Bound by Choice (Closed)

[Kaena]

(Part one)

Ever since Kaelira had been young she had been taught a sense of duty to her pack. Her father was Garrick Frostbane, Alpha of the Frostclaw pack and Kaelira had known from an early age that anything she said or did could affect her father's reputation. As her father's only child she had started training early to eventually take over. She learned to ride at the age of five and was better than most of her father's warriors when it came to hunting and fighting by the time she was fifteen. Much to the dismay of her mother, she had no interest in household duties that would normally be fitting of a woman. Her body was marked with the scars of her several battles and her tough and resilient nature was respected by all that knew her. The only thing that surpassed her fierceness was her beauty. Her body was lean and muscular but still held it feminism. Her long silver blonde hair fell almost to her knees when not bound tightly in is usual braid. Her blue grey eyes were sparkled when she was happy and deepened to a hard gray when she was angry. Everyone knew if her eyes changed they needed to get out of her way or face the consequences.

Kaelira was eight when Rowan arrived at Frostclaw Keep after his people had been defeated. Kaelira stood watching the group of prisoners being marched into the courtyard, her young, intelligent eyes falling on the boy that looked no older than herself, standing defiant though his eyes glistened as he fought back tears. Others mocked the prisoners as they passed by but Kaelira could not tear her eyes away from him. There was something to him that called her and she felt her wolf stir in her chest.

"Mother, I want him," she said softly, tugging at her mother's skirt. Elara, the Luna of the pack looked down at Kaelira in shock, her smile softening at the determined look in Kaelira's eyes. As much as Garrick and Elara ruled their pack, they always had a soft spot for their daughter and more often than not relented to anything she wanted. Elara motioned at the guard to bring the boy forward. The guard was not gentle as he dragged Rowan forward and pushed him to his knees before Kaelira and her mother. Rowan remained on his knees, his eyes focused on the ground before him, his young body trembling.

"That was not necessary," Kaelira said, her young eyes blazing at the guard enough to make him retreat quickly. All of Garrick's men knew if they angered the young princess they may have as well of angered the Garrick himself. Kaelira pushed away from her mother's side and knelt before Rowan before putting her small hand under his chin to raise his eyes to meet hers.

"Don't be afraid," she said softly, her eyes as warm as her smile. "I am not going to hurt you. Tell me, what is your name?"

Rowan stared into Kaelira's warm blue grey eyes, wiping his tears from his cheek with a dirty hand before he spoke. "I am Rowan."

"Rowan," Kaelira said softly, testing the name on her tongue before repeating it again before standing up and dusting the dirt from her knees. "Rowan," she repeated, looking down at him and offering him her hand. "As of today, you belong to me. You are under my protection and nobody will hurt you ever again. Do you understand?" A look of shock flashed across Rowan's face. He knew who Kaelira was, having been told by the guards to behave himself as they passed by the Luna and the princess. He had not expected her to pick him out of the group and claim her as his own, never mind offering him her protection.

"Yyyes my Lady," he stammered, his steel grey eyes casting downwards once again. "I understand." He gasped as he felt her strong, small hand grip his and he was forcefully pulled to his feet. He stumbled for a moment before crashing into her and knocking her back off her feet. He stood in frozen in horror as her guards surrounded him. In seconds he felt a heavy boot crash into the back of his knees and he was forced back down onto his knees.

"How dare you attack the princess," a voice seethed in his ear, the sharp coldness of metal suddenly appearing against his throat. "Say the word and I will end his miserable life right here princess."

Kaelira jumped swiftly to her feet, her young eyes seething with fury which made Rowan whimper, sure that the brief hope he had of being hers and protected by her was over before it had even started. But Kaelira didn't even look at him, instead her dark gray eyes focused on the man who had forced Rowan to his knees."

"Who gave you permission to touch him," she said, her tiny body seething with the rage of a full grown adult. Startled the guard dropped his sword and stumbled back from Rowan and dropped to his knees. Stepping forward she once again reached down to pull Rowan to his feet. "He kneels for no one but me," she said, her eyes scanning the crowd, daring anyone to object. Her eyes once again fell on the guard who knelt silently awaiting for her judgement. "As for you, you will spend the next month cleaning out the stables. It will give you time to dwell upon what you did wrong today."

The guards eyes shifted towards where Elara stood watching. "My Lady, I only meant to protect the princess. Are you going to allow her to punish me over a slave? "

"You dare to question her?" Elara said quietly, her soft voice tinged with enough anger it made the guard pale. "Kaelira does not need my permission to punish you. Kaelira is the future Alpha of this pack. Her word is law just as much as mine or your Alpha's. You dared to attack Rowan seconds after Kaelira offered him her protection. What did you expect her to do? If you ask me she was too lenient in her punishment. If it had been me, I would have ordered 5 lashes in addition to mucking out the stables."

