Chapter 186: The Princess

"Impossible!"

"Slap me!"

"No way!"

All three girls shouted in unison, their voices overlapping in shock, disbelief, and pure astonishment.

Violet’s pulse was thundering in her ears. Her gut had told her from the very beginning that something was off about Lila, yet nothing had prepared her for this. Lila? A Fae? It was mind blowing.

"This is mental!" Daisy exclaimed, nearly tearing at her own hair as if that would help her smart brain process the situation.

"This shouldn’t be possible! Fae don’t exist! They’re nothing more than stories from mythology classes but here you are, standing right in front of us... in the flesh and blood..." She trailed off, tentatively poking Lila on the face.

The moment her fingertips met Lila’s skin, she gasped. "Fuck! You’re real!"

Lila’s eyes twinkled with amusement.

"Oh, faeries are very much real. We just don’t mingle much. Bad history and all, especially with humans. So we keep to ourselves, hidden and safe."

"Humans don’t like the unpredictable,"

Violet pointed out, arms crossed as she processed this revelation. "Especially when it comes to creatures with supernatural abilities they can’t control."

Lila grinned at her. "Bingo."

While Violet and Daisy were busy wrapping their heads around the whole thing, Ivy had a completely different approach. She circled Lila slowly, eyes narrowing as she scrutinized every inch of her Fae features like she was studying an ancient artifact in a museum.

"Your ears," Ivy finally breathed, her fascination barely hidden. "Are they real?"

Lila raised a brow. "You’re staring at them right now, Ivy. What do you think?"

Ivy bit her lip unsure before reaching out. But realizing that might be rude, she caught Lila’s gaze. "Can I touch them?"

Lila shrugged. "Sure."

Ivy’s fingers ghosted over the side of her ear, her eyes widening as she made contact. She had expected something unnatural, like hard cartilage or an inhuman texture, but instead they were soft. The skin was warm and smooth and wasn’t much different from her own ears, just... shaped differently.

"Damn," Ivy whispered, the texture fascinating her.

As she continued trailing her fingers up and down, Lila suddenly let out a bubbling laugh, her shoulders shaking.

"That tickles!" she admitted, laughing.

Encouraged by her reaction, Ivy grew bolder, tracing the delicate curve before finally brushing against the very tip— snap!

Ivy yelped, jerking her hand away as Lila bared her fangs, an aggressive snarl rumbling from her throat. Her usually warm violet eyes had darkened with warning.

The room fell into stunned silence as it dawned on them that Lila nearly bit Ivy’s hand off.

Violet and Daisy instinctively tensed, exchanging wary glances. They were sharing a room with a creature powerful enough to kill them in the blink of an eye. Suddenly, that didn’t seem like such a great idea anymore.

Lila, realizing what she had done, quickly took a step back and lifted her hands in a placating gesture.

"I’m so sorry," she said with genuine remorse.

"What the hell was that?" Ivy demanded, still recovering from her near-death experience. Kind of. Losing a finger was as good as death to her.

"I should have warned you." Lila sighed, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly. "That spot is... sensitive. It’s an erogenous zone for us. Only our mate is supposed to touch it."

"Oh."

Ivy’s face turned a deep shade of red as it dawned on her. Her lips parted in mortification, and she quickly tucked her hands behind her back, far away from Lila’s ears.

"Noted. No more touching... ever again," She nodded slowly, completely flustered.

An awkward tension settled over the room again before Violet broke it, asking with suspicion. "There’s something I don’t understand."

"What is it?"

Violet’s voice was laced with skepticism as she said. "You’re a Fae which means you’re a long way from home. So why are you here? Specifically in Lunaris Academy, a school full of werewolves? Should we be worried about your intentions?"

Daisy, who had been listening intently, nodded in agreement. "That’s right. You’re the first living Fae I’ve ever seen.

The rest are nothing but legends written in books, stories passed down through generations. And yet, here you are, hiding in plain sight. So tell us, Lila, what’s your real purpose here?"

The question settled heavily in the air as they waited for an answer.

It was already a miracle that humans and werewolves coexisted without tearing each other apart. If the Fae were now secretly integrating into the human realm, their presence could mean one of two things—either an attempt at peace or the prelude to war. And if it was the latter, everything they knew could crumble into chaos.

The last time the supernatural was exposed, the world nearly collapsed. Another revelation of this magnitude could be catastrophic.

"You’re right," Lila admitted, the wary tension between them growing. "I did come here with a purpose."

A chill ran down Violet’s spine, Ivy’s stiffened and Daisy’s lips pressed into a firm line. It was exactly as they feared.The three girls exchanged uneasy glances, bracing themselves for the worst.

But before they could voice their concerns, Lila quickly added, "It’s not what you think. I didn’t come here to start a war or reveal our existence. My intentions are good."

Ivy scoffed, still skeptical. "So your ’good intentions’ involve pretending to be human and attending Lunaris Academy?"

Lila shook her head. "No. I was sent here on a mission." She finally confessed, "The truth is... I’m looking for someone."

A strange feeling settled in Violet’s gut, her heartbeat picking up. "Someone?" she repeated.

Lila nodded. "Yes."

"Who?"

Lila swallowed hard, as if she was about to reveal something she wasn’t supposed to. "I’m searching for the Queen’s daughter. Our future heir. She was taken at birth and we’ve been searching for her ever since."

"And you believe she’s here?" Violet asked, her voice measured. "In the human realm? At Lunaris Academy?"

Lila said. "Yes. I’m certain of it. I’ve checked and triple-checked. All the signs lead here."

Violet’s breath caught slightly. She wasn’t sure why, but something inside her stirred at those words.

"Then... you must’ve found her," Violet subtly inquired.

"I have," Lila confirmed, her violet eyes locked onto Violet’s with stanch certainty. "Both of us have met."

The world felt like it tilted beneath Violet’s feet. For a split second—just the briefest of moments—a flicker of hope had ignited in her chest.

Violet had spent her entire life not knowing where she came from. She had no past, no roots, no family, only questions that had never been answered. And though she never said it out loud, she longed for the truth. She had always longed for family.

But that fragile hope shattered in an instant because Lila had already met the princess. Which meant...

It wasn’t her.

The disappointment was like a heavy stone in her chest, and Violet’s shoulders slumped just slightly before she schooled her expression into neutrality. If Daisy and Ivy noticed the exchange, neither of them said anything.

Ivy simply raised a hand. "Just asking out of curiosity, but... who’s the lucky princess?"