The Princess and her Fated Mates

The Ultimatum

Colton’s POV

I ran in my wolf form through the dark and thick woods chasing after the white wolf. Denali, my wolf, and I had spotted her by the river. She had the sweetest scent, and Denali knew she was the one. Every time we would get close to her, she would kick into high gear and disappear, but we always caught glimpses of her glowing white fur through the trees. The terrain began to rise, and we ran towards a cliff, and there she was standing proud. Denali yipped happily that he was finally going to catch her. Then she disappeared into thin air when a loud pounding sound shook the ground.

“Colt!” More pounding. “COLT!”

My dream faded as someone was pounding on the door of my room. “COLT!” It was my younger brother Wyatt. “Get up! Dad wants us in his office immediately!” He shouted.

I groaned and looked at the clock. It was nearly eight a.m. on a Saturday. I had just gotten back to my pack, Pine Hollow, yesterday. I had been at the royal palace for alpha training. I was due to become the Alpha of the pack next year when my father finally stepped down. The elders were pushing my father to step down due to an old injury that prevented him from fighting. Most of the time, he had to use a cane to walk. But he wanted me to have a Luna at my side before he stepped down. It had been three years since I had turned eighteen, and I still hadn’t found my mate. I had gone to mating balls thrown by the King and Queen and nothing.

“Are you up?” Wyatt shouted again from the other side of the door. “Dad is going to be pissed.”

“I’m up!” I snarled back and threw off my covers. “Never a dull moment around here,” I mumbled. I walked over to the door and opened it. Wyatt was dressed for business with his pregnant mate Monique at his side. “Tell Dad I’ll be right down.” I smiled at Monique before slamming the door in Wyatt’s face.

I was a little resentful that my younger brother found his mate the day of his birthday. Monique is the daughter of the beta, Owen, and sister of my best friend, Derrick. That put pressure on me to find my mate now. My great-great times ten grandfather made a rule that the next Alpha had to have a luna at his side before taking over. He believed that a luna strengthened the pack. I yearned for my mate, but I also believed I could run the pack without one.

I hurried into the bathroom to take a quick shower. Then I went into my closet to get something to wear. I liked dressing casually whenever I could, but my father hated it. He wanted me to represent myself as the future Alpha at all times. Sighing, I chose black slacks, a white button-up shirt, and a black jacket. I ran a comb through my shaggy brown hair. That was another thing my father hated. I liked the messy hair look, but of course, Alpha Jarrod didn’t. I sighed and combed my hair so it looked kept. I scratched my scruffy face. ‘I should shave so the old man doesn’t flip his lid.’ I mumbled to myself. I hadn’t seen my father when I got home last night, and he hadn’t seen me in months since I had been away.

Once dressed, I walked out of my room. The packhouse consisted of five stories. The top two floors were reserved for the alpha family. The third floor was the beta floor, and then the fourth floor was the gamma floor. The bottom floor and basement had rooms for unmated warriors and omegas. There were also meeting rooms, the dining hall, a couple of recreational rooms, and a large library. I spent a lot of time in the game room with my two best friends Derrick and Vance.

My best friend Derrick is the next in line for beta, and he had met his mate, Kelsey, right after his eighteenth birthday. She came from Zephyr Moon Pack, one of the strongest packs in the kingdom. Kelsey is the daughter of a warrior and is quite formidable herself. Right now, my father had her training the omegas and other weaker pack members. Kelsey and Derrick also had a year old son named Emmett.

As I ran down the stairs, I ran into Derrick and his family. Emmett grinned as soon as he saw me and began struggling to get out of his mother’s arms. “I swear my son loves you more than he loves me,” Derrick snorted.

I reached out and took Emmett into my arms. “Hey, little buddy. You remembered me.” I hadn’t seen the little bugger since I left for training. “Hey, Kels. How is training going?” I smiled at Kelsey.

