Second Chances (CURRENTLY UNDER RECONSTRUCTION)

Prologue

20 YEARS AGO -

"Antonio, you will fulfill this pact! Or so help me Goddess I will have you banished from this pack!" Alpha Giovanni Rossi exclaimed. 

"I will not! I will find my true mate, Alpha! I will not fulfill the duties you are asking of me!" Antonio argued. 

"Generations of our heritage and our kind depend heavily on this treaty Antonio. You must fulfill your destiny," he continued in a much calmer voice. 

"Just because you and your mate were forced together does not mean I will do the same. I have waited for this day since I was a boy father! I will not let you take this away from me! I refuse to marry Aurora Gonzaga! May the worlds be damned!!" Antonio exclaimed before leaving his father's study.

"Cuore mio, please go talk to your son," Luna Amelia said sympathetically. 

"He is your heir to the throne and the future Alpha-to-be. You once objected our marriage too. Please go to him, my love," she sighed heavily. 

Alpha Giovanni heeded his Luna's advice and looked for their son. He found him sitting in the music room playing a melancholy tune on the piano. He closed his eyes as he listened to the melody. 

"Melody of Tears -- such a melancholy piece my son" Giovanni stated. 

"It suits my mood Alpha," he hissed the word Alpha with a hint of disgust. 

"Antonio, may we please talk about this in a civilized manner? Please son..." he asked. 

Antonio closed his eyes as he continued to play his melody.  The way each key vibrated under his skillful hands calmed his nerves as he waited for his father to continue.  Alpha Giovanni was a just Alpha and King but he was also first and foremost an Alpha and King before a husband and father.

"We..." Giovanni let out a sigh before he continued. 

"I want you to know that I refused my parents as well when I was your age. Being of royalty, we are held to a certain extent of expectations. Traditions that we must follow.  My father once told me, in order to be a good king, we must be able to make sacrifices, even if that sacrifice is our own." He explained to his son.

He paused for a moment, considering the next choice of words.  He did not want to force his son but he also knew if they did not honor this marriage it would cause a commotion between the realms.  A war could be waged and they could be overthrown.  Chaos and hell would be brought upon all the realms in the universe.

"I will not force your hand in marriage to Aurora Gonzaga, but I ask that you meet her willingly. She will arrive here on your 18th birthday and if you truly feel nothing or she is not your mate, we will prepare for what is to come."

His proposal seemed genuine, but Antonio knew better than anyone that he had to be cautious of how he agreed. After all, Alpha Giovanni may be his father, but he was a King first and the lives and future of his people were at stake.

"I will adhere to meeting her father, but as you stated if I feel nothing for her, I will refuse this marriage. I will be free and able to be with my one true mate. I will not apologize for this matter as it is our ancestors' fault that I am in this predicament in the first place. If by my 21st birthday before I take the title of Alpha, I am not mated, I will do as you wish father if she will still have me," he answered his father diplomatically.

Alpha looked at his son with awe and admiration.  He couldn't believe what a fine young man he was turning out to be. He definitely will make a fine leader one day he thought to himself.

"I will contact the Blood Moon Pack at once to see if they will agree to this negotiation. I will let you know once we have come to terms," Alpha Giovanni stated before leaving his son to his music.

The Kingdom has been home to the Rossi family for many centuries. Their bloodline is faster, stronger and heals quicker than most wolves. They possess special abilities that other wolves do not. It has been rumored that the Rossi family are direct decedents of the Moon Goddess herself, but there's no evidence to support this hence, it is only rumored.

"If she agrees to my proposal," Antonio thought, "she will be here in three days' time." 

He got up from his seat and saw that it was a quarter past 10. He closed the piano before leaving to have his nightly run. In order to avoid being seen by his parents or the royal guards, Antonio descends down the staff stairway. 

Running for a wolf is one of the most important things they have to do. It helps keep their wolves at bay and Xavier, his wolf enjoyed being free while feeling the earth underneath his paws.

As Antonio enters the basement, he walks towards the secret passage that only his family know about. Only one trusted guard that's spelled knows about the whereabouts of this passage. This was to ensure if there was any issues in The Kingdom, the Royal family would have a guaranteed safe way out. 

As Antonio undresses himself, he can feel Xavier's excitement as he knows he's about to roam around freely.  The news of him possibly having an arranged marriage had Xavier in a fit all day.  It was a wonder why Xavier didn't force shift while him and his father argued.

Antonio gets down on all fours and allows Xavier to come out. His face begins to elongate as his muzzle starts to form. His bones cracking as they reshape themselves into his wolf. The first few times a wolf shifts, it's one of the most intensely agonizing pain one would feel.  The more you shift, the less intense the pain becomes.  

Amidst his body and bones reshaping themselves to his wolf form, Xavier's beautiful white fur beings to surface.  It's only seconds before he is in his wolf form.

As Xavier shakes his fur out, he hears a noise. A creak from the door opening. He's on the defense as he looks around to see what's happening. He sees Alpha Giovanni and Luna Anna both looking at him in awe.  He whines as he starts putting his head down, showing respect to his Alpha and Luna. 

"Oh, Tesoro mio, you are so beautiful in your wolf form. Be careful on your run dear," Luna Anna says lovingly. 

"How did you know mother?" Antonio mind links to Luna Anna. 

"You forget Tesoro mio, you are half me!" she exclaims loudly as she laughs. 

"More like 99.9% you." Alpha Giovanni thought to himself as he silently chuckled.

"Your mother and I used to come down here to sneak away from the guards when we first started dating," my father stated. 

"You know, we usually watch you from our balcony window son. However tonight, we wanted to see you off personally and to reassure you that no matter what happens, we both love you," Alpha Giovanni confessed looking at his son with pride.

"Oh yes..." Alpha Giovanni begins as he rubs his chin.

"Before I forget, the young Ms. Gonzaga has agreed to your proposal about meeting with her on your 18th birthday. If you two are not matched she will wait for your answer in three years before they will decide what is to happen with our treaty," he said before him and the Luna decided to head upstairs.

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Hey guys, BXM here! I hope you guys enjoyed the prologue! Let me know in the comments what you think so far! Feedback is more than welcome and if you liked it, go ahead and hit the vote button! Don't forget to follow me to keep up with updates!!