REGRET
An hour earlier…
I stood against the wall at the party and waited. Cobra had barked at me to go after Jax, then disappeared into the crowd with Sadie.
He didn’t know that Xerxes was already outside, taking care of Jax.
The big man voluntarily going outside was the best thing that had happened for the mission.
The original plan was I would take the three alphas out by drugging them while they danced. Then Xerxes would come in and we would carry them outside and summon the fae queen.
I hadn’t planned on the princess looking drop-dead gorgeous.
Fuck, I raked my hands across the top of my horns and fought to calm the fire that burned inside my gut.
When I first saw Sadie, my mouth gaped open with shock, and I wasn’t the only one. Cobra and Jax had stiffened beside me.
We had all been irritable as fuck on the long horse ride to the celebration. Mostly because Sadie had disappeared with Aran and left without us.
When we discovered that our princess was gone, all three of us lost our shit.
She might be an alpha, but she was still small and delicate and prone to fucking disaster. She needed us to protect her at all times.
The problem was, she kept forgetting that.
When we had arrived at the party, we searched the crowd, desperate to find her.
I had a mission to complete, but that didn’t change how I felt about the princess or the other alphas. If anything, I’d masked my true emotions to play my hotheaded role.
The scent of sweet cranberries hung delicately in the air and clouded my thoughts. Her scent heightened our collective rage.
She should have been beside us, not with Aran.
The blue-haired beta was a dead man. He just didn’t know it yet.
Before, Cobra and I had refrained from beating the ever- living shit out of Aran because Jax said it was good for the princess to have a friend.
Well, it wasn’t good anymore.
She was our alpha, and that meant we were the ones who brought her to the party and hung out with her, not him.
My gut pinched as I thought about the mission. What I planned to do tonight. There wouldn’t be an us after I completed it.
I steadied my breathing and focused on the princess.
Not what I was about to do.
As soon as we entered the dance floor and searched out the princess’ scent, beta women accosted us. At the female attention, Cobra shut down and Jax stiffened uncomfortably.
Usually, I would be all for it. Now, their over-eager affections disgusted me, and all three of us had tried to extract ourselves from the women.
As we shoved them away, the annoying spokes lady of the party ran over and reminded us that this was a
publicity event for ABO relations. Whatever the fuck that meant.
She had pointed to men that carried around an enchanted amethyst jewel and scolded us that they broadcasted the party to the entire realm. We were on televisions.
“Dance,” the lady ordered, and gave us the terrifying death glare that only an elder could manage.
As a result, with pissed off expressions, we danced as we scanned the crowd for our princess.
My mind flashed back to the moment we had finally spotted her on the dance floor.
The first thing that alerted us, her cranberry scent spiked in the air like sugary syrup.
I shoved the sluts hanging off me and searched for the princess. Jax and Cobra followed behind.
When I finally saw my princess, my jaw dropped.
I almost didn’t recognize her without her oversized hoodie.
Sadie was an angel.
She looked like she was from the fabled god realm; her long white hair fell to her butt in silky curls, the red highlights framed her face, and made her kohl-lined ruby eyes pop.
Her delicate cheekbones, cute upturned nose, and ridiculously lush lips practically sparkled under the light of the chandeliers.
Gold skin glowing, she swayed hypnotically back and forth to the music.
Last week, when I yelled at her about the red color in her hair, I hadn’t been acting. Rage had exploded in my gut because the little princess looked stunning.
I’d yelled at her because fear pummeled through me. Fear that she would attract suitors and I wouldn’t be able to scare them all away.
I’d been right. A beta fucker was hanging all over our stunning princess.
Sadie was always gorgeous, but she was so tiny and small most shifters probably didn’t notice it at first. They were noticing now. The red highlights drew attention to her beauty and made her stand out.
A long moment passed as the three of us stared at her, completely speechless.
It wasn’t just the hair and her makeup.
Her body was fucking perfect, and I fought the urge to moan as my dick got hard.
It throbbed in my tight suit pants as I stared at the princess.
She might be short, but holy fuck, long-lithe golden legs and the cutest heart shaped ass swayed back and forth.
Her waist was ridiculously small and highlighted her stunning, hourglass figure.
As she leaned forward, her skin-tight dress rode up and revealed the bottom globes of her ass.
Two things happened at once.
First, we all noticed at the same time that she wasn’t wearing panties. Jax moaned aloud at the sight, and a slight growl shook his chest. I bit my fist, and Cobra’s eyes flickered to snake eyes.
Second, the beta had the audacity to lean forward and fucking kiss her.
Another man was touching the princess. He was kissing her. He was a dead man.
