Intoxicating Touch

The hall is in an uproar, the nobles shouting and pointing fingers at the Southern Alpha Prince. I was the Forsaken Princess, but he was our enemy, one who claimed to have fallen in love with me. It was preposterous.

This Prince's confession was fake, so why were they losing their minds over it? My gaze breaks away from his. It was too intense, drowning out the thoughts swirling in my mind at this juncture. What is he scheming?

"You cannot be serious." Deyanira tries to address the Southern Prince and control the room. "She is four and twenty! So ol-"

"Perfect," Prince Eryx interrupts her. My eyes narrow, disliking his attention.

The Prince responds with a low chuckle.

Deyanira continues, astounded by Prince Eryx's responses. "Just look at her!"

She gestures in my direction, drawing attention to the plain navy gown I wear, my chest and neck covered in lace, hiding two marks that makeup could not conceal.

"I am." His words steal my breath away, and my gaze meets his again. Those bejewelled eyes twinkle while taking me in. I cannot stop myself from watching his reaction. Even if this is all fake, how can his expression hide any distaste towards me so well?

Yet that look on his face makes my heart flutter, and a warmth spread in my chest. To be looked upon like so, as little as it is, is all I have ever wanted. My heart clenches when reality hits me like a hammer to the face. This Prince was using my weakness against me—to be desired, belong, and be loved.

That warmth burns bright into anger, and I glare at him. I will not be a part of any scheme!

"Excuse me." I stand abruptly, and the Prince and Alaric also stand, shocking me at the Southern Were's courtesy. "I must…" An excuse escapes me as I glance between my brother, Prince Eryx and Deyanira, panic settling into my features.

"Idalia, sit down right now," Deyanira sighs like I am a stubborn child. "You are being rude to…"

I push my chair back clumsily, ignoring the Queen Mother, and flee to the side, rushing past the pillars behind the nobles seated at the tables.

"Idalia!" Deyanira calls out just as Soren pops out of nowhere, startling me.

My steps slow as I draw closer to him, expecting the knight to halt my actions and escort me back to my seat. Shockingly, he does not.

"Idalia! Once again, you are proving just how worthless you are! You embarrassing little wench!"

"Mother!" Alaric snaps after Deyanira's outburst.

The doors slam shut behind me, along with the incessant noise of the nobles and Deyanira. She will be frantic and impossible to deal with now that Alaric has reprimanded her. I do not care. My mind is too loud with thoughts of the Southern Prince.

There was something so compelling about him. His touch incited a sharp response from my body; it was almost like the beginning of one of my heats again. I shake my head.

That Prince was dangerous from a barbaric kingdom; for some reason, he was trying to pull me into whatever political game that had begun between my brother and him. I will not be a pawn for either of them.

My steps echo along the cold and dark corridors. The wind howls through them, making the double doors bang in complaint against the first day of winter. I burst through them and stopped at the top of the stairs, overlooking a small, private courtyard. Snow falls from the skies, already a thin layer blankets the ground, and ice makes the stairs deadly.

"Princess." Soren's hand reaches out, and hesitantly, I place mine in his. He guides me down, clutching onto me when my foot slips. I release his hand at the bottom, inhaling deeply the crisp air, cooling the heat that sparked in the hall from the Southern Prince's touch.

Soren steps to the side, giving me the privacy I yearn for. In the middle of the courtyard is a fountain, one cracked and old, yet the two wolf statues howling remain standing, frozen icicles already formed from the water that sprays out of their mouths. Shards of ice sprinkle out in different directions, creating large arches, stopping mid-air, frozen in time.

My head snaps to the side when fur falls over me. Soren placed his cloak on me, hands clamping down on my shoulders. "You are shivering-" He stops mid-sentence and spins around, claws extending from his hands, putting himself between me and my threat.

I follow Soren's gaze to the top of the stairs, and my breath catches. Soren's stance relaxes slightly, but those claws remain. "Princess," that rich, smooth accent glides along my skin like the rare rays of the sun. "Alaric said you might be here."

I will have to have a little word with my brother about this. How can he send his enemy to me? Soren was a great knight, but I knew he was no match for a brute of a prince like Eryx.

Prince Eryx begins descending the stairs, but before he can make it to the bottom, Soren is there, blocking his path. "This is Her Highness's private garden."

