapped in pink wrapping paper and a black bow. Sadie swallowed hard. She hadn't expected Deidre to get her anything, but Deidre loved the little girl and she suspected that she might not get anything from her family.

Sadie sat down on the floor and stared at the present. Gray sat on his haunches, his tail wagging, pressing his head against Sadie's as she reached down with trembling hands and slowly and carefully undid the bow. She peeled it off and then looked at the wrapping paper. "You can rip it off," Deidre said with a laugh.

But the little girl shook her head. Slowly, she unveiled the box and then opened the lid, giving a loud gasp as she saw what was inside. She lifted it out with shaking hands, tears coming to her eyes.

"I thought it would remind you of Gray," Deidre said gently.

It was a perfect miniature, glass, figurine of Gray, right down to his silvery and white fur coat, his dark eyes, and even his cute little nose. Sadie admired it.

"I love it" Sadie whispered, flinging herself at Deidre "Thank you so much, Deidre," she said with a catch in her throat.

Deidre awkwardly patted her back. "How about we go down for some breakfast and then go for a walk?" she suggested.

Sadie's stomach grumbled. Deidre laughed. "How long have you been up for?" she asked Sadie.

Sadie looked sheepish. "A little while," she mumbled.

Deidre sighed.

Sadie carefully placed the wolf in pride of place, in the center of her dresser and then reluctantly turned away, following Deidre out of the room. Gray trailed slowly behind them.

They reached the dining table. Queen Cassandra sat at the table, feeding a chubby toddler, while King Dominic looked on indulgently, a smile on his lips. His dark brown eyes narrowed as he spotted his daughter, but he said nothing as Sadie pulled a chair up beside her mother, Deidre nervously taking a seat beside her. Sadie looked over at her mother with excitement, hoping that she would at least greet her. She wriggled in her seat and her father's eyes narrowed in disgust. "Sit still, That behavior is hardly becoming of a princess, " he barked.

Sadie sat properly, her hands in her lap, her eyes fixed on the table, the spark going out of her eyes. Queen Cassandra sniffed.

"Do try to make a good role model for your brother Stefan?" she said coldly.

Sadie's shoulder's slumped. She stared miserably at the table. Deidre tried to smile encouragingly at her. "We'll go for a walk as soon as we've had breakfast,"

Queen Cassandra placed a muffin in front of a wriggling Stefan who was trying to escape his chair. Sadie smiled at her brother.

"Hi Stefan," she said, but as usual, the toddler ignored her,

Queen Cassandra stiffened and shot a glance at her daughter, her expression wary. "Happy birthday," she said stiffly.

King Dominic raised an eyebrow. "Happy birthday," he told his daughter gravely. There was no warmth in his voice whatsoever.

"Thank you," said Sadie meekly.

Neither the King nor Queen offered any gifts or platitudes after that. Sadie ate slowly, mechanically, and daintily, using the correct tableware so as not to embarrass her mother and father.

Queen Cassandra got up from the table, her stomach swollen once again with child. Deidre felt a flash of pity for her. She had had numerous miscarriages and stillborns, but the King would not give up in his determination to have both an heir and a spare. The queen looked miserable. Her blonde hair was streaked with grey, and her green eyes were dull and faded. Her wings were also brittle looking rather than appearing healthy. Queen Cassandra took hold of Stefan's hand, the other nanny getting up from the table

"Come on Stefan," she said hoarsely. "Let's go play for a bit,"

King Dominic looked at his son and ruffled his hair. "I'll be up in a bit," he promised.

Deidre saw Sadie wince.

Queen Cassandra tugged her son's hand and gently led him out of the dining room and up the stairs.

King Dominic got up without a word. He left, heading towards the throne room. Sadie knew better than to get upset. This had been her reality for so long that she had learned to accept it. Deidre gently held her hand and helped her up from her seat. "Let's go for that walk. Wasn't there a cave you wanted to explore?" she asked.

Sadie nodded, grabbing her coat from the rack and then walking outside

"What do you suppose is in the cave?" asked Sadie, skipping,

"I don't know," mused Deidre, "maybe hidden treasure," she said, "or bones," she teased.

Sadie's eyes lit up. She almost ran towards the cave, heading through thickets of trees and down hills, as Deidre struggled to keep up. Maybe she shouldn't have planted the idea of treasure and bones in her head, thought Deidre wryly. Soon, they were standing at the entrance of the cave. Sadie peered in. It was dark.

Sadie slunk ahead. "Sadie" hissed Deidre. "You can't just walk in there. It's too dark for you to see, " she protested.

"I can see just fine," Sadie said hotly, her feet sure and steady as she walked on the hard rocky ground. She turned a corner, and Deidre groaned, Gray, darting forward after the child. She followed behind, slowly, her ears pricked for the slightest sound they weren't alone in the cave.

