Bride of the Sea-King Alpha

Lyra

"Do you honestly think that wolf king will actually notice your looks?" My oldest sister sneers at me as I apply my makeup.

I watch in the mirror as my eyes redden at her harsh words.

"Daddy's giving you away as a sacrifice," she continues. "That filthy wolf will probably eat you alive after having his way with you. Disgusting."

The knot I'd felt growing in my stomach all morning suddenly feels like solid lead. I meet Anastasia's gaze in my heart-shaped vanity mirror, my eyes wide. "Do you really think he'll kill me?"

I'd heard as much, especially as the servants gossiped in the castle since I'd been promised as a bride to the Sea-King Alpha. Some say he is hideous and smells of raw sewage mixed with brine. Others say he is the most beautiful man in the world, with a physique so powerful no mortal man could ever best him. But all of them say he's a beast, a cold-hearted murderer that my father must appease, or our people will no longer be allowed to harvest the ocean's bounty.

She smirks, pulling her lips to the side under her prominent nose. "Of course he will. Did you really think you could marry a wolf shifter and still be alive after the wedding night?"

"Anastasia, stop it." Ailsa, my other older sister, younger than Anastasia but two years older than me, marches into the room, her golden hair flowing over her shoulders like silk. "You shouldn't scare her like that on a day like today."

Anastasia shrugs and shakes her head at her only full-blooded sister. "I'm just trying to prepare her."

"I'll be the one to prepare her, thank you," Ailsa tells her.

"Okay, well, bye 'sis,'" Anastasia says to me, her final word dripping with sarcasm as she slinks out of the room.

"Don't listen to her," Ailsa says, grabbing my pearl-studded brush and gathering my hair. "She's jealous."

"I don't see what she has to be jealous of." I inhale slowly, trying to calm the jittery butterflies that have taken residence right above that lump in my belly. "She's a high princess, betrothed to the handsome Ethan Snowthorne of the Winter Realm. I'm just a low princess, being thrown at an angry wolf king so he doesn't kill us all."

She pauses, holding my hair in a ponytail before twisting it into an updo. "Stop calling yourself that, Lyra. Your mother is just as loved by our father as hers and mine was, maybe even more. And my mother would roll over in her grave if she knew how Anastasia had turned out. You have to ignore her."

"Ignore who?" My mother, Queen Consort Iridessa, steps into my room with her usual graceful countenance. Her sleek auburn hair is several shades darker than mine, which is more of a copper-tinted blonde so bright I often hide it under a hat so I don't blind anyone.

From the moment I was old enough to know I was a princess, I wished I was more like my mother: brilliant and confident, with an unmistakable air of elegance. If one hadn't known my father had a former wife, the Queen Regant Amelia, it would be impossible not to see my mother as the true monarch. But because she is his second wife, the kingdom does not recognize her as a real queen.

"Anastasia," Ailsa replies. "She's been bothering her about her fiancé again."

"I'm sure your sister is just being protective," Mother says.

Ailsa finishes up my updo, leaving curled tendrils hanging on the sides, then she pins in my small tiara. She leans in and pats my shoulder. "You look beautiful. I'll give you two a moment to say goodbye. I'll see you downstairs."

Goodbye...

It's not a word I wish to say to my mother or to Ailsa, and moisture soon pools in my eyes as my sister quietly steps out the door.

"You look so beautiful, sweetheart." My mother adjusts the puffy shoulder on my dress sleeve, though it's already fine. I've chosen my favorite gown for the trip, a soft lilac A-line with lace embroidery. She holds her gaze down, but I still see the glint in her emerald-green eye as tears begin to well up. "The Sea-King Alpha is a lucky man."

"Have you ever seen him?" I ask, hopeful.

But she shakes her head. "I have not. Only your father has, when they were arranging your union." She bites her lip and continues. "You mustn't worry about the chattering around the castle."

So, she has heard it too.

"Those people have never seen the man, either–or any shifter, for that matter." She holds up her head, forcing her lips into a smile. "I'm sure he's handsome, given that he's the king of all the sea-facing lands."

I nod, trying to fake a smile, but it's not his looks I'm worried about.

