PROLOGUE
* * *
SHE WAS HIS PRINCESS.
Him? A beast.
She didn’t know it…that as she lay in his arms, as safe as he could make her, he whispered who he was against her ear…when he knew she was asleep.
She could only be mine as long as she thought I was…the same as her.
Damien was never meant to be with someone like Iris. She was a human, and the daughter of the town mayor. His parents? They worked in a damn factory, sweating from morning to night, doing all the overtime they could to manage two square meals a day and rent on a small apartment.
The life of beasts. The only life Damien and his younger sister had known before they moved to Iris’ hometown. At school, other students were taught to stay away from them. Their parents sat apart from their workmates during breaks. And they were allowed into the more progressive churches on Sundays but rarely invited to community gatherings.
It was why they moved to Bay Hill, a peaceful town set up after the events of the Great Plague—a fresh start, their parents called it. One that meant keeping their nature a secret. His younger sister Linda had protested the move—there were laws protecting their kind, she insisted, too young to know that legalities made little difference.
Yes, humans loved to go on about how all species now had equal rights and nothing to fear. Easy for them to say when they never faced threats. They would never know how it felt to be in the minority, to look over your shoulder every time you left your home and be wary of large gatherings…to be told by friends that you were great, but they couldn’t stand the rest of your species.
Equal rights didn’t mean equal experiences.
“You cannot tell anyone what we are in Bay Hill. You have to promise. Take the wolf’s oath.”
“I promise.”
Along with Linda, Damien promised to never reveal their true nature. And after years, saw true smiles on his parents’ faces. Finally, they would not be in the minority. In this town, they would live as if they were normal…as equals.
The townsfolk were God-fearing people who welcomed their impoverished family as if doing charity. Mother quickly made friends who encouraged her to attend the local church. She returned from her first visit in high spirits, ignoring Damien’s scowls as she spoke about how the priest had asked the local community to donate to their family, help out with the children’s school fees. They weren’t a fucking charity case, he reminded her.
Still, she insisted on taking Linda and him along the next time. Damien almost fell for it, too—the warm welcome by the priest and other community members. But then the mayor Bill arrived, joining the priest to remind the congregation about the dangers of the other kind—creatures who slowly spread around the country and might one day reach here, too. As the mayor talked about how the supernaturals stole away jobs and women who belonged to humans, the priest warned church-goers that just a touch from those abominations could pollute the pure…
That one visit was enough for Damien to know he should keep away from the children in his school, but his aloof nature and rugged looks seemed to pull the prim and proper princesses. He wanted nothing to do with the idiots, but they wouldn’t leave him alone—even while they taunted him for his working-class background, they sent him notes asking him to meet them in the sheds behind school. Oh yes, those pampered princesses were desperate to be touched up by a low-life. He kept away from the whole lot of them…but Iris…she was different…
She treated him like a human.
The daughter of the town’s mayor, Bill…all blond hair and blue eyes. Damien wasn’t even worthy of being in the same room as her.
But with her around, he did feel less alone. When she walked into the classroom, she would make a beeline for the desk next to him, and once even threatened to rearrange the face of a girl who came in her way. Their friendship came about because she did not let up until Damien gave in.
“You and me, Damien. We have a connection. I knew it the first time I saw you.”
They did nothing but chat during those early days, but now, when he thought about it, he couldn’t remember what about. It didn’t matter as long as he could spend hours lost in her soft voice, her hands waving as they accompanied one of a myriad of expressions. Hours and hours, and yet it always felt as if they had not spoken enough. She wanted to know about him—what his hopes and dreams were—he wasn’t just a buff body to her.
As his own wariness turned to adoration, his beast instinct picked up when her feelings for him changed, too. But how could he hope for someone so perfect that she only reminded him of his own inferiority? He would ignore how her pupils dilated as she talked, or when her gaze lingered a little too long on his lips, her breath quickening. But even as he tried to subdue his beast, his wolf senses honed in on her need for him…and keeping his beast at bay became more difficult.
So he suggested it was time to end their friendship.
“You’re mine, Damien. And I get what I want.”
Her confidence, one he could never aspire to, made him believe it could work. They could be more than friends…and maybe, one day, even more than that…
Not all humans are the same…
That’s what he told himself as she sat with her head on his shoulder, fingers intertwined with his, murmuring soft words he had no business listening to. And her kisses…so eager that he lost himself in them until he forgot who he was…forgot he wasn’t worthy of her. And then her hands would roam over him, wanting to give him more pleasure…her soft-eyed innocence contrasting with her boldness, driving him wild…
“My princess…”
His endearment would turn her on even more, but he kept his wolf and himself away from her until they were out of high school.
He hadn’t been able to afford the summer party at a hotel so exclusive that just the thought of stepping inside its grounds made his stomach turn. But Iris bought a ticket for him, forcing him into it.
If he closed his eyes, he could still see how she looked that night. An image burned into his mind forever. Her blond hair was straightened so it fell to her elbows, and dark makeup made her blue eyes sparkle. That red dress was designed for someone older, its neckline plunging and stirring his wolf. And as they moved together on the dance floor, their bodies molded against each other, she’d whispered into his ear that she’d booked a room…
He’d told her he wanted to leave—that there were things she didn’t know about him. But she said she didn’t care…that nothing he could say would make a difference. And he’d believed her.
That first night, when he joined with her, he knew they were meant to be together.
They met nearly every night after that, unable to keep their hands off each other as if they’d never been together. Yes, they were young, but he already knew he only wanted her. He’d mention them settling down together in the future, but she always laughed it off—she couldn’t even think about such things when she had college and a high-flying career to think about. He’d gone along with it…anything to make her happy.
As long as we were together, that was all I cared about. An idiot…unable to see her kind for what it was.
He didn’t even ask her to reconsider the subjects she wanted to study, promising he would move with her to the state where she decided to go to college. He didn’t have to study arts—in fact, it would raise him a notch in her father’s estimation if he graduated in politics or business. They both had it all figured out.