A Mate in Disguise

Damien

“It is your responsibility to protect this Kingdom, that includes taking a mate and securing heirs!” Prince Damien listened half-heartedly as his father continued to berate him for not taking a mate yet. “When I was your age, I had already been mated for five years! And you were already three years old!” The King continued his rant, his never ending comparisons between him and his son echoing against the palace walls.

Damien wanted a mate more than anything, but he wanted his fated mate; not some stranger. Already at age twenty five, most of the Lycans and werewolves had found their mates by now, but not him. He knew his mate was out there, he felt it with every fiber of his being. He knew she wasn’t a Lycan, none of the ladies of the palace had ever drawn his attention, which meant his mate was probably a werewolf. But how was he going to ever find her? There were twelve packs in the Kingdom, and each pack had between 500-1200 members each, and since Damien was the crown prince, he rarely had time to visit the packs. The odds definitely were not in his favor.

“Damien, are you even listening to me?” Damien looked up from the daze he was in to find his father staring at him, waiting for an answer to a question he did not hear.

“Of course father, go on,” he placated his father. The King let out a heavy sigh and pinched his brows between his fingers “Damien, I know you had hopes of meeting your fated mate, and of course I want that for you. But Crystal Spire is moving in on our northern border. We need an heir.” King Andre urged. Crystal Spire had been Damien’s mother's kingdom, because of this, they could try and stake a claim to the Bright Moon Kingdom by exploiting the relationship between the two kingdoms. Ever since Damien came of age, and he still hadn’t taken a mate, Crystal Spire inched closer and closer to their territory. The King sighed again, “I wish your mother was here. She would know what to say,” the King walked away, still feeling the pain of losing his mate.

The late Queen's father had been an ambassador, looking to secure alliances between kingdoms. He was the one who proposed the idea of hosting a grand ball, to bring both kingdoms together. It was that very ball that his parents met. For them, it was love at first sight. The two had been happily mated for years before the Queen passed during the birth of their second child, a princess, neither of them surviving. The King changed that day, his heart hardening, his anger only growing. Crystal Spire had demanded the Queen’s body be returned to her homeland, and when his father refused, a small war broke out between the two. Both kingdoms suffered heavy losses, and neither gained a thing. Damien chuckled darkly to himself, muttering “Maybe you should throw another party. I’m sure that will satisfy them for another few years.” Damien began to sit down on a bench on the terrace when an idea struck him, “That’s it! We will host a ball and invite every pack and it’s unmated wolves,” That was how Damien would have the opportunity to meet his mate! He hurriedly made his way through the palace, searching for his father when he found the king staring at a portrait of his wife.

“Father!” Damien started

“You have her eyes you know,” the King murmured softly “Her eyes were the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, like a storm at sea, powerful and strong.” Damien looked up at the woman before him with eyes that mirrored one another. His mother’s long dark hair falling in intricate braids down her back; a proud look on her face with a hint of a smirk on her lips.

“She was amazing,” Damien said gently to his father, noting the tears that lined the proud King's eyes. The King quickly wiped them away before turning to his son, clearing his throat “What was it you were saying?” Damien quickly regained his focus and proposed his idea.

“Father, we should host another ball. Like the one you met Mom at,” the King looked skeptically at his son.

“Damien, we are trying to keep Crystal Spire out of our land. Why the hell would we invite them in?” Damien shook his head and started again,

“No, I mean host a ball for our Kingdom. Invite the packs here and encourage them to bring their unmated wolves. It would present the perfect opportunity for me to find my mate.” The King pondered this for a moment, before countering,

“And what if you don’t find your mate? Then what?”

Damien hadn’t thought of that. He felt positive that the Goddess of the Night would mate him with someone he would actually have a chance to meet.

He must’ve taken too long to reply because the King had his own idea, “I’ll make you a deal, we will have the ball and invite everyone. If you find your fated mate, excellent. But if you don’t, you must choose a mate from those in attendance, or I will choose one for you.”

Damien panicked slightly at the thought of being forced into a bond with a complete stranger of his father’s choosing, but when he thought about finally meeting his fated mate, his heart soared.

“You have a deal! How about this upcoming weekend?” Damien knew that if he gave his father a short timeline, he wouldn’t have a chance to look up all the unmated she-wolves in each pack.

“The kitchen staff will hate us, but very well. Saturday is a full moon anyway and you know how the wolves get around that time.”

Lycans, as the creations of the Goddess of Night, did not hold the moon as highly as the werewolves did, but they still respected the moon; as she was the sister of their Goddess. Because of this the Lycans felt their most powerful at night, especially when the moon was full.

The King called for his head servant and told him to make all the arrangements and send out the invitations to each pack. As Damien watched his father walk away, spouting out orders, he smiled to himself..he was finally going to meet his mate!