Chapter 5

"Oh I don't know...I'm such a rare species as it is...don't wanna be endangered..." I joked, chuckling nervously. Prince Joan tilted his head at this, looking at me curiously.

"Diana tends to stay out of pack business." Erica said, causing Prince Joan's brows to furrow.

I rolled my eyes.

"There's already too many people here as it is, I hate the attention." I explained. "I'm sure you understand, being a prince and all." Prince Joan only nodded.

"So shall we carry on with the tour, your highness? I'm afraid my cousin has a lot more to do, we shouldn't keep her." Erica said. Prince Joan nodded. "I will see you tomorrow at the ceremony, Diana. I've heard having Gold Ranked wolves in the roster always makes for an exciting Claiming." Prince Joan said before letting Erica lead him away.

That sounded like a threat. I shook my head and walked over to the pack house. The whole place was silent, everyone was outside mingling with the visiting wolves, preparing for the ceremony, or just enjoying the perfect fall weather.

"Hey, what took you so long?" Jane asked, taking the box of cupcakes from me. I handed Paolo the sheet music and he began setting up by the piano. "I saw Erica, and the Prince." I smirked. They all stopped and looked at me. They began to bombard me with questions.

"Calm down, calm down." I chuckled, sitting down on the couch.

"Is he hot?" Melanie asked, wagging her eyebrows. I closed my eyes, sighed, and nodded.

"Oh yeah. Smoking hot. Perfect, even." I said, licking my lips.

"Hotter than me?" Christopher asked. I threw a pillow at him.

"Aww Chris you know you're the prettiest wolf around." Melanie said, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"What else did he say to you?" Paolo asked as he sifted through the sheet music. Jane placed a cupcake beside him, causing him to blush.

"He saw my bracelet, told me I'd be useful in the war with the rogues." I said. They all looked at each other and suddenly started laughing.

"Wait, what are you gonna do? Dance to entertain the soldiers?" Christopher teased. I growled playfully at him.

"Come on, Christopher. She's going to be the official cheerleader of the army. Give me a W-O-L-F!" Melanie cried out. They all laughed.

"What if he really drafts you to the army, Diana?" Paolo curiously asked, looking up from the sheet music.

"Wait, that could happen?" Jane asked, looking at me with concern.

I knew what they were all thinking. I wouldn't last two seconds. I was the kind of person who puked when they saw blood. "Well, yeah, if war really comes. Diana's a Gold Rank, they're gonna require you to be there." Paolo said.

"Are you serious? So what happens when they find out Diana's a fairy princess who's into the make peace not war movement?" Christopher asked. "I'm a what?" I asked.

Since when was I a fairy princess? I mean, yeah, I abhorred the idea of war. Diplomacy and non-violent solutions should be prioritized, but werewolves were feral and animalistic, our species would not accept any solution that did not come from a violent fight.

Hello, need I remind anyone of how males claimed mates? This even reflected in my fighting style. I was more of a defensive fighter than an offensive one. Whenever I trained and sparred, I always made sure to subdue and end the fights quickly. That's why none of the other wolves wanted to train with me, they liked the dance, the psychological satisfaction that came from a long fight. I just didn't like fighting. I hated getting physical, I hated violence. "I don't know. They could still force you to fight a royal command." Paolo shrugged. "Maybe I could cross the borders to Switzerland like Captain Von Trapp." I dryly said. "Besides, this is all the King's fault anyway!" "I agree. I mean, we all read Lord of the Flies. Nothing good was ever going to come out of placing feral wolves in an unsupervised, harsh environment." Melanie shrugged. "And now his son is going to fight his war." I sighed. "Is there even going to be a war? Maybe everyone's just being dramatic." Jane rolled her eyes. "The prince visiting isn't a good sign." Paolo said. Silence followed. "Guys, come on, thinking about this isn't going to get us anywhere. Let's just rehearse and get ready to blow everyone's socks off." Christopher said as he and Jane set up the drums.