Chapter 46: Finding Mate

Chapter 46: Finding Mate REED POV I knew it. The same damn speech, just a different day. "Have you found your mate yet?" "You know you can’t become King of Alphas without finding your Luna..." Blah. Blah. Blah. That’s the real reason he summoned me using his Alpha tone—his command, not a request. That tone left no room for refusal, not even for me, his only son, the heir. I felt it vibrate through my bones, forcing my feet to move toward him, even when every part of me wanted to run the opposite direction. I knew exactly what this was going to be. Another lecture. Another pressure-loaded conversation meant to shape me into the perfect ruler with the perfect mate and the perfect bloodline. And sure enough, the second I stepped into his chambers, he launched into it again— Plans for another Luna Feast. Another grand event calling together all the unmated she-wolves from every corner of the realm. All for me. All so I could "finally find the one fate carved from the moon for me." But my mind? Nowhere near his words. It was already occupied—consumed—by a certain someone. Someone I had no business thinking about. Someone forbidden. A male. A human. Goddess, help me. If my father ever found out about what I was doing... who I was doing it with... he wouldn’t just strip me of the title—I’d be disowned, exiled... maybe worse. Yet no matter how hard I tried to deny it, push it down, erase it— His scent still lingered on me. His touch was burned into my skin. And his voice... that frighten squeal everytime am close to him ... haunted me like a curse I couldn’t shake. I should’ve stayed away. I should’ve let it go. But fate has a twisted sense of humor. And I think I already made the mistake of wanting him far more than I should. Of course. He had to bring it up. He launched into his lecture the moment he remembered the last event—like I hadn’t heard it a hundred times already. But this time, his voice had that edge. That Alpha edge. The kind of tone that made lesser wolves drop to their knees. Apparently, I had "embarrassed the pack" the last time. Embarrassed.Yeah, right. Like it was my fault every damn she-alpha in the kingdom practically climbed over one another just to breathe the same air as me. What was I supposed to do? Ignore them?They threw themselves at me—flirty eyes, scent-heavy, practically begging for a mark.That’s what power does.And I radiate it. And yeah, I took what they offered. I’m not a saint. Never claimed to be.But did I promise love? Loyalty? A future?Hell no. Too bad for them—I wasn’t in it for a love story. I took what they offered. They gave themselves willingly. But affection? That wasn’t part of the deal. They made the mistake of thinking my body came with a promise. It didn’t. Yeah, I fucked them. But I didn’t choose any of them. So when the whispers started—about sweet nothings I supposedly said, of looks I never gave, of nights I never promised would mean anything—they turned on each other like feral dogs. It got messy. Real messy. One moment, they were circling me with soft touches and batting lashes, and the next? Claws out. Teeth bared. Screaming about betrayal and lies, each one swearing she was the one I had chosen. Delusional. I used them for what they gave me—nights of distraction, of release.But not connection. Not what I was searching for. And when they woke up marked with nothing more than the memory of my body, not my bite, they turned on each other. Screaming. Fighting.Accusations flying like claws."I was the one!""No, I was!""I felt the bond!""All lies!" They all thought they were chosen. That I whispered something only to them.The truth? I didn’t whisper. I fucked.And they all wanted to believe that meant more. So they tore each other apart in front of the royal council, making a bloodied, howling mess of the evening. And me?I walked out.Left my father to clean it all up.He invited them. I just played the part he wanted: the prized heir, the temptation, the fantasy.Maybe a little too well. To him, I disgraced the crown. I’d walked out of that chaos with a smirk, leaving my father to clean up the blood and broken pride. After all, he was the one who invited them. I just played my part as the guest of honor—too well, apparently. Or, as he so nicely put it, "disgracefully." Yeah, whatever. If he knew where my cravings really were now... If he even suspected who—or what—my wolf had started whispering about in the dark... The feast, the fights, the fury—none of it would compare to the hell that would break loose. Because it wasn’t some delicate she-wolf my instincts were chasing anymore.It wasn’t the scent of flowers or soft submission.It was something wilder. Wronger .Forbidden. A human.No—a human male.One with fire in their blood and defiance in their stare.One who shouldn’t have made my wolf stir the way it did.But my body and wolf didn’t care about tradition. About law.And certainly not about the king’s expectations. If my father ever found out—He wouldn’t just exile me. He’d tear him apart.And I’d lose the only thing that’s ever made this cursed life feel like it meant something. So I stay silent.Pretend.Play prince.While every part of me hungers for the one I can never claim... not without starting a war. I don’t even know when it started.The shift.The... change. One day, the she-wolves clawing for my attention were a mild annoyance—and the next, I couldn’t stand their scent.Their voices grated.Their touches made my skin crawl. Because suddenly—he was in my head.A human. A male. Everything I wasn’t supposed to want. Everything that should’ve repulsed me. But my wolf?It stirred.Every time he was near.Growled low and possessive at the thought of anyone else even looking at him.And my body... fuck, my body burned for him like it was starving. No other touch could satisfy.No other scent could calm the storm.Even in sleep, he was there—flickering behind my eyes, like a shadow I couldn’t chase away. My father cannot find out. Not about this... shift. Not about how I’ve changed. How now—suddenly—I’m not just into females. Not even male wolves. But him. A human. A male human. The worst kind of forbidden. He’s not pack. Not alpha-born. Not blessed by the moon goddess. He’s not even supposed to be on my radar, let alone in my bloodstream, haunting my thoughts like some unshakable fever. And yet, here I am. My wolf paces like a caged beast whenever I catch a glimpse of him. It doesn’t care that he’s human. Doesn’t care that I’m a future alpha, heir to a kingdom that would sooner burn him alive than let me near him. It only knows one thing: MINE. And that truth is poison. Because if my father ever catches wind of it... And gods, if my father even suspected... If he knew his heir—his alpha —was hung up on a male, not just any male, but a human? Not a she-wolf. Not a Luna candidate. Not a strategic alliance. But a forbidden obsession walking the academy halls with sharp eyes and a smart mouth. He’d lose his fucking mind. This wasn’t just about desire anymore. It was about control—losing it. My wolf was restless, snarling just under my skin every time I saw him. I couldn’t explain it. Didn’t want to. All I knew was... he wasn’t currently mine. And that fact alone made me feel like I was coming apart inside. He won’t just banish me. He’ll break me. He’ll make an example of him— Skin him, rip him limb from limb, and mount his head like some kind of trophy. So I’ll keep this secret buried deep. Smile like the obedient son. Sleep with the she-wolves thrown at me, if I have to. Play the part. Because no one can know the truth. ********** I waited it to end—braced myself—for the usual storm. The lecture. The disappointment. The barely-concealed rage about the disaster I left in my wake during the last Luna event. And sure enough, it came. My father’s voice like ice over steel as he talked about the upcoming one— yet another desperate attempt to throw eligible she-wolves at me, hoping that maybe this time, I’d act like the mature prince he wanted me to be. "If you can’t find your mate," he said, in that clipped, commanding tone of his, "then at least choose a suitable she-wolf. A selected mate. One with status, with power—someone worthy of the crown." On and on he went, reciting names like they were items on a royal menu. But I wasn’t listening anymore. Because I already knew where I’d be going the moment he let me walk out that door. I had something unfinished. Someone unfinished. I could already taste his scent on the tip of my tongue. Could already feel the way my pulse would spike just being near him. His voice, his body, the way his mouth parted when I got too close— It was driving me insane. And now, nothing—not even my father’s obsession with finding me a Luna—could stop me from going back to him. I needed to see him. To smell him. To touch him. And maybe, this time, I wouldn’t hold back.