The Princess and her Fated Mates

Honeysuckle

                              Colton’s POV

          “Are we there yet?” My younger brother said from the back seat. 

We were on our way to the royal territory to attend the King’s birthday.  It was also the birthday of five of his children.  There were going to be a lot of alphas there parading their daughters in hopes one of them wound up being Prince Malcolm’s mate.  Part of me hoped that my mate would be there.  I was tired of being alone and watching my friends and younger brother with their mates and pups. 

            “Still another hour, Eli,” I mumbled and glanced at my best friend, Derrick.  He was sitting in the passenger seat with his phone in his hand.  He was smiling at something.  “What’s got you all smily?”

            Derrick looked up and showed me the phone.  “Kels sent me a picture of Emmett covered in chocolate.”  He laughed. 

            I glanced at the phone to see my little nephew indeed covered in chocolate.  “That is pretty funny,” I said to him without a lot of enthusiasm.

            Derrick narrowed his eyes at me.  “What’s up your ass?”

            “Nothing,” I replied quickly. 

            “Right,” Derrick said, and I could practically hear his eyes rolling.  “Are you nervous about the big party? Like what will happen if you don’t find your mate.”

            I sighed heavily.  “Well, yeah.  I only have a few weeks before Dad names Wyatt, Alpha unless I find my mate.”

            “Well, as you said before, once your Dad is dead, you can always challenge Wyatt.  And we all know you would win, right Eli?” He asked my brother, who was looking at his own phone.

            Eli looked up with mild confusion.  “What?”

            “If Colton challenges Wyatt, he would win?” Derrick repeated.

            “Of course.  Wyatt sucks in a fight.  I beat him all of the time.  I think his mate could beat him,” Eli snorted.

            “Monique was a pretty badass fighter,” I mentioned, and Derrick scoffed.

            “My sister is still a badass fighter.  Wyatt is just an ass that won’t let her train,” Derrick explained.

            “She’s pregnant, though,” Eli pointed out.

            Derrick shifted in his seat. “Even before she was pregnant, Wyatt made her stop training.  It made my Dad really mad because he made sure both of his children were competent fighters.”

            “Do you want to find your mate, Colt?” Eli asked.

            I narrowed my eyes at him.  “Of course I do.  I am missing my other half, and the older I get, the more the pain of missing her gets stronger.”  I sighed because my wolf Denali has been restless more than usual the last few days leading up to this trip.  He keeps telling me that we are going to meet our mate soon.  I only hope so.  I would accept whoever she is, even an omega or a human.  I just want the woman made especially for me in my arms. 

            “I don’t know if I want a mate or not,” Eli shrugged.  “I like my freedom.”

            “You mean you want the freedom to screw whoever?” Derrick argued.  “Dude, I was like that until I met Kelsey.  Now I can’t think of anything else but her and Emmett.”

            Eli laughed.  “See, I don’t want to become a pile of mush over some chick.”

            A growl rolled out of Derrick.  “She is not some chick,” He looked ready to kill my brother.

            “Knock it off you, idiots.” I snarled.  I turned up the radio to drown them out.  The three of us fell into silence the rest of the way.  I was eager to get out of the damn car as it had been a long drive.  Denali was pacing in my head and whining.  ‘You shut up too,’ I snarked at him.

            ‘Mate,’ He whined.

            ‘You have been saying that for three days, Denali,’ I sighed.  ‘Is she going to be at the palace?’  Denali didn’t answer and retreated to the back of my mind. 

            After another hour of driving, the gate to the royal kingdom finally came into view.  My stomach rumbled as I had skipped breakfast and lunch.  I hate eating before a long car trip as it makes me queasy.  I pulled up to the gate, and a tall guard stepped towards the car.  He leaned down as I lowered the window.

            “Name and purpose for entry?” The guard asked in a monotone voice.

            “I am Colton Steele of Pine Hollow Pack.  I am here for the alpha meeting and the King’s birthday party.”  I handed him my paperwork. “I am also here in lieu of my father, Alpha Jarrod Steele, as he is too ill to attend.”

            The guard took the papers into his hands and looked over at Derrick.  “Who is riding with you?”

            I hooked a thumb at Derrick.  “Derrick Mason, son of Beta Owen Mason,” I indicated my brother.  “And Eli Steele, my youngest brother.”

            The guard nodded and stepped back into the guard shack.  I drummed my hands on the steering wheel.  Derrick let out a sharp whistle.  “Man, imagine having this fancy set up back home,” He remarked.

            “That’s one thing I’ll look into when I become Alpha,” I said to Derrick.  “Maybe not this fancy but better than what we have.”

            “What’s wrong with what we have?” Eli chimed in.

            “It’s outdated,” I replied to him as the guard approached the car.

