The Forgotten Mate and The Alpha Prince

Chapter Nine – The Forgotten Mate and the Alpha Prince.

Chapter Nine – The Forgotten Mate and the Alpha Prince.

As the gravel crunched under the tires of the Range Rover, Asher blew out a breath. Lined up outside the door, awaiting the arrival were the omegas of the pack, formed up as if they were on an episode of Downton Abbey.

“I bet if we had turned up when we were supposed to, they would have all been dressed in matching brand-new uniforms.” James laughed.

“So, your Highness….” James continued, only for Asher to interrupt him.

“f**k off with that shite. It is going to be bad enough over the next few weeks with everyone simpering and smirking, bowing and just being weird, without you starting.” Asher shook his head.

“Oh look, here comes the Alpha and Luna, they put their best clothes on for you Asher.” Cheryl laughed.

“Don’t you start, Nana Cheryl,” Asher huffed.

“Let’s have a bet, see how long it takes one of them to ask if you have your crown with you.” Dr Andrew chuckled.

“Pups are not included in the bet, because the little girls always ask. It has to be an adult,” Asher declared.

“Okay, agreed. So, what are we betting?” Cheryl asked, giggling away in the back seat.

“If you win, then you get to take the piss and call me your Highness for the whole visit. If I win, then you lot eat first every mealtime, because you know they are going to serve me first.” Asher declared.

“Nope, not going to remember to call you your Highness, so if we win you score a bottle of Robin’s moonshine each. If YOU win, we will help you prank the Alpha and Luna, and take the blame,” James grinned.

“Deal, so I am going for within the first hour,” Asher grinned.

“I am going within half an hour,” James declared.

“Too soon, I reckon it will be at dinner with the pack,” Cheryl declared.

“I think before we even get into the packhouse,” Andrew placed his own bet.

Suddenly, a girl skidded beside the Luna, clearly dressed to impress, as Asher groaned.

“Here comes the daughter, they want to be your mate,” James laughed.

“Aw f**k, every time,” Asher growled. He hated that Alpha's and Luna’s paraded their offspring in front of him like they were some prize he should pick, even if they were not his fated mate.

“Well, smile and wave, Asher, smile and wave,” James laughed again as Asher shook his head.

“How much do you want to bet, that Luna cannot keep the look of disgust off her face, when I get out of the car, in my joggers and t-shirt,” Asher laughed.

“That is almost guaranteed to happen. She clearly thinks that things are supposed to be a certain way. I bet she had a field day when she met your Mam,” Cheryl giggled.

Asher chuckled, it was true, a lot of the traditional dressing Lunas when they first met the Queen were more than a little shocked at her punk mixed-with-rock outfits she loved to wear, most of them homemade and held together with safety pins.

Honey stood beside her mother, a sweet smile on her face as she excitedly awaited the prince to get out of his car. She had refused to wear any perfume, not wanting to mask any of her natural scent so that his wolf could instantly know she was his mate.

“What is taking him so long to get out of the car!” Qamar whispered whilst she kept the wide fake smile on her face.

Nobody answered, they all just stood waiting.

“He is probably displeased my omegas are not dressed correctly or have matching uniforms. This is a disaster,” Qamar continued to mutter under her breath.

“Oh, here he comes now, they are opening the door. Which one is he?” Honey asked.

“The taller one, with deep dark brown hair, you can feel his powerful aura from here,” Jabez said, slightly shaking under the intensity of the royal power that naturally emanated off Prince Asher.

Delta David arrived and stood behind Jabez, beside Beta Mike.

“Are those two sorted?” Jabez asked through his own fake smile.

“Yes, Eamon is going down now to guard them,” David informed him, omitting how his wolf had been compelled to follow Alisha’s orders, something that was deeply concerning to him. But, they were both locked in the safe room. Neither of the girls or Eamon knew the unlock code, so they were safely tucked away for now.

“Mummy, he is in joggers and a t-shirt. How inappropriate of him,” Honey huffed. When he was mated to her, she would insist he wear at least dress pants every day.

“But he is handsome Honey, look at him,” Qamar said, her mouth slightly open.

Honey had to admit, Prince Asher was more than just handsome, he was gorgeous, and with his powerful aura, he would make any girl weak at the knees. He was very tall, at around 6ft 7 inches, with muscles on his muscles, short dark brown almost black hair, a tattoo on his upper arm of a crescent moon, a wolf howling under it. However, she did not hear a word from Melody her wolf, in fact, it was almost like her stupid counterpart was bored and refused to even pay attention.

“Melody wake up, our mate is here,” Honey shouted internally at her wolf.

“Not our mate,” Melody yawned, then curled up and went back to sleep.

“What, well, I am choosing him as my mate, so get used to him.” Honey declared, almost stamping her foot. She was born to be queen, her mother had told her multiple times growing up, and she would be the perfect princess, irrespective of a silly mate bond or not.

Asher approached the pack house, a polite smile on his face, as he looked at the omega’s lined up, he walked over to them, greeting each one individually, and shaking their hands, making polite conversation. He came across an older Omega, who welcomed him with a bright smile.

