Chapter 9

Snow

L ow, deep whispers greet my ears as I slowly come to. Are they the words of an angel? Have I been deemed worthy to have a place in heaven?

Only when I blink open my eyes, it's not a pearly white room like I expect.

My eyes land on five monsters standing at the foot of a bed, arguing with each other.

"Would you shut up!" the grey creature groans at the black one. "You don't know what she's going to think."

"Oh, really?" The laugh the black one gives holds no humor. "Because her screaming bloody murder at the sight of us gives me such high hopes that she'll fall madly in love with us, and we'll live happily ever after."

"You never know. Maybe we just frightened her." My eyes flick over to see one with red fur leaning against the wall, arms crossed, eyes lidded like he's ready to fall asleep.

"Of course, we did!" the black-furred one whisper-shouts. "Have you seen us?"

"Speak for yourself." My eyes dart over to the one next to the door. This one has brown fur. "I'm fucking sexy as sin." He grins playfully, and I find myself smiling.

I understand I'm in a room full of deadly predators, yet I don't feel like I'm in danger.

None of them have noticed that I'm awake yet, so I use this moment to take them all in.

They're all tall, anywhere between six to seven feet, and covered head to toe in fur. They resemble a wolf with the same kind of pointy ears and muzzle, only they're bigger and they walk on two legs.

The longer I look at them, the more it dawns on me that they are monsters. When I was young, my mom would tell me stories of all kinds of species that would come through the village on the way to someplace else. If I remember correctly, based on her descriptions, the beings before me are called lycans.

As a child, I wished to meet as many different types of races as I could but was warned that, like in any grouping, there were those who were good, and then there were those who were evil.

But as I sit and observe them, I realize I'm not afraid of them. Yes, their appearance caught me off guard, but that was because I was expecting humans. I wasn't aware that magical beings lived this close to the palace. And after being in the same room with them, I have this feeling deep within me that is telling me they wouldn't hurt me. I don't understand it; I don't know what it means. I just know it to be true.

"Guys, this is pointless. We can argue all we want, but we're not going to know anything until she wakes up and we talk to her ourselves," a softer voice that could easily get swept up under the other's bickering snatches my attention over to the corner of the room. My eyes widen in awe and my jaw goes slack. The smallest gasp leaves my lips as I take in the white lycan sitting in a chair with his head resting in his hands, looking a little on edge.

As soon as the gasp leaves my lips, his eyes dart over to me. The moment they meet mine, something inside me shifts. He sits up quickly, eyes widening to match mine.

He's stunning. They all are. Different versions of beauty.

"Snow," he says my name so softly as if he's afraid to spook me.

The others haven't stopped talking yet, not even noticing us, which gives us a little bit more time to have our moment. I give him a hesitant smile as I start to sit up.

Unfortunately, that has everyone shutting up. All of their heads jerk in my direction at the same time, just as the bedroom door opens.

I shrink back into the bed. Not because I'm afraid of them, it's just that I'm not used to having so many eyes on me at once.

You would think being the princess, I'd be used to having everyone's attention. And while that is true if I'm at a big event, normally, on a day-to-day basis, I do a wonderful job of blending in. Just how I like it.

Right now, though, there is no blending in.

"Hi," I squeak. "I'm so sorry about the mess. I promise I'll clean it up. Really. I just needed a place to sleep. A little bit to eat. Okay, I also used your bathroom. But trust me, I really did smell and no one wanted that. I'll pay you, I promise. Anything you wa–"

"Woah, woah, woah," the one who just walked into the room interrupts. He's bigger than the others, a deep grey with some white on his chest. "It's okay." He chuckles. "You don't need to repay us for anything. We're happy that we could help you have a safe place to stay."

"Oh." I blink slowly. "You're not mad?"

"Mad?" the lighter grey one questions, a toothy grin taking over his face. "I don't think any of us could get mad at you."

My brows furrow. "It's because I'm the princess, isn't it?"

"Ah, yeah," the one with red fur answers, looking at the others. "That's why."

