Rejecting to the Alpha King's Daughter

☽Chapter 1-Once Upon A Time... As if!☾

Do you know the stories of werewolves, beings that shift every full moon into mindless beasts with only the urge to hunt?

Well, what would you say if I told you that we exist, that werewolves exist and walk amongst you in the cities you live in?

What if I told you that the full moon is a myth created to protect our kind so that no human would go on a werewolf hunt because a Rogue or a Soulless attacked the innocents?

What if I told you hat I am the ruler of all wolves – The Alpha Queen – who keeps my kind safe and hidden from humans and hunters alike, who, with the help of witches, is able to put up barriers that only the supernaturals walking earth can see and go through?

I am Crystalline Thorn, the supposedly unwanted daughter to Alpha King Alexander, the daughter that was abused and rejected when the truth of me being a runt came out.

I am the she-wolf who survived a war and learned the truth of my heritage thanks to Amberle and Geminie.

I am the wolf that rules all wolves.

But I am getting ahead of myself. I should start from the beginning of my tale for you all to learn...

☽Chapter 2-A Destiny Set in Motion☾

A distant time in past...

The King smiles as he looks down at his twin pups, Crystalline and Selene, in the flickering glow of the candlelight. His mate, Queen Luna, and his eldest, Prince Coro, looking on from a distance as Coro tries to get the attention of his exhausted mother. Luna had done a good job of giving birth to their pups, laboring from the moment the sun come up until the moon was high in the sky when the pups were born.

She had cause quite a stir with the maids in the stone walls of the palace when her water broke, the maids quickly helping Luna to the birthing chamber on the second floor. One had sent a guard to the training field where wolves sparred in metal armor or in wolf form to find King Spirit and inform him of his Queen's birth, while another navigated the cold corridors towards the Witch's tower to bring the midwife over.

King Spirit rushed to the palace after leaving his Beta in charge, making his way to the birthing chamber just in time to help the maids remove his wife's large ballgown from her body to allow her more movement. It was a long thirteen hours of laboring, but with the light of the full moon bathing their twin daughters and casting the same magic their mother possesses onto them the moment they were born, the King and Queen both knew instantly that their princesses would have a great destiny ahead of them.

"Who came first?" King Spirit asks, turning to look at the midwife, a witch named Cassandra. Her red as blood hair and eyes as blue as the sky are such a contrast to her true age; no one would think this woman is two hundred years old already. But the Witch is the reason the wolves can stay hidden from the hunters that wish to kill them.

"Selene did, Sire. She has the same Goddess powers as her mother," Cassandra responds, pointing to the firstborn daughter, whose little hair already reflected like a prism in the small glow of the candlelight.

"Crystalline came next and the power in her blood nearly suffocated me. It is stronger than the Prince," The witch continues, a smile on her face as she looks at the white-haired pup.

"Well then, Selene will take my place as the Moon Goddess when the time comes," Luna croaks weakly, a happy smile on her pale face.

"What about Crystalline?" Coro asks, looking at his newborn twin sisters with distain. The King frowns. He knows his son had been neglected the last six weeks with his mother's pregnancy coming to an end. But the King and Queen did their best to give Coro as much attention as they could while preparing him to become an older brother.

Coro pays no attention to Selene, already knowing that she will not be a bother to him with her inheriting their mother's legacy as the next Goddess. But Crystalline will be the thorn in his side when it comes to what he believes is his rightful place on the throne. The young pup can already feel the power of the Royal Blood flowing through her and could tell that she will surpass him in everything as soon as her training begins. He does not want to lose the throne he grew up being told will be his. He likes knowing that all the wolves listen to him, and he can freely torture those who disobey the six year old. All this will change if his sister is in the picture.

"Well, Coro, Crystalline and you will both train as leaders. One will become my heir and the other will become a Beta to their sibling or an Alpha of their own pack. Only time will tell," King Spirit answers him absentmindedly, not noticing the malicious look that the Prince sends to his sister. Witch Cassandra notices this however, realizing the smart Prince with connections across the supernatural realm may begin scheming despite his innocent-looking face.

Fearful for the twin daughters of her King and Queen, the Witch steps forward and reaches into her pouch, pulling out two silver necklaces with moonstone charms attached, happy to have made these protection charms for the twins in advance. She has treated many wolves the last year after they have been wrongfully punished by Prince Coro. Of course, the King and Queen could not believe their firstborn to be so malicious and chalked it up to being a rambunctious pup, but the Witch knew better. She knew one of the Princesses will be powerful and that the Prince would not like the competition. He already has it in his little mind that he owns the world, much to his parents' teachings.