It wasn't, but I was the only one who went to this abandoned place.

The Alpha Prince glances at the courtyard and cocks a brow. "I see no plants or greenery here."

"That may be so." Soren takes another step forward, straightening his shoulders. He still looks small compared to the Prince. "But the Princess has come here to be alone."

Prince Eryx smirks. "Yet her trusty knight is here." He looks to me then, amusement diminishing as he takes in my form. "I came to see that you are well."

Soren moves to block the Prince's view of me. "She is, and you are intruding-"

"Soren," I call out, and he stills. "Let him through."

The Alpha Prince stares down at Soren, who slowly lowers his head and steps aside. Prince Eryx watches him as he passes, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, the tension crackling between them. I clutch at the cloak, expecting the Southern Were to put Soren in his place.

Instead, he storms towards me, his nostrils flaring, green eyes bright as they settle on me. His presence alone is like a wave of masculine energy crashing into me with raw power that can only be described as Eryx Solarius.

"I'd like a moment of your time, Princess." He glances behind him, a rough growl rumbling through him with authority, making even my knees shake. "In private."

"I am her guard-"

"I will be fine," I say, trying to look past the Alpha Prince, which is impossible. He is like an impenetrable tower above me. "Please stay by the doors."

Prince Eryx watches me the entire time; I grow hot under his stare, and the fur around my shoulders is now too heavy and uncomfortable to wear. Removing it, I fold it and meet the Prince's gaze. The light wind eases the heat in my cheeks.

"I didn't predict you running out on me," the Alpha Prince chuckled. "I didn't know what to anticipate, but it amused me more than I imagined."

"I'm glad you find it funny," I snap, glaring up at him. He tilts his head, still smug, and watches me with an amused gleam in his eyes. It only irks me more. "Why did you do that?" I demand, uncaring about propriety. I was the Forsaken Princess; I'm sure I can use that to my advantage for once.

"Do what?" His head drops so we are closer, and our eyes are locked.

"You told my brother you fell for me?!" I whisper-shouted like others might hear us even though nobody goes to this abandoned courtyard.

"And last night?!" I step closer. "What were you doing at the Moonlight Masquerade?"

"I could ask you the same thing, Princess," he drawls, and somehow, there is hardly any space between us, and all I can smell is cloves and pine; it's intoxicating. "I could not fathom why this kingdom's Princess was at an event like that in the first place unless you were aware of my intentions to attend? Did you believe seducing me would help with your kingdom's issues?"

His voice dropped, as did his gaze, lingering on my bodice. "That is tempting."

My eyes widen, and my hand shoots out before I can stop it. The Prince grabs it at an impossible speed, then cups it to his jaw, turning his nose to my skin and inhaling deeply, pupils dilating, beckoning his wolf forward. My throat dries as I stare into the eyes of a beast, my knees buckle, and I fall into his warmth, Soren's cloak discarded on the snowy ground.

My hand burns against his skin, my heart thumping wildly as flames erupt within my blood. No, no, no... The heat? How? I thought it had disappeared!

"That wasn't very nice," He drawls.

"Princess!"

"I'm fine!" I call out to Soren, but my voice is too high-pitched.

"Are you?" The Prince's other hand roams to the back of my neck. His touch tingles, and I clutch at the furs on his cloak, my thighs clenching together from the sudden ache between them. "Are you sure you would like your guard here for this?"

"This?!" I squeak, panicked.

"Then again." His eyes darken, jaw clenching. "He did serve you, readying you before me last night."

My breath hitches. "I don't know what you mean-"

His thumb brushes along that spot behind my neck, and I gasp at the tingling sensation again. The Alpha Prince doesn't seem shocked by my reactions. "I wonder what your brother, the Queen Dowager, and everybody else would think if they discovered their Princess not only went into heat and got intimate with her knight but mated with the Alpha Prince of Sun and Fury."

"You're lying!" I gasp.

Prince Eryx draws incredibly closer, so our breaths mingle, and I feel a little lightheaded. "Why would I? I marked you, Idalia."

My eyes closed to the sound of my name curling on his tongue with that foreign accent. "Where?" I forced them to open up and face a reality I wasn't yet ready to admit.