02

I flooded into the ballroom dressed in a black ball gown and decorated in silver accessories. The unfamiliar feeling of the heels on my feet made my body go rigid. I've never worn anything close to heels in town. All of us had been brought up poor, yet our lifestyle was comfortable. At least we survived, we didn't need riches, just each other. But now that my family was dead, I was left utterly defenseless and alone. Thrown head first into a world that was completely different and strange to me.

I missed home.

With my golden-brown hair pulled back into an elegant bun, I adjusted my black mask and glanced around, my silver eyes further exposed by the matching jewelry as I searched the room for something to do. Not wanting to awkwardly stand there, I just followed Emerald, letting her take the lead.

The black hem of my dress brushed along the marble floor as I began to walk, making me almost step on it and slip. But thankfully, I was able to regain my balance and straighten up, this time clutching some of the fabric with my gloved hands, so it lifted off the floor and wouldn't get in the way of my heels. As I looked up from my heels, I realized I had lost sight of my new friends and tried to search for them, but with no luck I waited beside the refreshments table and hoped for the best. There was nothing but girls in frilly dresses from as far as I could see, the bright mixes of colors almost hurt my eyes. There were just so many women and movement, it made me dizzy.

Finally, after almost an hour of waiting, we were forced to stand in a long line and wait until the King and Queen entered the spacious ball room. I couldn't hide my nervousness at all as my hands started to tremble and soon all chatter died away. A beautiful, elegant, young women had entered the room.

The Queen's eyes spared a glance at the other girls before landing on me and Emerald as if we were diamonds in a rough. Her gaze traveled over us and darkened with delight. The look she gave me made my skin crawl, but I didn't dare to stare back at her. It felt like she had been inspecting us for hours before she finally looked away, much to my relief, and stood beside the King who nodded to all the girls in approval.

Suddenly, with a snap of his finger, four tall, extremely well-built men strolled into the room. All four wore nicely fitted tuxes and black masks to hide their identity. "Go ahead pick your young slave, choose wisely."

The King ordered his sons with a simple gesture and command. The guards kept me in line, growling when I tried to look for Raven and the others. So I kept my head lowered, my eyes focused on the floor. I was scared out of my mind. Sure, I couldn't deny the fact that the princes were very attractive and suitable bachelors, but I also couldn't ignore the fact that they were natural born monsters all too capable of killing everyone in the room.

"Terrain. Take your pick."

The Queen spoke in a clear and smooth voice, ordering one of the sons to choose first, the youngest of the four took a step forward. His blondish hair making him stand out from his darker haired brothers. Terrain strolled down the line, his eyes trailing over a few girls, but he already seemed to know who he was going to pick and began to walk past all the girls. Confidently, he refused to spare any other girl a glance and pinned his gaze onto a familiar blonde. He adjusted his bow as he walked her way and stopped right in front of her.

I didn't realize it was Emerald until I heard her shout, her blonde hair coming into view as soon as I lifted my head to see who was causing the commotion. My eyes widened when I saw her being pushed forward by one of the guards.

Terrain had chosen her. Now her fate was concealed with him as her master. Forever.

The sight made my throat dry and my head feel light, there was a weird feeling rising in my stomach, making me feel anxious and sick.

Everyone waited as Terrain offered his hand to Emerald, though her green eyes flickered with anger. She sucked it up and placed her hand in his, when she heard his growl. Never had I heard someone growl so inhumanly before, it frightened me, and the noise failed to bring my nerves to rest. If anything, it made me jumpier. All of the princes were pretty intimidating. The four towered over us at a height around 6'3 and up. Each one built like some Greek god, with eyes that burned right into you. Those eyes hid so many secrets, I had no doubt about that considering their long and dark history.

"Clint."

This time the darker featured man stepped forward to claim one of the women standing anxiously in line. He was slow and had a more calculating look as he passed several women, his eyes dark and hooded. I hesitated when he paused in front of me, glowering before moving on only to pick out none other than Raven whose loud curses echoed across the ball room. I noticed her voice immediately and frowned when she was grabbed by her wrist and practically yanked from the room, her stubbornness clearly shown. Though I swear I had seen amusement flash across Clint's features. But it disappeared quickly when the pair exited.

As I stood there silently, I wondered what happened after you were picked and what happened when you were not. The thought itself made me tremble a bit more. Both scenarios seemed bittersweet.

"Hawk..."

The second to the last of the prince's didn't hesitate to step forward, his demeanor calm as he walked down the line, his eyes gazing over the few of the young women's faces. His eyes seemed to flicker with un-satisfaction, until he spotted an auburn-haired girl. He offered his hand to her, his olive-green eyes growing somewhat warm, unlike his other brother's gazes. A small smile was on his face when the girl shakily placed her hand in his and was being led away from the shelter of the many other girls. I noticed the girl as Autumn when her hazel eyes glanced at me as if pleading for help. 'It'll be okay,' I mouthed, it was the only thing I could do to assure her. I wasn't able to promise anything, because I, too, didn't know what would happen to her, me, and the others.

My body continued to shake as the last prince took a step forward, his blue eyes scanning over each of the girls. Those blue eyes. They somehow became so familiar to me. I couldn't remember when I had last seen them, but it felt like I had before.

"River you may choose now." The queen replied and perked up a little, her eyes gleaming with curiosity. She most likely wondered who this particular prince would pick.