"My King, with the help of some elves I was able to create protection charms for the Princesses. The moonstone that looks like the moon will be for Crystalline, as a reminder that her sister watches over her as the next Goddess. The moonstone shaped like a snowflake will remind Selene of her sister down on earth where the Royal Pack sits, and winter comes early," she says quietly, seeing the concern on her King's face.

"But the chains are silver. Silver harms us." He states with worry, the urge to throw those necklaces away instantly building inside of him. Cassandra smiles at him reassuringly before she gently places the necklaces around the twins' necks, much to her King and Queen's looks of protest. But shock fills the two royals as the silver causes no harm, and Coro looks on in rage. He always loved the colour silver, but the scar on his palm from touching a silver coin reminds him that he is incapable of holding the material.

The twins open their eyes, Selene's as white as the moon and Crystalline's as colourful as a light reflecting off a prism, and stare at the woman who has now handed them a gift. They already like her, their hands reaching out to grab the edge of her sleeves.

"As I said, their blood is strong. I have seen in a vision that both twins are immune to silver and their Destiny will be great. Silver can become their protection from those that wish to harm them." The witch chuckles, allowing the twins to cling to her sleeves. King Spirit nods, looking at his Queen who smiles at him.

"We will start to prepare silver jewelry and weapons for them then," The King states, walking over to pick up Selene and bring her to her mother before returning to hold Crystalline. With the King's promise, Cassandra bids her farewell to her rulers and takes her leave to allow the royal couple and Coro to bond with the twins. But worry still gnaws at her for Crystalline's safety. She has a feeling her destiny will be altered soon.

A week passes with Cassandra praying to the Goddess of Destiny Morai to protect the twins, as the feeling of something horrible happening soon grows. She spends her days either in her tower praying in the altar room to her chosen Deity for the safety of Crystalline and that the pup may live a good life, or with the Queen and the twins, always chanting a spell of protection over the two pups in hopes to keep them safe from Prince Coro.

Word of his cruelty to Crystalline has spread. Maids will find him holding Selene, bonding with her while Crystalline is left in the cradle, screaming for her needs to be taken care of. A maid will walk away for a moment to help with Selene only to find Crystalline missing and after a few minutes of searching, will find the princess outside in the cold night slowly freezing with Prince Coro's scent all over her. These incidents of cruelty towards Crystalline have reached the King and Queen's ears, making them more protective over the newborn pup and placing a harsher punishment on their eldest child. It is evident that the young Prince does not like his sister and has been plotting something dark and sinister.

On a dark, snowy night, Witch Cassandra put away her leather-bound notebooks after writing her observations for the day. She had just spent her day making sure the twin princesses are healthy and ready to be introduced to their nation now that they are a week old. She sighs, the feeling of unease growing inside her when she sets aside her quill and ink in their rightful spot on her desk before climbing the stairs to her altar at the top of the tower.

She flicks her fingers, lighting all of the candles around the statue of a child dressed in a modest gown, then carefully lowers herself to her knees and wraps a rosary made of rose quartz, amethyst, quartz crystal and blue lace agate around her hand before starting her prayers. She can feel a shift in the energy surrounding the palace and hopes that the prayers will dispel all the negativity she has felt throughout the day. Little does she know that Coro has planned something no one expected. While Cassandra continues her prayer to Goddess Morai, the feeling of something horrible about to happen grows, the air becoming heavy with negativity.

"Please, Goddess, keep Princess Crystalline safe." She whispers, a tear falling slowly down her face and onto the statue. She focuses hard, putting her magic into her prayer, hoping to reach her chosen deity.

As she prays, a guard rushes to her tower, fear and anger on his face. He opens the door on the first floor, realizing that the witch is not there as the urgency in his eyes deepens. He takes a deep breath, scenting the air in hopes of finding their only hope in fixing the situation the guards have found themselves in, and feels relieved to learn that the witch is up in her prayer room.

Without hesitation, he climbs the stairs in a rush, taking the stone steps two at a time in hope of making it to Cassandra quickly. Finally, the landing comes into view and he reaches for the handle. Bursting through the door and allowing a cold rush of air to extinguish all the candles except the red infused with the power of the sun and moon and used to pray to the Goddess of Destiny, the guard huffs and puffs, gasping for breath, fighting to get the words out.

