Yixing’s POV

 

~March~

I was coming out of a nap in the Princess’s chambers. I sleep in a fluffy bed near the bedroom door, in the corner. Where I can watch who enters and exits her room. I spend most of my time here if I’m not fulfilling my duties as her bodyguard. However, I haven’t been spending my times in this bed since her eighteenth birthday. That morning was hectic.

 

-Flashback (February)-

 

“Good morning, Mother and Father. Today is a good day. You know why?”

The Princess Alexandria woke and ran downstairs to meet her parents at the kitchen table, wearing a huge smile upon her face. Her parents however looked up at her in surprise, confused on why she was so happy. Her Father spoke up first with her Mother following suite. “No my dear Daughter, I cannot say I know why.” “Me either, my dear.”

 

The Princess looked sadden as her smile began to fall. That was when I took my place to keep her happy. I let out a bark and went to find a calendar to set it on the kitchen table for her parents to see. Once I found one, the Princess had taken her seat at the end of the table when I placed the calendar in her lap, with my paw on today’s date. She smiled genuinely at me before petting my head and letting out a sound to her parents while holding up the calendar, poking her finger at the date circled.

 

“See? Even my bodyguard knows why today is a good day! My birthday is today, Mother and Father! You two were there, were you not? I turn eighteen today!”

 

Her parents looked up and began smiling. The Princess was taken back at how her parents tried to fool her into thinking they had forgotten. They all had found it hilarious as they all stood up and hugged each other. I just sat at her chair’s side thinking, “how could they do such a thing? Get her excited for the day ahead right before they crush her dreams.”

 

-Flashback end-

~April~

The weeks and months that followed her eighteenth birthday were even worse, in my opinion. The Princess started changing before my eyes, thanks to her parents. She was now allowed access in-and-out of the Castle whenever she pleased and no longer had a curfew. She didn’t need me beside her as much anymore. Her parents told her that if she wanted to go somewhere without me, she could. I still followed her scent wherever she went. Just for her protection, of course.

 

Two months now into being eighteen, I had followed the Princess one night to a local store in the town. There is where my heart broke for her. She had met a fellow. Someone I knew extremely well from back home.

 

His name was Luhan. He was the cutest wolf from my pack back home and the most innocent. Everyone tried to mate with him but my eldest brother Yifan always protected Luhan’s virtue. Luhan was like me, a shifter but he hated walking on four paws opposed to walking on two human legs. He also was a neat freak so being human had a great spot in his heart; showers and all.

 

Luhan had become her best friend. He would come upstairs to her quarters and tell her stories of his adventures as a human but never once mentioned that his blood was mixed with canines. He also never spoke to me or about knowing me. When Luhan was around, I was invisible to her. It wounded my pride but I still never said anything or showed anything relevant to how I was feeling.

 

That’s just who I was; keeping my emotions within until I blew. And those moments were never pretty.

 

Luhan had become someone she could trust and I honestly hated it. I was jealous, I’ll admit it. He hadn’t known her as long as I had but she opened up to him quicker than me. I guess I couldn’t blame her…Luhan was human, I wasn’t. But that day would come when I had to let her know that I was able to be human. The Queen had made that perfectly clear the day she found me near the Woods.

 

-Flashback-

 

“I’m leaving, Yifan. No one wants me here and I cannot mate with anyone. I would be better off as a lone wolf, taking care of myself. Luhan left so why can’t I?”

 

“Yixing, I’m not going to beg you to stay since it seems that your mind is made up. But if you ever need someone, I will always be here with ears and arms wide open for you. Zitao and I will let you come back whenever you need us and let you leave again when you are through needing help.”

 

“Thank you brother. I’ll take you up on that offer whenever I see fit. Take care while I’m gone.”

 

I had hugged my eldest brother one last time before I shifted into my wolf and took off towards the town’s barriers. I had started getting tired after running so much and stopped to take a quick rest by a tree when I heard a woman’s voice, directed at me I assumed. “Oh, how pretty of a wolf you are. Oh, won’t you please come here and talk to me? I won’t hurt you, I promise.”

