Chapter 3 A brother's betrayal

Rosa's POV.

...An hour ago.

The room had been buzzing with hurried footsteps and nervous whispers for hours. The Gammas were busy getting ready for a big ceremony that I didn't want to be a part of.

They had forgotten to lock my door in their hurry. Their mistake. I slipped out of bed, slipped across the room and waited until the last footfall faded down the hall before turning the handle. The door clicked open.

I didn't hesitate even though my heart was pounding. I ran in my plain cream dress, barefoot. I just needed to get out, breathe and feel something other than the velvet of loneliness. I had no idea where I was heading.

I ran past portraits of ancestors I had never met and past gold-plated walls down marble corridors I had only ever seen from my window. When I pushed open the heavy doors to the garden which were unlocked, warm sunlight poured down on me like a blessing.

Underfoot the ground felt soft. I was actually outdoors for the first time in my four years of being locked up. Unlike the chilly floors of my prison room,the grass was cool, damp and soft.

For the sole purpose of feeling the breeze on my skin I spun around once. My shoulders received a kiss from the sun. I was nearly moved to tears by the beauty of the birds chirping. I had been preoccupied. Foolish.

But it wasn't until it was too late that I noticed a figure. I jolted violently as I slammed into something-someone, hard. I knew that I was going to fall. However I was caught by powerful hands.

Sliding one hand around my waist it steadied me with a firmness and a startling ease. I then raised my head. And everything changed in my mind. I stared up at a face and I felt as if I had been teleported into a Dreamland.

His aqua-blue eyes were magnetic, dangerous and clear. I had never seen eyes so magnificent. Like twin suns they blazed into me with their curiosity and authority. Tall and powerfully built, the man holding me had a chiseled jaw that was lightly stubbled. His high cheekbones framed an unreal-looking face and his full lips curled into a ghost of a smirk.

He had thick black hair that fell in a few strands over his brow. He appeared as though he was from a different world. harsh. The divine. And I got stuck. I was totally lost.

The only men I had ever seen were my brother and the suit-clad grim-faced guards who were instructed not to ever let me out, merciless guards who stood right outside my door morning and night.

Then his scent reached me. I was struck by it. spicy. Dark. A little crazy. Something primordial within me was roused and brought to the surface by the scent. Dizziness caused me to gasp quietly. My heart was pounding so hard that it might explode through my ribs.

No. No, that wasn't right. Who was this man?

I pushed him away quickly getting myself together and wiped down the front of my dress like a child trying to cover up a mess. I had burning cheeks. The unfamiliar person continued to gaze, from my bare feet to my blonde curls. Nothing was hidden by his gaze. It encroached. Self-centered.

He cocked his head. "Who are you?"

I sneered. "Nothing that needs to be your concern."

His laugh was low and amused. "You've got a mouth as hot as your body."

I retorted "Your face cries out for a slap."

He smiled more. I quickly retreated as he moved closer, his hand partially raised as though to touch me once more. Something about his presence stood out. something addictive and hazardous. As he approached an odd energy buzzed through my skin.

"You're not scared of me," he said.

"You're not worth being scared of."

He smirked and added."Yet"

We circled each other verbally at first then physically. He was playing with me-testing my boundaries, my sharpness. But I wasn't playing.

I had been trying to escape. Again. Before I could think of a plan a voice shattered the moment. "Princess Rosamond!"

I turned in horror. No. I'd been so distracted by this... this man I'd forgotten my reason for running in the first place. The Gammas. I stumbled back instinctively but before I could sprint the stranger's hand snapped around my wrist. His grip was like steel-firm inescapable. I struggled but he didn't budge.

"Let go of me!" I hissed yanking.

The Gammas arrived in a flurry of panic and relief. "Princess no! You can't run again!" one of them scolded me for reaching out. "Young Alpha Lance will be furious-"

Then their eyes lifted and saw him. The man holding me. They froze. Their eyes widened. Their mouths fell open. And then-they dropped to their knees. Bowed.

"Alpha Caspian" one of them whispered reverently.

I blinked. Wait, what? The man-Caspian-shoved his hands casually into his pockets and lifted his chin looking down at the kneeling Gammas with the kind of detached arrogance that made my blood boil.

"What...?" I looked between them and his confusion blooming fast and wild in my chest. "Who the heavens are you?"

He turned to me slowly rubbing his hands together with a leisurely kind of power, a small smirk dancing on his lips. "It's so good to see the legendary Princess Rosamond," he said, each word dripping with something heavier than charm. "Let's not slow this down shall we?"

He stepped closer. "I, Alpha Caspian, take Princess Rosamond as my mate."

My breath caught. My world cracked open. "W-what?"