Before I could stalk across the room and rip off his dick for daring to fucking touch her, Jax beat me to it. The massive alpha lunged forward and buried his fist in the beta’s face.
The man passed out cold from the force of the punch, and satisfaction coursed through me.
Cobra slammed his foot into the beta’s limp body. I went to do the same, but the princess kicked at Cobra and
stumbled on ridiculous heels. I caught her luscious body.
Sadie said something incoherent, but my brain short- circuited.
“What the fuck, Princess?” I asked. The feel of her delicate body in my arms unlocked something inside of me.
I had to tense my legs to stop myself from throwing her over my shoulder and sprinting out of the room.
The annoying party lady came over and yelled at Jax, but I didn’t hear a word she said.
Sweet cranberries wafted around me, and I inhaled the scent.
Just like the princess, the scent wasn’t disgustingly saccharine; it was the perfect combination of musk and sugar.
She blinked her large ruby eyes up at me, and they practically sparkled as her cheeks flushed a delicate pink.
From the way she wobbled, she had drunk some of the enchanted wine, and was feeling its powerful effects.
“Why are you dressed like this?” I asked her with anger.
She was drunk off her ass and fucking gorgeous. Any man could take advantage of her. The thought made me violent with rage.
Cobra said something, and the princess flipped him off.
I shook my head to clear it because I was so obsessed with the princess, I’d gotten distracted.
This was a mission, and I needed to keep my wits about me.
The princess spun in a circle and Jax’s face tensed with anger as he watched all the men on the dance floor near us staring at her.
I glared at the fuckers and cracked my knuckles. Our princess wasn’t theirs to admire. She was ours.
Instead of fighting them, Jax whirled and stalked away.
Out of the party.
Sadie went to follow, but Cobra held her back.
He yelled at me to follow Jax, and it took everything in me not to bark back at him.
Instead, I nodded and pretended to walk away like every cell in my body wasn’t screaming at me to throw the princess over my shoulder and ravage her.
Xerxes was waiting outside. He would take care of Jax.
That was how I now found myself leaning against the wall of the party, as I waited for the princess and Cobra to reappear.
I rubbed at my horns aggressively, and the fire in my belly cramped with pain as I sighed and tried to swallow down my growing guilt.
The alphas would not view me as one of them in a couple of minutes.
I fought the urge to scream and punch the wall. The mission was for their benefit, and I wouldn’t have taken it if it wasn’t to fucking help them.
It had started as nothing but a job, but somewhere along the way I’d come to appreciate Jax’s calming strength and Cobra’s psychotic tendencies.
Alphas were usually triggered by other dominant men, but there was something comforting and safe about being the member of an alpha group.
We were stronger together. I was not used to anyone besides Carter having my back, let alone men as competent and powerful as Jax and Cobra.
The only problem was, I’d been acting for an entire year.
They had no fucking clue.
I rubbed my horns anxiously and reminded myself that the alphas would forgive me.
As soon as they learned why we were conducting the mission, they would understand.
The fae queen would reveal the truth and send them back to their homeland. I would go with them.
There was no other solution.
Somewhere along the way, I’d grown attached to the alpha men, and obsessed with the princess.
I needed to find Cobra soon so I could take care of him. He would put up more of a fight, and I wanted to keep the fight away from Sadie.
The queen had assured me the princess wouldn’t be harmed, but I was going to make sure of it.
My plan was to stab Cobra with the needle hidden in my coat pocket, then I would use my alpha-bark to subdue Sadie and administer the drug to her as painlessly as possible.
The longer I waited against the wall, the more my gut twisted with fire.
If Cobra didn’t appear soon, then Xerxes might come into the party to complete the mission.
He would be rough with the princess. Xerxes was the queen’s guard, and everyone knew you didn’t mess with him. Mercy wasn’t in his vocabulary.
Xerxes was an omega that hated alphas with a burning passion. I hadn’t cared about his issues with alphas because we got along fine, at least, I hadn’t cared until now. If he hurt the princess, I would kill him.
Another song started to play and the fire in my gut burned hotter. Fuck it. I pushed myself through the crowd and searched for Cobra and Sadie.
I needed to act now.
A few minutes later, after searching fruitlessly, I wanted to scream.
I could smell delicate hints of frosty cranberries, but the scent was old and dissipating. Cobra and Sadie weren’t on the dance floor or waiting at a table like I thought they would be.
I scanned the room anxiously.
Maybe they went outside? I turned to head down the front door, but something caught my attention.
Slowly, I turned around and stared at the closet door. It was inconspicuous, partially hidden by an alcove. People milled and danced passed, but I was drawn to it.
