Once A Princess, Now A Slave

10- Wolf Ranking

Kelsie’s POV

I bite my lower lip until the metallic taste of blood invades my tongue. My eyes are all on the beige cove ceiling of my room, contemplating what I should do next.

The supposed confrontation last night with my father ended up in a small meeting. I still can’t forget how he opened up about me needing to have a mate as soon as possible.

Finding a mate isn’t a tough job for me. But rejecting one is.

I need to reject Connor for me to find a new Alpha. If I am not mistaken, I couldn’t find one unless I already break the mate bond between me and Connor.

‘What are you saying?!’ Lycandra’s voice thundered inside my head.

I shut my eyes tightly. Her voice is way more high-pitched than my stepsister, ugh!

‘I told you. I will reject Connor—’

‘You’re making a wrong decision!’

I sigh. I understand what she is feeling. She’s my wolf. She-wolves tend to be loyal and submissive to their mates. I am indeed Connor’s mate, but I am also a human. Unlike Lycandra, I am not driven by my instincts.

But what if I rejected Connor and I wasn’t able to find a new mate? My stepsister will soon turn 18. What if she managed to find an alpha mate before me? Will my father decide that she will be the Luna of our pack?

“Arggghh!!!” I pull out my hair and kick my feet in the air. The newly changed bedsheets of the bed were removed as I roll over.

This is frustrating. If I’ll accept Connor as my mate, and my stepsister managed to find an alpha mate, then I will be a Beta’s wife for the rest of my life. Hell, no!

With my messy hair, I jolt up. I sat on the edge of my bed with my feet touching the warm carpet on the floor.

“I need to find an alpha mate!” I said with conviction.

My heart leap and I almost jump in my place when someone knocked on my door.

“Who’s there?!” I ask, slightly annoyed. I hate it when someone’s interrupting me in the middle of my talk with myself.

The door of my bedroom slowly opens and reveals a girl with her medium-length hair. Gia peeks her head and awkwardly smiled at me.

Out of all the omegas that are working here in the Alpha’s house, I can say that Gia is the only one who knows me more. She’s the only omega that I am talking to here in our house, hence, I unofficially picked her as my personal assistant.

“Uhhmm, Princess?” she says in a soft and gentle voice, careful to not offend me.

She knows I hate being bothered here in my personal space. And that’s what I like about her. She avoids doing what I do not like.

“Sorry for knocking. But Alpha Audig ordered me to call you in his office.”

She easily caught my attention. My back straightens at what she said.

“For what reasons?” I ask.

I am feeling anxious since the last time we talked. What is it that my father wants now?

“I have no idea, Princess Kelsie. My apologies,” she lowered her head and glued her eyes to the ground.

I sigh. “Alright. I’ll be there.”

She nods at me and turns her back. She was about to close the door between us when I remember something that I want to ask.

“Wait!” I called. Gia immediately turns her back to face me again.

“Yes, princess?”

“Did father call someone aside from me?” I ask.

“Not that I know, princess.”

My shoulder slumped. Right. How would she know?

I quickly stand on my feet and run towards my personal bathroom here inside my room. I do my morning routine and afterward, I rush out to go to my father’s office.

His office is just beside his room. I stopped in front of a mahogany door. I catch my breath and let out a harsh sigh before knocking.

I silently cleared my throat after making my presence known. When I opened the door, my eyes slightly widens on what welcomed me.

Father is sitting on his office chair in the middle of the room. On the other hand, Mr. Boris is sitting on the single sofa seat in front of my father. And lastly, Connor is sitting beside his father, also in the single sofa seat.

They all turned their heads in my direction. I gave every one of them a formal nod, including Connor, before completely getting in.

Connor looks serious but I can sense the annoyance on his face, which for the record, I have no idea why.

Is it because of my sudden presence? I know that even though he’s been nice to me these past few days, I am aware of how most werewolves herein our pack views me. And I couldn’t think of any reasons on why he is an exception.

“You’re here… come and have a sit, darling,” my father greeted. He motioned me to sit, but the only vacant seat is the long sofa at the back of the room.

I hate backseats. I always want to sit in front. For me, backseats are for people who are not important. And I am important!

Unconsciously, I pouted while staring at the long sofa seat.

Out of a sudden, the sound of a chair dragging its legs on the floor bounces on every corner of the room. I look at who made it and saw Connor standing from his seat.

He walks to the left side of the room, leans his back on the wall, and inserted his hands inside his pocket. He languidly looks at me and slightly tilts his head, non-verbally saying that I should seat.

“T-thanks!”

I can see on the side of my eye how my father threw alternative glances at me, Connor, and to Mr. Boris, and back to me.

