Mated To The Hybrid

Chapter 5

*NICHOLAS P.O.V*

Even with all the shortcuts and backroads we use, it takes us three hours to get to Midnight Stone’s territory. I must admit, they’re almost as big as the royal pack or even William’s pack at that. After reaching the borders of their territory, we see rows and rows of wolves waiting for us. They all bow their heads as our vehicles pass through.

At twenty-six, I’m the oldest crown prince to have not received the king title yet. People blame it on my fathers ailing health but I knew better. He didn’t think I was ready, and he was right at first. After graduating from college at the age of twenty-one, I went straight to graduate school. Then I went on to travel throughout Asia and Europe. I spent time not only getting into flings but stirring up some controversies along the way. I had no one to blame but myself for my bad reputation.

“Sir, we’re here” Commander Reagan says, interrupting my thoughts.

I look outside the car window and see their commander and beta waiting to greet us.

Before we exit the vehicle, I turn to Reagan, “Thank you for coming commander”. He nods and we make our way out.

“Good morning Crown Prince” their commander says first, “I’m commander Elora”. She bows as we shake hands.

“Good morning Crown Prince” the beta says next, “I’m beta Uriel”. He too, bows as we shake hands.

I notice his hand shake is firm but polite. The sign of a respectable and loyal beta. I wonder if his son, Samuel, has a similar handshake.

“Lovely to meet you all” I tell them as they lead me into the mansion.

A beautiful modern mansion that’s being guarded by royal guards from my pack. I sent them on ahead before my arrival. A little trick I learned from my father. Even though it was a dirty trick, it allowed me to see the honesty of the pack. 

No celebration? , commander Reagan mind-links me.

No time to prepare. I sent the guards first and then the notice of our arrival, I tell commander Reagan.

He gives me the side-eye as I feel the judgement coming off from him.

It wasn’t on purpose. I just need a bit of transparency, I say defensively.

He nods and relaxes as we enter the Midnight Stone Pack Mansion.

“Good Afternoon, Crown Prince” Alpha Ian Harrington says before bowing.

“It’s an honor to have you today” Luna Catalina continues before bowing as well.

“Thank you. I’m grateful to be here with you all” I tell them both.

“Good Afternoon, I’m Felicity” A young girl says coming from behind her father. She gives me an exaggerated bow which makes me smile.

“Crown Prince, Welcome” says another man, “I’m the Gamma. Raymond” He bows.

I step aside to introduce my Reagan, “This is my commander, Reagan”. I tell them all as they greet each other.

“Do come in” Alpha Harrington tells me. We walk further into the mansion as I notice the warm feeling of everything. From the photos on the wall to the plants blooming all around. It feels like a place that even I would want to come home to. We continue walking when I notice a faint smell of something wonderful. The smell of wild flowers and citrus fruits hits me more as I continue walking. Sniffing the air around me, I can’t trace where this scent is from.

“Are you okay, sir?” Commander Reagan mind-links me.

“Do you smell that?”

He sniffs around and mind-links me again, “No Sir. I just smell fresh coffee and tea brewing”.

It must be me then. My mind must be playing tricks on me. I inhale and exhale a couple of times before heading inside the Alpha’s office.

“Do take a seat, Crown Prince” Ian Harrington says while sitting in the center. His wife sits next to him and the rest follow.

“Please” I take a seat to his left with Reagan sitting next to me, “Call me Nick”.

“How was your drive to Midnight Stone?” Luna Catalina asks. I realize her hazel hair and green eyes match those of her daughter, Valentina.

“It went great” I tell her with a smile. She relaxes and holds her husband’s hand.

“We’re sorry to hear about your father, King Frederick. How is he?” Beta Uriel asks concerned.

“He’s doing better these days. Thank you for asking” I say honestly.

They look between themselves and I know what they’re thinking. I didn’t come here to make small talk and they know it. As the future King, I would have to have these uncomfortable conversations.

“I’m actually here to talk about your daughter” I say calmly.

I wasn’t going to beat around the bush. I wanted to be straightforward with them. Luna Catalina looks at her husband with a concerned face but he seems unfazed.

“Which daughter?” He asks nonchalantly.

“The one engaged to William Davidson”

Even with all my cards on the table, he doesn’t flinch. Impressive. Most Alphas would have submitted and begin to unravel their stories but not him.

