THE ROUGE PRINCESS

CHAPTER ONE

Elara's POV

My heart stopped as I stared at the most handsome man I had ever seen. He was tall, muscular, and had bright blue eyes that made me weak.

"Elara, what's wrong with you?" my best friend Serenity asked, poking my shoulder.

"Huh? Oh, um, nothing," I mumbled, looking away from the man.

Serenity followed my gaze. "Wow, he's hot! But definitely an Alpha. You can tell by his power."

I sighed. "Yeah, you're right. He's probably a jerk like most Alphas."

"But you're dating a future Alpha too, remember?"

I frowned at her. "Tyler is different. He's not like them."

Serenity shrugged. "If you say so. Hey, you should go talk to that guy!"

"What? No way! I have a boyfriend, Serenity."

"I didn't say sleep with him, just flirt a little! Live a little, Elara. You're almost 18."

I watched the handsome stranger walk away, biting my lip. Maybe Serenity was right. It couldn't hurt to explore...

Curiosity got the best of me. I went to check out the other floors, secretly hoping I might run into him. Just as the elevator doors were closing, he dashed inside!

"Sorry about that," he said, grabbing my shoulders to steady himself. Then his eyes met mine and widened. "Well hello there, beautiful. I'm Luke ." He slid an arm around my waist, twirling my red hair with his other hand. I nearly melted.

"I'm Ser - I mean, Elara," I stammered. God, he was even better looking up close. The elevator dinged and I quickly pulled away, dashing down the hall before I did something I'd regret.

I turned a corner and froze. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. My boyfriend Tyler had some girl pinned against the wall, whispering in her ear as she giggled and touched his chest. Rage boiled inside me.

'How dare he cheat on us!' My wolf Davina growled in my mind. 'We're royalty! He'll pay for this!'

I spun around and stomped back to the elevator, my eyes flashing with anger. Luke was there waiting for me.

"Woah, your eyes! What's going on?" He cupped my face in his hand, looking concerned.

I didn't answer. I was too furious and hurt to think straight. Without a word, I grabbed him and kissed him hard on the mouth. He made a noise of surprise before pulling me against him, kissing me back with a hunger that left me breathless.

He pressed me up against the elevator wall, his hands roaming my body as I wrapped my legs around his waist. I could feel how badly he wanted me. At that moment, I wanted him too. I just wanted to forget everything and lose myself in him.

The elevator dinged again and Luke quickly set me down, both of us panting. "Shit, we can't do this here."

Reality came crashing back and I burst into tears, overcome with shame and confusion. What was I doing? I pushed past Luke and ran out of the elevator, ignoring him calling my name.

I didn't stop running until I was far away from the club, finally collapsing against a tree and sobbing. Davina whispered dark thoughts in my mind, urging me to get revenge on Tyler. But I was too overwhelmed to think about that now. All I could do was cry, my heart shattered into pieces.

How could Tyler do this to me? I thought he loved me! And why did I let myself get so carried away with Luke ? Was I no better than Tyler?

I wiped my eyes, taking deep breaths to calm myself. I had to get out of here. I couldn't face Tyler, not now. I'd go stay with Serenity for the night until I figured out what to do.

As if reading my mind, Serenity came bursting out of the club. "Elara! There you are!" She hurried over to me, her face etched with worry. "What happened? Why did you run off?"

"I...I caught Tyler with another girl," I choked out. "He was a-all over her, Serenity." I started crying again.

"That bastard!" She wrapped me in a tight hug. "I'm so sorry, El. You deserve way better than him."

"And I kissed someone else too," I mumbled into her shoulder. "The Alpha guy from before. I feel awful."

She pulled back to look at me. "Woah, really? Damn girl, when you rebound you go big!"

I gave her a look and she quickly backtracked. "I mean, uh, these things happen. Emotions were running high. Don't be too hard on yourself, okay? The important thing is figuring out what you want to do now."

I sighed heavily. She was right. I had a lot to think about. "Can I stay with you tonight? I can't go home right now."

"Of course babe, whatever you need." She took my hand and led me towards her car.

As we walked, I glanced back at the club one last time. For a split second, I thought I saw a flash of bright blue eyes watching me from the entrance. Luke . My heart skipped a beat.

I quickly faced forward again. No, I couldn't think about him right now. I had to focus on myself and what I was going to do about Tyler. My life had turned upside down in one night.

Little did I know, this was only the beginning…