Chapter 203

203 Chapter Two Hundred Three

Prince Drake went through the last half of the group without the hope of finding the one person that he was looking for. It was sad to those that realised the pain it was putting him through. The prince was supposed to get a mate soon if he was to let his father step down from the throne soon, but that was starting to prove a strenuous feat. An exhausting one at that... The girls no longer felt bad when their wolves didn’t confirm the existence of a mate bond between them.

From the prince’s mood and expression, it seemed he was sure there wasn’t even one amongst them that was the one he was looking for. A little hope still lit up once in a while, but it was all for nothing. After having heard the words from the prince, Alpha Lionel was more inclined to help him find what he was looking for, however, there seemed to be a predetermined conclusion to the search the prince was making.

As he reached the last female amongst the group of wolves that were below the age of eighteen, he spoke up, “Did you come here to find your mate or to confirm that she might not exist?” Lionel asked him.

“Did I mince words over the phone when I stated the purpose of my visit?” the prince answered him with a question and proceeded to the young girl that stood at the end of the line. This girl had grey eyes unlike the usual yellow and blue. When she noticed it was her turn, her eyes turned a bright amber so fast that the prince thought he might have imagined the colour of her eyes for a moment.

“No, you didn’t, but you can’t blame someone for not having trust in a phone conversation. There is no access to the mind link that way and lying is pretty easy since someone doesn’t have to look you straight in the eye,” he responded.

“I don’t know what you’re insinuating or at least, I would like to pretend I didn’t hear what you just said. I came here for two reasons. One was discussed over the phone and once I’m done checking with this last werewolf, that reason will be done with and we’ll be left with one other thing that I’d discussed with your father,” Drake said to him, walking over to the girl and staring her right in the eye.

“What was the other reason for your visit if you don’t mind enlightening me?” Lionel asked him eyeing the girl uncomfortably, “You don’t have to check her. She’s a runt that lacks the ability to even shift into her wolf. She won’t do a king much use in any situation.”

“Mates come in all forms. All you have to do is find them. They always have a way they compliment you in the least way you could ever expect,” he repeated.

“Oh, so I’ve heard. It’s phrases like that that make it the concept impossible to understand for unmated males like I,” the alpha responded.

.....

The prince went still and quiet as he stared into the female’s eyes. His wolf didn’t perk up anymore. The situation was the same as all the others. However, something was different about this one. Their wolves touched consciously and when they did, the prince’s wolf bowed to that of the girl before him. The same girl that had just been called a runt. Curiosity clawed its way into the prince, “What’s your name, girl?” the prince asked her.

“Madeline, your highness,” the girl responded quietly. She shook in the presence of the prince, however, he wasn’t fooled one bit. There was something about her wolf that was special. He made a quick mental note to ask about her before shaking out of his daze, “Well, Madeline, you’re the last one out of your whole pack... And you are not the one either,” he said to her.

The girl nodded in response, “Aren’t you disappointed?” he asked her.

“No, I’m not. You’re not going to find your mate here. I knew that to be the case the moment you arrived,” the girl responded.

“Madeline, that’s enough,” Lionel yelled at the girl, interrupting the prince’s response. The girl’s face turned into one of fear and she took several steps back.

“I’m sorry, alpha Lionel. I didn’t mean to...”

'

“You’re on kitchen duty today. Well, you already were, but now you’ll be serving the king himself as well as cooking the best dish you can think of for him. If he’s even a little bit displeased, then you will have failed your chance at atonement,” he responded.

When the girl was done apologizing profusely and gone, Lionel dismissed the rest of the pack and asked the quiet prince to follow him into the packhouse, “So you would rather feed me on the food of someone who you’ve just punished as a way to give them a chance at atonement. I don’t think I’ve seen that strategy of disciplining anywhere,” Drake finally spoke as they approached the dining hall. It was a large room, though not as large as what the prince was used to back at the palace.

The tables were made of one of the finest kinds of wood and made sturdy, well vanished and arranged into columns that Drake couldn’t put into order. Normally, he could tell where the king was meant to seat and where the rest of the pack members would sit, but he was at a loss this time. There was no distinction in this hall whatsoever.

“Well, it is a technique that my father devised to allow the pack to grow. When someone does something wrong, they are challenged to do something from one of their talents that’s challenging and if they manage to pull it off, they are dismissed with a mere slap on the wrist, however, if they don’t manage to succeed, they are given any manner of punishment that the alpha deems fair,” Lionel explained.