 

I stood up and walked carefully towards her hand that was stretched out towards me. Petting me carefully as to not scare me, she continued talking to me.

 

“Oh, you’re a sweet wolf. I know my Daughter would just love you!” I took a step back at her words. I didn’t want to be anyone’s mate or property. That is why I had left home in the first place. This woman seemed apologetic as she shook her head at me and went to pet me again.

 

“Oh no, my dear! I didn’t mean like that! She just needs someone to look after her until she turns eighteen. Then you can leave her side whenever you want. Just one thing I ask of you…let her know not of your ability until the day you leave. It might scare her and I need her to have your trust.” The woman knew I wasn’t just a wolf? How did she know? I shifted and stood up to face her.

 

“My name is Yixing and I am half-wolf. But as by your reaction and words, you must have already knew that. How exactly I will not ask out of respect.”

 

“Nice to officially meet you, Yixing. My name is Krystal and I’m the Queen of this town behind us. My husband Nickhyun and I have our only Daughter named Alexandria. She is the Princess and I ask of you to be her bodyguard…only until she turns eighteen. After that, you won’t need to be around her as much. You can even decide to leave her completely if you so desire.”

 

I thought about her offer once, twice, and even a third time. Just watching after a young girl until she turns eighteen? How hard could it be? I stuck my hand out and shook her hand. “Then it’s settled. You are to come home with me and watch out for my little girl. Thank you, Yixing. Now remember, a wolf only. No shifting around her. Not until the moment you decide to leave her side. Even then, come to see me first. We’ll explain everything to her ourselves, her Father and I. You won’t have to worry about anything.”

 

-Flashback end-

 

I should have known that day that what I signed up for was the most stupid thing I had ever done in my entire life. But I had thought that I was able to care for the girl and I was able to. The Princess was finally used to me being there after the initial shock wore off of having a wolf by your side twenty-four seven. Now she never talked aloud to me about anything personal, but I expected that from the get-go. She did however ask and order me to do things for her but she was never rude or harsh to me. She talked to me as if I could talk back –which I could have if not for her Mother’s rule- and I respected her for that.

 

Times when Luhan came over is when I really wanted to tell her about my ability and how she could trust me more than Luhan. I even thought of provoking him into shifting just to make him lower than me on her trust totem pole but then I remembered, I wasn’t that type of person.

 

~May & June~

Luhan made her happy while she was enjoying her newfound carefree life as an eighteen year old. He took her out shopping, to see movies, eating and drinking at fancy restaurants, the whole nine yards. But the day had come when Luhan had unintentionally broke her heart…and I wanted to break his neck.

 

~July~

Luhan had told her in July that she was just his friend and that he didn’t intend on being her boyfriend. He cared for her, sure, but not in that way. The Princess couldn’t take it peacefully and told Luhan to never speak to her again. I followed Luhan and confronted him, actually calmer than I thought I could be at that moment. “How could you hurt her like that, Lu? She’s trusted you with her happiness and you threw it back in her face like it was nothing but trash to you. Did she ever mean anything to you?”

 

Luhan’s eyes were wide with tears. “I never meant to hurt her, Yixing. I just wanted a friend! You know, the thing I never had back home? Everyone was only nice to me because they wanted to mate me. Who cares that I was a good-hearted wolf with a human’s caring personality? No one cared. You and the rest of our family cared because you had to. Not because we hung out or ever sit down and just had fun with one another. I was tired of being noticed only because to protect me. I am grown and I can protect myself.”

 

I just shook my head at him in disbelief. “You know what? I have nothing to say to you. You hurt someone near to me and I won’t forgive you for that. Go crawl back home to Yifan or run the world with your tail between your legs for all I care. You hurt her and she is too good for that. She deserves better than that.”

 

Luhan tried to call out to me after I turned my back to him and walked back to the Castle. He had said that “I shouldn’t get too close to her or I might be next” but he was wrong. The Princess wouldn’t have to