"But it looked like he was attacking the Princess. I only acted out of instinct." he stammered, a sheen of sweat appearing on his brow. Turning his eyes back to Kaelira, he lowered his head to the ground. "Please Princess forgive me. I meant no disrespect."

"It is not because you acted to protect me," Kaelira said, her young voice strong with authority. "It was how you went about it. If you had being paying attention, as you should have been, you would have seen it was my fault that Rowan ran into me and knocked me to the ground. I pulled him too hard to his feet and he was not able to get his footing properly. Putting that aside, you have twice forced him to his knees when I told you the first time it had not been necessary to do so. These are the reasons you are being punished, not because you acted out of duty. Now get out of my sight before I change my mind and take my mother's recommendation for your punishment."

"Yes Princess," the guard replied, getting to his feet and bowing low. "Thank you for your mercy." With those words he scrambled away towards the stables, not daring to veer off course, knowing she was watching him retreat. Kaelira's mother who had stood silent this whole time smiled and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder causing her remaining anger to drain from her body.

"It's time to return to the castle Kaelira," she said, her voice gentle but leaving no room for argument. Other than her father, Kaelira's mother was the only other one Kaelira listened to without question. "Bring the boy with you. You have claimed him so he is now your responsibility." Smiling at Rowan, Kaelira reached out and took his hand, her steely gaze silencing the disapproving chatter from the crowd. The warmth of her hand in his calmed him instantly and the first time in a long time he felt safe. He quietly matched her pace as they made their way back to the castle. As they reached they castle Garrick came out to meet them, his eyes instantly falling on Rowan and his hand in Kaelira's, his gaze not entirely friendly. Rowan quickly pulled his hand from Kaelira's and put his hands behind his back, stepping back to stand partially behind her, his head bowed.

"Who is this?" he asked, his voice booming. Elara crossed the distance between them and put her hand on her husband's arm. "Kaelira picked out this boy from the prisoners from the Shadow Pack. She has placed her protection on him. You know how she is. There was no use arguing with her." Garrick's eyes softened as he looked down at his mate and then hardened once again as he look back at Rowan.

"So he is nothing more than a servant," Garrick said, descending the stairs towards where Kaelira and Rowan stood. "It looks like he needs to learn how to greet his Alpha properly. Looking at Rowan he growled softly. "Kneel." The command held a power that would make even a grown man fall to his knees. Rowan quickly moved to obey him, starting to fall to his knees but he felt Kaelira's hand on his arm pulling him back to his feet. He looked up at her startled and then his eyes looked at her father in fear.

"He kneels for no one but me," Kaelira said defiantly, her young voice holding a power that almost matched her father's. "He is mine." Her voice held a challenge to her father to say otherwise. For a moment the air felt electric as Garrick gaze went from his daughter to Rowan and back again. Elara walked over to him and pulled him down to whisper something in his ear. His face softened into a smile, his laugh booming as he shook his head in amusement. Rowan let a breath he didn't realize he was holding, his body shaking beneath Kaelira's hand on his arm.

 

[Kaena]

(Part two)

"Well then," he said, continuing to chuckle. "I better watch myself. I wouldn't want my princess to sentence me to clean her horse's stables for the month like the last man who made her boy kneel." Crossing the rest of the distance to where Kaelira and Rowan stood, he looked down at his daughter, a look of adoration of his face. As hardened of a man that Garrick was, his weakness was his daughter. He raised a hand and ruffled it through her hair. Looking at Rowan his face went serious once again.

"You now belong to Kaelira," he said, his voice not as foreboding as before but enough to make Rowan keep his head bowed in submission. "If she wishes you to kneel to nobody but her then I will not force you to kneel to me, but, you will still be expected to obey me otherwise as the Alpha."

"Yes Alpha," Rowan's voice came out quietly as he continued to look down at his feet, not daring to raise his eyes to meet Garrick's. "I understand my place."

"Well that settles it," Garrick said, turning back to his mate's side and giving Rowan another up and down look. He frowned at his dirty and torn clothing. "Kaelira, if he is to be your boy he cannot continue to look like he crawled out of the swamp. I will have the tailor make him some clothes worthy of a slave of the future Alpha. Until then, take him to get cleaned up and give him some of your training clothes to wear. You look to be a similar size and your training clothes are suitable for either a boy or a girl to wear." With those words, Garrick slid his arm around his mate's waist and led her back into the castle, leaving Kaelira alone with Rowan and the remainder of her personal guard who had been standing silently near by.

From that day forward, Rowan became part of Kaelira's household. Everywhere Kaelira went, Rowan went as well. He trained along side her during the day and slept at her feet on a mat on the floor at night. When she had first claimed him, neither of them knew he would still be by her side many years later. Their relationship changed as they grew. Childish games disappeared, arguments between them became sharper and her commands to him became more serious. He became the only one who dared question her, yet his obedience to her became something nobody dared question. Somewhere along the way, Rowan stopped being the boy Kaelira claimed and he became the person she expected to find whenever she turned around.