I stand, and she pulls me in close, the scent of her gardenia cologne sweet and comforting. "I will miss you," she whispers in my ear. "I'll find a way to visit you soon."

We pull apart, and I'm already sobbing. "You won't be at the wedding." It's a statement, not a question. Such things have already been decided without our input.

She places her index finger softly on my chin. "I will always be with you, my little Lyra. Just look in your heart, and you will find my love." She pulls something from her pocket, a velvet box. "I want you to have this. It's from my mother, your grandmother, who you've never met." She pulls out a diamond necklace, its main stone encased in an elaborate floral setting.

"It's beautiful," I say as she wraps it around me, fixing the clasp behind my neck.

"And so are you, Lyra." Reaching for a tissue on my dresser, she dries my tears and adds a little more mascara. "There. You're all ready to go, my dear little girl."

I giggle despite my sadness. "Mother, I'm twenty years old, not little."

"You'll always be a little girl to me," she insists.

She leads me by the hand down the many hallways and out to the courtyard, which is bustling with activity. Servants load the festively decorated wagons with a trunk of my belongings, along with several goods donated by our fishermen, farmers, and merchants who wish to find themselves in good standing with the Sea-King Alpha.

I suppose a nervous young human bride isn't enough of a prize for a wolf shifter king like him.

We approach my father, who is directing all the activity as if he's conducting an orchestra. "That goes in the carriage with my daughter," he tells a man with a small, locked box. "The finest jewels should not be stored along with salted fish!"

"Father-"

"No, no, no, man," he tells another servant, ignoring me. "The Sea-King standards should be displayed in front of ours, so they identify the caravan as it approaches. Now, behind it, be sure the acrobats perform perfectly. We can't embarrass the people of Maelie."

"Father, I'm ready to board the carriage," I manage to say.

"Oh, splendid. Splendid." But he doesn't even look my way. Instead, he sprints over to a man carrying a wine barrel, insisting on having the man set it down so he can take a taste and be sure it's perfect.

"Your father is busy," Mother says, her voice pleasant yet sharpened with an edge of annoyance. "Let's just get you settled."

"Your Highness, allow me to assist," my lady's maiden, Cally, says as I approach the gilded carriage. The horses pulling it are some of the finest in our kingdom, bred to feature long, fluffy blond manes and wearing the bright blue standard of the Kingdom of Maelie, the largest human civilization on the Pearl Coast.

Though we stand at the mercy of the wolf shifters, who rule over all.

Cally adjusts my dress when I sit on the velvet-lined seat, and Ailsa jumps in for one last hug. "I'll write to you every day," she promises. "Don't worry."

The drivers call out that they are ready, and Ailsa jumps off as they close my carriage door. Through the small window, I see my family, except for Annastasia, who is nowhere to be found.

My mother blows me a kiss, Ailsa waves frantically, and my father looks toward the wagons handling the cargo trunks as my carriage pulls away. The few friends I've made in the royal school are somewhere lost in the crowd, and it's hopeless to try to find them.

I leave behind everyone and everything I've ever known and loved.

I'll be the bride of the Sea-King Alpha, Cassian Oliver, living my life in a strange land with strange people.

If I survive the first night.

Lyra

Days have passed, and I'm so exhausted from the jolting and rocking of the carriage that I'm ready to crawl into whatever bed the Sea-King Alpha provides me, no matter how frightening he turns out to be. Cally has fixed my makeup so many times that it must look caked on ten layers thick, and she's redone my hair twice as often.

But finally, the sharp, crystal spires of Oceana Castle, home of the Sea-King Alpha and his royal court, finally appear in the distance. I hitch a breath at its wonder, at least three to four times the size of my home back in Maelie. I always knew I'd been born into privilege, the way my father's castle was covered in gold and jewels, and I always had anything I needed. It's why I try not to complain about my betrothal to the Sea-King. Our people rely on the ocean so much for food, trade, defense, and survival.

But this place...

The castle and its land sit against a sharp cliff with ocean waves pounding the rocks below. The outer walls, made of thick, impenetrable stone and adorned with iridescent seashells glistening in the sun, stand far outside the castle itself, leaving a massive expanse of protected grounds within. The castle itself rises vertically far into the sky, its upper-floor windows appearing like specks of dust.

