Alpha Princes Hidden Mate

4- Missing sparks

Most of the time one tries so hard to organize and plan their life the way they wanted but life seems to be that mischievous child that would do the opposite of what was told to him. It could be unpredictable turbulence causing havoc when you are just starting to stand up from the previous hit. After his parents death, the one thing he looked forward to was meeting his wolf. Yes he had his siblings, his aunt and few others to support him but no one could compare to his counterpart. His wolf would complete him, would understand him and would be a constant companion in his life.

Alas, life happened again. He looked forward to the day he would turn fifteen and his wolf would make its first appearance. But the reality was far away from his dreams. He should have really learnt to expect the unexpected. 

At the night of his fourteenth birthday, right at the strike of twelve, Eros felt an immense pain coursing through his body and the next thing he knew was waking up in his wolf form. He saw the reflection of his midnight black wolf in a river. As a royal wolf, he expected to turn earlier than everyone else, but this early? Nevertheless he was happy and satisfied after a long time.

" Hello there. My name is Eros. What is your name wolf? " Eros said in his mind and waited to get a reply.

" Are you shy? Well I cannot keep calling you wolf, can I?"  Eros tried to joke but despair started to grow inside him. Although he still waited patiently. And then, he waited some more. 

Eros'  fifteenth birthday and then sixteenth birthday also came and went. He shifted into his midnight black wolf  every time he wanted without any hiccups but still could not communicate with his wolf. He could not even feel his wolf within. He never told anyone about this. And why should he? It was never a necessity as he could use all of his wolf senses, strengths and could mind link like everyone else without any problems. 

He should have known, nothing could be easy for him. He never felt his wolf, never heard his voice and  what irked him was that he didn't even know the name of his wolf!

Regardless, Eros started to accept this fact and then he partially shifted at the night of the Supreme Moon Tournament. He was already confused about the situation with his wolf and now he again felt havoc rising within him as he stared at the brown eyed beauty.

Though his face was devoid of any emotions, his insides were in turmoil. He could feel a part of him stirring deep within, squirming to get out of some invisible restraints, trying to tell him something. He couldn't help but stare at her, hypnotized. He noticed that the beauty in front of him was mirroring his expressions.

Couldn't she feel what I am feeling? Maybe it is just me or she is good at hiding her feelings too.

" Prince Eros this is my eldest pup and only daughter, Katherine. She is the best guardian in our kingdom, the one you have heard about ", said Alpha Jerome with pride in his voice and expression, bringing Eros back into the realm of reality.

" Oh, I thought you had a son Alpha Jerome "

" With due respect Prince Eros, are you one of those who cannot fathom a female to be high ranked? ", a sweet, polite but firm voice reached Eros' ears.

" No offence, Alpha daughter, Katherine. It was a surprise for me as well. I have never heard of an alpha female being born in the last century. In fact, I recall that the last known Alpha female documented was born in the 19th century, Alpha Elizabeth of Red moon pack. "

" Now, now Katherine, don't be the one with prejudices. " said Alpha Jerome, almost teasing his daughter.

" Sorry dad, sorry prince Eros. I am Katherine. It is nice to have you here. ", Katherine said while putting her hand forward towards Eros.

Eros didn't know what he thought would happen when he shook hands with Katherine but he could feel a semblance of disappointment. Begrudgingly, he knew what he hoped for. Somewhere deep, he wanted this stirring inside him to mean something, he wanted to feel the sparks on touching Katherine. The hope was too good to be true and there were no sparks flying, no electric feeling when their hands touched.

No, no she is not my mate. Then what the f*****g hell is this feeling. Something is definitely a miss here.

Eros almost frowned at that but kept himself in check at the last moment.

" Well honor is mine. It's not every time you get a chance to meet a female alpha. " Eros said with a charming smile on his face causing even Katherine to c***k her semblance and give a smile in return.

" Well, now that the pleasantries are done. Shall we go back to the issue at hand? "

With that statement of Alpha Jerome, they went back to discuss the problems at hand.

" So as I was saying the humans are no longer sending the purple moon seed that grows only on their territory. I am sure we all know how important that plant is for us as an antidote for wolfsbane and main ingredient for every healing solution for werewolves. "

" Why don't we start planting them artificially here on our own territory. I am sure we have some seeds still which would be helpful for that, Alpha Jerome " Beta supreme interjected.