Kelsey returned my smile. She did not look like a warrior with her 5’3” tall stature and her almost delicate-looking physique, but I have seen her throw down with males three times her size. Derrick says it's because of her red hair, and that makes her more fierce. “It’s going great, Colt. Your Dad is letting me train the teenagers now too.”

“They tried to intimidate her,” Derrick added. “But my Kels, of course, kicked their asses.”

“That’s awesome,” I replied to him.

‘COLTON STEELE!’ My father shouted in my head, and I jumped, causing Emmett to cry. I handed the pup back to Kelsey. ‘What, Dad?’

‘What part of I need you in the office immediately don’t you understand?’ He snarled.

‘I’m coming, Dad,’ I replied with irritation. I looked at my friends. “My father is having a fit.”

Derrick pursed his lips. “Have you seen him since you got back?”

“No, I got back late last night, so I didn’t see him,” I replied.

‘COLTON!’ My father shouted in my head again.

‘I’m coming!’ I shouted back. “I’ll see you guys later. Are you up for Call of Duty later?” I asked Derrick.

He shook his head. “Sorry, Kels and I are going to visit her parents at Zephyr Moon for a couple of days.”

“Oh darn. Maybe Vance can hang.” I waved and then ran down the stairs and towards my father’s office. As I approached, I nearly ran into my youngest brother Eli. “Dammit, Eli!”

“You ran into me, Colt!” He snarled. “Anyways, better get to the office before Dad explodes.”

I rolled my eyes and brushed past him, and made it to the office. I smoothed my clothes and then went to knock on the door. “Just get your ass in here, Colton,” My father snarled from the other side.

I opened the door and walked into the office. Wyatt and his mate Monique were seated in front of the desk while Dad’s beta Owen and gamma Allen were positioned against the wall.

“Sit, Colton,” My father ordered, and that’s when I looked at him. I nearly gasped at his appearance. He was pale and gaunt. He looked emaciated. His brown eyes were dull and lifeless.

Wordlessly, I sat in an empty chair beside my brother. I couldn’t believe how sick my Dad looked. “Dad, what the heck happened?”

My father eyed me. “I am going to cut to the chase, Colton. I am dying of cancer. It is a rare and serious strain and came on rather fast.”

“Werewolves don’t get cancer,” I said with shock.

My father took a deep breath. “They do if they lost their fated mate, son. Ever since your mother died, I haven’t been able to fend off injuries and illness like I used to,” He said sadly. My mother was killed by some vampires that were working with a demon a few years ago.

“So, how long do you have Dad?” I hated to ask.

He coughed. “The doctors don’t know. They are guessing no more than three months, which brings me to why we are here. As you know, the eldest son would be taking over as Alpha. But you don't have a mate yet. And our pack law states that you have to have your mate.”

“But this is an emergency,” I stated.

Dad coughed again. “It is. But at least one of my sons has found his mate and has an heir on the way,” He indicated Wyatt. My brother flashed me the smuggest smile he could muster. I wanted to punch him. “Colton, I do not doubt that you are ready to lead this pack. You have always scored well in training, and you have fought off your share of rogues and other threats. But the law stands.”

“What are you saying?”

My father took a deep breath. “Colton Oliver Steele, you have one month to find your mate, or I will be forced to name Wyatt as my successor.”

Anger boiled within me. “Dad!” I shouted and stood up. “Wyatt can’t be Alpha. He hasn’t trained nearly as hard as me. He has never been to classes or any of that s**t. Before he met Monique, all he did was a party.”

Wyatt snorted. “I kicked your ass in training, Colt.” He stood up and got in my face. “I am not the i***t you think I am. It's not my fault you failed to find a mate.”

With a roar, I punched my brother in the jaw, and he fell backward. I jumped on top of him and got a couple of punches in. “COLTON!” My father roared as both Owen and Allen jumped in to pull me off of my brother. His lips and nose were both bloodied. “Sit the f**k down!” My father pointed to the chair. Owen and Allen released me, and I sat down. Owen helped Wyatt to his feet. “For Goddess sakes, Colton.” He shook his head.