"Could never get mad at the princess," the brown one adds, and it's almost like he's... teasing, when you combine the way he says it with that smile he gives.

"No, that's not why," the lighter grey one argues, looking at him confused. "It's because she's our–"

He gets cut off as the black-furred one hits him in the stomach while shooting him a glaring look, making him grunt.

"Shut. Up!" he growls.

"What was that for?" I ask the grumpy, rude one. "You didn't need to hit him. He didn't do anything wrong."

His eyes flick my way, and I gasp in recognition. "You!" I jump up onto the bed and scramble over to him. "Those eyes. I'd recognize them anywhere." The deep, golden eyes from the forest. "It's you." They all have a variety of golden eyes, but his... his I'd know anywhere. "You're the one who's been stalking me."

A bark of laughter sounds next to us. "Dude, you've been called out."

"Shut the fuck up," the black-furred one snaps before looking back at me warily. "How do you know?"

"Are you going to deny it?" I counter, raising a brow as I cross my arms. I'm vaguely aware I'm only dressed in one of their shirts. No panties. No bra. My cheeks heat, but I refuse to let it show.

"Nope. It's him, totally him," the lighter grey lycan chuckles. "He's been stalking you for weeks. Even going as far as waiting outside the palace."

"I swear to the gods, Henry, if you don't shut the fuck up, I'm going to shove my fist so far down your throat, it's going to come out your ass."

"Oh, kinky. But again, not into that kind of stuff. Ask Sterling." Henry grins, seeming to enjoy taunting the grumpy one.

"You're the one I've been hearing howling outside at night, too, aren't you?"

"Oh, shit." Henry's face falls. "Dude." I'm not sure what changed or what about my words caused it. Is howling bad?

The black-furred one closes his eyes and takes deep breaths as if he's trying to calm himself down. I take that moment to distract them.

"Okay, can I please get some names?" I ask, lowering myself to the bed and sitting back on my knees. "Because in my head, I'm calling you by the color of your fur. Hi, I'm Snow."

"I'm Henry," the lighter grey one confirms. "This grumpy fucker is Gabe." He points to the black fur one. "The one who looks like he's about to pass out is Sterling." The sleepy red fur one's head jerks up, eyes widening.

"Shit. Sorry, did I fall asleep again?" He looks around, worried.

I bite my lip, trying not to smile. He's so cute.

Henry sighs, shaking his head. "You'll get used to it," he says as if I'm sticking around long enough to see for myself. The idea doesn't sound so bad.

"That is Sullivan. He's allergic to life, so if you hear sneezing, it's him."

The brown one waves, giving me a friendly smile.

"This big fucker is Dallas, leader of the pack and the oldest one too."

I look over to find the dark grey one smiling in amusement as if he's used to Henry's way. "Hello, Snow," Dallas greets.

"Hi," I reply timidly, my cheeks warming.

I look away and over to the snow-white lycan, the only one whose name I don't know. "And your name is?"

He licks his lips and clears his throat. "Brady," he states softly, and I can see a hint of pink under his white fur as I smile widely at him.

"Lovely to meet you, Brady." The pink grows more red. He's too damn adorable.

"How are you not running right now? You're taking this so... well." Gabe's words pull me away.

"Why would I run? Frankly, I'm kind of offended that you would just assume I'd treat you like a bunch of monsters and run for my life." I roll my eyes.

"Why wouldn't you?" He frowns. "We are monsters."

"Okay. You have a point. But I have no reason to run. Do I? Are you going to hurt me?"

"Well... no."

"Are you going to yell and scream at me?"

"Of course not," he growls deeper.

"Then again, tell me why I should be running for the hills." I cross my arms again. I'm not normally this sassy, but something about him gets to me. He doesn't have to be so rude, so grumpy.

"Oh, having her around here is going to be so much fun." Henry laughs.

"Henry," Dallas says in a warning tone when I look over at him, perplexed.

"What do you mean? I'm not staying."

"Why not?" Gabe asks quickly.

