1| CHAPTER ONE

1994 Words
CROWN PRINCE OWEN'S POV Do you know why Harrington Empire is well known as the kingdom of peace? Minutes would turn into hours and hours would turn into days or months or maybe even years if someone decides to tell the reason behind that. Although it is not ruling over the world, there are no empires or kingdoms like it. The founding Emperor of Harrington Empire strived from nothing, made a name for himself and turned a small, poor and common family name into a great empire. He fought his way to the top and made sure he stayed there until the day he died. Everyone knows how the other emperors that ruled after him managed to follow in his footsteps and that is one of the reasons why the empire is still standing. Of course, there are also many reasons why it is like that but one of the main reasons is that they have kept the traditions created by the founding emperor when he first took the throne. Everybody knows that every kingdom has numerous traditions and this one is a well-known tradition to ever exist in almost every kingdom but everyone knows that even students of the same teacher do things differently and they can not all be smart or dumb. There are always flaws everywhere in this world. What other kingdoms fail to understand is that no matter how many choices you have, you can still choose the one you were not supposed to choose, the one that would lead you to destruction one day. My kingdom is different, my great-great-great-grandfather made sure of that. I know people will say I am only saying that because it is my kingdom but people who know my kingdom will tell you that what I’m saying is the truth. I am Crown Prince Owen Christopher Jason Harrington of Harrington Empire, the next Alpha and Emperor of Harrington Empire. I’m a tribrid and I know most people think it is a blessing but it isn’t, not entirely. I know I am more powerful than all my age mates but what is the use? Being a tribrid comes with disadvantages. Even though I have werewolf powers, dragon powers and lycan powers, I also have all the weaknesses of a werewolf, a dragon and a lycan. You can also imagine having to listen to voices in my head every single day. Even though my wolf, lycan and dragon are living inside me and have been with me since I turned twelve, there is nothing like living in harmony there, they are always arguing and even though I block them most of the time, whenever they argue, I will get affected and sometimes I find myself having severe headaches. Ever since I was a child, I’ve always known that the day will come when I will have to choose the next Empress of Harrington Empire like it has always been. Just like every other kingdom, Harrington Empire also holds a contest where all eligible young ladies will compete against each other for a place in the Crown Prince’s heart. Even though werewolves, dragons and lycans have mates, a crown prince of our kingdom is always born without a mate. You can also put it like this, we have the ability to choose the person we want to spend our whole lives with, we choose our own mates. My great-great-great-grandfather made sure of that and everyone knows this, but it is not as easy as it looks. He asked the Moon Goddess to grant him only one wish in his life and she did: to deny us of a normal mate bond like everybody but also allow us to form that bond with the one person we think is worthy of our love and the position of an Empress. While other kingdoms choose a woman based on how she can help the prince with ruling the kingdom when the time comes, our kingdom believes in love. I do not understand what the word means but I do know it is the most important thing when it comes to choosing the next Empress of our land. “You are the crown of Harrington Empire, but that doesn’t mean you must know everything.” I sometimes forget that my mother likes to say that. I also didn't realise I said that out loud. Whenever I’m alone, she always comes to keep me company. I am always grateful for that because she is a very busy woman and I don’t get to spend as much time with her as I want. Being an only child doesn’t help too. I always wish that my parents could give me a little brother or a little sister so that I can spend time with them. It would be nice. I’m not a loner per se but being a crown prince restricts me from lots of things, making friends is one of them. Even though I have my beta, it is not the same as having a best friend. I trust him with my life but I know he is not my friend. “It’s such a blessing to have you here in my chambers, mother.” I don’t even remember the last time I saw her here. We always have breakfast and dinner together but that’s about it. “I know I rarely come here and to be honest with you, I also hate it as much as you do but you have to understand that my life isn’t mine alone, it is also for the people of this empire.” Of course, I know that, it’s just I sometimes wish that everything would be different and we would be living normal lives. “If this empire was just for our pack, things would be easier but you know I’m not just a Luna, I’m an empress as well. I’m a wife, I’m also a mother