Falling in love with my Ex's Alpha Chapter 168: Falling in Love With a Prince - Chapter 1

***The Traveler***

“Mr. Fritz, I’m sorry, but this really is the lowest price I can do,” Griselda says to Dino, and by the expression on her face, I can see how hard she is trying not to yell at him. But clearly, she is already at her limit.

Dino is a great old warrior; I loved playing with his son when I was a child.

“Oh, c’mon, Griselda. This can’t have taken you too long to bake. It’s just a simple cake! It doesn’t even have filling!” Dino says, pointing to the cake he wants to buy.

Griselda’s cakes are the best at Three Trees Pack. Everyone orders from her when there is a celebration.

I’m sure everything is in order for the cake she is making for my mother’s birthday tomorrow, but I was running errands next door and decided to come here to confirm with the baker.

They are so absorbed in their conversation that they don’t even notice me approaching. Griselda is already more than red, ready to strangle Dino, and before she responds to the cheapskate’s comment, I intervene, “Dino, you know that even though this cake doesn’t have filling, it’s delicious! Griselda prepares everything here manually using her hands. She does not use any pre-made ingredients,” I say, standing beside him.

Griselda’s entire demeanor transforms as she catches a glimpse of me, revealing the lines around her eyes as she greets me with a smile, and then she bows to me. Dino takes a deep breath, knowing that he lost the bargain, and then opens a smile and bows when he sees me.

“Prince Nox!” Griselda says, still smiling. “Don’t worry, everything is fine for tomorrow,” and then she turns to Dino with an angry face. “Prince Nox knows that I set the prices accordingly, Mr. Fritz! If you don’t like it, you are welcome to buy one somewhere else!”

He reaches into his pocket and hands her the exact amount needed for the cake. “Alright, alright. I’ll take it. My pup is going to love it. This is his favorite cake, you know.”

Griselda represses another sigh. “Mhm, I know.”

I hide a laugh, “Prince Nox, I didn’t know you were going to come here,” Dino turns to me as Griselda packs the cake for him.

“For my mother’s birthday, my father planned a surprise trip,” I say with a smile, and just saying my parents’ name makes Griselda and Dino smile.

Well, it’s no wonder everyone is preparing for my mother’s birthday tomorrow. Everyone loves the Alpha King and Luna Queen and is beyond proud of my Mom because she is from here.

My father isn’t skilled at planning events or creating impressive surprises for my mother. He doesn’t have much tact for it, even if he wants to.

That’s why, whenever he wants to do something special for her, he asks for my help, because, unlike him, I not only enjoy a good party but I’m great at throwing one.

I also won’t deny that my old man constantly manipulates me when he wants something, and he always gets what he wants. He always says that I have the ability to turn his basic ideas into something exceptional.

Not that my mother’s birthday was challenging to plan because it’s springtime, and everything is flowery and colorful, just the way she likes it.

“Thank you for stopping by. I hope your pup likes it.” Griselda says to Dino with the cake packed in her hand. He takes his cake and bows to me before leaving.

“Thank you for interfering, Prince Nox! Mr. Fritz thinks I am forced to accept everything he wants! Every day, he asks me for a different discount!” she says while shaking her head with her hands on her hips, looking at the door where Dino had just left.

I smile at her, “Well, I gotta go. I still have some things to take care of, and I want to visit the sacred trees later,” I say and head towards the exit.

“Tell your grandma that I’ll see her as soon as I close the bakery,” she says, and I nod before leaving.

I walk to the packhouse because it isn’t far from Griselda’s bakery. In fact, almost nothing is far from the packhouse. The Three Trees pack is so small that you don’t need a car to get anywhere.

As I walk, I greet everyone along the way; the members here are always happy with our visit. We don’t visit here as much as we would like because of my father and mother’s role.

I know that if it were up to my Dad, he would move here today; he loves Three Trees and constantly invents reasons to visit the pack.

Maybe it’s because he allows himself to be more vulnerable when he’s here. After all, I feel like he’s more relaxed and... happy, too, when we’re here.

I start to walk faster. I told my Mom I would be back quickly, but of course, it took me too long.

As soon as I enter the packhouse, I find everyone rushing around me, preparing every detail for my mother’s birthday. Her favorite flowers are scattered throughout the packhouse, and I run my hand over them and pluck a petal to feel the velvety texture as I enter the living room door, where Aunt Vick has some vases around her, probably to put more flowers and scatter them in each room of the packhouse. I put the flower petal in my pocket.

“Nox, your Dad is looking for you,” she says as soon as she sees me and points upstairs, “I think he’s upstairs with your Mom.”

I nod and don’t even enter the living room and go straight to where she indicated, but I go near the kitchen first because I smell cookies being baked.

I stop halfway when I hear some groans and moans and step forward in the direction Aunt Vick indicated.

I don’t want to go into the kitchen because I’m sure Aunt Callie is there, and I don’t want to catch her in the act with her mate.

I love our Omegas, and they have always spoiled me, but I understand my mother complaining about catching them having sex. Not that they haven’t already caught me having sex with someone at the Royal Packhouse. I think it was as embarrassing for me as it was for them.

I run towards my parents’ room and open the door without knocking when I only smell my mother’s scent.

I find her with her arms resting on the balcony, looking at the garden. She turns and smiles when she sees me. I approach her. I’m my father’s height, and she’s so much shorter than us that she needs to tilt her head back to meet my gaze.

“Sorry for the wait. I was making sure everything was ready for tomorrow,” I sit in the armchair next to her.

She smiles mischievously, “I know, my little chatterbox. I’m sure you’ve initiated a conversation with every person that crossed your path,” she runs her hand through my hair.

“Mom! You promised not to call me that anymore. I’m 23, and I’m not a little boy anymore,” I roll my eyes. I know I talk too much, but it’s because I like to show people how much I care about them.

