Wolf Princess Sold to the Dragon King

Three men.

One glowing gold, hovering two inches above her face.

One behind her with a boner she had mistaken for a tree root.

One she thought was the goddamn sun before her lids opened.

A scream tore from Guinevere’s throat before her brain could process anything else.

All three of them jumped.

Her hand flew to her mouth, cutting off her own scream.

Three men. One bed. Zero idea where she was.

Oh no.

Every survival instinct she had fired at once. She twisted out of the boner man’s arms, her body moving faster than her panic, her hands shoving against a chest. Before he could react, she was off the bed, darting across the room.

That’s when it registered that the oil lamps and windows had shattered. If that was from her scream she was in some deep shit. Pun intended because this room was entirely brown. The walls, the curtains, the rug with the dead animal head staring at her from the floor.

Without an ounce of hesitation, she snatched a blade from a standing soldier who gawked at her like she’d broken the laws of physics. If the circumstances were different, she would’ve appreciated just how fucking well that worked.

She spun, back slamming against the wall, chest heaving. Thank fuck for the bralette and mystery slippers or she would have flashed the room and stepped on glass in the process. She was sporting tiny silk pajamas that were one wrong move away from turning into lingerie. Her body felt like it had been trampled by a stampede of horses, black spots waltzed in her vision. All problems she would deal with once she got herself out of this situation.

She didn’t look down, keeping her eyes on the three of them.

"Gwen?" The boner man’s arms were still extended where she’d ripped free. He was grey. Shirtless. Covered in bruises and dried blood. He looked about as bad as she felt. "Breathe. These two just learned a valuable lesson about personal space."

The two men flanking him gave him matching death stares, then climbed off the bed in unison.

She immediately raised her blade. "Don’t come any closer."

They froze mid-step.

"Gwen. It’s Kael. Remember?" the grey boner man on the bed said.

She shook her head once. The familiarity scratching at the back of her skull was a locked door with no key, and she was standing on the wrong side of it.

"How do I know you?"

The words dropped like a corpse in the room that made every man in it go still.

"I’m the guy that died last night. You saved my life," he replied calmly.

She looked back at the half-dead grey man named Kael, who was still on the bed. "Are you part of Stonehowl?"

"What the fuck is a Stonehowl?"

This time, her brows knit together. "Are you rogues?"

Silence. They exchanged glances with each other, which meant they were likely mindlinking. That meant the clock had started. She had maybe two minutes before reinforcements arrived.

"Am I d-d-dead?" her stutter chose the absolute worst time to show itself.

She glanced down at her wrists that were still raw from being cuffed in silver.

"No, you’re not dead," Sun Man answered her.

"Where am I?" Her voice came out steadier than she felt which was much improved from stuttering.

"You’re in my quarters," the one who called himself Kael said. "In Drakencrest Keep."

The one glowing gold spoke for the first time.

"Guinevere. Look at me."

She didn’t. He took one step in her direction. Her body flinched. He stopped immediately. The stop was absolute, total, the full-body restraint. He tried a different approach. "It’s me. It’s Nicholas. Listen to your wolf. I’m not going to hurt you."

Nicholas. The name hit a wall inside her mind and bounced off.

"And that’s not how I taught you to hold a sword."

She blinked, finally looking at him. The corners of his mouth twitched. Was that him trying to make a joke?

His eyes changed to molten wolf gold and to her absolute horror, her usually perfect wolf that didn’t make a noise, surged in response.

She blinked a few times surprised, swallowing it down.

"Did Alpha Stonehowl send you?"

The man blinked a few times, clearly having not expected THAT reaction, like she’d hurt his feelings. She didn’t understand it.

"No," he answered. "Corvex Stonehowl is dead. His son Tharos is their new Alpha."

Sun Man spoke next. "Guinevere. You and I met last night. You were overheated, and I was touching you to pull some of the light from you. That’s all. Nothing happened."

"Light from me," she repeated.

All three of the men exchanged a concerned look.

"Oh fuck," a young redhead by the door said. Guinevere stole a quick glance at him. Blood poured down his forehead so badly she winced.

"Get Aldric," Kael said, his voice shifting from gentle to commanding. "Now. Griffin, move."

Sun Man glowed brighter. Guinevere felt warmth spread through her at the same time. He was doing something to her. Her blood ran cold at the realization.

The man jolted back, blinking, surprised, like she’d slammed a door in his face.

Then her eyes found the corner. A hooded figure stood there with his hands in the air, staring intensely like a serial killer who just got caught mid-stalk. His expression under the hood was not helping.

She let out a high-pitch scream again, jumping like she’d been electrocuted. The sword in her hand clattered to the floor along with her dignity. The hooded scary man yelped and whipped around to look behind himself confused.

Glass shattered somewhere in the room. Torches on the walls roared to life, flaring unnatural gold. Her heart was pounding and her eyes were burning. Every instinct she possessed screamed to get the fuck out of there.

"Ah, she’s awake. That was much faster than anticipated. How are you feeling, young light bearer?" another voice said from a leather armchair.

She did not turn to look at him.

"Gwen." Kael swung his legs off the bed and stood, wincing, grey. "Don’t move."

Her legs made the decision. She was through the doorway at full speed, faster than she ever had run in her life.

And all three were on her tail like the world’s most dangerous game of tag.