6. Winter Solstice II

Chapter six

Winter Solstice II

*ARDEN*

T he day of the winter solstice is hectic and busy, as usual, but it's the kind of busy I enjoy. The event is enormous, as many European packs send representatives to it. Most French packs and those from neighboring countries have their alphas attending in person. It's a great opportunity to network. The Council is always eager to have small packs attend, too, to find some possible allies.

Cato projects the image of a woman in my mind. I can't see her face.

Who is she? I ask him.

He projects another picture. It's the same faceless woman, but this time he also projects a warm feeling that gets stronger the longer I look at her.

Oh, you are thinking of our mate? You are right. Maybe we will meet her tonight.

Cato projects Coralie's image now, making my chest clench slightly. I know he isn't happy that I am seeing her.

Coralie is just a friend, I reassure him. She is waiting for her mate as well. You know she and I talked about it, and promised that the moment we meet our mates, they will come first.

He shows me another image of me and Coralie, kissing and fooling around a bit. It was a few nights ago. While we didn't sleep with each other, we did do some other fun things. However, seeing the image like a live video in front of me makes me feel flustered. I promise we are just having fun, I tell him. I want my mate. And she wants hers.

My answer finally reassures Cato, and he retreats. I know he isn't against me dating anyone. It's not like I have done that a lot after all. Hardly anyone showed interest in me growing up, for obvious reasons. Cato just doesn't want me to get too serious with someone who isn't my mate. It's something I can easily reassure him of, though.

I feel someone grabbing my shoulder, and am startled when I look into Prince Eric's face. I hastily switch on my hearing aid again, flustered for being caught off-guard.

"I know you need the silence sometimes," Eric says, unusually earnest. "But I need to ask you to keep your hearing aid switched on today."

I know he is pissed, even if he doesn't show it. "I am sorry," I say. "I honestly forgot about it."

"Arden," Eric says, his expression now less annoyed and more worried. "I understand what you said about being used to the silence, but are you hiding something from me? Is there more to it?"

For a split second, I feel torn. I want to talk to him, mainly because I have no one else to talk to. While Vander is a friend to me, he is also my little brother, and I don't want to burden him with the bullying I faced, or with the things my father tells me when Vander isn't around.

But I am not sure what Eric will do once he knows.

"It's nothing," I say.

"Really?" Eric says skeptically.

To give him something, anything, I decide to talk to him about something else that's been bothering me. "I'm not a good alpha," I tell him.

"What makes you say that?" Eric asks. "You aren't even alpha, yet. How do you know you won't be a good one?"

"I have a handicap," I say.

"Yes," Eric says. "That's true. But you are also a genius."

"I am not a genius." I chuckle.

"I sent you to an IQ test. What did it say?" he asks.

I am well aware he knows the results as he was the one who sent them to me. "You know the result."

"I still want you to say it."

"It was something between 175 to 185," I say. "But it's just a measurement."

Eric ignores my objection completely. "So, how come someone with your immense intelligence thinks a leader needs to be all bodily strength? Why can't an alpha lead through his impressive intelligence?"

"Because we are wolves," I say. "I need to be able to defend myself."

"You can outsmart others," he argues.

"I need to defend a pack during an attack."

"You can build an army to your liking," Eric points out. "You have ranked members, guards, warriors. You said you like Star Trek, don't you?"

"It's my favorite show."

"Who was your favorite captain?"

"Oh, come on, that's not fair," I complain.

"Just answer," Eric chuckles.

I groan inwardly. "Picard."

"Right." Eric casts me an amused glance. "I don't need to be a genius to tell you that his leadership skills were tremendous, due to him being a fantastic strategist and an intelligent man."

He is right. Picard wasn't a fighter. He was a strategist and yet one of the strongest leaders the Enterprise ever had. "Can we compare a Sci-Fi spaceship situation to an actual pack?" I ask.

"You are the genius. You tell me."

I roll my eyes at his words.

Eric laughs and opens his arms dramatically. "You just rolled your eyes at your prince. I should behead you." He turns serious again. "Listen, Arden, you make it sound like you can't fight at all, but that isn't true. You are a decent fighter. Are you on par with the fighting skills of usual alphas? Maybe not. But you are above them in terms of other skills. I just want you to be open to the possibility of you not being a failure as a lycan alpha." He pauses. "I want to ask you something."

I scrunch my nose. "I bet I won't like the question."

"I just want you to be honest," he says. "And if you can't be honest, I want you to say nothing at all, instead of lying to me," he pauses. "Does your father plan on making Vander alpha?"

My heart almost stops beating at his words. Eric looks at me thoughtfully while waiting for my answer. It's funny because everyone knows Eric as the juvenile and silly prince. They don't know how perceptive he truly is. It was him who chose me to become his assistant, it was him who had my IQ tested, and it's him who constantly finds the wolves and lycans with the most potential. "I don't know," I answer honestly.

"Is that the truth?"

I nod.

Eric sighs. "Alright, for today, I've interrogated you enough." He smiles. "Enjoy the evening with your date."

"Thank you, you too."

"I have the best date ever," Eric exclaims, plucking a flower from the vase and turning towards the door right at the moment when Valerie enters. "Here she comes, my very own Snow White."

Valerie blushes for a moment but then giggles and wraps her arms around him. He puts the flower in her hair and hugs her back. They are so freaking adorable. Watching these two makes me hope to find my mate and to have this deep connection to someone.

"Oh, Arden." Valerie turns to me. "You know, my friends are visiting in three days, right after Christmas."

