Chapter 3

The sight before was a splendour, a feast for my hungry eyes. There were plates upon plates of various types of meats, eggs and dairy foods cooked in different ways and garnered in many spices and sauces. There were also vegetables and fruits, though less in quantity than the meat because werewolves were mostly carnivorous. Different pastries, noodles, rice and other staple foods were also plentiful, as well as sweet desserts. This was a magnificent sight for me, as I normally would've been lucky to eat something other than army rations. I would wolf down mountains of food if the circumstances allowed, but in this royal luncheon I could only nibble small bits of food at a time, pretending to be something I was definitely not: elegant.

The only thing good about this luncheon is the food, I decided glumly as I sat behind the long table in the Palace Dining Hall, and I can't even take that much of it.

I was so bored that I just wanted to ignore my manners and leave early, plates of food in hand. There were a million things I'd rather be doing than making small talk with random nobles and drowning in the constant hum of conversation. Suddenly, I heard a voice in my head.

"Meriam," Edwin called.

I looked to the front of the table and saw him staring at me.

"Edwin," I replied in my head.

"We need to talk."

"We are talking."

"I would prefer to talk face-to-face, but mindlink works too I guess. We need to talk about our mate bond. Should we accept each other? Should we tell our families?"

"If I accept you, it would mean I have to forsake my position as General, right?"

"Yes, but you'll get to be the Luna. Doesn't that trump General?"

I fell silent for a while.

"I don't know, Your Highness. I worked hard for the role of General. Plus, I want to be something great in my own right," I said honestly.

"Don't call me Your Highness. It feels too formal now that we have a mate bond. Just call me Edwin," he requested.

I smiled.

"Alright, Edwin."

"So um, what do you think?"

He sounded a bit nervous. He must want me as his mate. It was probably because of the mate bond. I had never even talked to him before, I was growing a liking of him too. However, I wasn't as enthusiastic and sure as him because I still had my position of General to consider. He won't lose his title as Crown Prince if we become mates, but I will lose the position of General.

"Give me a month to consider it. The Alpha isn't thinking of giving you a wife yet, right?" I requested at last.

"No, not yet. I asked him to wait until my 21st. I still held out a glimmer of hope that I would find my mate. Unlike my brother, who practically begged my father to let him marry Annabelle the day he turned 18. He must really love her."

I chuckled.

"I'll tell you in a month then?" I asked.

"In a month," he confirmed.

The next week was very busy and passed by quickly. I attended General Richmond's funeral, introduced myself and exchanged notes with the Lieutenant Generals, moved into Brentwood Manor, welcomed my family to Harridan and came up with my House colours. I hung a flag with my House colours, dark red and purple, at the front of my Manor and ordered dresses with those colours for formal occasions. My father was officially head of the family now. He didn't want to attend Court, though, because he knew nothing about politics as he had been a blacksmith from when he was twelve to when I was selected for the program. My oldest brother Ernest will represent my father and I at Court when he turns eighteen next year, as he's had more of an education.

On my one week anniversary at Harridan, a servant frantically woke me up in the early hours of the morning.

"The Alpha and Luna were killed and Prince Edwin and Princess Isabella fled the capital. Prince Hayden and Princess Annabelle are Alpha and Luna now," she reported.

I stared, wide-eyed, at the servant. Edwin was yelling at me through the mind link, so what she was saying must be true. I shut him out for now. I will help him later.

"How long ago was this?" I inquired urgently.

"Alpha Hayden claimed the throne around 10 minutes ago. I told you as soon as I was informed," she replied.

"Noted. Thank you for informing me. You're dismissed," I said.

She bowed, then left the room.

"Edwin, are you ok?" I asked through the mindlink.

A week ago I wouldn't have cared if Prince Edwin Ronald Belmont II was alright, but we had been talking a bit this past week, and we had gotten to know each other a lot more. I found that Edwin was sweet, gentlemanly, easy-going, caring, humorous and kind, which was a bit rare around these parts. He might be acting like this to charm me into accepting him, but I believed that he was really a good werewolf. I had begun to care about dear Ed a lot more.