" Katherine would be the better one to talk about this matter. She had been studying medicine since ten as part of her guardian duties. "

" Moonseed, especially the purple variety, is a very special flower. It is said to be the gift of the moon goddess given to the first werewolf pack which settled in the area of Ardor. The then Alpha's daughter who was just a three year old at that time found a pretty purple flower growing in the area they settled. While playing with it she accidently dropped it into the water tank of the pack. Many of their pack members got infected after drinking that water. It was then for the first time our species found something that could be deathly poisonous for us and today we know it as Wolfsbane. "

" I don't think we have time to waste on some childish fairytales. Get to the point, Alpha daughter or go and tell these stories to pups outside. " growled Eros, invading Katherine's personal space. His patience was on verge of breaking as he was unable to understand what was going on with his wolf. The mere presence of Katherine was making his emotions go haywire. This was also causing his beta and gamma to be on edge.

" Prince Eros, I don't think YOU understand that it is important to know just how everything went and how we can come to solutions for the problem. If you cannot be patient then maybe I should really take YOU to the class of pups I TEACH. " Katherine said calmly which stirred Eros more. 

He was just about to jump across the table when his Beta and Gamma caught him.

" I think we should continue this meeting tomorrow. " Alpha Jerome sensing the rising temperature within the four walls of the studies. The air felt heavy with the tension and it was wise to remove the high ranking wolves from each other's presence.

Eros kept on pacing back and forth inside his room grumbling and swearing under his breath.

" Can you stop wearing a hole inside the floor for goddess sakes! You are making me dizzy with all this back and forth, " snapped Gamma Supreme from his perched up position on the study table at the corner of the room besides the floor to ceiling window. This earned him a growl from Eros.

" I don't know what was happening and I didn't think " 

" And you never do think before you speak " Eros was cut by a firm and thick voice of the Beta supreme who was silently standing at the opposite side of gamma, on the other corner of the room with a tensed posture.

"Heyyy......It's not my fault. That damn girl was getting on my damn nerves"

" That doesn't give you the right to act out of line EROS! You cannot act out of character in front of everyone " growled beta standing straight up with a demanding posture.

" Geez, calm down. Still things are in our hands. Will just say that there were some issues back at the castle and adding the new issues, made me on edge and snap. No big deal "

" No of course not your highness! Not a big deal at all that we lost our chances to get to know more about Katherine and solve whatever is going on with her and this situation " mocked the gamma.

Eros just rolled his eyes at his gamma.

Only they are allowed to speak to me like that. If it would have been anyone else, they would have been six feet under. For the sake of moon goddess, they need to take a little chill. 

" I assure you, my charms and sweet talk will definitely win us some brownie points with her. " Eros took a deep breath and said in as serious a tone as he could muster up. But the little upwards twitch of his lips made it obvious of his real plans and intentions.

" f*****g keep it in your pants this time Eros. She is an Alpha female. It would do you good to remember that. Try to apologize. No not try, you have to apologize and maybe try to start over with her. " an exasperated gamma said in a somewhat pleading voice. 

" Yeah, yeah... whatever man. "

Katherine was humming while mixing the chocolate batter unaware of the intense gaze fixed on her. Eros leaned on the door frame of the kitchen door admiring the beauty who had been giving him emotional turmoil. Eros took a step inside the kitchen when a knife came flying at him. He quickly ducked and the knife lodged itself in the dining wall behind him. Just a few seconds delay and that sharp weapon would have been plunged in his head.

" There, there kitten, now is this a way to greet your future king " Eros mocked as he stride towards Katherine.

" There, there Prince, if you keep staring like that then future King will definitely be described as perv "

" Haa... Haaa....well can't blame me when such a beautiful site is in front of me, how could one control it? "

" So what brings you to the kitchen at this time? What about your beauty sleep? "

" Well how could I have a beauty sleep when there is a beauty upset with me? " Eros came a lot closer to Katherine while still maintaining the respectable distance between them. 

After all it was wise not to test waters when you were already in deep. 

Katherine rolled her eyes before going back to her brownies.

Ignoring her, Eros continued with his task.

" So I wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier. There was a lot going on and the situation just put me on edge. "

Katherine quickly turned, hearing Eros and the sincerity with which he was saying.

" You don't have to explain yourself, Eros. I completely understand what you were feeling. I am feeling that too. You just have to learn to control yourself. "

" I know " whispered Eros and took another tentative step towards her, observing her reaction, giving her a chance to back away from him. Though he would prefer if she wouldn't.