"Yes, I have heard about it. Everyone is going crazy because the princess is coming," I say. I've only heard that she is Alpha Elden's daughter. The daughter of our crown prince and our future king. She is Valerie's friend, and ever since Eric announced that she would be visiting, the Council has been going insane with joy. I am curious to know what kind of princess she is. With Coralie, I have watched a few Disney movies, so through my inner eye, I have the image of Sleeping Beauty or Snow White… or Cinderella or whoever represents a typical princess.

"I will spend most of the time with them," Valerie explains, "but, for the days I can't be with them, would you help out?"

"Really?" I ask, shocked and deeply humbled. It's a huge honor to be offered such a task. It's not just a royal lycan she-wolf visiting, it's also the fact that she and her friends are Prince Eric's guests. "Of course, I will help in any way I can."

Vander and I don't head home to change. We are allowed to use Eric and Valerie's suite to freshen up and change. We have a guest suite here to stay the night, but it's more fun to use their spacious place.

"How do I look?" Vander asks. He is wearing black dress pants with a modern dark-green blazer.

"You look great," I say. "Do you need help with your tie?"

"Oh fuck, yes."

I chuckle, helping him with his tie. I am wearing dark grey pants combined with a dark blue vest and a white button shirt.

"Man, you look good, Arden," Vander says, sounding impressed.

"Thank you." I normally don't make an effort to dress fancy, so it feels good to hear these words. "Come," I say, "our beta and gamma are arriving soon with our dates."

We hurry down to the entrance gate, where the guests have begun to flow in. Due to us having work to do in the Council, Coralie and Léna will be arriving with our ranked members. Vander is already getting giddy about meeting his date. It's so cute to see him like that. It's his first crush, and the first girl he invited out.

Once they enter the ballroom, he is immediately at her side, offering her his arm. Léna blushes slightly and smiles nervously. She is a very bright and kind girl. A bit on the small side and curvy, with thick curly hair and glasses. Once her lycan surfaces, she will probably make her eyesight sharper.

"This is Léna," Vander introduces her to me proudly.

I shake her hand, smiling at her. "I'm happy to officially meet you, Léna."

"Thank you, so much. I am happy to meet you, too," she says. "Also, thank you for the invitation and for allowing me to come."

"It's me who is happy," Vander says.

"I apologize, we are a bit late," our beta says. "The girls had their bags with them, so we had them escorted to your guest suites to dress there."

I nod while Vander blinks in confusion. The tips of his ears turn red. Apparently, it only dawned on him now, that his date will stay in the same room as he. The Council is spacious, but not so spacious to offer everyone individual rooms. Coralie and I will share, also.

"Don't forget you promised me a dance," Vander says to Léna.

"I really did that, didn't I?" she groans.

"We had a deal," Vander says to me. "She said when I read her favorite book, I would get a dance." He pets her head in a teasing manner, making her glare. "My little Pokémon here didn't expect I could do it."

"I can't believe you call me your Pokémon," she complains.

"You are my very own Bulbasaur," he says.

"Can't you choose something cuter?" she asks.

"But Bulbasaur is the cutest," he says. "Or wait, how about Teddiursa? They are cute but also cunning."

"I like that more," she says with a shy smile.

I can barely stop a chuckle, because they are so adorable!

Before I can say anything, Carolie hugs me from the side and clings to my arm. "Did you forget me, chéri?"

"How could I?" I chuckle. "You look fantastic, Coralie."

She really does. She has curled her blonde hair and tied it back, and she is wearing a lavender-colored dress that accentuates her body. She also smells fantastic. It must be a new perfume.

For a split second, I remember Vander's reaction from when I told him about her. I know he didn't mean to say that I wasn't a catch… but he is right. I'm not an obvious choice for a stunning girl like Coralie.

Now, Vander is attractive and has girls flocking to him, so I was surprised he went for a shy girl like Léna, but they have a connection. They share something, and I feel bad for having such shallow thoughts to begin with.

But why does Coralie like me?

It can't be because I am the alpha's son. That hasn't brought me any popularity so far. I know she just wants to have some fun, so maybe that's it, and I shouldn't look too deep into it. I met her when I felt lonely and isolated due to not having any friends, and maybe she felt lonely for another reason.

I offer her my arm and smile at her. "Let's go to our table."

Our pack is seated close to Prince Eric's table, and we are sitting together with an allied pack. Their alpha is older but an intelligent leader, and I'm actually pleased to be seated with him. I'm starting to believe that Eric might have done it on purpose to prove his point about atypical alphas.

One by one, more guests drop in. There are a lot of higher-ranked royal lycans from the council, which makes Coralie and Léna whisper excitedly. Prince Eric and Princess Valerie earn a lot of whispers once they appear. Typical for Eric, he has chosen a moment where the hall is already pretty full, and most guests are already seated for their entrance. It pays off because he is an incredibly handsome man and Valerie a delicate beauty. Eric calls her his Snow White due to her porcelain skin in contrast to her dark hair.

It shows that he is royalty and owns his rank. A lot of it is for show, however. Eric is a master at dealing with social situations and drawing everyone to him. My gaze shifts from the couple to the two people behind them.

Eric and Valerie come with a guest of theirs, who is being led into the room by Eric's beta, Emilien. I know her. She is a lycan with a special gift, an oracle. Eric told me she is of royal heritage, though not from the direct lineage of princes and princesses. The room is silent for a moment while they take in her regal appearance.

"Wow," Léna whispers. "She is beautiful. Who is she?"

"Lady Leila," I tell her. "She arrived here a few weeks ago and is Prince Eric's guest."

"I heard she is an oracle," the other alpha says.

I nod. "She is. A very rare talent indeed."

Soon, I find myself becoming engulfed in a talk with him. Occasionally, Coralie asks something, too, but most of the time, she just rests her hand on my leg. I'm starting to think that this is the first social gathering that's not going to make me feel horrible.