Whispers of a new wolf king spread like wildfire through the halls of Princess Lilith’s palace. She couldn’t walk anywhere without hearing something about him. Sometimes the faerie princess wished she could forget her betrothed. Her first meeting with him was unpleasant enough. He was barbaric, but what could you expect from such a creature, really?

  She strolled past a huddle of maids with more news of him on their lips. “Have you heard of the wolf battles for the open throne?”

  “You mean, Undefeated John, the princess’s betrothed? Yes, it’s a shame. He doesn’t seem to have taken any of his father’s kind traits. He's a beast, that one.”

  “He might actually become king.”

  “What?!”

  “Yes, John has defeated all his rivals who threaten to take the empty throne from him. If no one steps forward to also stake claim to his father's throne then he becomes their new king.”

  How unfortunate. She had hoped that when his father died, he would become a commoner and cling so desperately to her that he wouldn’t know what to do with himself. Although the news upset her, she was more bothered by his new power. Men and power weren’t a great mix. She needed to find a leverage she could use against him, preferably before they became newlyweds. That would be terrific. But where to find this information?

  In her bedroom chambers she rung for her lady’s maid, Erin.

  “Can you tell Isaac I wish to see him?”

  “Yes, Your Highness, right away.” Erin curtsied, quickly exiting.

  A while later Isaac entered with a cheery smile. “Your Highness asked to see me?”

  “Yes, I want you to report to me everything that happens in the wolf kingdom. Pay close attention to word of their new king. Anything harming would do.”

  In the coming weeks Lilith learned more about the things that happened under her future betrothed’s rule and she felt sick to her stomach. Corruption wasn’t enough to express the horrors she heard of. If Isaac was to be believed and she was positive he was, then that meant these wolves sold orphaned pups. Some would even slaughter the family and take the pups to be auctioned off immediately. The women were rape victims, bound up with clipped ears. They weren’t allowed a moment’s rest without the threat of their pup’s safety on the line. The men weren’t much safe either.

  “Princess, I was informed that those targeted are from a different class as the perpetrators. Your—” He cleared his throat. “Their king has passed laws to ensure this type of behavior is excused.”

  King John wrote an edict sanctifying his lineage to the title, King of Alphas, forever. It marked the beginning of a reign of terror. The mistreatment of Betas began sporadically at first and increased over time. John, who she imagined was a man filled with arrogance and just as much greed as his past opponents, abandoned his fellow wolves to this cruel fate that he and his pompous ‘Alphas’ orchestrated and trapped them in.

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  The following year Isaac reported John went as far as making laws to hinder Betas from becoming Alphas or rising among the ranks of his soldiers or the men of his court. He therefore issued another edict sentencing anyone to death who tried. He had a deep hatred for Betas; he believed them to be weaker by blood and a burden he had to put up with. John enjoyed being surrounded by Alphas. Must like the way they groveled at his feet. If she were him she’d basked in the power she possessed over the powerful. The simpleton hadn't understood how to wield it. If she'd been given that power, she would do so much more with the authority of a cracking whip on the backs of those dealing in unjust deeds. They shall fear her, she thought with glee.

  “Oh, princess, your marriage is in a month’s time. Aren’t you so excited?”

  To which she frequently replied, “No. How could one be happy about marrying a mutt?”

  She had heard enough of her kinsmen telling her how much they wanted to get rid of her and how quickly.

  These people were so happy to see her gone and made such a fuss about it that her father told her the king requested a week-long celebration before the wedding.

  “This is the best way to keep the peace,” Or so they kept repeating. Now it was her mother who said it this time while patting her shoulder. And once again regarding the necessity of marriage for the sake of alliance no one was here to stand in her defense. She favored words like fight, resist but none came from anyone of import. There were no commands for her to stay. No reversal to the marriage agreement. Even after all she had found, none of it could be used against him. If anything, it made him stronger. More difficult to challenge. Instead, she was to be married off to that abrasive king to abandon the place she belonged, stolen from her comfort and carried off to a mutt.

  Earlier her mother felt the need to assure her she would feel like she belonged once she was married. Did belonging suddenly enable her to breathe fire? Perhaps she might spew fire, to and fro, destroying kingdoms like the wolves’ and widow herself? To belong meant to what? Fit in? Be accepted?

  At the celebration of her kidnapping she hadn’t had the time for divination, so her faerie gifts were as helpful as her parents had been. Not that it would reveal anything for her, but still it brought her solace in thinking she had some control over where her life went. She resented her naivety at believing security was anything but an illusion. She saw all the atrocities of the Alphas and the king.

  Most of her days spent in captivity were filled with her reading tarot, yearning for a way out of the ‘marriage’ or even divining the king's weakness would have helped her.

  One day the Fool and the World—cards that represented a new beginning—tumbled out of the deck onto the ground. She looked down at them with pride. Who said self-divination was impossible? And look, had she not done just that? Let’s see what they had prepared for her freedom.

  She almost didn’t divine this morning. Earlier, she’d thrown up, sick. Perhaps from being in his presence for too long. She was developing a new reaction to him, one more befitting to her repulsiveness toward him.

  In the months following her stomach continued to distend. After her son was born she planned and bided her time, raising him into a compassionate and just ruler. The complete contrast to his father's disgusting and oftentimes willful ignorance.

  Her card readings encouraged her and fueled her with determination to build a better life for the wolves, particularly, the Betas. Using the Betas, she could create a way for her to weaken her captor, steal them from under his oppression and create a new future with freedom for them and her.

  This reality never came to fruition, and nothing in her fate anticipated a revolution, so Lilith did what she’d never done before. She took her fate into her own hands, granting herself the freedom she’d starved for.