so you can imagine. I’m only one person but I’m many things.” “Mother, you know I understand you and I don’t blame you for not being with me all the time. I'm glad you decided to visit me today. You know I'm always happy to have you here." I've always wondered if becoming an empress was something she aspired to when she was younger. Despite the fact that she was born a princess, she grew up in this town as a regular girl, unaware of her true nature. She discovered her true identity when she was picked for the royal contest, and her family took her with them and brought her back for the contest after seven years. "The ladies will be here from tomorrow until Sunday, and you will have the opportunity to meet them at dinner on Monday. How are you feeling? Do you think you're ready to meet them?" I always knew this day would come, but I'd be lying if I said I was ready. I have no idea what to expect; I've never met them because they were chosen by my father. "I'll be fine mother. What's there to be worried about? It's just 20 girls from this kingdom, not strangers." I just wish I didn't have to go through this. It's a tradition but still... I'm not disregarding my ancentors' decisions but I wish I wouldn't have to go through any of this. I wish I was like everyone else, I would go out like everybody and choose the girl I want to date or better yet, have a mate like a normal werewolf. "Sweetheart, I know you don't want any of this but you have to endure it. It is tradition and even if I wanted to change it, you know I wouldn't. "I know how this feels like, I was part of this before you were even born. You have to understand that this isn't just hard on you alone, some of those girls had no choice either. "I remember when your grandfather chose me to be one of the twenty girls for the competition, I wanted to refuse but I also knew I had no choice but to obey. "I wanted to run every single day, to go to a place where they wouldn't find me but my mother made me understand things I didn't understand. "Even though I didn't have a choice in the matter, I had a choice in marrying your father. I wasn't forced and no other girl has ever been forced to marry a prince before. "You are only allowed to marry if you have feelings for each other, not the other way around. I married your father because I loved him and he loved me back. "What I'm trying to say is that no one is going to force you into marrying someone you don't want to. Even though you didn't choose the participants, you will choose your wife and if you feel like you don't want any of them at the end of the competition, your father and I are not going to force you. "We will choose another twenty girls for you as per tradition until you are satisfied. We can hold as many competitions as you want, as long as you end up with the woman you love." I know all that but it doesn't change the fact that I'm not ready to meet them. What if I don't want any of them? Or what if I end up choosing the wrong person? I will never know. I don't even know how I'm supposed to behave with them. Being a prince of this land has deprived me of lots of things. I didn't even have a chance of dating before this and now I'm supposed to figure out how I should behave and handle these girls. "You don't have to worry about anything. I knew one of the girls' mother during the competition and if she is anything like her mother, you will love her." "Mother, you just told me that I have a choice in who I will marry but now you're telling me about your friend's daughter. You do understand what you're implying right?" "What? I'm just telling you that I knew her mother. I never even met her before and I don't even know what she looks like. All I'm saying is that if she is anything like her mother, you will like her. I'm not saying you should choose her." It is the same thing though. She is just not saying it directly. "I have a meeting in an hour, I have to go. Stop worrying too much about this, okay?" "I won't. Thank you for coming to see me today, I really appreciate it. I missed having you around." "I'm your mother, Owen. You should stop thanking me for things like that. I shouldn't be making a schedule for visiting my own son and you shouldn't be thanking your mother for visiting you." She smiled at me. "Bye honey." She left for her meeting and I was left alone in my chambers. I should be used to being alone considering the fact that I have always been living here alone but I'm not. I always wish that I had someone to keep me company, someone I would talk to any time I want. I wonder why I wasn't born a normal person, from a normal family. There's nothing I can do to change it though, I just have to accept and pray that I will have that person who will spend every single minute with me. Even though I have no idea what these girls look like and how their presence will affect my life, I have to be ready to meet them. One of those girls is going to be the woman I'm gonna live the rest of my life with. Someone I'm going to love, someone who's going to love me back. The woman I'm going to choose as mine. My mate.
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