10. I don't want to be afraid of the dark.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't notice you there, you're pretty transparent," a young woman apologized in a slightly sarcastic manner. She could be begging for forgiveness, but for the tone of voice she used- nobody would ever grant her any. Ally stood quiet, closing her eyes and pulling her hands in fists, trying to breathe deeply. Seraphima trashed around in her mind; the Royal beast didn't take any form of disrespect kindly. She was ready to break free and tear the woman apart; it doesn't matter if the trick she pulled off intentional or not.

The princess left the principal's office just minutes ago- she had to go alone to deal with some paperwork. Sally was supposed to join her, but the young woman refused to get out of the bed. She didn't like the idea of leaving the prestigious school because of her friend, let alone moving. So Ally took a tour around the school and small city on her own- first some ways how she could get to school grounds, and now school itself. She promised her father that she wouldn't stand out- for the sake of her mother. But now all odds went against her as the rude girl crossed her arms in front of the chest and grinned.

"You know," Ally breathed out, trying to hold the control over her beast. The more she tried, the more Seraphima fought, finally getting her victory. The princess's eyes changed color to a deep black as the creature spoke, sounding more demonic than any human-like creature ever could. Seraphima showed off her canines and snarled: "I got this terrible rage building up in me, and I just want to grab by your throat and tear your esophagus out. Then I'd take that shit to your fucking home and feed it to your family while watching how your lifeless body is fucked by rogues. You'd like that, huh? Want to try me? Come on, come a bit closer, I fucking dare you!" Her words were deadly, but the body language was rather inviting. Seraphima, the same as Ares, was a predator- perfection made by nature. There was nothing that the beasts enjoyed more than the taste of blood.

The young woman didn't look as confident as before. Everyone in the Kingdom knew that only one type of shifter can be so collected yet aggressive. The human in them held beasts back while the beast side spat out all details about the terrible things to happen. The realization hit too late- she ran into a princess, the one of only a few alive Lycanthropes. Legends about her father's deeds were enough to make one freeze in terror. Many rumored that the young princess followed her father's footsteps, while others claimed that princess Ally was way worse than the King.

"Such a beauty, I haven't seen one holding the beast back for this long. Even your father used to struggle in moments of great stress, not to mention ones of anger," out of the principal's cabinet came Lord Balthazar. He decided to follow Ally and check on her before she or her beast gives out their identity. A little too late.

"Fuck off Balthazar. I'll gut you alive before the bitch takes one step closer. Do you think some low ass skank can fucking push around my human? Hell, to the fuck no. We're up for some damn rampage, I'm so hungry, and the bitch looks so delicious," Ally kept fighting Seraphima, but the beast didn't move. She knew that the princess would try her best to turn around and leave.

"Young lady, please retreat, slowly. This isn't a joke, remember that true Lycanthropes eat their children, and this one is pissed off, enough to kill you for the sake of a little feast. Get your parents here," Balthazar addressed the shaking female and approached Ally, placing a firm hand on her shoulder. As the young woman complied, the Lord bent down to Ally's ear, whispering something.

"Only this time, you old fart. Fucking up my dinner, thanks cunt," Seraphima let go of the control and let Ally take over. The princess kept breathing heavily, her body shaking in rage.

"Congratulations, you managed to piss off both. How stupid can you be? Can't you feel the damn aura of dominance? This is the King's daughter, not your everyday Alpha, damn it!" Lord shouted at the girl. No one needed unnecessary drama around the princess, but seeing that she will lash out didn't make his day better. Eve will kill him if she finds out that Balthazar let Ally fight on the first day of the school.

"I'm fucking fine, listen to me, I'm okay right now. Need. Fresh. Air," Ally pushed words through gritted teeth. As the situation became more tense- more people started surrounding them.

Instead of being a decent shifter, at least one who wants to live, the girl straightened her body and yelled at Ally: "that's right, run you pussy!"

Even if Balthazar wanted to, he wouldn't have enough time to react. Ally turned around, extended her claws and lunged at the young woman. The girl screamed, covering her face with palms, but only after the blood poured down her face. Ally left deep, bleeding claw marks on the young girl's face with one move. She stood above the crying girl and spat: "Now you're my bitch, ain't you."

