Reject (mxm)

Chapter Thirty-Three: Ruari

Mates! Oh thank the spirits!

My heart lightened a fraction at the fact that my parents were true mates. Call me sentimental but I'm glad I've been conceived out of love and passion and not because of raging and uncontrollable lust. I was afraid to think that Kevan and I are products of an affair. A result of one man or woman's moment of weakness. But it seems that is not the case. The situation is a bit complicated, true, but I could breathe easier knowing I wasn't someone's mistake.

"Father's alliance with the queen, Eloise, was highly political so they could not, or rather, was not allowed to separate even when he found his true mate." Kevan continued. "Eloise came from a high-ranking pack. Her bloodline was impeccable and her old pack consists mostly of gifted and talented wolves. The crown wanted their power while the pack wanted the authority and benefits that comes with the crown. Eloise was pledged to father from the cradle and they were raised together. They were groomed to rule beside each other."

Pledges are not unusual or unnatural for alphas and royal males. It's a way to create alliances between packs and to strengthen bonds between high-ranking families.

An unmated female could be claimed as a pledge and be marked as a mate. The couple could mark each other but they're not allowed to perform the mating ritual, as it's a sacred ceremony  reserved only for true mates. That is the reason why some families legalize and cement the alliance through legal binding, marriage.

If by any chance or stroke of luck the true mate appears, the couple could lawfully separate from their currently marked mate and the claim true one. It would be without censure since it's what the spirits decree.

Pledges seems barbaric but it's a way of life. Even Ciaran had females offered to him as pledges before he became the alpha of Moonscape. As far as I know, he was sent to alpha academy to prevent him from prematurely marking any of the unmated females thrown his way before he could take over as alpha.

"Father was given a year to find his true mate. The court hosted soirees and gatherings for that purpose alone. But it was all mere formality. When he did not succeed, he married Eloise at the turn of the new year and was crowned alpha king soon after. By the time our mother came into the picture a son was already born out of the alliance, our half-brother Meinor, who is now the current alpha king."

I'm not into politics but even I understand that the alliance between the queen and our sire was not common practice. Usually pledges happen after a werewolf learns how to phase at the age of thirteen or after the coming of age at sixteen. Theirs have been conceived from the cradle and it took years, if not decades, of careful planning and preparation for it to come into fruition.

If Eloise was from a pack that only pledged its allegiance to the crown under the condition that she'd rule as queen then her family would not be too keen in having her step aside. Especially if a son from their bloodline, who could succeed the throne, has already been born. The pack could easily challenge the crown for power and war would be an inevitable outcome.

If our sire had chosen our mother and left Eloise it would've created a ripple effect that could break a lot of alliances and treaties within the werewolf community. The crown itself would be crippled and it would take years to repair the damage.

But if our sire did not leave the queen and we've been conceived nonetheless then that means...

"As you may have guessed, father could not fully give up our mother. He kept seeing her in secret and we, my dear brother, are the result of their stolen moments together." Kevan continued dispassionately. "Since Alessandra was our father's true mate the court could not ban her entry to the palace. She remained under father's wing, hidden behind high walls of the palace and away from the prying eyes of the other royals. She was kept on a gilded cage, shunned by everyone who knew her, just so she could have the few scraps of attention bestowed upon her by our gracious father. We're conceived a few months after, almost at the same time as our half-sister, Alva."