            He handed me my papers and then a map.  He pointed to it.  “You three will be staying in dorm A. Your room assignment is on the back. The receptionist will give you the rules and itinerary. Have a good day gentlemen,” He managed a smile and then backed away.

            It took about fifteen minutes to drive to the palace.  The main palace stood out among the many buildings surrounding it.  I parked the car, and Derrick and Eli were immediately out and stretching.

            “Dude, I wish you would stop more often,” Derrick complained. “I feel like I am about to piss myself.”

            “You could have asked me to stop so you could pee,” I slapped his shoulder as I opened the trunk so we could grab our luggage.  We quickly made our way into the dorm.  Denali was still pacing and whining in my head.  I tried my best to ignore him.  We walked into the dorm and approached a desk where a grey-haired woman was reading. 

            She looked up at us and smiled softly.  “Gentlemen, may I help you?”

            “We were told to come here for the rules and itinerary,” I replied to her.

            “Is there a bathroom nearby?” Derrick squeaked out.

            The woman pointed down the hall. “First door on the right,” She didn’t finish her sentence before Derrick took off.  She laughed. “Long car ride?”

            I nodded, “Yes, ma’am.”

            She laughed again.  “You make me feel so old.”

            “Sorry,” I responded.

            “It’s all good,” She picked up a couple more papers and stood up and set them on the desk, and began to explain the rules.  “If you are hungry, there is a small lounge down the hall with vending machines, or you can go to the palace dining hall.  You are also free to go to any of the restaurants nearby.  The activity center is open to everyone and is open until midnight, and your room will be on the third floor.”

            “Room?” Eli chimed in.

            “Yes, it has four beds.  It's for our bachelor alphas who arrive with their betas and other pack members.” She told my brother. 

            I nudged Eli.  “It will be alright, dude.  I had to share a room with another alpha during training, and he was an ass.   At least you and Derrick are much better company,” I laughed. I looked at the woman, “Thank you.” I picked up the papers just as Derrick rejoined us.  We made our way up to our room.

            It was quite nice despite the two sets of bunk beds.  Eli hopped onto the top bunk of one.  “I’m sleeping here.”

            “Good,” I responded while taking the bed below it.  Besides the bunk beds, there was a sitting area with a couch and flat-screen TV with a fridge and a microwave.  There was also an ensuite bathroom. 

            “This is better than the room I was in during beta training,” Derrick took the bottom bunk of the other bunk bed. 

            “At least you had a better roommate,” I laughed.

            “Oh come on, Lance wasn’t that bad,” Derrick laughed.

            “He wasn’t bad. He was terrible.  Always going on about how much more superior Fire Moon is to other packs.  He even bragged that his pack was going to overtake Zephyr Moon as the top pack.” I snorted.

            “I’m starving,” Derrick held his stomach.  “Should we go to the palace or find a restaurant?”

            ‘Go to the palace,’ Denali whispered.

            “Denali wants to go to the palace,” I responded to Derrick.  “Besides, the palace has good grub.”

            We both stood up.  I looked over at Eli, who was doing something on his phone.  “Are you coming, Eli?”

            He shook his head. “I’ll eat later,” He replied.

            “Texting one of your hoes?” Derrick goaded him

            “Shut up, Derrick,” Eli snarled.

            I grabbed my friend’s shoulder and pulled him out of the room.  We walked out of the dorm and towards the palace.  The closer we got, the more Denali paced and whined.  It was giving me a headache.  ‘Dude, you are giving me a headache.’

            I was hit with the scent of honeysuckle as soon as I walked into the palace.  Denali began howling and urging me to follow it.  I looked at Derrick.  “I-I have to-“ I trailed off, and my best friend gave me a knowing nod.

            “Go find our Luna,” He patted my shoulder.

            I took off towards the scent.  It seemed to be everywhere and nowhere all at once.  Denali was demanding control so he could use his enhanced sense to find out, mate.  I pushed him back and kept following the scent.  I approached the elevators, and the smell was strongest there.  I started walking towards the elevators, not looking where I was going, and felt someone hit me. 

            “Ouch,” A female voice said, and I looked down to see a beautiful woman on the floor looking up at me, “Watch where you are going,” She said with anger.

            I held my hand out to her. “I am so sorry, miss,” I said as I pulled up to her feet.  The honeysuckle scent seemed to be coming from her, but looking into her eyes, Denali made no indication that she was our mate.

            “Luckily, you are cute,” She smiled at me as I looked into her brilliant blue eyes.  I couldn’t help but smile back.  “You have a nice smile,” she said with a flirty tone.

            “Again, I am sorry for running into you,” I told her and released her hand.

            She held out a hand, “I am Gracie, or well, I should introduce myself as Princess Grace.”

            My eyes widened.  Just my luck, I nearly injure a member of the royal family.  “Again, I am so sorry, your highness.”

            “What is your name?” She c****d a hip to ask me. 