"What is so urgent that you have to interrupt my prayers?" Cassandra asks furiously, looking over at the guard who stares at her with hope in his fearful gaze.

"Princess Crystalline is missing. We need your help to find her, Witch Cassandra!"

☽Chapter 3-The Outcast Princess☾

"Crystalline, you are uselessly slow. Why is it so hard for you to be faster?!" My father growls out in frustration as I cross the finish line of the track in the training building for the umpteenth time tonight. Leaning against a pillar for support, I try my best to catch my breath and look at the clock on the wall. Shocked to see it reads ten thirty at night, I internally groan, realizing it has been three hours since father made me run laps inside instead of letting me join the others in hand-to-hand combat outside in the winter snow.

"Father, I am trying my best, but it's been three hours. I am exhausted and need a break to be able to go faster." I plead, hoping to reason with the mountain of a man before me. All he does is growl, his anger radiating off him and towards me, but I stand my ground as the chain with the moonstone orb sways slightly from my neck. Being the only child and without any sons, Alexander has forced me to train for years on end to be a strong heir to the throne, always forcing me to run laps at night and fight wolves in the day knowing I am unable to shift. He thinks tough love is all I need to be a perfect heir, but this treatment only makes my hatred and resentment towards him grow stronger. The need to run away and never look back is something I contemplate almost everyday.

"Don't you dare talk back to me, Crystalline! It is unbefitting of a Princess!" A hand connects to the left side of my face, sending me to the rubber floor of the track field as the pain radiates across of my face. Holding my hand to my cheek in hopes to stop the stinging, I keep my head down as Alexander begins to rant about my purpose in life. I have to find a proper mate and produce proper male heirs, heirs he always wanted but instead became stuck with me. To him, I should be just like his whores he sleeps with, seen but not heard, strong but submissive.

"You are a disgrace, but the only heir I have. Had you not gotten your mother killed, and given my inability to get anyone else pregnant, you would have been sold to some Alpha long ago already." He scoffs. I want to yell back, to fight and argue that had he not been fucking that pack whore, he would have been in the family room with mother and I watching the movie when the Rogues attacked. He would have been on time to protect my mother and stop that Rogue from ripping her throat out. Instead, the guard showed up just in time to stop the Rogue from killing me. I keep my head down, waiting for his rant to end as usual, for his anger to dissipate.

"You're an outcast amongst this pack, and no one likes you. If you weren't my daughter, you would have been thrown out long ago. Sadly, I need you to continue the bloodline." His words sting, but I am used to this verbal abuse, used to him cursing me and my existence and him belittling me in front of everyone. I just hope he leaves soon so that I can run and hide away in the forest for a while.

One thing is for sure though, because of my father's disdain for me and outright verbal abuse, I became the outcast Princess. No one likes me, they only tolerate me due to the ability to produce an heir. If it weren't for my bloodline, I know I would end up like the Omegas in the pack, abused and raped with no one to care about whether they live or die. I hate my father for this, hate how the pack has slowly declined in strength due to his ruling. He cares more for chasing after pack whores than training his wolves, more for trying to produce a male heir than to actually be a proper father to me. He is toxic to the Thorn line – toxic to the Royal Pack – and I have a feeling our ancestor King Coro would disapprove of him.

With a final look of distain, my father turns away in a huff and walks out, leaving me alone to catch my breath. Rolling onto my back, I stare up at the moon roof in the ceiling, the full moon shining down on me. Closing my eyes and wrapping my hands around the moonstone orb on the silver chain, I think of my mother, of joining her in the Goddess's realm and ending the misery that is my life. She would be disappointed in me, though. Her final words to live and fight for my life always echo in my mind when I feel like giving up. I know that even if I want to join her, I can't. One day, I will become Queen, and when that day comes, I have to make sure that what happened to her never happens to anyone in this pack again.

With a sigh, I slowly climb to my feet and walk towards the closest wall of the training building before making my way towards the door facing the direction of the northern peaks. My body is exhausted from running nonstop, my legs tired and sore from overuse, forcing me to use the walls for support until my healing power kicks in. I want to be deep in the forest, alone in the cold snow. One day, this pack will realize that they needed me more than they thought, and my father will regret the way he has treated me. But right now, I need to focus on living like my mother would have wanted me to.