“Dad, I have worked my whole life to be the Alpha of this pack. How could you talk about handing it to Wyatt?” I pleaded.

My father sighed sadly. “Colton, you know the rules.”

“You are the Alpha, Dad. Change the rules.” I retorted. “I can still find my mate or choose one.”

“I wouldn’t recommend choosing one. A chosen mate will not make you nearly as strong as your fated one. Look, it's not hopeless. The King’s birthday is next week, and you know they always have a huge party. It is also the eighteenth birthday of Crown Prince Malcolm and Princess Daisy. A lot of alphas will be parading their daughters there, hoping they are mated to Prince Malcolm. So, hopefully, your mate will be at the party.”’

I folded my arms against my chest. “I doubt it.”

“If you can’t find your fated mate, then I will accept a chosen, Colton. Just make sure she is from strong bloodlines. That is all I ask,” My father explained. “One month, Colton.” He started coughing again, and it took him several minutes before he calmed. “That is all. I will be resting for the rest of the day.”

“Do you need help, Dad?” Wyatt asked, trying to kiss up.

“No, Wyatt. I have nurses that will attend to me.” He slowly stood up with the aide of Owen. “You boys go about your day. Don’t worry about me.”

I stood up and stepped towards the desk. “Do you need help up to your room?”

“No, Colt, it's fine.” He softened his tone. “The nurses will be here shortly, and they will wheel me up.”

“I got this, boys,” Owen added.

I walked out of the office as two very young and two beautiful blondes in nurse’s uniforms passed by. I raised an eyebrow as they went into the office. Wyatt walked out with Monique. He chuckled. “No wonder Dad wants to be alone with them,” He snorted.

Turning away from him, I decided to get some breakfast. I had a few seconds of peace before Wyatt slung his arm around my shoulder.

“I have no hard feelings about you sucker-punching me in the office,” He chuckled.

I pushed him away from me. “You deserved it.” I sneered at him. Wyatt and I have always been contentious around each other. Being the middle child, I guess he felt the need to show everyone how great he thought he was constantly.

“Whatever, bro,” Wyatt responded. “Hey, did you hear? Nikki and I are having a boy,” He rubbed his mate’s belly. She was about four months along. “We are naming him Keenan.”

“Congratulations,” I smiled at Nikki, and she smiled back.

“Thank you,” She said to me sweetly. How such a sweet girl got stuck with my asshole brother, I would never understand.

“Impending fatherhood feels great, bro. You should try it. Oh wait, you don’t have a mate,” He teased, and I felt like punching him again.

“Wyatt quit antagonizing your brother.” Monique pleaded with him.

My brother laughed. “We are brothers, Nikki. We tease each other.” He kissed his mate’s cheek. “Let’s go to the café. I don’t think I can stomach the crap the weekend omegas make.”

“Okay,” Monique replied.

“See ya, bro,” Wyatt saluted me and walked away with his mate.

‘He is going to run this pack to ruins,’ Denali snarled in my head.

‘That’s not going to happen, Denali,’ I replied to my wolf. ‘We are going to find our mate whether she is fated or not.’

He growled. ‘I only want my fated mate.’

‘But what if we don’t find her next week? That doesn’t give us much time. Dad is dying and about to give the pack to my dumbass brother. We can’t have that happen. We worked too hard to lose our title.’

‘We will find our true mate, Colton,’ Denali said to me. ‘Have patience.’

‘I have been patient for three years.’ I argued as my wolf retreated to the back of my head.

“Arguing with your wolf?” Eli said suddenly from behind, causing me to jump. He laughed. “Sorry.”

I turned to him. “Asshole, why are you sneaking up on me?”

“I wasn’t. I called you three times,” Eli laughed. “Hey, are you hungry? There might be some food leftover.”

I nodded. “Sure, lead the way,” I said to my youngest brother. He smiled and started towards the dining hall, and I followed behind. In my head, I was at war. I needed to find my mate or lose my title. I was determined not to let my hapless brother become Alpha. I would find my mate whether she was fated or not.