The Prince’s Unwilling mate by Mutya

Ayla 9
The last week of staying with the Bloodmoon pack has been weird. Even after my parents stopped forcing me to rest. They hardly let me go out alone. On one hand, I appreciated what they were doing. On the other hand, it showed just how helpless and useless I am. Seeing as that was the reason to get rejected it still stung a bit. Now it was 2 AM and Theo, James, Jessa Silver, Kate, Tim and I were heading to the airport. Dad was adamant about bringing us. He said it would be stu pid to pay a lot for airport parking when he could drive us. Admitting he would like to see of his little girls too. The Silver of course are aware of the fact that neither of us is going back.
Jessa is sad to see me go but she understands why I have to. Unlike David she is a real friend and she supports my decision even if it makes her sad.
“Cheer up Buttercup, we’re visiting the White Oak pack first. So who knows maybe you will find your mate there.” Jessa’s Dad James jokes. I would love for Jessa to find a mate in the White Oak pack. The chances of that happening are slim though. Still, it is a nice thing to daydream about. Living in the same pack as Jessa for the rest of our lives would be the dream. For now, I am just happy to see the rest of my family again. I asked my parents not to tell them about the beatings. They need to know since I am not officially moving into their pack. I just wanted to be the one to tell them. Maybe just tell them Alpha Phill*p did not give permission. But that the teasing and seeing my former mate every day was too painful for me. The only problem with that was it meant lying to my family and I would hate to. For now, I have a 5-hour flight ahead of me to think about it. Since we would stay a night at the White Oak pack before going on one one-day road trip to the Cresent Moon pack.
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Ayta 9
288 Vouchers
After Dad kept hugging us, over and over again he made Tim promise him he would take good care of Kate. Tim guaranteed Dad he would. He said he would see them soon as they would be at the housewarming after Tim and Kate found their own place within the Cresent Moon pack. Once we boarded the plane Tim’s smile faded and he was plucking on some invisible piece of fluff on the armrest of his chair. Kate was fast asleep as he always was on the flight to the White Oak pack.
“Are you scared of flying Tim” I whisper.
In the past few days, I got to know Tim a lot better and he was a good guy. Who adored my sister, which made me love him more. So I wanted to comfort him now.
“No, I’ve flown before. It’s just even among people like us your family is known for being close-knit”
He had to be careful not to give away too much in a plane surrounded by humans. Even like this, I knew what he was telling me. He wanted to make an impression on my Grandparents, Uncles, Aunts, and cousins. Not to mention all the friends that felt like family. Grandma had requested for us to stop by the White Oak pack before. No doubt because she was excited to meet Kate’s mate. For the first years of her life, she lived as a human, and meeting Grandpa saved her in more ways than one. Or that is what she will always tell us. Even now years later she loves newly mated couples. All her grandchildren knew that she would want to see our mates as soon as possible. Their mates, because my mate didn’t want me, trying not to get lost in those negative thoughts again I turned to Tim once more.
“Don’t worry they will all love you, Grandma is just a hopeless romantic who wants to see all her grandchildren-in-law as soon as possible.
Tim visibly relaxes, looking at Kate with a tender gaze. I hate this still
Ayla 9
288 Vouchers
gets to me. I really am over David. I would not as much as see him as even an acquaintance after he begged me for forgiveness. Mom told me she thinks I didn’t take enough time to mourn the loss of a mate. I disagree I didn’t lose my mate he rejected me. Sure I had to say goodbye to an idea, a dream I had since I was a little girl. But I had to let more dreams go like the one to be a famous author. Being a werewolf means I can never be famous. It would be too risky. Not wanting to think about all of this any longer I pulled out my earbuds and a book.
***

Tim was surprised I spent the whole flight reading, he was still talking about that when we walked into the arrival hall.
“You’re a part of the family now, so better get used to the fact that this one lives in her books”
That voice I would recognize everywhere. I whirled around to find my grandparents smiling at us. Like we had done ever since I could walk I ran over to him. He opened his arms catching me as I jumped up spinning me around. Humans would always look at us f uǹny. Grandpa may be seventy-five werewolves age differently, to most humans he must look a little over forty. We never cared, it was the only time we weren’t extra cautious. Grandma was hugging Kate, and the second my feet hit the floor again she pulled me in for a hug. While Grandpa hugged Kate, they both gave Tim a warm welcome, as they did the Silver whom they already knew from visits to the BloodMoon pack.
“Come on let’s go home, Aunt Katrina has made preparations for a family lunch. Just us, because there is a lot we need to talk about” Her strict look made me decide to be honest with them.
They clearly knew something was up, so lying to them had no use. In fact, it would make things worse.
Ayla 9
288 Vouchera
“And you know I couldn’t stop them from hosting a party for the whole pack. Uncle Cedric made sure it was something lowkey. No need to dress up” Grandma finished squeezing my hand.
In the end, everything would be okay. Sure my family would be p iss ed off with Alpha Phill*p, David, and Hannah. But they would stick to the plan and the pack loved me. And I loved them not just my family, no every member of the White Oak pack. Although they all felt like a family by now.
