The Prince’s Unwilling mate

Chapter 5

The next morning we went over to the packhouse. Alpha Phill*pe would always spare his first hour of the day for walk-ins. He wasn’t a bad Alpha just not a great one either. What botheredthe most was the fact that he was training David to be the next Alpha. And how that meant David would sit into most conversations.

Alpha Phill*p was more than okay with Kate going to live with the Cresent Moon pack. He loved members of the pack going to live in another pack to form alliances. My problem was that there was already an alliance between the Blood Moon and White Oak pack. Alpha Phill*p would never let pack members move to another pack if it didn’t benefit him. In most cases forming or strengthening an alliance would suffice. But I wasn’t about to move to my mate’s pack. I was about to move to family so no new relationships were built.

He was very interested in the prospect of one of the pack’s unmated she-wolves becoming a chosen mate to the royal family. For him, it would be the ideal alliance. Like his son though he deemedunworthy of being the future queen. He didn’t even try to hide his disbelief shrugging his shoulders as he told us.

“Honestly I have no issues with Ayla going to the royal ball. But we all know the likelihood that the Prince will choose her as the Luna of all Luna’s is extremely small. Tellhow it would benefit our pack if she was not to return to us after the ball”

My parents tried to reason with him, pointing out how the pack was not treatingkindly after his son rejected me. Mom went as far as asking him how the future Luna would feel knowing that her Alpha’s fated mate was still living in the pack.

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“My son has selected a wonderful chosen mate. He is making the greatest sacrifice known to wolves. Letting her go to the royal ball to make sure the Prince does not want a fine she-wolf like Hannah for himself. Rest assured though if he does not and she will return to us as our Luna she will treat Ayla exactly like she has been doing ever since the rejection” Alpha Phill*p told us like he was reassuring a toddler that there were no monsters under the bed.

Was he that unaware of what was happening right under his nose or was he that uncaring? Not screaming about everything Hannah and her flying monkeys had done toso far was already taking all of my self- control. Willow was already itching to take over control. I knew I shouldn’t I had been enduring the bullying, the beating the abuse for two years now. All so I would not cause problems for my family. Now so close to escaping was not the tto mess it all up. Easier said than done when David smirked at me, licking his l*ps before addressing his father like a good little Alpha in training.

“Can I give my opinion Father?” He asked politely, and of course, Daddy dearest let him.

His pride over his son starting to pick up Alpha duties written all over his face.

With an evil smile, David started talking again.

“I do think the Hemmings put too much weight on my decision to reject Ayla. Every wolf with a sense of self-preservation would want a more suitable Luna. They all applaudfor the sacrifice I made in recognizing the Moon Goddess’ only fault. Many seem to think for sreason the mate bonds betweenand Hannah. And Ayla and that Omega what’s his ngot switched up”

Right away the air was thick with tension. Kate squeezed my hand hard enough to hurt. Telling me without words that I needed to keep my mouth shut. Mom and Dad stiffened at the insult. Not because he

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thought it likely that I was mated to an omega. No one in our family cared for ranks. It was his blatant disregard for me, my wishes, and the matebond we once shared that set everyone off.

“I gather she is allowed to see her sister off to her new pack then Alpha, I mean my mate and I could always escort her but…” Dad asked Alpha Phill*p, I knew there was nothing else he could do.

Still, his silent and quick acceptance of my fate hurt me. Alpha Phill*p’ s permission forto see Kate off cas quickly as Dad’s acceptance came. It was something at least. It would present me with a small break from the bullying and the pain. I was over David. I had been since the day I saw him flirting with Hannah. Seeing my once- fated mate move on so quickly and with the she-wolf that hurtso much was still painful to watch. Like a constant reminder, the Moon Goddess indeed messed up. During the walk David’s remark about mine and Hannah’s matebond being switched up stuck with me. What if he was right? What if I could have had a sweet mate who would have adored me and lovedlike I always dreamed of? How could it be possible for one single mistake to ruin so many lives? Hannah’s mate had not survived the rejection. It is the worst pain known to wolves. Omega’s are weaker and often they will die from the pain of rejection.

Yet Alpha Phill*p sat there with a straight face tellingthe she-wolf who caused our pack to lose a member. Making parents lose their only son over something as petty as a rank would be a better Luna than I would be. My anger was taking over, and I needed to get these emotions out before they would get the better of me. Willow hadn’t stopped fighting to take control and it would be better to shift if I was still in control. Our wolves tend to react more primal and I had no doubt she would go over to David and fight him the second I was no longer in control. Too upset with my parents I mindlinked Kate where I was going so that she would not worry forbefore shifting walking out into the forest, ‘to one of the empty tree trunks where we could

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keep our clothes after shifting.

After checking no one was there I shifted into my wolf form and just took off running. I’ve always loved running and it was the one thing I was better in because of my size. Being small made me faster and a lot more agile. I could outrun every wolf in my pack and most in the White Oak pack too. The feeling of the wind rushing through my fair, the wh *zing in my ears drowning all the other sounds out always madefeel peaceful. Feeling peaceful, calming down, and collecting myself was exactly what I needed now. The first few minutes it felt like someone was watching me. Once I got deeper in the forest the feeling faded so it must have been in my head. Everyone in my pack could followin this forest.

***

Sun was already setting, I had ignored every single family member that reached out toover the mindlink. Now my limbs were aching, I was hungry, thirsty, and honestly exhausted. When I finally reached the treetrunk where I stored my clothing. Hannah was waiting forwith her friends and brother. This tI would be in real danger, I was dead tired and hadn’t eaten all day. There was no way I could defend myself well, still, I took on a fighting stance. There was no way I would take their beating lying down.

In an instant, all five of them are on me, head-buttingand biting me. Scratchingwith their paws. I tried hitting them back with my paws. Bitingbut they were all overand I could not defend myself sufficiently. In the end, I had to stop fighting saving the last of my energy to get dressed and make my way home. The moment my b*dy grew limp they shifted and lefton my own. But not without grabbing my clothes so I had to make my way hn*ked. Meaning my parents would see my bruising, they would see what fate they had accepted forso willingly.

***

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My mother gasped the second I opened the front door, Kate and her mate ran to catch me, to stop me from falling over. Dad was growling about to shift when Daniel stopped him.

“This is what you allow to happen, she tried to protect all of us but this is what you’re letting them get away with”

Daniel has never screamed at either one of our parents, I was about to tell him not to but the second I opened my mouth blackness overtook

me.