D*mn it. I do not know why I stuttered. But is it just I or Connor is giving me weird vibes right now? He’s usually cocky and arrogant. I do not know why he seems so serious today.

I shrug off the thought away. I need to focus and listen to what this meeting is all about. My father knows I hate meetings. So, if he asked me to attend to this, then maybe it is something important.

“Father, why did you call me?” I asked.

“We just want to inform you about what we discussed with the elders and other higher-rank members.”

My brows furrowed. Oh, so they already had a meeting and just want to inform me about it. Great! This is what I liked—a summarized version of hours of talking.

“So, what is it all about?”

He leaned his back comfortably on his chair before speaking. He looked directly into my eyes. I cannot see anything but seriousness.

“You haven’t found your mate yet, right?” he asked.

“Y-Yes. I am still in search of him.”

Slightly true. I am indeed searching for an alpha mate.

He sighed.

“With that being said, we decided to change the wolf rankings…”

My forehead crumples. I am certain that a thin horizontal line on my head forms.

“Change the wolf rankings? Is that even possible?” I voiced out the question in my head.

“Yes. But to be fair, we won’t randomly appoint them…”

This got my attention. So, what are they planning?

“Everyone, including you, will have the training and at the same time, tests.”

“What kind of test?” This is intriguing to me.

“All members of our pack should prove that they are worthy of their ranks by passing the test on the ranking they belonged.”

I arch a brow. My father immediately noticed it so he continued.

“We just thought that wolves should be ranked according to their skills and abilities, and not on the family that they were born into. It means, by conducting this test, lower rank wolves can be in a high position, and it is possible for high-ranking wolves will be repositioned on the rank that best fits them.”

My jaw drops at what he said.

Is he serious?! If that’s the case, he will also fight?

“All positions will be shuffled, aside from the Alpha’s position.”

I do not know how, but I think Mr. Boris read my mind—

“And I did not read your mind, Kelsie. Not that I have the power. I just know how you think,” he smiled.

I let out an awkward chuckle. Am I that transparent in front of other people? Or people around me are just aware of how I act and think?

“In respect to your father, who served the pack for years, he will stay in his position, until someone is responsible enough to take it,” Mr. Boris added.

“So… what are your thoughts?” My father asked.

I thought about it for a second, composing my response in my mind.

“Then what about me? I am currently a scout, so it means I can be in a lower rank if I fail the tests?”

My father and Mr. Boris looked at each other. When my father’s gaze darted to me, he sighed.

“Fine, darling. We will tell you the real reason behind this sudden wolf ranking. But promise me you won’t tell everyone.”

“Not that I have someone to tell it. I know you have an idea of how I socialize with the pack, father.”

He nods. “And I personally want you to change that. You should socialize with them often.”

I shrug my shoulders, not wanting to talk about it.

“Alright. We planned this wolf ranking not only because the current system is unfair, but to also find a new Alpha.”

My jaw drops. “What?!”

“Again, I am not getting any younger, darling. Our pack needs an alpha.”

I am fully aware of his condition. But what’s with the sudden wolf ranking? Isn’t the Beta should replace the Alpha if he cannot already fulfill the duties of an Alpha?

I notice my father throwing glances at Mr. Boris and Connor. I saw how he looked at Connor longer than usual before turning to me.

“Boris doesn’t want to be an alpha simply because he’s the Beta. He also wants to give a fair chance to other werewolves.”

I nod. If there’s someone that I adore and respect aside from my father in this pack, it’s the Maccon family. I may not like Connor most of the time because he is friends with everyone, but I know that just like his father, he also has high principles.

I get that. But why did my father say to not tell everyone? I guess all werewolves will understand that whoever got the highest mark will be in the Alpha’s position.

I am already slowly grasping their idea when my father dropped something unexpectedly.

“And also, this is one good way to find your mate.”

“What?! Come again?” I asked with disbelief. What is this all about?

“Whoever got the highest mark in this test will be your mate.”

What does he mean?

“You’re the alpha’s daughter. The moon goddess won’t give you to anyone. Therefore, there’s a huge possibility that your mate is someone that is the strongest, wisest, most skilled in our pack.”

I bite my inner cheek to stop myself from throwing a tantrum.

But I do not want anyone in this pack. I and my father are the only ones that have Alpha blood. I want someone that has alpha blood! And that means I have to find my mate from other packs!

'Ugh, this is frustrating me!'

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Unedited. English is not my first language. My apologies for the grammar, sentence construction, and wrong spelling.

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Once A Princess, Now A Slave

By: Joanne Cristel

©2023