***
The day at the White Oak Pack, my pack had flown by. As did the three days I spent at the Cresent Moon pack. They were very warm and welcoming not just of Kate but of the rest of us too. It might have been a good pack but I could tell it was a good pack. Warm and loving Kate would thrive here as one of the pack’s best warriors. Now I was headed up to Grandma and Grandpa’s cottage. Ever the romantic Grandma hadn’t given up the idea of me finding true love. She mind-linked me that she wanted to talk about the royal ball before dinner. She probably was upset I didn’t get a special dress. Like Dad told me to, I had bought some new clothes one of them being a simple black dress. One you could wear to most occasions, including a royal ball. Grandmother had clearly not agreed with the last notion. When I knock it is Grandpa who opens the door telling me to just go upstairs to their bedroom.
When I do I find Grandma there with a beautiful gold dress on a mannequin. I’ve seen the dress in pictures and it is the dress she wore when Grandpa introduced her as his Luna to the rest of the pack. Officially that is as she had been living with the pack for some time by then.
“You’re roughly the same size as I am. So I want you to have this dress. You’re hiding yourself in that black thing.” She says her face twisting in disgust like it’s the worst dress anyone has ever worn.
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Ayla 9
288 Nouchers
I want to tell her I am hiding because I know the Prince will never choose the runt of the pack as his mate. Raising her hand Grandma hushes me before I even start talking.
“If not to find a mate, then to show the other she-wolves especially those of your old pack. You are a queen in your own rights. And I would love to see this dress get used one last time. So what do you say” She asks me with what I can only describe as puppydog eyes.
Ayla 10
288 Nouchers
Ayla 10
The Silver’s and I reach the royal guest house. They had it built specifically for events like this. Events where so many wolves had to attend one of the royal parties that they needed too many guestrooms. The guest house had its own staff, it was common for all the guests to share meals like we would in a pack. It was natural for us werewolves to drift to each other. We’re pack creatures after all. For me, it meant a few more meals with Hannah and her friends. As long as I made sure I never was alone though it would stay limited to her nasty remarks and I could handle those. Honestly, I was more worried about wearing Grandma’s dress to the ball. She had to have it altered but that mainly was shortening it. She was right it fitted me perfectly perfectly fitting the few curves I have and revealing far more skin than my little black dress would have, even if it still were very decent. It just wasn’t a dress meant to fade into the crowd. No doubt on purpose, Grandma knew I would try my hardest not to stand out. Just like she knew I would never be able to refuse her puppy-dog eyes. I take a picture and I send it to her before pocketing my phone in my pretty and impractical handbag.
James Silver escorts me to the ballroom as his mate and husband escorts Jessa to the ballroom. There must be over a hundred she-wolves here. How is the Crown Prince supposed to choose between all of us? There is no way he is going to be able to see all of us let alone speak with us. One of the many reasons I do not want a chosen mate. Look at the Prince now he is supposed to announce his chosen mate today. Out of all the she-wolves here but as of yet he doesn’t know any of us personally. He doesn’t even know why we do not have a mate yet. What if he steals another wolf’s mate? Or what if he likes Hannah, would he know she killed her first mate by rejecting him because she is a power-hungry hus sy?
Ayla 10
288 Vouchers
Just as I am about to turn to Jessa to ask her if she knows if we have to disclose why we don’t have a mate yet I see her face twist into something. Confusion followed by happiness Following her gaze I see she is staring at the guy who stopped Hannah and her minions from attacking me. He is standing next to the Prince and seems to be a high- ranking wolf. At first, that makes me chuckle. Hannah will be so embarrassed knowing she has shown her true colors to someone close to the royal family. Someone who seems to be high-ranking. Jessa looks smitten, the face of the wolf who found her mate but I remember that wolf Dylan or something tells me he is happily mated.
Suddenly the man on the other side of the prince walks up to us in big strides. I breathe a sigh of relief. This made far more sense the mark on Dylan’s name was beautiful and intricate indicating it wasn’t a chosen mate but a fated mate. Maybe I am just too worried, now that I lost the absolute fate of fated mates instantly loving each other.
“Hi my name is Gerald, and you’re my mate wow you’re breathtaking I mean, I am sure you are kind too but euhm”
Theo giggles and it is obvious that this Gerald guy is a nervous wreck. Jessa introduces herself and she isn’t nervous but she seems just as awestruck. Turns out that Gerald will be the Crown Prince’s Gemma. He now works as an assistant to the Crown Prince as he has more work than a regular Alpha to be like David has.
“Does that mean that guy Dylan is working directly for the Crown Prince too?” I ask hoping to find out just how bad Hannah messed up.
“Dylan? You mean Dillion the one next to Prince Griffin” Gerald asks me never taking his eyes off Jessa.
And when I look up to see if I indeed meant Dillion it happens. I am hit by a smell that is even better than the smell when I found out David was my mate. I smell cedarwood, cin na mon, and citrus. To my absolute horror, it is the Crown Prince himself who smells like that.