Yet despite its size, it gives off an aura of belonging, as though nature itself had formed the structure eons ago. I stare in fascination as we approach the castle walls.

I'm startled out of my thoughts when our caravan stops suddenly, just feet outside the boundary.

"What's going on, Your Highness?" Cally asks, pulling back a curtain.

I shake my head. "I don't know. Maybe there's a problem with one of the wagons."

But I'm wrong.

Within seconds, a swarm of wolves surrounds our caravan, their eyes flashing red, and their sharp fangs jutting out of snarling mouths.

Cally gasps in shock and jumps backward, practically landing on me. "Y-Your Highness!"

I inhale sharply, pulling her back onto the carriage floor. "Stay down."

She nods rapidly, leaning against the seat I just vacated and holding herself tightly, her knees up against her chin. I close the curtain quickly but leave a small crack of it open, just enough to see what's happening outside.

Right away, I regret the choice. One of the wolves, a slightly larger, black one, begins to transform, his body contorting rapidly while he stands upright, black fur melting away to be replaced by skin-human, naked skin.

I break my gaze instantly, my heart pounding frantically as I try to catch my breath. I'd heard the stories before, of course. Men shift into wolves and back again effortlessly, a power we as humans can't quite fathom. But I've never seen it happen with my own eyes before.

As the newly shifted man starts to speak, I sneak another glance through the crack in the curtain, amazed to see that somehow, he's now partially dressed.

"I am Beta Turgan Rumok of Oceana," he hollers, his voice firm and frightening. "What the hell is the meaning of all this?"

The head of the Maelie Guard dismounts but does not step far from his horse. As he speaks, his voice is edged with a slight tremor. "His Royal Majesty King Chez Molliton of Maelie extends his wishes for a fruitful marriage with his daughter. He has provided these gifts as a-"

"We don't need any of your fucking gifts," the Beta interrupts harshly. "And who the hell are these clowns? This isn't the circus!"

"His Royal Majesty wished to provide entertainment for-"

Again, the Beta cuts off the guard mid-sentence. "The Sea-King Alpha has no need for your entertainment or your gifts. Do you think we do not amply provide for ourselves?"

"His Royal Majesty did not wish to offend," the guard says, his voice squeaking a little.

"Quit wasting our time," the Beta grumbles. "You're to bring a bride and leave. Did you not bring a bride?"

"Her Royal Highness Princess Lyra Molliton is in the carriage, and-"

The wolves don't wait for the guard to answer before they all start shifting. Within seconds, my carriage is surrounded by men-naked men-who throw open the door and reach for me.

I scream from the shock of it all as they haul me out the door. I catch sight of Cally running after me, but the men grab her and start to pull her away.

"She's my lady's maiden!" I holler.

"Take her," the Beta says calmly, and soon they're dragging both me and Cally toward the castle.

I catch a peek back at my caravan, where the wolves who are now men are grabbing all the crates, boxes, and trunks and throwing them all over the cliff into the ocean.

"Those are my things!" I scream as they take hold of my trunk, trying to run back, but a powerful arm grabs me and turns me around, pushing me forward.

"You have no need for human things anymore," he says sharply.

I glance at Cally, whose eyes are wide as the guard holding her shoves her forward. I give her a nod, trying to be reassuring. After all, I was given to the Sea-King Alpha, so I'm sure he will provide me with whatever I need. She relaxes and stops fighting the men, as do I. It's useless anyway.

This is my fate.

As we're led through the castle entrance, I look up at the terrace above, locking eyes with the most handsome man I've ever seen in my life. His physique is tall and powerful, with solid, defined muscles visible through his tight shirt. His eyes are bright silver, rimmed with crimson around the irises, and his hair is nearly white with a silver tint.

I hitch a breath as his eyes meet mine, chills rushing up my spine and raising the hairs on the back of my neck. I freeze in place, my feet no longer moving behind me, and the men behind me start pushing me forward.

The handsome man above breaks his gaze, turns around, and walks away, leaving my breath caught in my lungs as I struggle to walk into the castle.

