Alpha Lance

Chapter 12 - Team Alex

Alex’s POV

“You sure you want to become the latest conquest of the Jordanne empire?” My Beta Gavin asks me in disgust when I asked his opinion, and he holds nothing back. “I mean sure, the girl seems sweet enough, I suppose. But her mother? Yikes! During that shopping trip from hell she was ordering me about like she owned me, addressing me as Gamma half the time and boy the rest of the time. And what if Calliope’s sweet little princess persona is nothing but an act? I can’t imagine anyone’s apple falling far enough from the family tree to make her a good choice if you’re not fated to her. I suspect her true personality will come out just as soon as she’s no longer under her parent’s extremely strict thumb.”

“Those are all valid points. I’ll try to draw her out more and learn more about her personality on our picnic date tomorrow,” I promise my best friend, then turn to the other member of my team. “What do you think, George?”

“I agree with Gavin,” George claims shrewdly, which surprises me greatly at first. Gavin and George are very rarely in agreement. “You know she’s your triplet brother’s mate. Eventually she’s going to figure it out. It’ll create all sorts of problems and family drama for the rest of your life. Is that what you really want?”

“He’s got a point,” Gavin says, looking stunned at the admission.

“But if you’re looking for a biddable chosen mate with an impressive pedigree, my sister is smoking hot,” George continued as if Gavin hadn’t said anything. “And not only is Patricia available, but she has a major crush on you!”

“Eww! You actually consider your twin sister smoking hot?” Gavin says in disgust. “That’s kind of creepy and disgusting!”

“That, and I’m getting SO tired of she wolves throwing themselves at me so shamelessly,” I complain loudly, hoping word gets around to Patricia and her family via George to end her unwanted advances towards me. “I will NEVER be swayed by such desperate tactics such as sneaking into my bed or dressing and behaving like a slut. My future mate must be respectable and demure. The stakes are too high to have a Queen Luna who is the object of any gossip or rumor.”

George doesn’t look too happy about my declaration. But the fact is that Patricia is Gavin’s fated mate, although she doesn’t know it yet. Add to that fact that Patricia apparently finds her future mate to be annoying and instead keeps throwing herself at me instead has strained my relationship with my best friend. So hopefully if I must take a chosen mate soon, Patricia will drop her advances towards me like a hot potato, and maybe she will give Gavin half a chance.

By the end of the meeting I hadn’t been able to get either Gavin or George on board with the idea of me taking Princess Calliope as a chosen mate, but they said they would both support me and my chosen mate if it does happen. It’s not like I would have a lot of choice in the matter if it comes down to that.

The next day dawned pleasant, with daytime high temperatures expected to be in the mid 70’s, with a few scattered puffy white clouds dotting the sky. In other words, perfect picnic weather!

“You look very lovely today, Princess Calliope,” I complimented her as soon as she and her mother and gamma arrive at our meet up point. Then I kiss her hand in an old fashioned gentleman like way in greeting. I notice the mother daughter duo were dressed in similar floral gowns with beige jackets and hats. I bow politely to her mother. “Good afternoon, Queen Luna Allison. You are looking very lovely, as well.”

“Thank you, Lycan King Alex,” she says with a calculated smile. “It’s very kind of you to invite my daughter and I to this picnic.”

I hadn’t actually invited the mother, as she well knew. But I had anticipated this, and made sure the ‘picnic basket’ was filled with enough food for up to six hungry wolves. A picnic basket which was waiting for us at a picnic table within the garden that Gavin and a crew of omegas had already made comfortable for the occasion, along with cushioned seating, a large umbrella for shade, and some of the kingdom’s finest china, table linens, and crystal stemware. In other words this was to be an al fresco garden tea party designed for royalty.

And since Queen Luna Allison had seen fit to invite herself on our date, I sent a last second invitation to my own mother via mind link, which she readily accepted.

“Sorry I’m late,” mother apologizes upon arrival, about 10 minutes after we’ve reached the flower garden, dressed in a similar flowy flowered gown as Calliope and her mother, complete with a green jacket and matching hat. I’m guessing mom had anticipated the invite. “I thought we were all dining in the gazebo!”

“That must have been a miscommunication on my part,” I explain with a little white lie in order to smooth things over. “That was the back up plan, in case of rain. But the weather is fine, and now we are all here! Let’s enjoy the feast.”

Gavin instructs the omegas to unpack the picnic basket, and serve us. We start with little skewers of cheese, sausage cubes, and cherry tomatoes, as well as tiny gherkins and marinated vegetables. Then there is a variety of tiny sandwiches, such as egg and cress, salmon and cucumber, and deviled ham. For dessert there is berries with cream, scones, tiny lemon tartlets, and chocolate bon bons. To drink we have a choice of hot or iced tea, lemonade, or water flavored with cucumber, strawberries, and mint.

Thankfully Mom had insisted on dragging Queen Luna Allison off to one side of the table, “To chat about how the luna ceremony plans are coming along, and so the young lovers can get to know each other!”

I am so grateful for mom’s interference, or I might not have had a moment to get to know Calliope until after we’ve already been marked and mated!

“So, how are you liking Emerald Pack, Princess?” I ask as we nibble on lunch.

“I don’t know,” she says wistfully with a slight shrug of her shoulders. “I’ve hardly been let out of our guest suite to see any of it, have I? I may as well be at home where I have a little more freedom and I’m surrounded by my things.”

“Are you really unhappy here?” I inquire in concern.

“I suppose I am, but once we are mated mother claims I will be very happy,” She tells me. I notice she doesn’t exactly sound convinced. “Although, she also claimed it would be fun to plan the Queen Luna ceremony, but mom is the one planning the whole thing. Not me. So I’m not really sure if I can trust anything she says about our future mate bond either.”

“Call me crazy, but I…” I begin, but suddenly the princess interrupted me.

“OK, crazy butt!” She says, and giggles.

“Excuse me?” I say, taken aback for a second over the unexpected silly joke.

“Oh, sorry Alex. it’s just a game I play with my brothers,” she says, looking very embarrassed now.

“That’s OK,” I reassure her. “But I was about to suggest talking to your mom about how you feel.”

“I’ve tried many times, she’ll just call me her pet, and tell me how much fun I’m going to have,” she claims, looking downhearted as she then plops one of the salmon and cucumber sandwiches into her mouth. She chews while looking contemplative for some time before swallowing and continuing to talk. “What about you, though? Wouldn’t you rather find your fated mate than have a chosen mate foisted on you by my father?”

I can’t help but laugh ruefully at that question.