THE SOUND OF gongs shook the air, alerting the heightened senses of the citizens of the wolven kingdom of Cithen. The ladies from all the packs who were in their silk clothes squirmed on their seats. Nannies chastised them for giggling that was above the set limit for a lady of the Cithen kingdom. Golden ringlets made from the sought-after goods of the mines from the far mountains of the western territories gleamed under the glaring sun. Parasols littered in front of the double doors of the gates that were made with fire and metal ores. It flustered everyone from the mere thought of finding the most compatible scent in this gathering.

Beyond the rattling doors that were slowly opening before the eligible unmated ladies of the Kingdom of Cithen, a woman who barely finished the celebration of her eighteenth summer solstice stared at the Cherry Blossom trees below her. The knot lodged deep between her perfectly carved brows worsened upon hearing the sound of the gongs that would signal the opening of the imperial gates. She knew she had to hasten her movements.

Hunched over the back windows of her room, her right foot was placed onto the railings as her hands held either side of the windowpanes to balance herself before she would take a jump. “This is it. Thank goddess nanny is essentially busy with the preparations.” The corner of her plump lips curled up.

Clad in a soldier’s clothes, which she stole from the men’s common bath, her sweat mixed with the pungent odor of the clothes she was wearing swirled into her nostrils which almost made her gag—a perfect disguise that would surely cover her tracks and hide her smell. Tessa was about to jump off when her back tingled, followed by the ominous voice of her nanny.

“Your Highness, please take off that ghastly soldier garb. And do not forget that you are the only heir to the Kingdom of Cithen.” The wrinkled woman in a black and white handmaiden uniform bowed her head.

‘How can I forget if you drilled that into my brains every time you see me, nanny?’ Tessa bit the insides of her cheeks as she thought of her usual retort.

Tessa stared at her nanny in the reflection of the opened window. A fiery glint gleamed bright for a fraction of a second before she opened her mouth and defended her case—for the nth time of the week. “It is because I am the heir that I should see my kingdom with my eyes. I will rule them someday, so I must know what they want. What is the whole point of learning battle strategies and physical training if I can’t use them for my people?”

Tessa’s nanny walked past her and closed the windows, her lips on a straight line while her footsteps were heavy against the tiled floor. The sound of the window’s locks clicking marked the end of Tessa’s attempt. Her nanny handed her a familiar-looking basket. It was littered with outfits varying from a scholar’s uniform, a handmaiden’s uniform, an imperial chef’s uniform, and now to a soldier’s uniform. Groaning low as she undid the buttons one painful moment at a time, Tessa averted her eyes from the basket.

‘Ugh. I thought I will be able to pull it off for the first time today.’

Her nanny helped Tessa in taking off the clothes as the wrinkled handmaiden continued with her lecture. “As the heir of the wolven throne, Her Highness must find a compatible mate during this gathering who will be of good use to the kingdom and later on produce a prince for Cithen and its people. You only need to be there and let the most eligible unmated males of the continent smell you and find the smell that you are most attracted to. If you do, you are doing Cithen the greatest honor—by providing them their future alpha king.”

“But, nanny.” Tessa reached for the bow she stole from the soldier’s garrison, only to stop midway after hearing what her nanny had to say.

“Your Highness, you are the only heir to the throne that will continue the Cithen bloodline, the bloodline that rules hundreds of packs within this kingdom with the blessings of the Moon Goddess and the only bloodline with a direct heritage to the Moon Goddess herself. You do not want to disturb your ancestors in their graves, do you, your highness?”

Withdrawing her trembling and calloused hands, Tessa watched her nanny toss the bow like a twig into the fireplace meant to provide warmth from the northern wind. “I… I understand, nanny.”

Gone was the glint in her stormy, ashen eyes.

On cue, her nanny clapped her hands and a trail of handmaidens raced into the room with tons of dresses, shoes, and pieces of jewelry on their hands. “Then off you go to the bathroom, your highness. No one can smell you and mark your scent if you are this stinky.” Crunching her nose, her nanny ushered Tessa to the bathroom of her room.

‘That is the idea, nanny. That is the idea.’

- - - - -

“BLESSINGS TO THE kingdom’s flower, Crown Princess Contessa Eureka Cithen.” Four of the ladies from different packs, who were either an alpha’s daughter or a beta’s daughter, together with their handmaidens, curtsied to the princess who walked past them. But Lady Ivy Thornhill of the Thornhill Pack refused to bow. With her chin tilted upward and delicate arms crossed before her chest, her glacial glare followed the passing princess.

