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“Kaedyn, shift back so we could have a normal conversation,” my father says sternly as he pauses in the middle of the hallway, making me run into the backs of his legs, almost knocking him down. “I’m serious, Kaedyn. You need to shift back so we can speak.” My father’s wolf growls at the end of his statement, signifying exactly how serious he is at this point.
I shift back to my human form and run my hands roughly through my hair. “Okay dad let’s talk. What seems to be on your mind?” I’m exasperated with this whole thing. I knew since early yesterday when I first laid my eyes on Bella that she was mine. Now I’m being forced to wait for this ball to claim my mate before the entire kingdom.
My father raises his hand slowly. He goes from the ever-stoic king to smiling like a fool. “First off, I want to say congratulations on finding your mate,” he says with a smile and offers me his hand to shake, which I do promptly.
“Second, your mate’s parents are arriving soon, so we need to make sure that the archery range is in perfect condition as is their room in the west wing,” father says as he ticks off his fingers.
“Okay dad what else is on my list of things to do?” I tilt my head to the side, hoping that this list isn’t much longer.
“I’m sending your brother, your beta, and Alec with the girls when they go shopping to make sure that they are amply protected.” A growl escapes my lips, and father growls much louder.
“There will be no arguments over this assignment. Am I clear?” he says, forcefully pushing his dominance down on me. It’s not as effective as it used to be, but it still helps to get his point across.
“Understood, Dad all will be handled. I just wish I could go with the girls instead of my brother.” I sigh and kick at the tiny fuzzball on the carpet in the hallway.
Dad rests his palm on my shoulder and guides me down the hall the rest of the way. “I was in your shoes over thirty years ago when I first met your mother at the first betrothal ball.” He smiles reminiscing about when he met mom. “Back then, it was against the law for us to take mates from outside of our element. I watched Bella’s parents come together and their eyes glowed speaking the truth of their predestined union.” He looks back at me as he grips my shoulder tightly. “I already spoke to Bella’s father, and he expects her to take a mate from each element to unite all the packs.” Dad’s tone betrays how this news saddens him.
My eyebrows shoot up in shock at what my father just said. “You can’t be serious, Dad! How can they allow such a thing to happen?” I don’t know if I’m angry or upset that I’ll have three other males to contend with.
As we walk out the back door and on to the balcony, father sighs and nods in understanding. “As her first mate, it is your job to help her choose which element to go for next. My personal suggestion would be earth or fire.” I get ready to speak, but he raises his hand to silence me. “You need another powerful wolf at your side to help protect your mate.” He taps his index finger on his chin in deep thought. “I would suggest taking the mate from the Water Pack last.”
“Not to bring up a semi-sore subject, but you realize that the Water and the Fire Packs are borderline ready to go to war against each other?” I raise a brow, questioning my father. As king, I’m sure he’s aware of the strife between the two packs. He would have to be well informed of the happenings of the other packs. All I know is what I saw at the princes’ war games.
He leans his back against the rail of the balcony and looks at me. “I’m fully aware of the problems between the Water and the Fire Packs. It’s not because of the ruling adults, it’s more a feud between the sons, and it was all over a female,” Dad says with a bitter tone to his voice as he strokes his light blond beard in deep thought.
“Bella’s Dad is hoping for peace and unity if Bella takes a mate from each pack. Eventually, there will be no need for separate packs and no need for separate governments.” Dad laughs as he thinks about it all. “We will remain royals, but more equally divided.” Dad reaches into his pocket and pulls out a notepad and hands it over to me.
Taking the notepad from him, I look over the detailed plan stretched out along its pages. Grimshaw, Bella’s dad, sent a copy of his master plan to each of the alphas of the other four kingdoms. It aggravates me he’s sacrificing his only daughter to do this. Bella has no choice whether or not this task falls to her. My wolf is growing angrier the further we read into the details in the notebook. For one, just shortly after her birth, they abolished the old rules about packs not being able to intermarry. There’s already the first generation of cross-elemental children being born.