Stepping out of the training building, the bitter winter wind hits me first, making me shiver but invigorating me to keep walking. The forest is my safety, the snow a reminder to keep fighting to stay alive. Walking deeper, I feel the pain in my body lessen, each step becoming steadier until I no longer need the support of the trees to keep moving. But my journey is short when I come across the river I like to sit beside, the water surprisingly warm due to the hot springs it flows from.

Taking a seat by the water's edge on a patch of green grass unaffected by the cold weather, I quickly remove my shoes and dip my feet into the flowing warm water, relishing in the warmth that travels through me and soothes the aches from running for long periods of time.

"Hey, Crysta!" A voice calls out. I smile, turning my head in the direction of the call just in time to see my friend Matrix walking out from the tree line towards me, the guard-in-training giving me one of his famous easygoing smiles.

"Hey, Trix." I call back, watching as the fifteen year old takes a seat beside me and pulls out his Swiss Army knife from his pocket to whittle away at a piece of pine wood that he picked up from the tree line before joining me.

"What brings you out here?" I ask, watching his hands work away at the wood. The warmth from the river prevents me from feeling the bitter cold of the winter, the grass I sit on still releasing its fresh scent that calms me down.

"Nothing really. I seen you exit the training grounds and thought you would like some company." His answer has me smiling as a comfortable silence settles between us with only the sounds of his knife scraping away at the wood. My best friend always knows what I need when I needed something, and right now his silent company is definitely what I need. I turn away from watching the wood in his hand change forms to look at the changing sky above me. I lean back on my hands and focus on the stars, wondering if I will be one of them one day. And then I see it.

Shooting across the sky in a brilliant silver light is a shooting star, the star twinkling and dancing in the dark indigo sky, with a tail trailing behind it like fairy dust left in its wake. Closing my eyes, I make a silent wish, wishing my life will change for the better. It's stupid, but right now I can use a bit of magic, even if it is in the form of a simple wish.

Opening my eyes just in time to see the star disappear, I smile, turning to Matrix, wanting to go back to the palace and get some sleep as tomorrow will be a long day. That is when I feel it.

Pain like hundreds of knives heated to a thousand degrees stabs through me, wreaking havoc on my body. My mouth opens in a silent scream as I curl into myself, tears streaming down my face with me being unable to form any words. It feels like death is consuming me, but I want to fight it. I can't die yet at only thirteen years old.

"Crystalline!" Matrix calls out, dropping the wood and knife to cradle my body. His worried gaze searches my face for any answer before moving to my body. I watch as his face goes from tense with worry to soft with relief as he lets out a chuckle. This idiot has the gall to laugh while I am in pain.

"Try to take a deep breath, Crysta. The pain is you shifting for the first time." He reassures me, running fingers through my hair as he coaches me into breathing slowly. The pain lessens, but I am still left curled into a ball feeling like death is clawing at me, ready to take me away.

"Breathe, Crysta! You just have to let the shift happen. Fighting it will only kill you." Matrix advises. I whimper wondering what he expects me to do while my insides feel like they are being ripped apart by burning claws. I want to keep fighting this pain, to prevent it from hurting me but his reminder that fighting will kill me causes me to close my eyes and focus on breathing.

I feel my bones snapping, my breath catching in my throat as the pain causes me to scream. I feel pin pricks through my skin as something grows out excruciatingly slow. My face elongates, my jaw snapping without warning, causing my scream to turn into a gurgling mix between a howl and a whimper.

Finally, the pain eases its deathlike grip on me and my breath comes easily. My body feels heightened, the scents in the air stronger. I sneeze from the overwhelming scent of pine, rubbing my nose with my paw.

"Crystalline!" Matrix gasps forcing me to open my prismatic eyes to stare at him with confusion.

"You... You are a white wolf." My tail thumps happily. A white wolf is rare, only reserved for those with royal blood line. It means we are closely related to Alpha Spirit, the first Alpha King.

"You don't get it, Crystalline. You're a white runt!" Worry and fear is evident in his voice as the seriousness of the situation settles. A runt is the worst thing anyone can be in the Royal Pack. It is cause for instant banishment if not death, depending on if the runt in question is male or female. Runts are only good for one thing in my fathers eyes – being bred to produce strong pups or sold to form alliances.

My father will kill me if he finds out that his so-called useless daughter is a runt. That or he will wait for my first heat and breed me with a wolf he chooses for a true heir.