"You shouldn't be so trusting," his voice rolled off his tongue against my skin sending shivers down my spine. Arms wrapped around my waist, securing my arms at my side, lifting me from the ground.

"Thomas, put me down!" I protested. My feet kicked and flung around searching for the ground. There was absolutely no way I would ever be able to fight him off. Despite my speed or increased strength, his royalty line set him above everyone else.

His chest sunk under the weight of my back, as he let out a huff of air.

"Charlie, I can't breathe!" he laughed. It only took moments before we both collapsed to the ground. Even the ground didn't separate his grasp around me. However, my curly

hair was still suffocating him giving me a chance to push my arms down, breaking his arms apart. Freedom was instant.

"You love my hair!" I exclaimed. Thomas continued to exaggerate his death, spitting out and pushing his hands all over his face as if my hair was still all over him. Reaching over, I pulled a long strand of hair off his shirt.

"Sir, you appear to be turning into a long-haired red wolf." I flung my head back laughing at his face. In our world, being called a wolf was an insult. No one liked or wanted to be compared anything towards one of those things.

His eyes widened, and his jaw clenched. The calm façade faded into an unpleasant colossal smile, and a creepy one at that. A blink of the eyes and he was on top of me, pinning me to the grass. His eyes flashed a golden ember before leaning down, just inches away from my lips. My body yearned for him to close the distance. I knew better. This was payback. Never insult a royal.

I swung my arm around in an attempt to pull him down but was quickly stopped with both arms becoming pinned above my head. He was being risky. If just one royal came outside, or just anyone for that matter, he wouldn't be holding the appearance of someone of his high rank. There's no telling what his father would do to him in reprisal. Yet, I found myself wrapping my legs around his waist, pulling him closer. That was all it took for his eyes to swap over to all gold. A smirk crossed my face. Thomas wouldn't be able to resist now. This had just turned to my game.

He lowered his head, his breath once again sending chills through me. Just below my jaw, his nose brushed against my skin. I bit my lower lip. In an all too clever trick, he raised himself off of me, leaving me lying on the ground, alone and wanting more.

"That's what you get!" my eyes narrowed tightly at him before he gave me a hand to standing.

"Sir! You're needed in the king's office." Michael came out of the house yelling.

"Daddy calls," I whispered. Thomas stepped forward, closing the distance between us. His hands glided over my cheeks before he gave me a kiss on my forehead.

"I'll see you at dinner."

With that, he was gone. Michael stood outside the door to the house watching me; waiting for my next move. Michael was somewhat Thomas' guard. He never really guarded anyone though because we were never actively getting attacked. At most he was a glorified messenger for Thomas' father, King Peirce. Being that I wasn't royalty, Michael never really became a fan of mine, or at least didn't try to actively speak to me.

"Can I help you, Charlotte?" he growled towards me.

"Nope, continue...whatever it is you do." His face sneered at me before his eyes flickered. In a way, I knew challenging him would turn to no good, but it was the only fun around here, besides Thomas of course. Everyone was so strict around here. If someone saw a single speck of dust in the house, the maid was fired. If the food wasn't cooked to kind's perfections, goodbye cooks. It was ridiculous. The ruling was straight up a dictatorship.

I turned to walk away towards the gates. My body slammed against the metal frame too fast to realize. Michael had been too silent for me to even hear him coming.

"You're not royalty. You really need to work on your defensive skills if you ever expect to be married to Thomas." His face was inches from mine and made me want to choke on his breath. His strong arms loosened against his grasp on me expecting nothing more than for me to give up on escaping from him. However I had other plans.

He was red in the face as I pushed against his grasp turning myself around. My teeth were elongated and my eyes now shining a bright gold. His hesitation was my opening. It was like twisting a twig in the forest the way I snapped his wrist away from my shoulder. Boy, must that have ever hurt.

"Charlie, what the hell!" he shrieked.

Smirking, I turned around and ran. He wouldn't dare follow once I left the royal grounds. Since he was bound to the royals, chasing a non-royal without formal orders was not allowed, that included me.