My Royal Mate

Far Away.

Morgan’s POV:

Werewolves were not obligated to go to college. However, those who had the opportunity to learn a trade or a profession were fully supported by our former Alpha and his Luna. They always thought that successful werewolves create successful packs, and our pack was one of the most successful packs in the Eastern Kingdom. And I was so proud of it.

If the families didn’t have the financial resources to send their pups to a prestigious school, and if they had a bright future in their academic scholastic, then Alpha John and Luna Gloria would sponsor them with a full scholarship. That is how much they invested in the wealth of our pack. Several werewolves in our community took advantage of this program, and some of them are now professionals contributing to the growth of our Kingdom.

As one of the strongest packs, we also have a wonderful trade school. Here, our students can learn about farming animals, agriculture, electricity, and construction — which are some of the biggest trades we deal with on a daily basis. We even get transfers from other packs that come here just for that. Marine engine mechanics is one of the biggest trades, and very few other packs offer that course. There is always a waiting list for that particular class. And their training is hard core.

Our pack is not only one of the strongest packs in the Eastern Kingdoms— it is also one of the wealthiest ones. Usher, my brother's best friend, took over the pack two years ago, and he was doing a hell of a job with all the trading systems. He has several contracts with multiple packs around us, and he also trades nationally and internationally. He had almost doubled the profits of the pack in such a short time. His work was not unnoticed. Alex mentioned our Alpha would possibly be getting an award, presented by the one and only King Khallowells.

Trading was one of Usher's fortes, and he had a team dedicated to that specific role. He and my brother had a business major, which contributed to his success. Well, Alex didn't get to finish his full certification due to the loss of our parents, but he was a great business administrator. So, it promoted the wealth of our pack significantly. They were the perfect pair. And together they had brought this pack to the apex of the marketing industry.

When Usher took over the pack, my brother was also sworn in as his Beta. My father had a very hard time after losing his precious mate. His soulmate. He became weaker and weaker each day. He was mourning the death of my mom for so long, that he lost focus. He was replaced by Beta Josh and then, when Usher took over the pack, my brother took over Josh's title. Alex is a magnificent Beta, and he would be willing to die for his Alpha. I doubt that he will die, though. He specializes in martial arts, and his combat skills are no match for anyone. Usher has said that Alex is a better fighter than he is.

The Beta position has its requirements and duties to be performed. He is the second in command in the whole pack, and serves as the Alpha’s right-hand werewolf. He is responsible for assisting the Alpha in making decisions and enforcing pack laws. Betas are usually the most trusted and loyal members of the pack. They are also responsible for training and mentoring the younger werewolves.

Alexander and Usher have been inseparable their whole lives. So, it not only made sense that Alex replaced our father's role as Beta, but it also made it easier to work together due to their elongated friendship history. I used to get jealous of Usher sometimes, because they spent more time together. I mean, they were like conjoined twins. Each other's shadows. But then I understood how blessed I was to have another brother. Except for when I got picked on by both of them. But together they were my shield and armor.

The two amigos also had another best friend—his name was Ryan. He joined our pack when he was nine years old and has been close to them ever since. I can't say he is as close as Alex and Usher are, but they are really good friends. Ryan is only a year older than me; two years younger than the guys, but he became the head of one of the warriors' divisions at the same time Usher took over.

He's brave and strong.

He is very handsome.

And he is also my boyfriend.

This is the part where Kira will be completely disappointed by me.

Ryan and I are not each other’s true mates—which makes it a little bit difficult, because I still have a fated mate out there. Somewhere I don't know. And I have my doubts about this true mate's existence, but Kira swears there is someone coming for us. I just secretly hope she's wrong about it.

My brother was not happy at all when he found out that I was dating his friend. Especially knowing it was Ryan. He was totally against it, and he still is. I mean, he loves Ryan and everything, but he wants me to wait for my Goddess-given mate. He wants me to find my true love. My true mate. He also believes in fairy tales and unbreakable bonds. My brother is a hopeless romantic.

But why did I choose to date Ryan?

He had a dream with our Moon Goddess the day he turned eighteen. She told him that his mate had died before she even met her wolf. It was common for our Goddess to appear in our dreams and grant us an opportunity to find a chosen mate. That is only if our mate had died before turning eighteen, or before we even met, and that was the case with Ryan. He had the green light to find a chosen mate, but did not get approval from her. I had to be very careful.

I had not been granted that permission.

I just felt lonely.

So, after Ryan was given a second chance to find love, he chose me. Alexander was very upset and almost got into a fist fight with my boyfriend when he learned that he had asked me to be his girlfriend with the sole intention of taking me as his chosen mate. My best friends and my elders were not pleased either, but I was old enough to make my own decisions. You would think. Right?

Ryan is an honorable man, and works hard to defend our borders from intruders — especially from rogues.

We hated rogues.