“Valentina. She’s our second oldest child” Luna Catalina answers.

“Maisie is the oldest right?” I ask and Luna Catalina nods, “With the youngest being the twins, Camila and Brandon?”.

“Yes, our kids are my biggest pride and joy” Alpha Harrington says with a smile.

After a couple of minutes of uncomfortable silence, there’s a knock on the door. The maids begin to bring in the coffee and bake goods. They bow before they set everything up. Everything from fresh croissants to sugar cookies are served.

“Everything looks delicious” I tell the maids.

“Thank you Crown Prince” an older maid tells me with a smile.

I nod and they all quickly leave.

“Sir” Beta Uriel speaks up, “You said you came here to talk about Valentina?”.

“Yes” I clear my throat before continuing, “I want to know about her”.

“Why?” Luna Catalina asks concerned, “I mean…has she done something wrong?”.

“Of course not. I honestly just want to know why we hadn’t heard about her”.

“She’s a pretty private girl” Gamma Raymond interjects, “She mostly keeps to herself”.

“She must be if even my father barely knows about her” I tell them.

“With all due respect, but why would the royals know about her? It’s not like the royals have been very engaging with the public”, Alpha Ian says defensively.

Ouch. Hurtful but very true. My father has mostly hosted dinners for wolves he considered important or of “higher caliber”. Which is why wolves were growing tired of not only of our policies but of us.

“Agreed” I finally say, “That’s all going to change when I’m given the title. I can’t undo my father and grandfather’s past but I can change for the future”.

Alpha Ian nods and then proceeds to smile, “I’m glad to hear that”.

“I just need to know if Valentina’s marriage to William will mean a merger between Silver Crescent Moon and Midnight Stone”.

“Of course not” Luna Catalina says with a slight chuckle, “It’s just a marriage. Plus we have the Shadow Hunters Pack between us”.

That’s right! A small pack called Shadow Hunters divides Silver Crescent Moon and Midnight Stone. I’ll have to remind Winston to schedule an appointment with them as well.

“I guess you’re right” I say with a light laugh. Their tight smiles reveal the tension in their faces. I don’t believe this marriage doesn’t have strings attached. Something else is going on but they obviously won’t say. Little by little I’ll gain their trust.

“Do you mind if we take a walk around?” I ask Alpha Ian.

“Of course” Alpha Ian says.

His Beta and Gamma are the first to leave his office, followed by the rest of us. We step outside and a couple of members are waiting nearby. I raise my hand for them to stop.

“No need. This is an informal visit” I say trying to ease them, “It’s very nice to meet all of you”.

They all smile and we continue walking around the pack. After forty minutes, we haven’t even walked through half of the territory. It’s all the chatter and laughs between us. They seem to have relaxed around me but not enough to spill their secrets. It won’t be that easy. A young man with curly black hair approaches us. A few inches shorter than me, he smiles brightly at all of us.

“Good afternoon, Crown Prince” the guy says while bowing.

“This is my son, Joshua” Gamma Raymond says with a prideful smile.

I extend my hand, “Nice to meet you”. He firmly shakes my hand and does the same with commander Reagan.

“How’s classes? Your father informed me that your studying finance”

“Yeah I am. I’m really enjoying my time at University” Josh says.

“That’s great. During my time, I really enjoyed playing tennis at school”

“I don’t think I have the movement for tennis” he says with a laugh.

“You should try it thought”

“Yeah, maybe” he says with a chuckle.

“Have you been doing internships yet?” I ask him.

He shakes his head, “Not yet. I was thinking of asking Alpha William if I could intern with his company”.

“Nonsense. You can start interning with my company as early as next week, if you want” I offer him.

His eyes grow big as I say this and his mouth falls open.

“Th-that’s not really-“

“I won’t take no for an answer” I say and continue walking.

The perks of being a royal is that I can feel the emotions of regular wolves including an Alpha. They’re just as surprised as I am but those words flew out of my mouth with a meaning. He seems like a good guy and his heart is in the right place. Which is why I can’t let him work with William. If he interns for William then he’ll be signing away his integrity, that I’m sure of.

“Thank you Sir” Josh says catching up to me. I nod and stop before a bed of roses.

“These are lovely” I say admiring the roses, “But they usually don’t survive this cold temperature”.

“Special roses” Josh says as he picks one out and hands it to me, “Immortalis Rosa. A gift from the coven of the Phoenix Warriors”.

