Loëk's P.O.V

"Sweetie, it's ok!" Mother said soothingly. "Loëk, I'm sure she doesn't hate you." Father added. Right now I was sitting in the corner of the basement, my favorite place to sulk. It was damp and cold and badly lit, the same way I felt. After Winter had snarled at me and then left, I fled down here to hide. She hates me. I mourned. I did something wrong and she hates me now. She's gonna reject me. The very thought of Winter rejecting me, of her not being by my side, made my heart break and writhe in agony. Ice howled in pain, heart breaking too. I had only seen her for a few minutes, but I was already madly in love with her. She was my everything, my very reason for living. But now. . . She must hate me. I whimper and press myself further into the corner. I will admit, I wasn't acting like the strong werewolf prince I was, but rather more like a three year old but I don't care. Mother sighed and looked over at Father. They stared at each other and I know they were having a conversation with their mind link. Father gave a curt nod and then went up the stairs.

"Loëk. . . Honey, it's ok. I'm sure she likes you." Mother said quietly, rubbing my shoulder. I scoff. "Please. You saw what she did. You saw that she didn't want me touching her. She didn't even want to be near me. I blew it. I blew my chance with my one true mate. And besides, I don't want her to like me." I grumble and hug my knees tighter to my chest. "I want her to love me."

"I know sweetie. But she's probably just confused or hurt." "How? How could I have hurt her?" The very thought of hurting my mate. . . I'd rather rip out my own heart then even think about hurting her. "Well. . ." Mother thought for a moment. "You did seem interested in those two girls before her. Poppy and um, oh yes, Kara. You shifted into your wolf for both of them." I sit up so quick, it was like I was struck by lightning. Oh no! I realize with horror. I did seem interested in both of those girls. Sure, I only shifted because they both had the faint scent of my mate on them, but too Winter it probably looked like I was interested in them. Oh crap. I probably hurt her.

"No!" Ice barked, full of pain. "No! We are not interested in them! We are not interested in anyone but her! She's our mate!"

"Shut up Ice! I know!" I snap at him.

This is your fault! Ice growled angrily.

"What?! How is this my fault?!?"

"You let her get away! You should have claimed her right there and then!"

"If she didn't want me touching her, how the hell was I supposed to claim her you idiot?!" I yell at him, pissed off more then ever. Just then, I heard father coming back down the stairs. I didn't want to look up, but a certain scent caught my attention. Winter? Distracted from my moping, I look up and see that father was holding a t-shirt that smelled strongly of my mate.

"Here. Calm down Loëk." He said and thrust the shirt into my hands. My depression immediately forgotten, I buried my face in the shirt and inhaled slowly. I swear, her scent was intoxicating. And NO it was not creepy that I was smelling Winter's shirt. Seriously, she's my mate so it's ok. If we weren't mates, then it would be creepy. Smelling her scent, both me and Ice began to calm down, but it also left a painful ache in my body. Now I wanted to be holding Winter in my arms, burying my face in her hair instead of her shirt.

"You better breathe it in now," Father said bitterly. "Because you won't be smelling her scent again for awhile." "WHAT?!?" I yell startled. "What do you mean?! Your not sending her away are you?!?" "Woah, calm down Loëk, she's not going anywhere. Not yet at least." Father said placing his hands on my shoulders. "But all the girls scents are going to be hidden. For the sake of the selection. Because even though Winter is your mate, and I'm sure she'll make a great queen, we need to make sure she's the correct choice."

"The correct choice?" I echo. "Your freaking kidding me right? As if I'm gonna be with anyone but her." Father sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Loëk. . . I would never take your mate away from you, but if she's simply not ready, then we can't force her too be with you. And if that's the case, well, we need to have a backup plan. Your turning eighteen in a year, son. We can't afford to take any chances."

He groaned and shook his head. "I had thought that we'd have more time then this. We had originally planned for you to take over when I die, leaving you plenty of time to find your mate, but it turns out the world is simply moving too quickly for me to keep up. With all these new laws and regulations and that new president in America- what's he called? Dump truck? Sounds like a hideous man- but what I mean is I just can't keep up. I'm sorry Loëk. But if your mate isn't ready, you'll have to choose someone who is." His voice sounded solemn as he said this.

It took me a few seconds to process what he had told me. Then it hit me. No, no, no, no, NO!! It can't be! Is he telling me- "Are you saying that if Winter isn't ready, I have to reject her?! I say aloud, horrified." "It seems that way sweetie." Mom piped in. I began to tremble as fury boiled up inside me. How dare they tell me what to do with MY mate! Did they honestly expect me to just toss her aside like a used rag if she isn't ready? "Yes." Ice responded bitterly. I wanted too howl how unfair that was. I wanted to storm around the castle and destroy things in a fit of rage. But deep down, I knew they were right. As much as I hate to admit it, I knew why I had to set aside my feelings. A lot of people/werewolves were depending on me. They looked to the Alpha King and Luna Queen for strength and guidance. And if Winter wasn't ready. . . Then for the good of the people, I have to choose someone who is. No matter how much it hurts me.

. . .

But I'll be damned if I'm going to let my mate- if I'm going to let Winter, slip through my hands. She's going to be mine, no matter what. Even if I have to rig the competition for her too win. Sensing my thoughts, mother suddenly said, "Just so you know, all the girls have chosen fake names for themselves when in human form. You won't be able to tell which one is Winter. All you can do is sit back and hope that she wins the challenges and makes it to the last five." Well, that makes my plan of rigging the selection in her favor a bit harder.

I hear footsteps and turn to see Levi standing at the base of the stairs. "Uh guys, dinner's ready." He glanced behind him. "And I think the girls are getting a bit restless." Mother and father look at each other and then at me. I groan but get up anyway. They visibly relax when they see me complying and we all head upstairs to where dinner was being held, thoughts flitting through my mind the entire time.

When we get there, just as father said I couldn't identify Winter's scent, which sent Ice into a panicked frenzy. "She's gone! They got rid of her!" He howled, giving me a headache. "Ice, she isn't gone yet, we just can't smell her." I reminded him as I took my seat. Ice was still fussy, but settled down as I continuously told him that she was still here. After a few more minutes, the large oak doors flew open, and the girls trailed in. I scan through the crowd, trying to see if I could identify any features similar to Winter's wolf, but wasn't very successful. A quarter of the girls either had black or silver hair or a mix of the two, just like Winter's coat. I slump in defeat when a peculiar girl catches my eye. She was in a green gown and looking extremely uncomfortable as she was seated across from me.

She had dark brown skin, brown eyes, and her short black speckled with silver curls were up in a bun held by jade pins. I felt Ice perk up with interest. She seemed the right coloring for Winter. . . I look at the name tag on her chest. "Artemis" it said. I smile slightly, amused. A daring name. I find myself admiring her face and quickly caught myself. What was I doing? I wasn't sure if this was my mate or not! Snap out of it Loëk!

Feeling a pair of eyes on me, (well several actually) I look down the table and see a pretty girl with pale skin, brown eyes flecked with gold, and straight silver hair with a black strip held back in a satin blue ribbon smiling at me. She was wearing a blueberry colored dress and sparkling violet eyeshadow. Using my heightened wolf sight I see her name tag reading "Starlet". Hmm. . . She had the right coloring too be Winter too. Looking up and down the table I see just how many girls have the correct hair and eye color to be Winter. I groan inwardly and rub my eyes.

This is gonna be a lot harder then I thought.