Golder's POV
It was another day for all the betas (royal betas) to be forced to an Alpha. Even the alpha with the look of a frog will be forced to have a royal mate. This has always been the custom in this pack. Nothing done by my Mother or any of the Lunas surprises us the young betas anymore. It has become the new normal for everyone. Even the alphas most times don't escape it.
Every beta no longer dreams of mating with a ‘prince charming’ alpha with riches and luxury. If your Luna wanted you to be with a poor pilferer then so be it, as long as it brought money to the family.
This happens in both worlds: the human and the werewolf worlds.
And this was about to happen to me. I was gonna be turning 18 in a week’s time. Due to the fact that my parents have started looking for a mate for me, I didn't even bother to be all jumpy but I also didn't want it.
I wanted to be in the bosom of another. But my parents havedecided on another. I have over heard them talking about my mate and I heard it was a prince but that doesn't matter.
I had one who caught the retina of my eyes some years back, Joseph. Joseph has always been my friend and I have always wanted to mate with him. But with the authoritative behavior of my parents I could not.
They had laid down tons of reasons why he wasn't suitable for me. I beseeched them but they kept on insisting and finally I agreed. I didn't even know what I agreed to.
After weeks of preparation, the time finally came for me to meet my mate. Before meeting my mate I was first going to be forced to turn down the one that I desired so that I can accept the other that doesn’t align with my stars.The door opened and a girl entered.
"Are you ready?" Ariana my step sister asked me.
Ariana has been with me through thick and thin and has been of great help. When her mother died I was also there for her, so we have been helpful to each other.
"Well, I think I am." I replied with a feeble voice.
Knowing that I'll reject a boy in the presence of the whole pack and go and meet another who might not accept me, but who my parents wish for me to dwell with for the remaining years I shall live is a very distressing thought.
"I know that rejecting a mate, even if it is the love of your life, the one that you dream of every night, the person that you wish to wake up in his arms and feel his homoeothermic skin on yours keeping thy skin warm, is not easy. All these are just the things we think but it only takes fate not faith for it to work." Ariana said as she tried to offer me some consolation. Afterhearing this, I had to buckle up.
Not knowing who my actual mate was, I was a little fidgety. What if it was my Joseph? Will I still have to turn him down?
All these questions ran through my brain receptors causing me to have a mental reaction. But I just had to.
There were lots of ceremonies, because it wasn't easy to belong to a royal family. Everything was always provided for us and we now had to be taken away from the house, into the house of another alpha. This was often a very emotional period.
Ariana went outside to get a cup of water and stayed for a few minute. Suddenly, she ran back inside with such speed I jerked up a little, emphasis on ‘ran’.
"Golder! I just heard the name of the prince Mom and Dad wants to mate you with when they turn this one down." I was soshocked and distressed. But I already knew it was a prince so why was she now so hesitant.
"Isn't he a prince, I mean a princess must mate with a prince." I said with mild annoyance.
"Well it's not just a prince, it's the prince from Athens, the....."
"….The one that had the accident last year and got crippled." I completed the sentence for her, and immediately had an emotional breakdown. I didn't know that my parents would want me to be with such a prince.
It was said that he had lost a femur and an atlas in the accident. How would they now want me to mate with such a person? Although some said it's fake news; that a man cannot live without his atlas or his axis. Some even said he had leprosy and elephantiasis.
It was also said that Athens was enriched with gold and minerals. It had all the things a wolf needed. It even secretedwolfsbane from its soil. This could be sold to the humans for lots of money.
Aside this, it was still very weird and absurd. Even if I was to naturally get matched with a poor alpha I would rather stay there than with that cripple.
"Why on earth, would they do that to me? I have always been a good girl and they decide to punish me with this?" I sobbed.
"There is literally nothing I can say that will change the heart of our parents, but they say that their decisions are the best and thatit will be good for A****n."
A****n is the name of our pack.
"So they want to sell me for the well-being of A****n?"
"That's not it, I’m sure it might not be as bad as people say it is. What makes me wonder though is his inability to heal since he was not stabbed in the heart by a dagger with wolf's bane on it; he should have healed, right?"
"That is very true. I’ve heard rumours that he is not actually crippled but that he was toppled by his Luna."
"What's his name again?"
"Prince Simon."