The fire in my gut leapt higher as I stalked towards the closet door.
My intuition was screaming at me to check it, but I prayed to the sun god that I was wrong. There was no reason for Cobra to take her into a closet.
No reason that was fucking acceptable.
My stomach pinched with fear as my cock leapt in my pants.
The thought of Cobra seducing the princess in a closet made lust shoot through my body, even as every cell in my body screamed that she was mine, not his.
With force, I threw the door open.
The fucking princess was pinned against the wall, gorgeous face upturned, and a bright red flush across her cheeks.
Cobra was on his knees in front of her. His fingers were in her pert little ass.
I almost came in my pants.
Cobra’s large body was bent over her, and he held her lithe form up against the wall with one hand.
The scent of frosted cranberries gushed out of the room, and I inhaled the heady, rich fragrance.
My cock leapt and strained, and it took all my willpower not to pull it out of my pants and fucking stroke until I erupted.
Cobra looked over and grinned.
The little jewels decorating his face sparkled with the princess’ juices, and he was covered in her slick. It dripped off his face.
With an arch of his perfect brow, Cobra turned his handsome head back and ate the princess out while I watched.
Sadie moaned and arched against the wall. Her gorgeous golden legs trembled across his massive back.
Cobra knew I was a fucking voyeur, that I liked to watch. The snake bastard was taunting me.
And fuck me if it wasn’t working.
My hips jerked as he licked her ass to clit, and my hands traveled closer to the fly of my pants.
The urge to reveal the true dominance of my alpha-bark was overwhelming.
I wanted to order Cobra to fuck her with his jeweled cock as I watched.
I wanted to pull my dick out and stroke it until I came all over the princess’s golden skin as Cobra buried his face in her cunt.
Cobra removed his fingers from her ass, and she shuddered. A throaty moan escaped her luscious lips.
Images flashed before my eyes, and for a second, I lost myself in the lust.
The mission.
I held my breath and let the lack of oxygen clear my mind.
One thought steadied my raging lust–Cobra needed to be taken out now, or the entire mission would go to shit. Xerxes would get involved.
I couldn’t let Sadie get hurt.
With a roar, I launched myself across the room and pummeled my fists into Cobra’s face. Blood splattered, and he laughed.
He thought I was upset about the princess. I was, but that wasn’t the only reason I attacked.
Sadie stumbled past us, and I kept my blows contained so she wouldn’t get hit.
Then, when the clip of her heels across the marble dance floor disappeared, I took the small syringe from my pocket and slammed it into Cobra’s massive neck.
His emerald eyes glowed bright green, flashing to snake eyes, but they closed as the drug took effect.
“What did you do?” Cobra whispered as he slumped unconscious.
Guilt exploded in my chest. I knew he’d been exploited by the fae queen in his past. Rumor had it that Cobra was a sex-icon in the realm against his will.
He was going to be the hardest to convince that my actions were for his own good. He wouldn’t forgive easily.
“It’s for your own good,” I whispered. I prayed I was right.
Then, with his big body slumped over my shoulder, I stalked out of the party.
I mumbled to people that he had too much to drink, and no one did anything to stop me. After all, it was a party, and the enchanted wine was ridiculously strong.
Aran ran up to me and asked if I had seen Sadie. He glanced at Cobra with confusion but didn’t say anything. He assumed he was drunk.
A lightbulb dinged in my head.
Xerxes had mentioned something about the queen looking for a blue-haired fae. I sniffed the air. For some reason, Aran smelled different tonight.
He didn’t smell like a beta. He smelled like death.
Like the fae queen.
I made an executive decision and stabbed him in the neck with my syringe. He didn’t see it coming, and I quickly tossed his limp body over my shoulder.
My gut told me he was who the queen was looking for. I was the best at my job. My gut was never wrong.
A part of me also just wanted to stab him for hanging out with the princess so much.
Around me, the partygoers were too drunk to notice what was happening, so I stalked out of the celebration into the frigid night.
The first thing I saw was the princess kneeling beside Jax’s unconscious body.
Time seemed to freeze as she looked up at me.
Her ruby eyes, clouded with hurt, widened as she took in Cobra and Aran’s limp forms draped over my shoulders.
Her face twisted in disgust. She thought I had betrayed her.
I wanted to scream that it was for her own damn good.
In that moment, I almost broke character and revealed everything. I almost begged her to understand, my heart shattering into a million pieces.
I swallowed hard and remained silent.
When the time was right, I would make it right, and she would forgive me.
She had no choice.
The princess was mine, whether she realized it or not.
To be continued