“I didn’t know they got along with wolves” I tell him as I admire the rose in my hand.

“They don’t” he says with a smile, “They were a gift to Valentina”.

I arch my eyebrow at him in surprise. Magical roses as a gift from a coven who were notorious for hating wolves. Interesting…

“We should head back for lunch” Josh tells me. I nod and we walk back to where the others are.

“From what I’ve seen, this is a great pack” I tell them.

“Thank you Sir” Alpha Ian says.

“It really means a lot to us that you think this way” Beta Uriel tells me.

We head back to the mansion where my bodyguards greet us.

“Before I forget” I tell Alpha Ian. I reach into the inside pocket of my coat and pull out an envelope, “This is for Brandon and Camila”.

“Sir?” He says as he questions the envelope.

“It’s an invitation to my cousin Arielle’s 18th birthday party” I tell him.

He arches his eyebrow at me, “I didn’t know that they knew each other”.

“I didn’t either but she said she’d seen them at competitions and other school functions” I tell him.

“Yeah that makes sense” He says with a smile and puts the invitation inside his pocket.

“Will we be seeing you this Friday?” Luna Catalina asks.

“William and Valentina’s wedding?” I ask and she nods, “Unfortunately, no. I’m traveling all week long”.

“Oh” Is all she says with a slight disappointment in her voice.

“I believe my mother and aunt will be in attendance” I say.

“Wow, that will be amazing!” Luna Catalina says with excitement, “I’ve never met the Queen”.

I smile and we head inside where the maids bring us into the dinning hall. Everyone sits while Reagan and I fill in the empty chairs. After another hour passes, and we finally finish eating when the maids begin to serve us tea.

“Thank you for the delicious meal” I thank everyone this time.

“Of course” Luna Catalina responds while moving her tea, “It was a lovely surprise to have you here today”.

“I’m afraid I must get going now”

“So soon?” Beta Uriel’s wife speaks up now. I think I caught her name during our meal…Penelope was it? An average height petite brunette with a small smile. Between her and Beta Uriel, I wonder who Samuel looks like the most.

Wait…why did I care so much? I didn’t even know the guy. I mentally push these thoughts out of my head. I need to focus on my work rather than something that doesn’t concern me.

“I have a long way home” I say honestly. They nod and all walk me to the front door, “Thank you again, for having me”

“It was our pleasure” Luna Catalina says.

We all shake hands and say goodbye. Once out the door, Reagan and I walk to the entrance with our guards in front of us.

They’re truly great people, Reagan says through mind-link.

Yes, they are.

Are you really not going to Alpha William’s wedding?

No. You and I have more packs to visit. I trust that I can still count on your loyalty and discretion.

He nods in agreement and we enter our SUVs. We sit in the back while the driver and another guard start the GPS.

“Would you like the windows rolled down Sir?” The driver asks me.

“Not right now” I tell him while staring out the window. It’s moments like this that I’m glad the windows have extreme tint on them.

We’re thirty minutes into our drive when two Escalade vehicles approach us on the opposite direction.

“Those must be Alpha William’s cars” The guard up front tells us.

“What are they doing here?” I ask calmly.

“Should we stop them?” The driver asks.

Reagan turns to me while I contemplate this move. For whatever reason, something is telling me to stop those cars. It isn’t my wolf telling me to do this but a gut feeling.

“Sir?”

No, no, no. I have no reason to stop them. I won’t stop them. I won’t take that risk.

“Just keep driving” I tell the driver.

He nods and keeps the same speed. As the other cars pass by, I try to look into the backseats. But no luck. Like us, they also have extreme tint on their window.

I sigh and continue looking forward.

“Looks like they’re going to Midnight Stone”.

Resting my eyes, I lean back into my seat and think about everything that’s happened today. I needed more time to gain the wolves trust again. If I was going to bring change, I had to start by working on myself. Learning to trust myself and those around me.

“Sir?” Reagan’s voice suddenly interrupting my thoughts.

“Yeah?”

“Tamara Davidson showed up with her family”

Turning my attention to Reagan, I see him avoiding my eyes.

“What?!”

“Sir, they say the family showed up unexpectedly”

I try not growl when hearing this. The last thing I want to do after a long day is entertain those people.

“Step on the gas” I command the driver, “Let’s see what they want”.