“Your Highness, I have not seen you since you were a small pup, pulling the pigtails of Princess Phoenix in the Edensor pack.” Daphne smiled.

“I am so very happy you are here,” She continued.

“Oh wow, I must have been very small, I don’t remember it. Please, call me Asher.” Asher grinned at the omega, liking her instantly.

As he made his way up the steps to the Alpha and Luna, Max stirred, then suddenly began to growl in his head.

“I don’t like them,” Max growled.

“Calm down Max, you are going to overpower everyone. I don’t either, but we have to play the game. We will catch more flies with honey than we would with vinegar.” Asher responded.

“They are hiding something, Asher, and I don’t know what it is, but I seriously want to rip both their heads off. Talk to the omegas and find out what it is really like, without them two near us.” Max growled again.

“I will buddy, don’t worry, but now is not the time. Calm down, and play nice.” Asher reprimanded his wolf.

“Prince Asher, how wonderful of you to visit us. We are humbled by your presence, and so very pleased to see you. You do us a great honour,” Qamar began.

Asher groaned internally, the woman obviously thought she was on. Downton Abby talking like that.

“Who the hell talks like that!” James’ mind-link interrupted Asher’s exact same thoughts.

“Keep your wits about you, something is off. I can feel it, and so can Max. This pomp and ceremony is pure show, and a bid to distract from something. I just know it.” Asher linked back, to both James and Andrew. As Cheryl was human she could only link with her mate, but he knew Andrew would keep her in the loop.

“Please allow me the great privilege of introducing you to my daughter…”

Asher resisted the urge to sigh out loud, as the Luna pushed her sickly-sweet-smelling daughter before him. The smell was almost nauseating to him. He did not understand why he had such a violent negative reaction to it. Max growled in the back of his mind, as once again Asher told him to calm down.

Asher snapped his concentration back to the conversation, he did not even hear the girl’s name, and now he had the Luna and Alpha looking at him as if waiting for some sort of response.

“A little help here, I zoned out, what do they want?” Asher immediately linked with James.

“For you to say their daughter would make a fine mate. Oh, and possibly a great queen, giggle, giggle, giggle.” James sarcastically informed him of what Qamar said.

“I am sure whomever your daughter is mated with will be happy. As with all mates. However, there is only one queen and that is my mother. There is also only one future queen, and that will be my fated mate, and only, my fated mate.” Asher said, pushing a little of his royal tone into the sentence, just to make his point, that they were barking up the wrong tree, pushing this girl in front of him. It was better to be straight to the point, leaving no room for misunderstandings. He learned that the hard way a few times when visiting packs with his family.

“Ah, yes, of course your highness,” Alpha Jabez bowed.

“Shall we go inside then?” He continued, as Asher bowed his head in response.

Honey had never felt so humiliated in her life, stamping her foot like a petulant child, her face twisted with anger. She stormed into the packhouse behind the royal prince and his entourage.

“Don’t give up Honey, he will change his mind, you just have to win him over.” Qamar linked with her daughter, still determined to have the prince as her son-in-law.

“We are preparing some dinner for you now. Had we known you were going to arrive early for your visit we would have everything ready,” Qamar said.

“Thank you, but please, don’t trouble yourself Luna Qamar, whatever food the omegas have already prepared for the pack will be more than good enough,” Asher smiled.

“Well, you have had a long journey, your highness. Let me show you to your rooms, where you can freshen up before dinner.” Qamar smiled.

“Thank you,” Asher replied, he wanted away from this family as much as possible, and Max was still growling in his mind every time they spoke, which was more than a little bit annoying for him.

“I see you have brought your own omega. Will he be bringing up your luggage,” Jabez asked.

“This is James, one of the Crescent Moon warriors. This is Cheryl, and her mate, Dr. Andrew Keto.” Asher made the introductions, proving a point that an omega can be anything they want to be. After all, his sister is a Luna of a pack, but with an omega rank.

“Oh yes of course. I will have someone bring up your luggage for you,” Jabez stuttered slightly, following his mate as they led Asher up the stairs to the Alpha floor.

“I have put you in this room. It is quite pleasant, I am sure you will agree. It is just next door to Honey’s room. I have a further two rooms, on the second floor, for your staff,” Qamar said.

“They are my friends, not my staff,” Asher instantly responded, and resisted the urge to let out another groan at the Luna placing him in the room next to her daughters. It seemed the woman was not going to give up on her ambitions anytime soon.

“This room is lovely, however, I would much prefer to stay in close proximity to my pack members. I am sure you understand. Is there another room on the second floor I can use?” Asher smiled.

“Oh, well, yes, but it is just a small single, you will be much more comfortable here, your highness,” Qamar said.

“A small single will work just fine. Thank you for your understanding. This really is a lovely room.” Asher smiled again, not wanting to totally offend the woman.

Asher followed them down one floor, and to the smaller single room, and he let out a sigh of relief, happy to be away from the Alpha, who, as his mother had said in her notes, was p***y whipped, the Luna who was, as his father had put, a pain in the ass, and definitely away from their daughter.