They brought him to her like a chained storm.
Six armored guards escorted Haken through the inner gates, though none dared touch him. His cloak, shredded at the edges, left trails of mud across the marble. His boots echoed like war drums as he entered the Grand Hall where Princess Vivi waited.
She sat beneath the stained-glass window, veiled and still as a statue carved from moonlight. Watching. Waiting.
Haken stopped just short of the dais. He didn't bow.
"This is the one?" said a councilman. "A beast with no title, no allegiance—"
"I don't need your titles," Haken growled. His voice was low, raw like gravel. "I was summoned. I came. Don't mistake that for loyalty."
Silence fell like snowfall. Even the fire in the hearth seemed to pause.
Vivi stood, her veil rippling like water in the hush. Her voice, when it came, was gentle—but unafraid.
"Do you know why you are here, Haken of the Shadow guard?"
He turned his gaze to her not the veil, but through it. As if he could see what no one else dared.
"To protect you," he said.
"Or kill you, if I have to."
Gasps filled the hall. Swords hissed in their sheaths.
But Vivi didn't flinch. Her heart fluttered once, like a moth caught in firelight.
"And which do you prefer?" she asked.
Haken smiled sharp and tired.
"I bow to no one, Princess. But I protect what is mine.
📖
Chapter 2 (continued): I Bow to No One
The hall emptied under Regent Maelor's sharp command, though not without glances full of warning.
"Be careful," their eyes said.
"He's a beast."
"She's cursed."
Soon, only the princess and the werewolf remained.
The door thudded closed behind the last councilman. Silence returned, thick and fragile.
Vivi stepped down from the dais, her hands folded before her like she was holding back a storm.
Haken stood motionless, jaw tight. His eyes tracked her beneath the veil—not with lust or fear, but with something far more dangerous. Recognition.
"You've seen me before," she said softly.
"In a dream," he replied without hesitation.
She faltered. Just for a moment.
The fire. The voice. His eyes.
He had been there.
"Why did you accept this role?" she asked, keeping her voice level. "You don't strike me as the obedient type."
"I don't take orders," he said, stepping forward. But I follow instinct."
Another step. He was closer now. Too close.
"And something in me says if I don't stay near you, the world will burn."
Vivi's breath caught.
Not because of his words, but because somewhere deep in her the same feeling stirred.
The curse.
"They say I bring ruin," she whispered.
"Maybe I do too," he answered. "We'll make a fine pair."
For the first time in years, she smiled beneath her veil.
It was small. Sad. But real.
And somewhere, in the forests beyond the palace, a shadow stirred watching, Waiting.
The serpent does not strike when the wolves are watching.
But oh, how it waits for the right moment to sink its fangs.