            I tried to answer her, but my mouth felt dry.  I just stood there like a fish trying to breathe air. This beautiful female was clouding my mind.  She is not my mate, but she was making me feel something like it.

            “Okay, if you can’t remember, I will just call you ‘hot guy who ran me over’,” Princess Grace winked at me.

            “Gracie!” I noticed another female walking towards us.  I recognized her as Princess Piper.  I often hung out with her older brother Prince Malcolm when I was in training.  Sometimes I played basketball with them.

            The princess rolled her eyes.  “I’m coming Piper, hold your damn horses.” She looked at me.  “Sorry, I have to go, or my cousin is going to explode.”

             “My name is Colton,” I suddenly blurted out.

            Princess Grace smiled at me, and I felt my heart melt.  “Oh darn, and I liked my name for you better.  It was nice meeting you, Colton, or should I say it was nice running into you.”

            “Bye,” I waved as Princess Piper pulled Princess Grace away from me.  The honeysuckle scent faded with Grace.  ‘Are you sure that Princess Grace is not our mate?’ I asked my wolf while sniffing the air.  Honeysuckle was still everywhere but had been strongest near Princess Grace.

            Denali just whimpered in my head and retreated.

            Sighing, I turned to go down the hall towards the dining hall.  ‘Derrick, are you in the dining hall?’

            ‘Yeah,’ He replied.  ‘Did you find your mate?’

            I didn’t answer him. I walked into the dining hall and found Derrick sitting with Stephan Moore, the future alpha of Silver Crescent Pack. We had become friends during alpha training.

            “Colt!” Stephan stood up and gave me a bro hug. 

            Stephan was a year behind me, but we still sparred together and hung out with Prince Malcolm.  “Where is Malcolm? Isn’t he usually hanging with you?”

            Stephan shrugged. “I think the King has him working in the office today.”

            I nodded and then went to the order window at the other end of the room.  I was craving a giant burger and a huge pile of fries with a shake.  After getting my food, I sat with my friends. 

            “So, are you going to answer my question?” Derrick chimed in while my mouth was full of burger.

            I gave him a side-way gaze. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

            “She didn’t reject you, did she?” Derrick pressed.

            I growled at my friend.  “No,” I blurted out.  “No, I thought I smelled her and followed the scent, and then I wound up running into Princess Grace.  She had the scent on her, but Denali said she wasn’t my mate.”

            “Princess Grace isn’t eighteen yet,” Stephan pointed out. 

            “Yes, but alpha males can detect their mates before they turn eighteen.” Derrick pointed out.

            “I can smell my mate everywhere. It seems,” I remarked sadly.

            “Hmm, maybe she is an omega,” Derrick responded. “They are all over the place working.”

            “Your mate is an omega?” Stephan laughed loudly.  “That would suck.”

            I growled at him. “Shut up, dude,” I mumbled.  “I said I didn’t want to talk about it.”  I quickly finished eating while Derrick and Stephan chatted.  “Hey, where is Lance?”

            Stephan pursed his lips.  “Dungeons.”

            “No, seriously,” I laughed, and Stephan got a serious look on his face.  “Really? I brought back the CD he loaned me that I forgot I had.”

            “Well, he is not getting out of there anytime soon,” Stephan replied.  “He tried to assault Princess Daisy.”

            Hearing her name made my wolf purr again.  I had never met Daisy even though I hung out with her twin brother.  She always seemed to be between here and the vampire kingdom.  I had seen her from a distance and thought she was the most beautiful woman. 

            “Colton,” Derrick waved his hand in front of my eyes.  “Colton!”

            I smacked his hand. “What?”

            “You were  staring into space.” Derrick laughed.

            “Sorry, my mind is all over the place.” I stood up. “I am going back to the room to lie down.”

            “Do you want to come hang out in the activity center later?” Stephan asked. “Maybe shoot some pool?”

            “Sure,” I replied nonchalantly.  “I’ll see you guys.” Derrick started to get up. “You can stay if you want, Derrick.”

            “Cool,” Derrick remained seated. 

            I walked out of the dining hall and rushed outside.  The scent of honeysuckle hung in the air and started to drive my wolf nuts again.  ‘Dammit, Denali.  Just stop.’

            ‘I want my mate,’ He whined.

            ‘I know!’ I shouted at him.  ‘But giving me a headache isn’t helping.’

            He whined in protest and retreated into my head.  For an alpha wolf, he could be a real baby sometimes. 

            Ignoring the intoxicating scent, I practically ran back to my room.  Eli was still lying on his bunk, looking at his phone.  He looked up and grunted at me as I flopped onto my bed. 

            “Are you alright, bro?” He asked.

            I didn’t answer him and just buried my face in the pillow.  I just wanted to shut everyone and everything out for a few hours.  In no time, I was asleep and dreaming about chasing a white wolf through the forest.