"I'm fine, but I'm still fleeing from my brother. That bastard used the Alpha's Guard to kill mum and dad and take the throne," he replied.

Even though we haven't officially accepted each other as mates yet, the bond that allowed us to communicate in our heads also prevented us from lying to each other, so what Edwin was saying must be the truth. That was why Hayden married Annabelle so soon. Annabelle's father was Franklin Alden, the Captain of the Alpha's Guard. Hayden must've wanted to use him to kill his parents and Franklin must've agreed because, well, who doesn't want to be the Luna's father?

"Look, my House is small, new, weak and broke, so I'm in no position to openly rebel right now. However, I will secretly work to restore you to the throne while I pretend to be loyal to Hayden," I decided.

"Your House has sworn allegiance to House Richmond, and there's no way that Lord Nicodemus won't rebel."

"I wouldn't be so sure. Nicodemus is a careful man, and he'll be even more careful now that his brother is dead. If they rebel, I'll just break our allegiance to them to keep up the facade."

"Thank you for doing this for me, Meriam. I want to talk right now, but I have to find somewhere safe for my sister and I. Just remember to be careful with Hayden. I love you."

I sat on my bed, stunned. Did Edwin seriously say that he loved me? My heart fluttered and warmth spread to every cell in my body. I didn't know if it was just because of the mate bond or me. The mate bond makes you develop feelings for someone a lot faster, so maybe it was both. I shook myself out of my reverie, leapt out of bed, put on my army dress uniform and headed to my parents' room. They had to move out of Harridan so Hayden can't use them as leverage as easily. To my surprise, both of them were already awake, and mum was helping dad tie up his red and blue robes.

"What are you guys doing up?" I asked.

"The servants told us what happened. I'm getting your dad prepared to send condolences to the Alpha and whatnot because he is the head of the family," mum replied.

"That ol' pig kicked the bucket quite early. Serves 'im right, if ya ask me. I'm glad I'm not the damn king, though. I don't want my sons to look at me like I'm their next meal," he commented.

"Don't use that kind of language around the Alpha and Luna," my mum warned.

"Alrigh' alright," he grumbled.

My mum was a seamstress who sold her work to rich werewolves, so she was a bit more proper.

"Dad, I really appreciate you doing this, I really do, but you guys all need to leave the capital right now. The old Alpha didn't just die. He was murdered by his son Hayden, who has now claimed the throne. Hayden is a tyrant, and he'll use you guys as leverage against me. Don't let him. You, mum, Ernest and Emily carry what your wolves can carry, and Frederick will carry some things and ride on your wolf. Don't stop until you get to a random village that is very far away. Lay low, use fake names, and make sure no one knows who you really are," I commanded.

"But Harridan is on lockdown. There's no way anyone will get out in person or wolf form," Ernest argued as he walked up from behind me.

"Yes, I was just getting to that. There's a large forest to the north that spans out of the capital. One of the servants will be going with you. He'll show you where to go. Make sure no one sees you leave the manor though," I instructed.

"What about you?" mum asked.

"I'll stay in the capital and pretend to be loyal to Hayden while secretly doing what I can for Edwin, the rightful heir. I should've told you guys this earlier, but Edwin is my mate. I have to do what I can for him. We were planning to tell everyone later, but now it must be kept a secret. Don't worry about me. The best you can do for me now is to keep safe," I replied.

"My little girl, all grown up," mum murmured as she gently stroked my jet-black hair.

I studied her ivory-coloured face for a moment, memorising every detail. This might be the last time I ever see her. The last time I get to see any of my family. Conscious of time, I broke away from her comforting embrace.

"See you soon, guys. Remember to go into hiding as soon as possible," I farewelled.

"See ya, daughter. Remember to slap that ol' fat Lawson fer me. He never done nothing for us when he was in power," my father joked.

I smiled. My siblings said their farewells to me too, and I headed for the palace without any further delay.