Alpha Xander's Rebirth

Choosing A Mate

King Edward Ackerman DeCrux and his Queen Marie Jane DeCrux were the supreme ruler of all werewolves in the Moonlight Guardian Kingdom. They are currently looking for a suitable mate for their adorable six-year-old daughter whom the old sage predicted must choose a mate and get engaged before she reaches the age of ten or their kingdom will fall apart. This wasn't the first time the sage would make outrageous claims, but past experiences had taught the rulers to never take her words lightly. Because the princess was still so young and hadn't reached the age where she could easily recognize and identify her fated mate, the king and queen took it upon themselves to look into many prospective mates, some were as old as nineteen or older. The king knew they had to act fast, or they risk losing it all, everything they spent their lives building. Because there were so many packs scattered all over the world, it took a long time to arrange contests between the younger generations so that their parents would have no choice but to bring them over to the kingdom. The group of matchmakers arranged by the queen would then assess each potential heir and the final winner would be selected. Although they never revealed the real purpose of holding the absurd contests, some close acquaintances of the kingdom could guess the reason and thus warn others to train their future heirs to be on their best behavior when in the presence of their rulers to earn brownie points.

The princess didn't want to get introduced to so many annoying kids, all she wanted to do was read some more books from the library or sneak out of the palace when her guard wasn't looking. She had snuck out a few times before, but she never made it past the gates.

"Ria dear," called the queen, walking into the massive pink room befitting only royalty, she quickly took over combing through her daughter's lush hair from the maid. "You know why you have to be punctual to today's gathering, don't you?" The queen asked while combing through the hair gently. This contest was mandatory to ward off bad luck, and procure a safe future for her daughter and she would see to it that nothing went wrong. They had had no choice than to placate her from the start to keep attending, even if she finds it bothersome.

"Do I have to?" she grimanced without looking up from the book she was reading.

"Of course, it is of great importance that you attend," the queen insisted.

"But I don't want to, those boys are uncultured and annoying," she complained, finally dropping the book to look into her mother's eyes through the vanity mirror, as if to beg to be left alone, and although the queen almost gave in, she remembered she shouldn't.

"Just endure it for a little bit more, okay? After today, I promise you won't have to attend anymore if you don't want to."

"Forever?"

"Well, I don't know about that, but we will see." the queen chuckled and gave her a once over in appreciation.

"Can I be allowed to choose instead?" the princess's question puzzled the queen, not that they hadn't thought about letting her choose a future partner by herself, but they believed that she was too young to make the right choice, and any decision made now would affect the future of the kingdom. This was why she was required to meet the heirs briefly, all she had to do was stand in a corner of the ballroom and get introduced, each meeting never lasting more than a minute or two, so how could she possibly know who to chose from such interactions? "I thought you find them all annoying," her mother teased.

"Not everyone, Brian Osborne of the Mystic Moon isn't annoying," the princess said absent-mindedly before picking up her book again. The young alpha must have made quite an expression on the princess if she could remember his name and pack correctly.

"Huh, who is that?" the queen wanted to know. Maybe they had been going at this the wrong way. If the princess was allowed to choose someone of her liking from the start, wouldn't that save them the trouble of organizing such an elaborate and meaningless process? Tonight was the last ball before the final selection, but the princess had already picked whom she liked. Was it still necessary to go ahead with everything?

"Oh, he is well-mannered and also loved to read, just like me," The queen was astonished by this revelation. There was no way her daughter had already developed a crush on someone she had just met. When did they get acquainted with one another enough to know the likes and dislikes? With this realization comes a new sense of dread. What if this Brian is already too old? What if they found him lacking in anyway. She might have chosen him, but the final verdict lies in the sage. Would Ria accept it if the witch said the boy was unsuited?

"And you know this, how?" The queen asked, adjusting the bodice of her daughter's dress.

"You know, from talking with him for a bit,"

"I see you have already made your choice."

"Yes, but can I reject him if he gets annoying?" The queen was startled by this question. Why would the princess think about rejecting someone before even getting engaged?

"Okay, how about meeting with the rest heir before you settle for him?" the queen suggested, but Ria shook her head in disagreement.

"There is no need, I chose him."

"Very well then, I had better convey your request to your father," said the queen, and left to find her husband, who was already in the ballroom.

It might seem as though the queen was soft and easily gave in to her daughter's whims. After all, whatever decision she made here would affect the future of the kingdom. It had taken her long to conceive the princess and, since she was the sole heir of the entire kingdom, the queen made a promise to go to the end of the earth to satisfy her precious daughter.

The king looked bored from sitting and faking a smile every time someone stopped to greet him. He would prefer to be engaged in a physical brawl or settle disputes among his subjects, but he had no choice but to sit through it all.

"Slow down woman, is something wrong? Where is Ria?" The king asked when he saw his wife walking hastily towards him. He was worried for a minute and quickly looked behind her to make sure she wasn't being chased.

"Oh, everything is fine," she said with a smile, she could have told him all of this through the mind link, but Anne wanted to see the look on his face when she deliever the news.

"We don't need to hold any more balls after tonight," she said after catching her breath.

"What, why? What about the final selection?"

"No need, Ria has already found someone she liked," the queen said and watched as the king broke into his most charming smile, this was the look she was aiming to see when she rushed all the way here. People in the hall all caught the infectious reaction.

"This is great," he said, picking up the queen to spin her around and she laughed in delight, "Why didn't she say anything?"

"Maybe because we never asked," the queen chipped when he let her down again.

"Then there is no time to waste," he said excitedly, and turned to his second in command to dish out commands. "Bring me everything for the youngster the princess wanted, find out everything there is to know about his pack. I want all the information before the end of today"

"Yes, my lord," replied the big guy that was always like a shield beside the king.

"Let's make things official," the king declared and got off his throne, no need to endure.

Two days later, only the members of the Mystic Moon pack were allowed to remain in the palace to finish the process of the betrothal. The monarch was satisfied by their daughter's pick and even the sage said the princess might end up being his fated mate as they both had the same attributes. It was rare to find two wolves with similar attributes mating and if they did, then their bond would be unbreakable. It was also said that such love could withstand the trial of time and last a century. Because both pups were still too young to be together, both parents agreed to let them live as kids for a while, but with the constant reminder that they were already taken, they would also be allowed to visit each other occasionally to build a steady relationship with each other. Once they were of age, the proper mating process would take place and Brian would become the next king. Of course, he would have to go through all the necessary training for this, and he would need to work hard to merit the position.