Chapter 79: Connections

MADDOX

“You know, darling, I really wish you would try and find your mate.” My mother wandered around my bedroom as I nursed a bitch of a hangover.

“Mother, must we do this now?” I groaned, rubbing my eyes. She sighed heavily, pulling the curtains open. I held my hand up to block the light now streaming in.

“Yes, Maddy, I’m afraid we do! You’ve been partying nonstop lately, and frankly, you are neglecting your royal duties! How is the Lunar Pack supposed to take you seriously?”

She stood at the end of my bed with her hands on her hips. “And who is this?” She pointed to the naked girl lying in my bed, still sound asleep.

“No idea, if I’m honest. Hey! Hey you, wake up!” I shook the girl until she woke up groggily. Her eyes widened when she spotted my mother

“Your Majesty, I, uh, I can explain.” She pulled the sheets up to cover herself.

“No need, dear. Your lack of clothing explains everything perfectly. There’s the door. Do see to it that it doesn’t smack your behind on the way out, won’t you?”

She pointed to the door behind her, and the girl grabbed up her clothes and exited briskly, not looking back. I admired her bare behind as she walked out.

“MADDY!” My mother’s outburst brought my attention back to her. “Get up and get dressed. Meet your father and me in his office in five minutes.”

She stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

I grumbled as I climbed out of bed. What did it matter what I did? It wasn’t like I was going to rule the pack anyway. That was already in my brother's hands.

I was just the prince, so I might as well have some fun while I was young. After I’d gotten dressed, still nursing a killer hangover, I reluctantly walked into my father's office.

He sat behind his desk, thunder in his eyes. ~Well shit. ~I sat in the chair across from his desk.

“What kind of lecture am I facing now?”

My father glared at me. “Frankly, Maddox, I’m extremely disappointed. Your continued unruly behavior is dragging the family name through the mud, and I’ve had enough.

“There is some work I need you to attend to.”

I rolled my eyes. “Surely you can send Wyatt? Isn’t he meant to be the next king?”

“Wyatt is busy taking his responsibilities ~seriously.”~

I glared at Father over his desk. My brother had always been the favorite. ~Firstborn prick. ~“This isn’t a question, Maddox. It is an order. You’re going.”

“It will be good for you, Maddy. Make good use of your time.” My mother was always trying to ease the tension between my father and me.

“Stop mollycoddling him, Natalia,” my father barked.

She looked at me apologetically. I smiled softly at her.

Rolling my eyes, I looked back at my father. “All right, well, seeing as I have no choice, I suppose I’ll be going then. Where exactly am I going, and what am I doing?”

My father shuffled some papers before pulling out a border grant. ~What the hell will I need this for?~

“You’re heading to the Blue Moon Pack. The king, Raphael, is a very good friend of mine. His granddaughter is the new alpha of the pack.”

~A female alpha? That’s unheard of.~

~“~She must be powerful,” I muttered.

“Immensely. She is Gianna Gray’s daughter,” my father interjected.

~Wow, Gianna Gray was legendary. Every pack on the continent attended her mate's funeral.~

My stomach dropped. I’d been too busy partying to show up. “What is it you want me to do there?”

“Show support for the new alpha. The more support she has from all of us, the easier her job will be. Apparently, she has been dealing with backward wolves since she took up the position.

“Although apparently, her acting beta is Diego Gray’s eldest, a daughter by the name of” —Father checked his notes, his glasses resting on his nose—“Molly? Milly. Milly, I believe. Yes, I see it now there look.”

He pointed to the name on the paper, holding it up to my mother.

“Yes, I see it, darling. Yes, go on,” she hushed him waving her hands toward me,

Father was a brutal man and a savage wolf, but he never shied away from showing the soft spot my mother’s presence gave him.

He cleared his throat. “Oh yes, sorry. Well, Milly is her acting beta, not that she knows it yet, of course. King Raphael has decided that for her, I believe

“And anyway, well, we all know what kind of bloodline she comes from. Pear doesn’t fall far from the tree and all that.

“Apple, darling,” my mother interrupted

“What?”

“The phrase is 'apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.’”

“Really? I thought it was Pear?”

“No darling, it’s apple.”

“Oh, oh, I didn’t know that. Well, anyway, yes, Maddox. That is where you will be going. Gather your effects as needed. You will be there for a while. Take a small group of warriors to accompany you.”

I nodded silently, standing up. No point in arguing with him. He would only force me to go anyway.

“Oh, and Maddox?”

I turned around, my hand on the door handle. “Yes, Father?”

He looked at me sternly over his glasses. “Do not come back until you have changed your ways.”

I nodded, exiting the room, closing the door with a sharp click behind me.

So I’d essentially been banished to a different pack. The Blue Moon Pack was the most respected pack on the continent and the second largest after the Blood Moon Pack.

We were the third, but everyone knew the Blue Moon to be far more brutal.

They would’ve been the largest if Diego Gray didn’t kill half the wolves that defied the king some twenty-odd years ago. He slept with the other half, so I suppose it balanced out.

They said he calmed down once he found his mate. He used to be a playboy too, apparently. Although I heard Gianna was the party animal.

Maybe I might make a change there. Who knows, I might even find my mate.

I scoffed as I made my way back to my room. ~Yeah right. ~The goddess wouldn’t grant me a mate. If she did, I would have found her by now.

~Right?~

I packed some clothes into a bag. Father said to take some warriors, but truth be told, there weren’t many people left in the pack I could trust.

Males didn’t trust me around their females, and the females avoided me unless they wanted something. ~Usually sex~, I smirked. I was quite good at that. Females could never resist that.

I made my way toward the garage that held my bike. Taking one last look up at the garage, I tied my bag to the back of my bike and swung my leg over it.

It was a two-day ride to the Blue Moon borders minimum. Seeing as I was in no rush home, I figured I’d take my time, see what life on the road had to offer.

I tucked my border grant into my front pocket along with my royal credentials. No doubt border patrol would want to check out who I was.

I kicked my bike into gear and headed out on the open road. I waved to the guards on the borders as I exited Lunar Pack territory.

~No going back now.~