Everyone watched the scene in horror, screams, and cries, collective gasps and whispers filled the hall. Balthazar hugged Ally from the side and watched the agony on a young woman's face with a smirk on his lips. As much as the parents, school, or council would want to fight for what happened- the cocky girl was to blame. Everyone, literally everyone, knew that pissing off the Royals is the worst thing to do. She asked for it, and she's lucky that she's still alive.

"Lord Balthazar, please walk the princess to the gardens. We will take care of the situation, and afterward, I'd like to have a word with you as her official guardian." The principal sounded surprisingly emotionless after the little encounter Ally had with a possible classmate.

"Hell to the fuck yeah, that's my girl!" From the crowd, yelled a young man. Ally knew who the man was; she instantly rolled her eyes in irritation and turned away to leave.

"Ally, do you know this young man?" Balthazar questioned her, raising an eyebrow. Just hours ago, he found out that Ally is engaged, and now some unknown boy is calling her "his."

"Unfortunately, yes," the princess groaned. "Uncle Balthazar, meet Arex, the most annoying cunt in the history of existence. If you heard anything about my fight with Jeffree, well, this idiot is his cousin." Balthazar caught the hatred in her voice almost instantly.
Of course, the princess wasn't the most social person, but she also wasn't the one to act so rudely. The only expectation was whenever Ally fought against Seraphima for one who will hold dominance over the body.

"Young man, please don't piss them off even more. I have plenty of explanations to give to the Queen now. Please could you walk her to the gardens? I will be there within minutes, but first, I should talk to this girl's parents- to discuss her punishment," Balthazar acted rather collected, unfazed by Ally's rage.
One of the students started protesting, yelling at the powerful man how Ally should be the one who will get punished since she's the attacker. That made the Lord chuckle.

"Of course, child. We surely shall punish the princess for attacking one who disrespected her. I'm sure you're aware of laws, taking in the fact that you're in high school. Now, please, do tell me what kind of punishment we should come up for the King's firstborn. Amuse me," Balthazar grinned, watching how the girl's face paled, and jaw dropped. With shaking legs, she fell on her knees, begging for forgiveness.

"There's no need to discuss such things; we will talk about my daughter's punishment in private. Princess Ally, I'm truly sorry for my daughter's behavior," a woman appeared in the hall. Her eyes were puffy from crying; apparently, she rushed there since her face was red and covered in sweat.

"Lead the princess to the gardens, we will clean up the mess," Lord ordered and winked at Arex.
The young man gladly grabbed Ally's hand and dragged her out of the school. He led her to the garden swing, which reminded one they had in the palace. Ally didn't want to talk, despite the growing need for insulting the male. She sat down and took a deep breath, looking up the sky.

"You know, you're a real bitch, but absolutely beautiful," Arex sat down next to Ally, grinning as his eyes scanned her appearance. He didn't dare to look at her body, his eyes set on her face.

"Thanks, no need to compliment me. I don't like you, anyway. Doubt that I ever will. Just sit and let me think. This is not the kind of situation I wanted to get myself involved in. I was supposed to lay low and enjoy the last years of school in peace. Why the fuck she had to challenge Seraphima? Just why? This could be avoided; I'd go back home, trash my room, and sleep the anger off." Ally whispered to herself. She didn't want to hold any conversation with the annoying male, but the best thinking she did was out loud. The princess used talking to herself, chasing answers to any question.

Arex watched her closely; wondering if she really believed in her own words. In his eyes, Ally seemed to be more attractive when she was mad, and now he gladly took in all of her. The male tried to avoid their eyes meeting, cautiously observing how fast her facial expressions changed from one to another.

"What is one thing you want? That one thing you would do anything, everything for?" He suddenly questioned the princess. The question didn't make any sense for Ally, but the tone of his voice did mean that he was serious.

"I want to be immortal like a God in the sky. I want to live forever in someone's heart; that way, we'll always be together from the end to the start. I don't want to be afraid of the dark." Ally smiled, looking down at her feet. It was her hidden dream- meeting her mate and starting everything from the end. She didn't think that the beginning was an excellent point to start anything, so she always tried to find the end of the rope and head towards the start.