Sadie was entranced. She came to the end, a large room of sorts, and glanced around slightly disappointed. It smelt really bad in here, she thought, and dank. She wrinkled her nose. So much for hidden treasure, she thought glumly. She kicked a rock across the ground in disappointment. It hit the wall with a small thud. Gray whined, his ears flattening against his head. Deidre came around the corner and halted in her tracks. "There you are," she exclaimed.

Her eyes swept the small room. "It doesn't look like there's a treasure to be had here," she said apologetically, taking in the glum look on Sadie's face "Why don't we go and get an ice cream cone instead?" she suggested.

Sadie sighed. She had been so sure the cave held some sort of secret.

Deidre gave her a hug. "I'm sorry, Princess," she murmured. "I know you were hoping for something exciting."

Gray gave another low whine, this time more of a whimper, and Sadie looked at him in concern.

"Gray," she said softly. "Come here, boy."

He slunk to her side. She patted him and felt his body trembling. She looked up at Deidre fearfully. "I think we should get out of the cave," she began when a loud roar stopped her from speaking any further.

Deidre heard the roar, saw the large hulking body approaching the corner, and swore. This was not good. She knew the shape of that animal, It stopped and sniffed, and Deidre's heart sank as it looked straight toward them. She lifted her hands up and prepared herself, shoving Sadie behind her.

"Get ready to run," she screamed as the grizzly bear began to charge.

Deidre channeled the earth, branches grabbing hold of the bear and pinning him to the floor. It snarled, its eyes glowing a bright red color. It was a fae bear but one that was being controlled by someone who had the gift to do so. Who would attack Sadie? Diedre didn't have time to find out. The grizzly bear tore off the branches with its mouth and leaped high in the air, attacking Deidre, and swatting her across the cave, where she hit the wall and promptly passed out.

"Deidre," screamed Sadie, her voice echoing in the chamber.

The bear gave a low growl, its eyes staring at her. Sadie felt her body trembling but not in fear, so much as rage, as Gray leaped forward and was hit clear across the room, his yelp causing her to wince as he got up and began to limp painfully back to her. She narrowed her eyes.

"You bastard," she hissed, "I don't care that you are being controlled, " she continued, noting the red eyes."You have to have a cruelty streak in you in the first place for someone to take over like this."

The bear's eyes narrowed. Sadie felt her rage increase. She felt like she was going warm, really warm. It was hot, so hot in this damn chamber. She closed her eyes. When they opened, her eyes were silver. Her whole body lit up in flames. Gray backed away from her, feeling his fur ignite and frantically putting it out by rolling along the floor.

The grizzly bear sensed the danger it was in. It was going to turn tail and run, but Sadie wouldn't let it. She darted forward and grabbed hold of its arm, burning it as it howled and swatted at her. She ducked and grabbed the other paw, flames leaping from her onto him. The bear writhed on the ground covered in hot, searing flames. He rolled over and over again, but the flames would not go out. They were so hot that he was melting, his anguished cries slowly fading as he died right in front of her eyes. Sadie stared down at the bear as it lay there, bones melting, until there was nothing but a pile of ash sitting there. Her rage decreased, and she came back to herself. She blinked. Sadie had no idea how she had managed to summon the fire to hurt the bear. She watched as the ash began to sprinkle across the chamber. Gray gave a low plaintive whine, and she rushed to him, placing her hand on his leg and slowly healing him as he licked her face in gratitude.

Sadie knelt beside Deidre next. She placed her hands on Deidre's head, her hands beginning to glow, and Deidre opened her eyes and blinked up at her charge. "Sadie," she gasped, sitting up and looking around "Where is the bear?" she shrieked as she saw the empty chamber.

Sadie swallowed hard. How did she explain what happened? "Well, see, the thing is," she began.

"You used magic again," Deidre said lowly.

Sadie's head dropped. Deidre tried not to groan. Whoever was using the bear might have seen Sadie! She fought to maintain her composure.

"I want to hear everything. Don't leave anything out," Deidre said.

Sadie told her everything, including how mad she had felt and how she needed to concentrate to transfer the flames. When she was finished, Deidre was stunned. "I don't understand, you shouldn't be able to call on the elements at all, not with the healing power" she whispered in awe "and yet, you conjure them up when you are in need. You must not tell anyone Sadie, especially not your father. I have a feeling he would use you if he knew. Promise me you won't say a word, " she whispered, and Sadie nodded. She wouldn't speak a word to anyone.

Gray whined and licked her hand. Deidre felt relieved. At least Sadie was listening to her. She began to lead Sadie out of the cave. Deidre gave her a sidelong glance. Sadie needed to be protected at all costs. It was a damn shame, thought Deidre almost tearfully, that the people Sadie needed to be protected from most of all were her own family.