" So if you forgive me, would you go with me to dinner tomorrow? Just for you know, to start over " Eros said in a breathy deep voice.

" I would like that "

It had been a few days since Eros came to the Guardian Wolf pack and exactly five days from the night he took Katherine out for dinner. Since then they had been inseparable enjoying whatever time they had together. After the first bump, they felt connected to the level it felt like they have known each other all their lives. They were not mates but it sure felt like that.

Right at that moment, he was enjoying the walk in the garden behind the pack house as the warm sunlight made an appearance for a change.  As usual, Katherine huddled beside him bundled in warm clothes. They may be werewolves, the Alaskan winter could be harsh even for them. Silence prevailed between them as they gathered their thoughts and feelings from the past few days they had spent together. Only the sound of cold wind rushing past them, chiming of wind chimes that some of the pack members had put on the windows of the pack house and chirping of a few birds that enjoyed this cold weather could be heard. 

" I will be leaving for the Kingdom of Ardor tomorrow " Eros finally said, breaking the somewhat comfortable tranquility around them.

" I know "

" I don't know when I would be able to come here again, if at all "

" I know "

Eros stopped and turned towards Katherine. He took her small hands in his and tried to look for any emotions on her face. Though for the past couple of days they have come closer, created an undefined bond, still he found it difficult to read her facial expressions. He knew from personal experience that as an Alpha, she was also not habitual to this all.

Give me something to work here on Katherine and I promise to take whatever may it be.

I cannot give what you are looking for here, Eros even if I want to.

" Are we mates Rina " 

A sigh escaped Katherine's mouth as she tilted away from him and looked out towards rising white mountains.

" I cannot be your mate Prince Eros. I cannot be anyone's mate "

Eros was not sure if he heard her right. Within the next few seconds, he caught her upper arm and twisted her towards him. Though Katherine was a strong warrior she could not match Eros' strength and went crashing down into his chest with a small surprised gasp tumbling out of her frost bitten lips. Eros swiftly turned them around in a somewhat hidden corner of the pack house. Katherine found herself trapped between him and the wall. 

Eros looked into her eyes, trying to find any deception, any lie in them.

" Are you mocking me, Alpha daughter?!? "

Katherine flinched at the harsh cold words that spewed out of Eros' mouth. 

" I...." sighed Katherine looking everywhere but Eros. Eros could see the wheels churning in her mind, hesitation in her stance. He took the piece of hair that escaped her up do and twirled around his finger before pushing behind her ear. He didn't want to pressurize her but needed to know where to go from here, needed to know the direction to move towards.

After taking some time and gathering her thoughts, Katherine slightly twisted to reveal the side of her shoulder. Eros can see a slight mark in the form of the moon inside a circle. It was so faint, he was only able to detect it as he was standing so close to her.

" I am a born protector, Eros. I am destined to be alone, I am not given a mate, I am just born to protect someone who is going to play an important role in werewolf history. " pausing, she gave a glance at Eros. 

Sensing that she had more to say, Eros kept quiet, though he felt a little anger towards the moon goddess who had deprived such a beautiful creature a chance of true love. Although no one could deserve such an exquisite creature.

She found him listening to her without any judgement, just care and concern towards her.

" We have an ancient scroll passed down from previous Alphas describing this mark. It has appeared a few times in the history of our pack. Last one was fifty years ago. As our wolves are guardian wolves, the moon goddess selects one to give this highest honor. " 

Eros could see a how proud she was of what she was given

" This honor is bestowed upon a worthy wolf to protect someone very important, who would be at the core of change, a tool of goddess to bring back balance in our world. This time it is different, instead of this mark appearing at the age of eighteen, when we receive our wolf, I was born with it. "

" What does it mean, Rina "

" This means that something big is coming our way, Eros. Some huge change is about to happen and you are at the core of it all my prince. What we have been feeling, the bond which we feel is a protector bond. "

" So you are saying that you are my protector. I think you are mistaken. I don't need protection Rina "

There was an uncomfortable silence between them.  Eros could feel in his gut that the next thing that came out of her mouth would change everything. 

" I... I don't think I, we are your protector Eros. My wolf thinks that we are meant to protect someone close to you. Someone so close that your destinies are entwined together. I and my wolf feel in our bones that we are meant to protect your true mate Prince Eros. "