"Simon, what a weird name for a prince."
We had a little chit chat and chiseled away at the feeling of despair as Ariana helped with all my facial preparations.
"Okay, let's hurry, the people are waiting to behold your beautyand know who they have chosen as thy mate."
The feeling of turning down a man began to bother me again, that I was going to break his heart.
We got down stairs to finds dozens of werewolf, all waiting for the royal princess to be matched with a mate. All eyes were on me.
"Oh, Golder, my sweet peach" my grandma Luna walked towards me as she said those words. She had always been a friend.
She even helped me wolf out.
"Hm.......Yeah I am......you know great?" I shakily answered her. Thankfully, she was able to see through me.
"I know how it feels, to be forced to mate." She said. I was surprised that she knew.
"Mom told you?"
"Of course she did, I am her mother-in-law"
She then continued.
"You know, this didn't start from you. It's been happening for a long time in the royal family. These are the things we have to bear. I was also forced on a mate, which is now your grandpa. I didn't like it at first, but I had to adapt. "
"Hmmm" I sighed despairingly.
"What if you like someone else?"
"Peach, I also liked someone else, but I had to adapt.”
“Even if it means breaking a man's heart?"
“Yes.”
I was becoming even more distressed, but that was how it was; I just felt like diving into the ocean.
She then continued…
“You will be fine, eventually. Now let's go and do the needful. I really wish I could do something, but right now it's your mother's choice. So you will be fine really. "
I just kept on sighing in disbelief and despair. Then we went on to greet other members of the pack.
And then, the time had finally come; my mate was announced.
"Joseph Norman" the man said.
Everyone began to cheer. I was sad and happy at the same time. It was hard to have just one emotion in that moment, knowing that I was going to break his heart into a million pieces and alsobeing happy because he was actually my match.
Joseph came out to accept me. He walked towards me and said,
"Will you accept me for the rest of the years you shall breathethe air of this land?"
I really didn't want to turn him down but I had no other choice than to do it and satisfy my parents.
I looked at the eyes of my mother and saw the fury in her eyes as I delayed my answer.
Tears rolled down my eyes as I said the words...
Prince Simon's POV It was a fine morning filled with disparity as always and Athens being its normal self. This disparity arose from the fact that choices were not made by one’s self but by your parents. Athens was just its normal mining self and I was being the boring cripple, a lie which I made all the Athenians, including my parents, believe, just to be free from the work load. Even with the fact that I have told them that I am crippled, they still dump all the paper work of Athens on my desk. As an alpha I have one who wishes to be with me, Ginny, who I like to call Pooh. We have been together in the secret and therefore she knows the my secret. The accident I speak about which led to my ‘crippled limbs’ happened a year ago while I was on my way to see my Pooh. At that time she was ill so I rushed to her only to get involved in a car crash. At that moment no one in Athens knew I could heal with my Alpha powers, so I told them the lie they wanted to hear: I was crippled.
Golder's POVTurning down Joseph in the presence of the whole pack had been a night mare. I know Joseph was supposed to be the humiliated one, but I felt so embarrassed and emotionally down. I needed a friend to lean on at this point. I even contemplated going to visit Joseph to check on him, but remembered just in time that such will be prohibited by mom and dad. Besides, I really didn't even have the heart. After the party every werewolf was there watching, judging and making me feel so bad. But what was done was done, it was irreversible. Then they announced that there would be another mate for me. The crowd cheered up again. I didn't even like the fact that matching with a mate was made a ceremony. I got down from the podium and ran quickly without hesitation to my bed room and threw myself on my soft duvet. Then I soaked my pillows with my salty marine tears. Remembering all the moments we had shared together. I was now going to have to spend the rest of my years and moment
Golder’s POV“Phew”I sighed as I flung myself on the bed and raised my head as Ari also jumped on the bed too.“So tell me, how was your date?”Ari asked, placing emphasis on the word ‘date’. I gave her one of those bombastic side eye looks as I sat upright and said“That wasn’t a date at all! We literally ate our food in silence after he reminded me that we were just there because of our individual packs!Ari stared at me for a while and burst out into mad laughter“Oh my darling, what did you expect? For him to just begin to chit chat as if he’d known you forages? You know that’s not how this works!”“Don’t tell me you’re on his side Ari! You also know how difficult this is for me. The fact that that’s who I’m supposed to get married to just irks me!”Ariana was about to answer when my phone beeped and immediately I saw who messaged me, my countenance changed immediately into surprise mixed with shock.“What’s the issue?”Ari asked. I was too stunned to speak, so I passed the phone
