"Mia I don't wanna! I don't wanna do this! Save me! Please!"

My pleas fell onto deaf ears. Mia just chuckles and continues braiding my hair.

I clutch my scepter, hoping to find comfort in it's coolness.

"Now for your makeup." Mia says excitedly.

I jump up from my seat and vigorously shake my head.

No way! I hate makeup!

Mia sighs and fixes up my dress instead.

I wanted to wear my comfortable ballet flats, but Mia made me pick a pair of light blue slippers.

My dress is a turquoise colour. Thankfully, Mia chose a simple cotton fabric dress with short sleeves and tiny pearls randomly placed here and there.

I also decide to wear long blue gloves that ended above my elbows.

Mia carefully places the silver coloured tiara from yesterday on my head and drapes the sash around my torso.

I examine myself in the mirror, then slap on a fresh layer of cherry lip gloss.

"Are you ready to find your mate?" Mia asks.

As I nod my head, Darcy pops up on the window seat. She climbs off and walks over to me.

"Hi Alpha Mia! Damn, princess, you'll be turning heads everywhere you go! Let me just..." She flicks her wrist and her fingers glow for milliseconds.

"Now look!" She hurries over, almost tripping over her own knee-length floral dress. "I was at the coven dinner, I excused myself to go to the ladies room, that's why."

I nod then look at myself in the mirror.

My eyes look bigger thanks to the mascara and eyeliner. A light blush was added to my cheeks and my braid had little flowers in it.

"Go knock em dead, princess." Darcy winks before teleporting away.

"Let's head off to the guest Hall." Mia says and squeezes my left hand.

As Mia and I enter the Hall, the chatter died down and all the men inside bow in our direction.

Power radiated off all thirty two of the Alphas in the room, but I knew Mia and I give off more than all of them combined.

Power to the female!

I walk up the stairs to the podium and raise my right hand that carries my scepter.

"Thank you all for attending, Alphas. Our dinner will be served in the dining hall, but I would like to greet you all individually." I say with a strong voice and a smile.

I step off the podium, Mia at my side.

"Two of the Alphas that were supposed to be here are absent." Mia whispers faintly.

I give her a nod and stand outside the entrance leading to the dining hall.

The first alpha to greet me is a blonde haired hunk with warm brown eyes.

"I am Alpha Vector, your highness." He says and kisses the back of my left hand.

We make brief eye contact.

Not mate. Next!

A brown haired male with ocean blue eyes and a devilish smirk follows.

"Alpha Lennon, your majesty. I must say, you are quite the sight."

He takes my left hand and kisses it without breaking eye contact.

Not our mate. Moving on!

After many "thank you next"s and "move along"s from Kasey, I realize that none of the Alphas here are my mate.

What a waste of my time!

We all file into the dining hall and sit at the long table with me at the head and Mia by my side.

"Say, your highness. Have you found your mate?" a red-headed alpha with brown eyes asks.

"Not yet, Alpha Greyson." I say, pushing and prodding my food with the fork.

"May I ask a question, your highness?" Alpha Lennon speaks up.

"You just did, Alpha Lennon." I say.

"Well, another?"

"You just asked another question."

"Two more?"

"What is it you need to know, Alpha Lennon?"

Lennon clears his throat and looks at me.

"In the event that you do not find your mate by the next blue moon, who will be Alpha King?"

"I am positive that Princess Chloe will find her mate, Alpha Lennon. If it's not you, you need not be worried." Mia says.

"Yes, Alpha Regent."

After that, our dinner is eaten in silence.

Almost.

By the time the alphas had finished devouring their food, my plate was still full.

"Why aren't you eating?" Mia mind-links me.

"Not hungry." I say before blocking her out.

I look away from my food to find all the males staring at me.

I squirm, feeling a bit uncomfortable under their gaze.

"Crown princess Chloe, do you have any hobbies?" an African-American Alpha asks me.

I was not expecting that.

"Well, uh, I like swimming and archery. What about you, Alpha Dexter?"

"Star gazing with beautiful maidens like yourself, your majesty."

"That's lovely."

"You are lovely, Princess Chloe. I insist that you visit my pack, the Frozen Moon pack, soon." Alpha Sirius from the North, says.

"It would be a pleasure."

Hell no. It's freezing up there, even in June! And it's November!

The awkward silence creeps up again and I get uncomfortable.

I look down at my fingers and play with my scepter under the table.

Kasey, what do I do? What do I say?

Just be yourself, I guess.

But I'm supposed to act mature and formal. I don't even know these people.

I've seen you talk to strangers as if they're your long lost friends, come on!