By the time I’m done reading through the notepad, I look up to find my father’s gone. Not exactly shocking, father gave me my marching orders and my directives that I need to complete for today. I descend the stone stairs, heading out to the archery field. Several of my pack mates are mowing the lawns and freshening up the targets. So far, everything is falling into place out here.
My next stop is the hunting woods close to the archery field. I see a delivery truck on the far field delivering new exotic game for us to hunt over the next few days. One of the big things as part of the betrothal ball is that each mate needs to prove that they are an expert hunter.
“Good morning young prince!” Hank says with a wave as he walks toward me with the bill of lading for today’s delivery.
“Hey Hank, did you bring us anything interesting today?” I smile broadly as I accept the bill of lading from him and look over the list of animals delivered. Several red stag, zebra, elk, and moose. None of these are native and are much larger than the normal prey for this area. I wonder which animal would impress Bella the most. We walk over to the trucks and trailers, peeking into each one at the animals.
“I hope they suit what you have in mind for tomorrow’s ball,” Hank says as he pats the side of the trailer that holds the stag.
“Oh, absolutely perfect. I wonder which one my mate will choose to hunt. Tonight, they send the females to hunt,” I say, staring at the animals before looking back to Hank.
Hank shakes his head and motions for his crew to release the animals. “I’m sure no matter which animal she chooses, you’ll be proud of her no matter what.” His smile broadens as he pats me on the shoulder and heads off to finish his task.
Standing back, I watch the various animals run deep into our woods. We have over four thousand fenced-in acres, so they don’t break loose into the general population. Four thousand acres is quite a large space if you think about it.
I can officially cross two of the major things off my list. Now on to my other project of carving myself a much better bow to present to my mate. Walking into the woods, I find what we call a dragon’s blood tree. It is the best wood to make a bow out of. Returning to the shed at the edge of the woods, I pull out a small hacksaw and walk back to the dragon’s blood tree. I cut it close to the base and drag it back with me toward the workshop.
Several hours have passed and I have the bark off the tree; and I have it carved down to the size and shape that I need. Carefully, I weave the wood into the press to give it its shape for when it dries and cures. Thankfully, we have a kiln specially heated just for curing the bows. I slide my design into the kiln and leave it for the next three hours while I go about the rest of my tasks for today.
I haven’t seen the girls all day, nor can I sense my sister. Clearly, they have not returned yet. I’ve already picked out my suit, tie and cufflinks for tonight. Father is making me wear my crown whether or not I want to. It’s part of my princely duty, so I’m told. I’ve sent my attendant out to the kiln to bring back my bow. He returns swiftly with it, and I see it’s cured beautifully. The wood is the color of dried blood, and I outlined the intricate carvings I’ve done in white. The only symbol I did not paint white is the wolf at the bottom of my bow in the same place Bella has her white wolf. That I painted black. I hope she appreciates the trouble I’ve gone through with upgrading the bow I’m giving her.
Not even twenty minutes before go time, the guests are all arriving for the girls’ hunt tonight. They have kept males and females separate up to this point, even with all the guests in attendance. I move out to the balcony next to my father, my mother and brother stand on the other side of him. Bella’s parents also stand on the balcony with us, overseeing this ancient tradition of ours. Glancing over at Bella’s parents the cold way they regard others falls in line with the perception of the Shadow Court. Cold, distant and calculating.
“Honored guests!” My father projects his voice across the backyard.
“Tonight, is the night of the great hunt where all the eligible she-wolves show how skilled of a hunter they are to their perspective mates.” Father raises his hand, and all the females shift at once. It’s easy to spot Bella and my sister Ari. Bella’s wolf is black as pitch and a nightmare on four paws. Her size dwarfs the other wolves around her. My little sister’s head barely reaches Bella’s shoulder. The rest of the females look around, sizing each other up.
The acrid scent of fear drifts up toward us as the other females stare at Bella’s wolf. Her eyes glow a brilliant emerald green. Her pupils were not visible, just the pure solid green fathomless orbs. She stares defiantly at the other females gathered looking down at each one of them, knowing that none of them are even the slightest threat to her. I can’t tell you how proud I am of my mate right now, holding her head high, for once proud of her lineages.