The blue-eyed prince carefully observed each face, pondering for a moment as if he were sorting out whether he wanted them or not. Though his lips said other things, the corners were slightly curled up into a small, barely noticeable smile, that hinted that he knew exactly who he wanted, and it was none of the girls he was currently looking at. He seemed to enjoy the fear in their eyes and continued down the line, taking in what every girl had to offer. Yet, his eyes were dark with mixed emotions when his gaze locked with mine. I wanted to look away, but for some reason I couldn't. My eyes stayed glued to his as my body warmed and stopped trembling.

Something was so familiar about him, but I couldn't quite pin it. Oh, how blue his eyes were, they reminded me of the ocean that roared along the edges of our town. It made my blood freeze when he suddenly tore his beautiful eyes away, breaking the eye contact with me and stopped beside me. Not in front.

I was slightly dazed and confused when I saw him drag the sobbing girl out of her spot beside me. A wave of disappointment washing over me but realizing how ridiculous I was being. I narrowed my eyes and decided I wouldn't let him take the poor girl. Even though something in me wanted him to take me anyways.

Biting my lip, I was stuck between two choices, whether to stand still and not do a thing, or I could stop him and take the poor girl's place.

Without thinking, I cleared my throat and eased my body in front of the girl, my hand resting on his surprisingly hard chest. It was a weak attempt to stop him from grabbing the crying girl. Before I knew what, I was doing, words made their way out of my mouth.

"Take me instead."

Somehow, I managed to say it in a rather firm and demanding tone, which was highly unusual for me, since I was as timid as they come. But the words came across more confident than I intended, making me frightened to the core. I had just spoke to a Dire wolf Prince with a voice that screamed dominant, which I was very far from most of the time.

He raised a dark brown, scanning me from head to toe. Though a growl tore out of his throat, his eyes said otherwise. His posture went rigid and his demeanor came across as angry. But for some reason I felt like he was actually pleased. Without another second to waste, he had me by my wrist and led me out of the ball room.

"You'd risk your life for a complete stranger?" He asked in a steely tone, his eyes looking down at me as if I were an idiot. I cowered slightly under his gaze, which made me feel so puny and minuscule. But I didn't dare to not answer him. Quietly, I looked down at my heels and picked at the fabric of my dress. "I would. She was scared...and-..."

"So are you. You're stupider than I thought." He hissed out, cutting me off before dragging me down the long corridor and finally stopped at two large white doors. Fixing the sleeves of his suit, he retrieved a key, unlocked the door, and shoved me inside as if not taking into consideration that I could trip. Which I did.

I struggled to grab onto something on the way down as the sudden shove made my body jolt forward. Before I could react, the end of my heel caught onto the fabric of my dress, sending me plummeting to the ground.

My eyes squeezed shut as a surprised cry left me, much to my embarrassment, I felt something warm. Or should I say someone warm.

The concern in his eyes shocked me more than him catching me, but just as quickly as it had come, it had gone. His muscular arms wrapped themselves around my waist almost instinctively as he caught me and helped me onto my feet. His eyes darkening slightly in the process. We both fell silent before he let go of me and created distance between us, "If I knew you were this much of a klutz, I would've stuck with the other girl."

Okay, ouch.

"Well if I knew you were this rude, I would've let you take the other girl." I shot back, glaring up at him after I fixed my dress and stepped out of my heels, so I wouldn't trip again. The sudden fire burning inside of me surprised me, I wasn't normally like this. Just something about him agitated me. And maybe because being forced here in the first place had killed my family.

"Is that so?" He raised his brow again, dark strands of his hair hovering above the small creases in his forehead. His jaw clenched slightly when I dared to take a step towards him and nod. "Yes."

"I doubt that." The blue-eyes prince muttered, also taking a step towards me.

He was too close.

I could smell his aftershave with a hint of mint and could feel the warmth and power rolling off of his body onto mine. Tilting my head back, I gaze up at him, now able to take in his features up close.

Wow...

I had to hand it to him, he was unbelievably gorgeous. He was gifted with a sharp, yet stubborn jawline, kissable lips, a bit of stubble that I felt the weird urge to touch. A straight nose and piercing blue eyes that took my breath away. Paired with hair that could almost pass as black, that was styled quite nicely. My eyes wandered along his handsome face and drifted lower to his Adam's apple and collar bone that was exposed after he had undid his tie and a few buttons only moments ago in the ballroom.

He noticed my traveling gaze and growled lowly, his eyes dark with hidden emotion.

I gulped and decided to break the tension, ignoring the electricity that was sparking intensely between us. "Doubt all you want. I want to ask something..." I pause to think of a question to distract us both from the fiery connection I knew we both felt. It was obvious. And if he didn't feel the chemistry, I would label him as an oblivious idiot. But then again. What did I know about chemistry? Other than the unrealistic romance between characters I've read in books before.

I was able to look away from his blue eyes and took a few steps back to put distance once more between us. "What. What will happen to the others that weren't chosen?"

He recognized my failing attempt at distracting us both and rolled his eyes, but still responded.

"Nothing they become servants, they'll cook, clean, and obey me and my brothers every command."

My heart skipped a bit as a thought entered my head and bravely, I decided to ask him another more dangerous question.

"What will I be doing for you?"

My breath hitched as his lips slowly formed a small, mischievous smirk. He took a single stride towards me with his powerful, long legs and leaned in close enough to whisper the answer into my ear. My body tensing as his hot breath fanned my cheek before he ran the tip of his nose along the length of my neck, inhaling my scent, reaching my ear.

His voice low and husky.

"Whatever I ask of you to do, you'll do Dove."