I sigh deeply and clear my throat.

"So, any of you guys know where the other two are? Or who they are for that matter?" I say casually.

I hear a few murmurs but I get no direct answer.

"Come on, I'm tryna find a mate and get laid here!" I chuckle at the end.

"Hey, I could help you out with the latter." Sirius says and wiggles his eyebrows.

"No thanks Olaf, I want a bed that's warm."

I give him the sweetest smile while his jaw drops.

Laughter rises from the table. At least I've lightened the mood.

"Your majest-" Vector starts.

"Okay, how about you all call me Chloe? In public, we'll use formalities, but not in my home."

"Yes, Chloe. As I was saying, I once stayed at Sirius' pack and boy are the women there cold!"

Another round of laughter arises. I realise that his sentence is ambiguous.

"Maybe they'll need some of Greyson's men. I hear your men are strongest of the strongest, Grey. Or are they?" I say with an eyebrow raised.

"That's what Recker said last year!" Dexter bellows.

"Okay enough about my pack!" Sirius growls.

"I'm sorry Sirius, but you mess with the bull, you get the horns."

I smirk at the end.

"You know, you're probably the most laid back princess I've ever met." Alpha Remus says.

"Then again, I'm not your average princess, Remus." I clear my throat and raise my voice a few pitches higher, "Oh no where are my 24 carat gold slippers? Is my tiara crooked? Where the f is my prince charming? I need another glass of Chardonnay, this one has been on my table for three minutes!"

By the time I finish ranting, everyone is laughing to the point of tears.

It wasn't funny though, but I guess it's the first time a royal has joked with them.

Thanks, Kasey. This could've been an awkward disaster.

I know.

We end up talking casually and exchange stories about our childhoods. It actually feels nice chatting with a whole bunch of leaders like they're your friends. Then again, these are only the young unmated Alphas. Some of them are even recently appointed.

"That was a great evening, Chloe, we hope to see you at the next annual alpha meeting." An alpha whose name I forgot says.

"Won't miss it for the world! Bye fellas!" I wave them goodbye as they stand up to leave.

"Phew, that wasn't as bad as I expected it to be." Mia says from next to me.

"Yeah. Then again, who doesn't like Chloe?" I give her a toothy grin.

"Now it's time for bed. The council will need you up bright and early tomorrow. We're going to discuss plans for you to visit the other two Alphas that were absent."

"No! I'm not going!"

"Yes you are Chloe. Don't you want to find your mate?"

"I do, but I just ugh, nevermind!" I storm off and head to my bed chambers.

I take off the gloves and accessories, then wash my face. I text Darcy after changing into a white vest and My Little Pony pajama shorts.

"Chloe!" Darcy pops up on the window seat. She's still in her floral dress and heels.

She runs to me and instead of giving me a hug, she pushes back my hair and examines my neck.

Afterwards, she places her index fingers and thumbs on my forehead and utters a spell. Her eyes turn a silvery white as she stares into my own.

"Darcy, what are you doing?" I ask.

"Your virtue is intact and you bear no mark. You haven't found your mate yet." Darcy says in an eery voice that sounds infused with other peoples'.

"Darce. You're creeping me out if this is a prank, it isn't funny."

A loud scream pierces the quiet and causes me to look behind me and Darcy looks over my shoulder.

My heart races as I see Darcy in footed pajamas with a face paler than milk shaking vigorously.

"Chloe, that isn't me!" She points at, well, herself standing in front of me.

A wide toothy smile spreads onto the imposter's face. I step back and growl at her.

"Who are you?" I snarl through gritted teeth.

Let me at her. Kasey growls.

I shift into my silvery grey and white wolf.

Woah, I've gotten bigger. Oh well, sharper teeth means more damage.

I growl at the imposter, letting my blue eyes turn gold to show that my wolf is at surface.

"Don't get so rough and tough, princess. I've come to deliver your final warning. Goodbye!"

With that, she gives an ear splitting cackle before disappearing in a ball of flame.

On the wooden floor, a burn mark lays underneath a note.

Darcy runs over to it and uses telekinesis to lift it up.

"It's dangerous to touch these kind of notes. It's lined with a poison."

She reads it aloud for me to hear.

"Congratulations on your coronation, princess. You're one step closer to your death. But I'll be patient and wait for your mate to join our little game.

-𝓚 "

My tail drops and my ears flatten. A warning growl escapes my lips and my canines extend and become sharper. Darcy walks over to me and tries to placate my wolf by rubbing my fur.

"Chloe, Kasey, you know what this means?"

I stare at her.

"Your mate, whoever he is, is in danger too."

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