“Lady Thornhill!” One of the four ladies admonished her in a hushed voice, hoping they did not catch the notorious princess’s attention.

Lady Ivy Thornhill scoffed. “Why will I pay my respect to the princess playing like some princeling? How is she supposed to set a prime example as a member of the Cithen Dynasty?”

The lady simply bit her lower lip. After all, she could not deny Lady Thornhill’s words.

Tessa barely glanced at the four. She headed towards the stairs where the imperial pack warriors stood guard. Upon seeing her, they fisted their right hand and pounded their fisted hand atop their beating heart once. “Truvani,” said the two pack warriors as they saluted her.

Truvani meant ‘Goddess blesses you’ in an ancient language of the wolves passed down from generation to generation in the Cithen Kingdom.

On instinct, Tessa fisted her right hand and pounded her chest once. “Rush Vanala.” Tessa replied, which meant ‘Goddess protects you’.

As she walked onto the stairs, Tessa grabbed the hems of her indoor dress. The frills of the white-colored laces could barely cover her proud bosoms while it left her unmarked shoulders open for every unmated male in the gathering to see and sniff.

“Presenting Crown Princess Contessa Eureka Cithen, heir to the wolven throne, heir to the blood of the Moon Goddess, and heir of the five realms of Cithen!” A pack omega announced Tessa’s arrival after he opened the double doors for her. The doors would lead her to another set of descending stairs. He averted his eyes and showed the right side of the neck—a showcase of submission to the third most influential wolf in the kingdom.

The moment her glittering shoes stepped into the blinding lights from the dozens of hanging chandeliers in the throne room, Tessa tilted her chin. Her eyes looked straight while she took her sweet time descending the grand staircase where all dignitaries and imperial members would be introduced. Reaching the middle of the staircase, she paused and wandered her eyes.

“Truvani,” said Tessa. Her word was a mere whisper, but every wolf within the premise of the room heard her loud and clear.

“Rush Vanala.” The males pounded their chests while the females placed their palms atop their beating hearts as they all saluted to their only crown princess. Tessa felt shivers wracking her spine every time she would catch a male sniffing her blatantly—hoping to recognize her scent. To make sure of their scent, males started to walk in her direction, angling their heads to catch a whiff of her scent.

Gold and glittering gems adorned the ladies, while men showcased their wolves by wearing fitted garbs made of silk and animal skin. Scars were being shown proudly by the males as a testament to battles won over challenges between wolves.

Tessa trotted towards the thrones where her parents were sitting. “Greetings to the king and queen of the wolven thrones, Crown Princess Contessa Eureka Cithen offers you her loyalty.”

Upon submitting to them by showing them her exposed right side of the neck, King Ajax Elric Cithen nodded his head. Her father, who looked no older than her by five years, looked at her with a gleam of hope in his eyes. “Have fun finding the wolf which has a compatible scent with yours.”

For whoever Tessa chose among the men, the imperial family of Cithen would gain a new ally—a political marriage to strengthen their strength. And he would become the next king after her father’s abdication to the throne. After all, female wolves were not allowed to take part in politics and wars. It was a common concept, both from the Kingdom of Cithen and the Vashille Tribe.

Tessa stopped herself from mouthing that no one in this closed room was able to stir her wolf yet. She feared her grin would giveaway her joy if she said the words in her mind. “Worry not, Father. This daughter will perform her duties well.” The words she spewed were the exact ones that she rehearsed from the notes her nanny gave her earlier while her hair was adorned with pearls.

She shifted her attention to her smiling mother, Queen Euria Cadiamon Cithen. When Tessa and her mother’s identical ashen eyes met, her mother, who only looked like Tessa’s elder sister, mouthed the words ‘your aunt is here somewhere’. Tessa’s eyes widened and nodded her head eagerly. “This princess will enjoy the gathering so if you will excuse me, Your Majesties.”

Tilting her nose upward, she sniffed at the familiar scent of apples. Hundreds of scents bombarded Tessa. Stretching from the scent of fruits to the scent of nature, she followed the faint smell of apples, which stuck to an empty glass of fruit wine. Tessa followed the omega. “Excuse me? Have you seen the lady drinking that glass?” She pointed to the empty glass on the omega’s tray.

“Greetings – ”

Tessa cut her greetings with a wave of her hand. For her, hearing it repeatedly would make her explode into her wolf form, and that would only lead to her nanny’s death. “—just tell me where is she, please?”