Drake thought through the methods of the alpha, “That’s some serious out-of-the-box thinking,” he groaned, “Going through all that to have his pack produce talented werewolves.”

“Well, yeah... the way of life in the Golden Moon pack is a peaceful one that allows us to be closer to nature, however, everyone here has got a dream of their own and if there is anything the alpha can do to help them achieve it, then they will do their best to do so. Anyone without such ambitions is put into a series of tests that help them find what they are good at naturally. We call it the Selection,” Lionel continued explaining.

“Does someone like you get to take the Selection?” Drake asked him as they took random seats at one of the middle long tables. Some of the pack warriors that followed him about took seats on other tables and left the prince and the alpha to their conversations.

“Well, with a system like that in place, you could never run out of a variety of people. I bet you have amazing healers and craftsmen. However, does that mean you’re low on pack warriors?” Drake asked.

“Not really... for those that are found to have clear fighting prowess or at least reasonable potential for greatness in defence when it comes to fighting aside from the talent that would have been revealed in the Selection, a minimum time of training is required every day to keep them in fighting shape. Only wolves that can’t fight at all like Madeline are exempted from this rule,” he continued.

“I see... When is it that we shall...”

“If it isn’t Prince Drake himself?” a feminine voice called out from the entrance of the dining hall.

One look at the door revealed a beautiful girl in a blue dress that only barely hugged her body, falling elegantly to the ground and giving her an entrance worthy of a queen. Her red eyes accented the power she emanated through her elegant gait towards them at the table.

It’s been a while, alpha Claire,” Drake greeted her.

“Oh, yes, it has been a while. I was only tending to the gardens when I heard we were in the presence of royalty. My brother was never one for communication when it came to these kinds of things,” she explained herself.

“No need to explain. I would have only thought you were out on important matters that needed your attention, so there is no harm in being late,” Drake waved her off.

She took a seat beside her brother, “You are too kind, your highness. Unfortunately, all I know of your visit are rumours about you coming here to seek your mate? Would it really be the cause for your arrival...” she asked.

Lionel hid the annoyance in his heart, for he had sent out a strict order that everyone be present when the prince arrived. However, his sister had ignored his orders... as she always did and was now making the smooth lies she made when their father was around. Thankfully, she was never doing anything too dangerous to cost her brother anything. The potential to slip away scared her brother more than anything else though.

“Yes, I did come for that exact reason, but that’s not the only reason I came. It’s already clear to me that the search for my mate is not going to be an easy one and I wouldn’t have come at all if there wasn’t a bigger chance of me finding her or something else that could help me find her,” the mention of this got the two alphas to gasp.

“That method is a secret that...”

“Oh, relax, I’ve already spoken to your father on the matter. He reacted just like you did the first time I mentioned it to him. However, my information sources are not wrong and I know what I’m saying is true. Your faces show it all. Anyway, he accepted... to help the kingdom of Sirius keep flourishing,” he replied.

“Where did you get that information? You’re not supposed to know anything about her,” Claire was furious.

The prince sighed, “I know of the reasons you keep the Seeker a secret and I will do nothing to expose her existence. If I’m to make a guess... It was the last girl I checked, wasn’t it? What was her name, now... Madeline, was it?” alpha Claire lost her composed face for a moment to the restraints of fear while Lionel got even angrier.

“What if she is?” he asked him, dangerously.

“Then I would like to ask her about my mate. As I said, I only came because there was a way this pack could help me find her. I have checked more than half the packs on this world and none of them had the person I was looking for. Your father already said yes to the idea. You two are all I have left to convince. I want the Seeker to tell me what I wish to know... For the future of the Sirius kingdom.”

The two of them calmed down for the moment, “What about the other thing...” Lionel asked him.

“Huh, what other thing?” Drake was now confused. Picking up the pieces, he realised there must have been another reason for someone to come looking for the Seeker, “Wait, is there a reason other than searching for mates that the Seeker could bring a wolf to this pack?”

“There is one other thing... I’m guessing you’ve never heard of it, so I will leave you clueless about that point,” Lionel responded.

“Oh come on, Lionel. He will only go and look for the information. The rich kings have all the money and resources to get such answers in the blink of an eye,” Claire shrugged.

“Yeah, I tend to forget that. Very well then...since he didn’t come with that many guards and has no time to change his plans, I’ll let him in on a secret only if he promises to keep it to himself and never come here for that same reason,” Lionel formulated the contract.

“Now you have me highly curious. You have my word,” Drake responded.

“Well, the Seeker... as the title goes, has the power to locate the Origin...”