“To me, you will always be my baby,” she says, and I stand taller than her on purpose to prove my point. I place my hand on the top of my head and follow my hand straight towards the top of her head to show the height difference.

She opens her mouth with an ‘o’ and playfully hits my forearm because, for sure, she can’t even reach my shoulder. “This was mean!” She says and shakes her head, crossing her arms, but then she smiles.

I love making her laugh. I have the best family in the world, but even though I’m a chatterbox, as my mother just pointed out, they don’t know the pressure I’ve been feeling and kept hidden with a lock and key in my mind.

She sits next to me, and we both start to admire the garden together while I start to tell her the news about the pack’s members. For me, I consider it *news* because I don’t live here, so... it’s not *gossip*.

I’m not going to look for my Dad. I know he will be here soon. He can’t stay away from my Mom.

As soon as he arrives, he comes to me, pats my shoulder, and then takes my Mom out of her chair and sits where she was; then he puts her on his lap, and she automatically starts to caress his arm around her waist.

“Talia’s father told me he was happy after seeing you with his daughter,” Dad says with a raised eyebrow, looking at me.

“Don’t give her hope, Nox. You know she’s not your fated mate,” Mom says, looking away from the garden and looking at me. Suddenly, I feel suffocated around the two of them.

I love my parents, and what they have is beautiful, but they sometimes forget that this kind of miracle doesn’t happen to everyone. Look at my Uncle Chad...

It’s my dream to have a fated mate who completes me just like my father completes my mother, but since I made my first shift, I’ve been waiting to find her, and she hasn’t appeared yet. I travel so much, a perk of being a Prince, and I didn’t find her in any of the packs I visited.

“Not everyone meets their fated mate by accident in the forest,” I say sharply, remembering how she and my father met.

“Nox, don’t use that tone with your mother,” my father says seriously, and I don’t even wait for him to continue. I immediately apologize.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say it like that... it’s just...” I look away to the floor and feel the weight of their gaze on me.

“Sweetheart, what happened? Why are you sad?” Mom leaves my father’s lap and approaches me. She is so much shorter than me that she is almost as tall as I am sitting.

She puts her hand on my face and lifts my face so I can look at her, “Nox, if this is about my birthday party, you don’t need to worry so much–”

“That’s not it... it’s just...” I interrupt her, but I don’t even know what to say. “I feel like I haven’t fulfilled what you expected of me. I know you hope that I have a fated mate as perfect as your bond and that I have great gifts like you, Mom,” I look at her and then turn to my father, “or that I have an outstanding achievement like you, Dad, but no. I’m just Nox. I think the prophecy was wrong because I have nothing special, no matter how much I want to...” I look away from my parents because I can’t face them now.

They created me to talk to them whatever I wanted, but it’s not easy to admit that I feel small in front of them, all of this because of that damn prophecy.

Everyone expects so much from me. They expect things that are not in my control. I can’t give myself a gift, and how I talk to the Goddess Selena is no different from anyone else’s. I don’t feel powerful like the prophecy says. I was so disappointed when I didn’t get any gifts after I made my first shift.

“Nox, you’re amazing just the way you are. Don’t think like that,” my Mom kisses my forehead. “We are proud of you no matter what. You don’t have to do anything. We don’t expect you to miraculously do anything. Don’t unnecessarily put so much weight on your shoulders, sweetheart,” she says gently. “It’s not because you’re my son, but I’ve never met anyone as compassionate and considerate of others as you are. To me, that’s much more valuable than any gift,” she says, smiling.

“Your Mother is right, Nox,” Dad says, and I look at him. “The whole kingdom loves you. I’m sure everyone is eagerly anticipating the day when you become the Alpha King,” a smile forms at the corner of his mouth.

“But that’s because they’re scared of you, Dad,” I say, and he shrugs. Mom giggles, and I laugh with her, suddenly feeling lighter.

🐺 🐺 🐺

After dark, I started walking towards the sacred trees. I was going to shift to my wolf, but something inside me stopped me. Maybe it was the pleasant warmth of spring, but I took the opportunity to walk, reflecting on my life.

I have so much to be thankful for. I have such a comfortable life with parents who love me and support me in everything. I have the girl I want whenever I want, partly because I’m a Prince, but I want to believe that it’s because of my charm.

So why do I feel this way? *Incomplete*. It’s as if something is missing inside me... could this be because I haven’t found my fated mate?

I keep walking, looking at the full moon in the sky. I put my hands in my sleep-bottom pockets. I was ready to sleep. I had already decided to go the next day to see the sacred trees, but something stronger was pulling me towards them.

I touch the pink hair tie inside my pocket. I got it from my Mom’s bedroom before I came over. I would like to stop, but I can’t stop myself. I could not deny the urge to reach for the hair tie, and I only felt relief after making sure it was in my pocket.

I continue walking, now getting close to the sacred trees as I listen to the sounds of nocturnal animals and insects around me. I approach the sacred trees, and then I stand in the middle of them. I grew up watching them grow back to life. Even Dad, who is insensitive, thinks this is the most beautiful place he has ever seen.

I raise my eyes to the moon one last time, and then I look around at the three sacred trees, but something catches my attention in front of the sacred tree with leaves that grant wishes.

A white light starts to shine, and shine that I need to put my hand in front of my face so I can block some of the light and see what is happening.

Suddenly, the light begins to take shape, and after a few seconds, a glowing celestial being forms in front of me. Wearing a long pure white dress, with hair the color and shine of the moon, and with several wolf souls circling around, the celestial being with a majestic crown on the head in front of me looks at me with powerful eyes.

Immediately, I hit my knees on the ground to kneel in worship because she didn’t need to introduce herself.

I know in my heart that before me is the Goddess Selena.