Prince Simon’s POV‘Here I am, caught in between the rock and the hard place, the mud and the dirt. I am legitimately living a lie that can destroy my reputation as prince and probably ruin my family’s image and prestige; I am also at the verge of losing the only person I had imagined spending ever after with; I also have to choose between her and my kingdom. I mean I’m the prince of Athens and the whole pack looks up to me to make a decision that will favor them and also boost our economic activity. Besides what’s the use of having excess gold and Wolfsbane if we can’t sell them out to generate revenue? The only way to solve all this is if I get married to that Amazonian princess as my parents have already decided, but I can’t lose the one I love to get the one I don’t. It’s all not.....’“Now, who is it?”the soul at the door didn’t answer so I already knew who it was. Before I could say further, Jason had already entered into my office with loads of magazines“Jason? Why do you hav
The DateGolder did pick the venue but she didn't pick the time and day. Friday had already arrived and the hours were sliding pretty fast too. What made it worse was the fact that she lost track of time during the day and by the time she remembered she was going on a date it was already two hours to when her ride was to arrive. And just taking her bath was going to take 30 minutes.“Oh shit, Arianaaa”Golder paced around her room and kept wondering where Ari had gone off to. One thing Golder didn't know how to do was work well when she's pressurized and right now, she was more than pressurized. She stopped and stared at herself in the mirror, she had had her bath, but her hair was still a mess and she didn't even know what she was going to put on'Should I go for a simple and classy look or should I go for a bold and daring look?'These and other thoughts were running through her mind as she ran her fingers through her hair and realized she hadn't thought of what way to style her hai
SEDUCEDAs the night descended, the pool took on an entirely new atmosphere. The surface of the water was calm and still, reflecting the twinkling stars above. The water was lit up with the glowing lights that lined the edges of the pool, creating a dreamy and mesmerizing ambiance. The sound of waterfalls could be heard in the distance, gently breaking the silence and adding to the peaceful setting.The lounge chairs around the pool were all empty, but the pillows and cushions were neatly arranged, inviting anyone to take a moment and relax. The warm breeze rustled through the leaves of nearby trees, causing them to whisper secrets to one another. The moon cast a soft, silver glow over the entire area, as if it was watching over the pool and its surroundings.In the pool, the underwater lights illuminated the crystal clear water, making it appear as though stars had fallen and were now shining at the bottom of the pool. The rippling water created a pattern of gentle waves, like a lull
PEACE at last?The garden was a tranquil oasis, brimming with life and bursting with colors. A profusion of flowers, shrubs, and trees blended harmoniously together to create a lush, green paradise. The sweet aroma of lavender and roses mingled with the earthy scent of freshly cut grass, filling the air with a refreshing fragrance.In the center of the garden stood a beautiful garden swing, swaying gently in the breeze. Its white frame was adorned with intricate patterns of vines and flowers, adding to the natural beauty of the garden. The swing seat was cushioned with soft, floral-patterned fabric, inviting visitors to relax and enjoy the serene surroundings.The garden was divided into several sections, each with its own unique charm. A winding path led through the rose garden, where vibrant roses of every shade imaginable bloomed. Further down, a small pond glistened in the sunlight, its crystal-clear water teeming with koi fish. Tall trees shaded a section of the garden, providing
★Two week later★They converged for a final meeting before they leave for Athens and Adrian decided to motivateand also warn his people at the same time.He stood before his team, his imposing figure casting a shadow over them as he looked at each member in turn. The young man was known for his strength and skill, but also his intelligence and tactical mind. He knew what they were up against in Athens, and he knew that they needed to be prepared."Alright, everyone," he began, his voice low and steady. "We're going to Athens to gather information, and we need to be careful. The city is heavily guarded, and we don't want to attract any unwanted attention."The members of the team, who were dressed as traders, looked at each other nervously, but Adrian's words gave them confidence."We have to be smart about this," Adrian continued. "Remember, our mission is to gather information, not to engage in any kind of confrontation. We're not there to fight, we're there to learn."He paused, sc