It takes a few moments of being out of his presence before I can walk again. Now that I do, I try to walk quickly. The sooner they take me to my room, the sooner I can relax and be alone for a moment to recover from the shock.

All my beautiful dresses, my precious books, my keepsakes I've had since childhood... they've all been thrown into the ocean currents, never to be seen again.

My old life has likewise been cast off, leaving me no choice but to accept this new role as the bride of this Alpha.

Was that him I saw on the balcony?

If so, I now know which rumors of his appearance are true. But despite his stunning good looks, only a cold-hearted man would treat his bride this way.

Am I really stuck with this evil man forever?

The grand hallway entrance is not what I'd expected. Back home, everything is covered in jewels and gold. Here, simple, natural materials fill the room, and despite my rattled nerves, somehow, the place feels elegant and welcoming. I'm curious what my room will look like.

But instead of heading up the staircase to the living quarters, we descend into a hallway that leads down below the castle. After walking for several minutes, I catch a whiff of... a horrible stench, a terrible combination of sweat, urine, and mildew. With a turn of the corner, I soon see why.

I'm in the dungeon.

I barely have time to recognize my predicament before Cally screams. Though it's getting darker, there's no mistaking it. She's being dragged off in another direction down a long, empty hall.

"Hey, she's with me," I assert, stopping and turning to one of the guards.

He just grabs me by the arm and pushes me forward with a grunt.

As Cally's screams disappear into the distance, the guards shove me into a cage. One of them moves to close it, but he stops and looks at me first. Stepping in, he moves toward me, and I back up quickly against the cold rock wall behind me.

He smirks, reaching his hand up toward my chest.

Is he going to-oh, no!

Panic rushes through my nerves as I try to block him with my hands. "I-I belong to the king!"

He won't dare put his hands on me if I remind him of that, right?

But instead of touching me, the man grabs for Mother's necklace, yanking it off. "So does this," he snarls, slinking back out of the cage and slamming the door shut behind him.

As the group of guards walk off, laughing, I sink down to the filthy floor, my lavender lace skirt flopping into the grimy dust. I reach up to my bare neck, letting the tears come.

What does this Alpha even want with me?

I guess I'm not his bride, but his prisoner.

Lyra

I don't know how long I've been in this place, but I can't cry forever. If I spend too many tears, I'll become dehydrated, and I'm beginning to get thirsty.

Realizing that I'm completely dependent on these guards to stay alive, I take several deep breaths to calm myself.

I am a princess of Maelie, and I'd better start acting like it.

I rise, wiping my eyes off with the only clean part left of my sleeve and walking the edges of my cell to get a better handle on my surroundings. Strangely, it's a single cage, with no others attached or nearby.

From what I can tell, I'm at the end of a hallway, lit by a single torch on the wall several feet down the corridor. I shudder, acutely aware that the guards can extinguish it just for fun if they'd like, leaving me in total darkness.

There's nothing in the cage but an old, dirty, smelly blanket and a bucket for... my needs. I suppose these are my only possessions now.

But before I cry again, I remind myself that there are subjects in my kingdom with only a few more possessions than these. What food they can acquire from the sea is all they have to eat, and if the Sea-King Alpha decides Maelie can no longer access that, these people will starve and die a silent death.

Thinking of them, I feel foolish, worrying over trunks of mere possessions thrown into the sea. I don't need beautiful dresses. I don't need to read books that those people can never access. I don't need diamonds, even those my own mother fastened around my neck.

I am here for them. No matter what this Alpha wants with me, if he wants only to keep me as a possession in this dungeon forever, or if he wants me to perish here, I will do it.

For them.

As Lower Princess of Maelie, I am here to serve my subjects. And the only subject I have here in Oceana is somewhere in this dungeon.

"Cally!" I call out.

No one answers, though I try several more times.

Resigned to my fate, I return to my spot near the wall. I sit cross-legged, staring into the dimly lit hallway. Silence envelops me, except for a faint, eerie hum reverberating through the stone walls.