They only know how to steal, destroy, and cause damage.

They are murderers.

And soulless bastards who deserve death.

People have to understand that I am the least interested in finding my fated mate. If there was one, he would most likely be from another pack, and I WAS NOT willing to move to another pack. Ever!. Let alone to another kingdom far away from Alex. I waited to see if someone in my pack was my fated mate before I accepted to date Ryan, and no one ever came forward. So, it only meant that my mate was an outsider. Someone from a different pack.

I am almost twenty-one years old now, and we have had about five full moons since I turned eighteen. In our world, full moons happen every six months; and then there is a Blood Moon every three years. The full moon is supposed to pull you towards your mate if he or she is within the-bond distance, and that never happened to me.

Never.

I waited and waited when I was here in my pack.

Which led me to this decision.

And when I was in Europe, I was afraid of a full moon. I did not want my mate to be from that continent. That would have kept me away from my family forever. Luckily, it never happened. I celebrated after each full moon when my mate never showed up, and people wondered if I was crazy. I only wanted him to be from my own original pack.

There was no way that my mate had missed all those full moons. The funny thing is that I never felt the pull of our bond either. And even if he had ignored it— I would have gone out there to find him myself. I would have run straight into his arms. The mate bond is like a magnet. Which only proved my theory: if my Goddess-given mate was alive, then he belonged to a faraway pack or to another Kingdom.

Sorry, but I wasn't leaving my brother ever again. Not for a mate.

Ugh! He could even live on the other side of the world. That scared the s**t out of me.

That is the reason I decided to accept Ryan as my boyfriend. We have had a little crush on each other since I was about sixteen years old, but we decided to just remain friends until I was done with school. Besides being a hottie, Ryan was very respectful and polite. He was also very brave and strong. No wonder he was head of our border warriors. All the girls turned their heads in his direction and looked at him with desire. Not that I’m jealous. It’s good to know that he chose me among other she-wolves that were available.

The day I turned eighteen, and I shifted into my wolf in the presence of my brother and friends for the first time, I did not feel a mate-bond with Ryan. If the Moon Goddess had given me to him as a second chance mate, then I would have felt it. The sadness in his eyes broke my heart. He realized that the Moon Goddess had not paired me up with him, and that I had a mate who would come for me.

Well, almost three years later, and that mate has not showed up yet. He does not want me. He's clearly not looking for me. And I'm okay with that.

Ryan is much taller than me — I mean I am only five-feet-three-inches tall, and he is six-feet-two-inches. He is also very built—I mean, he works out and trains hard every freaking day. He was a distant cousin of Usher. Both had a lot of physical similarities. Except that our Alpha is stronger, and a little more built.

I know the Elders forming our council, and even our former Luna will disapprove of our relationship the moment we ask for their blessing. Even though it will not happen now. First, we need time to know each other as a couple. But the Elder's belief in fated mates is unfathomable and profound. My parents would definitely oppose this relationship as well, but I chose to do this so that I could stay here with my brother. Will that be a reasonable excuse?

I would embrace my fated mate if he was part of my pack. I would not hesitate to marry him and give him as many pups as he wanted; but there is no way in heaven that I will move away from my pack and leave my brother alone. Not again! Things may have been different if our parents were still alive — but they are not.

I am all Alex has.

I am the only blood family member. My dad was an orphan, so he never knew who his parents were or if he had any other connections. And mom knew her family, but she never spoke about them. She always said they had betrayed her and refused to mention their whereabouts, or anything related to them. We never pressed her about it. We respected her decision even though curiosity dug deep inside of us. If she did not want us to know about them, then we assumed she had valid reasons. The pain we saw in her eyes every time we brought up the subject made it clear to all of us. So we decided to leave it alone and never speak of it again.

Alex and I don't know if we have grandparents or aunts and uncles somewhere out there. We didn't know anything about her side of the family at all. I don't even have a clear understanding of where she came from. All I know is that she was not originally from this pack.

Her death left a void.

And just as if her death wasn't enough, eighteen months after my mom’s murder, our father went out to hunt, and he never came back. We never found his body to give him a proper burial. We only found a boot covered in his blood, and now we have an empty grave with an engraved tombstone. It has his name next to mom’s, with only one shoe inside of it.

My brother was devastated, and in a way, he felt guilty about his death. He felt responsible for letting him go hunt in the dense woods, knowing how depressed and weak he was. But he did it hoping he was finally coming around and adjusting to the loss of his mate. Anybody would have done the same thing. I know I would have let him go. I would even have encouraged him to get back to some of his normal routines.

The mate bond he had with mom was too strong and that was killing him slowly. He was broken beyond repair after his mate’s death. He would have passed regardless, so Alex is not to blame for his death. But how can I change my brother's mind? Now you may understand why I was so set on never leaving my brother. I was all he had, and he was all I had left.