EVAN'S POV

　　"Do you think that we are protecting the correct person?" I questioned.

　　"Yes, who would you ask me that question?" Brandon asked.

　　"I mean…just look at her. She seems so plain, so weak and….I don't know simple. If she was our princess she would have recovered by now." I had my doubts, princess Lydia was just taking too long to recover and I don't know why but I think as a royal blood she should have recovered by now.

　　Her weak and plain appearance was holding me back and now that I know that someone is coming after us I don't know if I want to give up my life while protecting a wrong person.

　　I don't want to fail in my first mission as the royal beta.

　　"Look Evan I know what you are thinking but if you look at her condition, don't you think any woman of this age who has been abused and was malnourished would recover that fast? I mean….goddess knows what she tolerated all these years and we can't judge her just because she is taking some extra time to recover, let her prove herself." My brother explained and it actually made sense, especially after thinking about it clearly.

　　I mean we both don't know she endured all these years and as the doctors said, she was definitely abused.

　　"You're right. We should wait for her to reveal her true self." I agreed and he nodded as well.

　　"Good, now let's pack everything we need to leave as soon as possible." My brother reminded me of the danger that awaits and I quickly followed his instructions.

　　It felt good that he was taking this mission seriously now and was way more clear-headed than me.

　　In about half an hour, we were ready to leave, the plan was simple avoid the deep forests and travel through the main cities, it would help us hide better. 

　　By the time we decided to leave it was already too late, the commotion broke and when we stepped out of the room we realized that we were already surrounded by an entire group of werewolves.

　　I exchanged a look with Brandon and we worked like a team, his job was to guard the princess room and I decided to jump into the fight first.

　　Brandon fought the wolves who tried to enter the room while I fought the rest of them.

　　But as time passed, I realized that we both were getting tired, we were clearly outnumbered and they obviously were doing it on purpose to tire us out it actually worked in his favour when I heard a shout from my brother, I turned and saw him fighting a large wolf who was clearly an Alpha.

　　Brandon was injured already and I could tell that he was getting weak, I joined him in the fight but we both were tired and this rogue Alpha was definitely on something.

　　His eyes shone indicating that he was under the influence of something, again that indicated the involvement of an insider. 

　　Drugs like those were manufactured inside the kingdom and were only used during war or other emergencies. 

　　When I was distracted I was attacked by two other wolves as well which threw me off and that gave the Alpha a chance to capture Brandon.

　　"No….." I shouted and was quickly shut up by another wolf through a bite near my vocal cords.

　　"Give up Betas and just hand over the princess. You know we can deal with this quickly and easily. You two seem young and I am feeling generous today. So, just tell me where the princess and I'll leave your precious brother. I am sure you don't want to lose him too." He mocked and I looked at Brandon.

　　Of course, I don't want to lose him, he is the only family I have left.

　　But I can't let my father and the king down, princess Lydia is the future of our kingdom and I will not let him take her away.

　　"Do whatever you want but you won't get away with this. You have no idea who you are dealing with," I challenged him which was probably not a good move at this time but I needed to distract him to save Brandon and the direction I was looking for suddenly appeared.

　　A large wolf appeared and roared like a beast scaring everyone, I saw a few wolves running away and I resisted the urge to bow down. The aura she emanated was overwhelming and I exchanged a look with Brandon as it was our chance to do something.

　　He then flipped the Alpha wolf catching him by surprise and I fought the remaining others, but most of the work was done by the female wolf.

　　She simply killed any wolf who got in her war in a single swipe as if they were mere flies in front of her and lastly, she attacked the Alpha when she saw Brandon was cornered by him.

　　My brother was getting weak due to his injuries and I was tired too.

　　But she successfully saved Brandon from the clutches of the Alpha wolf which also drove other wolves away.

　　Though her aura was not as strong as the King himself, if I had any doubts about her being a royal blood they now vanished completely.

　　Moreover, I felt a strange connection towards her maybe it was because of our loyalty towards the royal bloodline.

　　When the fight was over, she turned towards us and Brandon bowed his head in front of her as a sign of submission and recognition.

　　We both were thankful to her, as she saved my brother's life. 

　　Her aura multiplied and our wolves submitted to her completely and handed over the reins that she deserved.

　　She signalled us to shift and we did, but in human form, she was still weak and I ran quickly to catch her in my arms. 

　　"Oh no, Brandon I think she over-exerted herself. We need to take her to the doctor." I called my brother.

　　He limped and reached towards us. 

　　As her heartbeat dwindled and her fever surged back with a vengeance, panic gripped us like icy tendrils. "We have to get out of here, Evan, you need to shift and carry her on your back. I'll follow closely behind," he commanded, urgency lacing his voice. 

　　I could feel the weight of responsibility settling on my shoulders, knowing that I had to transport the princess to safety. 

　　Gently, I enveloped her fragile form and secured her onto my back alongside our belongings. With a determined resolve, I launched into motion, every fibre of my being focused on reaching safety before it was too late. Her condition was deteriorating rapidly, her body struggling against the encroaching darkness. 

　　As I carried her through the dense forest, each step was a battle against time itself. The weight of her fragile body pressed against my back, a constant reminder of the urgency of our mission. Every rustle of leaves, every snap of a branch, sent shivers down my spine, fearing we were being pursued. Yet, I dared not glance back, my focus solely on reaching sanctuary. The princess's shallow breaths echoed in my ears, a haunting melody of desperation.