I close my eyes, picturing the few glimpses I've had of the castle above me, so elegant in its simplicity, so similar to the feel of the entire palace. I suppose people who can turn into wolves are more in tune with the wild world around them. Maybe that's why they build with the natural materials they find on their lands.

Unlike my father and Anastasia, they don't need gilded walls.

But does that mean the gossip about the Alpha King's cruelty is real? Maybe that connection to nature grounds them to their darkest inner instincts.

I shudder at the thought.

Hours, maybe days, pass, then footsteps approach, and I rise to greet them, hoping it's someone who will let me out of here. Appearing in the dim light is a guard and another man, a servant holding a tray. I'm silent as the guard unlocks the door, feeling vulnerable in the dark, empty cage.

But as soon as the servant sets the tray down, and the guard locks the door behind him, I feel safe again.

"The woman who was with me," I say. "Is she safe?"

Neither man answers. They simply turn away and walk down the hallway, disappearing into the flickering torchlight.

"Thank you," I call after them.

I turn my attention to the tray, my stomach growling as the smell of food wafts toward me. It's a simple meal, bread and vegetables, for which I'm grateful. A large carafe accompanies it, and I take a long sip, savoring the cool, clear water.

I eat slowly, aware that I can't be certain how long I've been kept here, though I know it's long enough that my stomach isn't used to this much food. I save half the bread, hiding it in my dress pocket in case I'm not fed again for a while.

***

The days drag on. At least, I think they are days. I've used my finger to mark each time I've been fed in the dirt beside me. From the level of my hunger, I've deduced that they're feeding me once a day, though different guards check in more often, usually to replace the torch in the hallway.

And so, this patch of dirt is my calendar, proof that I live, for now.

I'm sitting, admiring it, when I hear more commotion than usual, and several figures start to appear in the torchlight.

One of them has a familiar voice.

"Where are we going?" Cally demands, her voice sweet yet firm.

My smile is instant as I rise, sprinting toward the bars of my cell just as she catches sight of me.

"Your Highness!" she cries, shoving away the men's arms and rushing toward me, her eyes wide.

We hug through the bars, and I allow the tears to flow again.

One of the guards opens the door while two others pry us apart, throwing her into the cage with me and slamming the door again. We just laugh through the tears and hug again.

"Thank you!" I tell the guards.

One of them grunts. "Anything to shut her up."

I frown at the guard as Cally pulls back. She instantly starts straightening my hair. "Goodness, Your Highness. How could they treat you like this?"

I shrug, pulling her hand down. "It's the same as they've treated you, for which I apologize," I tell her.

"None of this is your fault," she insists.

I shake my head. "I can't say it isn't. But anyway, are you well? Are you hurt? Did they feed you?"

"Well enough, Your Highness," she replies. "I was more concerned about you. I kept insisting that I needed to be with you because it's my duty."

"We're equal here," I insist. "Maybe it's time you just call me Lyra. We're friends, after all."

Her eyes go wide, and she lets out a tiny gasp. "I don't know if I can."

"Try it."

"Lyra." She giggles. "I like that. I've always thought your name was beautiful. Your mother named you well. You're just as lovely as your name."

"I certainly don't feel lovely right now." I let out a sigh, jiggling the cage a little.

"Well, this Alpha wanted a wife," she says. "Why he's treating you like this, I have no idea. But I don't think it'll last forever. I have a feeling you'll be at his side soon."

"I'm a little afraid of that," I admit. "I mean, the man turns into a wolf. Does that happen all the time? Can he even control it?"

"I think they can, judging by what I've seen." She sucks in a breath. "Did you see that gorgeous man when they were leading us in? Up on the ledge? Do you think that's the Alpha?"

"I don't know, but he seemed... unique." A feeling I don't understand flows through my arm at the thought of him, erupting my skin with goosebumps.

"I'll say." She bites her lip. "I guess what they said about him being gorgeous was true. I just hope that once he gets to know you, he apologizes for treating you like this."

"Maybe someday, he will," I say.

I doubt it.

But right now, I don't care. Cally is safe.

I lead her back to my spot by the wall and show her my makeshift calendar. I'm still a prisoner, but having Cally here makes me feel like one day, I'll get to be that bride.

I suppose I'll find out eventually.