"Guys. How about we ask Snow how she got here and what's going on before we get in over our heads," Dallas intervenes. He looks over at me with a kind smile. "How about I grab you your clean dresses, and you can change? I'll make some tea, and we can talk in the living room."

"I'd love to talk and have some tea, but do I have to change?"

Dallas' eyes widen slightly. "Ah... well, no, not if you don't want to."

"Good. I like this shirt. It's warm and smells nice." Then I realize maybe whoever owns the shirt doesn't want me wearing it. "That is if it's okay. I don't want to overstep."

"Keep it," Gabe grunts, not meeting my eyes. "I never wear it."

So it's his. I should be bothered by that, but I'm not.

Oh well. Mine now.

"Come on, boys," Dallas urges. "Get your asses out of my room. Now."

"Ohhh, Gabby, I bet you're creaming in your pants right now. She's wearing your shirt," I hear Henry teasing and laughing in the hallway, followed by a loud thud and a curse. "Asshole!"

"I don't fucking wear pants, you dumb ass," Gabe shoots back.

Dallas sighs. "Don't mind them. They're harmless, I swear."

"I can tell." I laugh.

"You really aren't afraid of us?" Dallas asks curiously.

"No." I shake my head. "I really am sorry for screaming before," I say, guilty. "I was taken by surprise and a bit overwhelmed. It's been a hard twenty-four hours.

"That is completely understandable," he chuckles. "Are you sure you're okay to talk about everything?"

"Yeah." I nod. "But maybe tea first."

WITH TEA IN HAND, SITTING on their large sofa, I tell them everything. From the plan, my father has to kill me to my plan to get far away from here and start over new. My eyes tear up as I tell them about Regina helping me escape and the possibility she's paying the price for my actions. I'm still riddled with worry, and I hope she's okay.

I tell them about the storm and how I got lost, running all night.

"Your cottage was the first place I found. I was tired, hungry, and I honestly, don't think I would have survived if I hadn't come inside. I really am sorry."

"Stop apologizing," Dallas insists. "Really, we don't mind.

"Are you really going to leave?" Henry asks. "Where are you going to go?"

"I'm not sure," I sigh, sinking back into the couch. "Mrs. Bark, she runs the bakery stand in town; she's been helping me with the plan I've been slowly working on to get away from my father. My running so early was unexpected, and we were not prepared for it."

"Why did you have a plan to run away before?" Brady's soft voice joins in. "Before you knew your father wanted you dead, I mean."

"I always knew my father wasn't a good man. He's only gotten worse after my mother died." My heart aches at the mention of her. The guys all share a look at the mention of her as well. "She was the best." I laugh, smiling. "The perfect queen."

"She really was." Dallas gives me a sympathetic smile.

"My father turned into a selfish man who only cares about himself. All while the people of his kingdom are suffering. It's wrong. We have so much to offer the people. More than we know what to do with. But he's crazy. Crazy for power. Of course, he won't share it with anyone. He's willing to kill me to make sure no one can take it from him."

"We won't let anything happen to you," Sullivan vows. "Honestly, I think you're the safest here."

"How so?" I ask, brows furrowing.

"We have a deal with your father," Sterling interjects. "We work for him in the mines, and he pays us a pretty penny."

"Part of the agreement is we leave them alone, they leave us alone," Henry adds. "None of his men will come within miles of here."

"He knows we would kill them if he did," Gabe growls.

"You don't like him, I take it?"

"Not a single fucking bit," Gabe scoffs. "We would love to rip his fucking head from his body after what he did to Derek."

"Who's Derek?" I look between the group of them.

"That's a story for another day," Dallas cuts in. "But I do agree, you would be safest here."

"Oh no." I shake my head. "I couldn't intrude."

"Intrude away," Henry encourages eagerly. "Make yourself at home. Please."

"Ahh..." I blink a few times, not sure what to say or what to do.

"Really, Snow. We would love to have you stay."

"Are you sure?"

They all answer yes at the same time, making me smile brightly.

"Okay then." I laugh. "I guess I'm staying."