"That's interesting. Care to explain a little more? I mean, we have a lot of time to kill together. It will take a while until they deal with Sarah's ass, she's the biggest bitch around here." Arex smiled, silently admiring the odd things the princess was talking about. Never before, he had heard how someone tells the opposite way from what was considered normal.

"I mean everyone around seems so content, so happy, but it's not enough to live out a lucky life, right? I want to mean something to someone. It's stupid, hard to explain." Ally groaned, understanding that she was trying to imply the mate possibility, but instantly attempted to avoid the topic. She was simply angry and talking while feeling such emotion was wrong. Despite the rage, she was way too honest, and no stranger should know a thing about her dreams or desires.

"I got time." The male shrugged his shoulders, grinning like a child who got whatever candy he'd been crying for.

"When you love somebody, they always leave too soon, right? The beautiful things you love, live for, and breathe for- those just like others never lasts forever. This world is in a losing game for everyone, including me. Everyone keeps chasing after time, and sooner or later they die- I don't want to live like that. Of course, if I could ever buy forever at a price- I would buy it twice. I'm trying to explain that life is too short, and we don't see how fast it ends. It's a journey only we have control over, and I want to make my decisions. I've been thinking about stupid love and happiness since last week. My father decided to whom I'll get engaged, can you believe that? After finding that out, I started fearing darkness, death, and loneliness." She gave up, thinking that talking things out sometimes is better than staying quiet. No matter what, at least a part of the heavy feeling might leave her shoulders.

"You can't be lonely if you're getting married, silly. But I do feel kind of shitty for you- no one deserves to marry whomever their parents choose. I'd lose my mind if I had to marry just because my mom says so," Arex smiled awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. In all honesty, he didn't have an idea as to what to say or not. He hasn't met anyone who had to marry because the person 's decided so. For some part, he did feel sorry for Ally and her fate.

"This is stupid, let's change the topic, please. I've felt depressed enough, and today is a fucking cherry on the top of the cake. My mother will kill me if she finds out. She's a human, so she doesn't know how awful the feeling it is when someone plainly decides to disrespect or challenge you. Mom thinks that I should be able to control Seraphima since I'm sixteen. Not as easy as it seems. Damn it; I'm talking about such irrelevant things, am I not?" Ally laughed off her words, leaning deeper into the swing. She wanted to close her eyes and fall asleep. Maybe a nap might make her feel better.

"I must admit, I'm kind of enjoying your rant. Your cheeks get a little redded when you're so frustrated, and I can see a little spark in your eyes. You have a gorgeous side smile when you think that you're talking nonsense. When you're trying to calm yourself down- you shake your head and slide fingers through hair, which is a rather beautiful action. Has anyone told you how beautiful you are?" Arex looked up at the sky, avoiding taking a glance at the princess. He already told her that he took a liking towards her, but this might be too much. Something in him kept urging the young man to compliment the princess, despite knowledge about her engagement. Forced or not- she's still engaged, and he had to accept that.

Ally's eyes widened. She didn't like Arex, she truly didn't like being near him or hearing his voice, but the male was suddenly nice. Why?
The last time they met, he was nothing but an asshole, and today he wasn't much better. Since they got out of the school building, Arex changed into a different persona. Maybe he was okay while out of there, and the same selfish, self-centered prick in the classroom?

"Damn, sorry, I got carried away. Let's forget what I said and maybe try to become friends? I'll keep my hands to myself and shut my mouth—no more compliments or flattery. No more asshole Arex, I promise. If you allow me to become your friend- I'll be on my best behavior." He placed a hand over his heart, trying to prove the seriousness of his words.

Ally laughed at his actions and shrugged her shoulders: "maybe, who knows. Let's see how you behave from now on."

"Sure, just stop being the dominant bitch, or I'll try to kidnap you away from that fiancee of yours. I'll lock you up and make you fight all the mean bitches." As Arex spoke about his imaginary plan, both of them laughed out loud. They joked and started getting used to each other's company until someone startled them.

"Having fun?"