The mate bond works the same for every werewolf in the world.

The rules are the same everywhere: how we find our mates, the completion of the bond, and the acceptance speech. Every country or principality has its traditions and variations, but the mandate is the same.

First, your wolf scents your mate, and then your eyes shine. One of you starts reciting the acceptance speech — in which you confirm that you accept that person as your mate — and the other confirms the acceptance, unless they have other plans.

If everything works out as it should, you and your mate begin dating, and eventually you two complete the bond, which cements that person as your partner for the rest of your life. That's it. It's not complicated to understand, once you are taught about it.

At least, for common folks.

Decades ago, monarchs started to play fast and loose with the rules of mating. As in, they started to think that not all werewolves should be monogamous. People with absolute power tend to think that they are above the rules and that they cannot be punished by anyone.

Drunk in lust and power, the nobility had forgotten that nobody is above the Moon Goddess and She doesn't like to be disrespected — just like any other woman, for that matter. As a result of this behavior, mate bonds began to cease for the nobility.

The higher their status and power, the less likely they were to be mated. It didn't happen everywhere in the world, just with the dynasties that refused to live by Her rules. Werewolves mate for life, how is that so hard to learn and live by?

My father worshiped the ground my mother stepped on. He genuinely believed that she was put on this Earth for him to love. He used to bring her flowers or presents every Friday, even a decade later after they were mated. He would be appalled by the fact that any mated werewolf could cheat on his partner.

Most people live by this rule. Werewolves mate for life. Period.

With time, it became increasingly difficult for the descendants of monarchs and high-born nobles to get mated. They seem to pay for the sins of their fathers, tearing them apart from the rest of our kind, who would still get mated at 18.

At first, they were furious by this fact, but who are they going to complain to?

No King is more powerful than a Goddess.

With a new reality set, monarchs and the nobility were given arranged marriages to fulfill their social standard and form a family, which was required of them. It is what happened to Lucius and his first wife — he is in his third now — and all the other princes and princesses, including Elton's mom.

So, while this was happening for the better part of the twentieth century, it has come to their attention that in rare cases, even a duke or a prince could still get mated. If a high-born behaved in a manner contrary to their self-interest, they could find a mate after all. No matter how old they were, people as old as forty got mated once they fulfilled that personal challenge.

This realization brought a wave of nobles doing charity, thinking themselves able to fool a Goddess with their sham behavior. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. You cannot throw money at a problem and think that it will sort itself out. Being charitable would only work if you acted like the (human) saint who donated all his fortune and earthly possessions to the poor and dedicated his life to serving others.

If the money will not be missed, that is not an act of constriction against your self-nature.

The reality is that nobody knows what would take for them to get mated. The challenge is unique to every werewolf. In other words, they have to earn it. They need to prove to the Goddess that they deserve to be mated, and they will respect Her choice for them.

Since no one knows what their challenge is, rarely any noble manages to get mated in their lifetime. You cannot fool fate, you have to walk through your journey with an open heart and do some good in the world. It is the only manner to unlock their fated mate.

You can probably tell by now that this has never happened to the King, nor does he set out to act against his nature. Though in his case, it is even worse. He is barren, unable to produce children. They tried to go the IVF route but it was not feasible for medical reasons. He was so frustrated by his lack of an heir, the first Whitaker to not be able to have children in centuries. It crushed him.

Exhausted.

After I gave numerous interviews to media outlets, Colin and I quietly walked out of the room to go back to our dormitory. I was all talked out once King Lucius presented me to the press as an example of the bright future of this country and the son of the hero of Monterrei.

I did not expect that my presence there would stir such a raucous among the press, but they loved the angle King Lucius presented to them. In my mind, I am still far away from winning this tournament that was set for Prince Elton to prove himself and do what is required of him to fulfill his destiny.

If I can muster up a mate bond while I am here, I would be happy with the outcome. I also want to survive, but I don't think the tournament is to death — despite the waiver they made us sign earlier. Hopefully, I can survive tomorrow's first cut because I refuse to leave the Capital without ever finding my mate.

Colin told me he was impressed by the way I handled all the media attention toward me, which was nice to hear, but the truth is I was scared shitless of saying anything inappropriate and getting 'canceled' by the public later.

I undressed quickly once I entered our room and plopped down on my bed to relax for a minute. I don't think I am cut out to survive that level of scrutiny. Now I know why people hire publicists...

"No one stood out in the room for you? Your wolf didn't scent any mate tonight?" I asked Colin, who was in the bathroom, but the door was ajar so he could still hear me.

"I don't think my mate could be any of the people who were invited to this event, Brad. What about you?" He spoke, ever so humbly.

"I wouldn't mind if Princess Emily was my mate, but she would never go back to my pack and serve as my Luna." I sulked, frustrated to not have sensed my mate yet.

"Yeah... no offense, but aim lower, Brad." Colin said, jokingly, from the bathroom.

I rolled my eyes in annoyance, but he is right. I would never be mated to a princess. It's a non-starter for someone like me. I wouldn't want to be tangled up with any of them anyway. I need to return to my pack after this is done and be the Alpha I was born to be.

My phone is blowing up with notifications.

Several text messages, DMs, social media notifications, and every app used for communication in any form are blowing up with mentions of my name and tags on my socials. It was so crazy that my phone collapsed from too much activity at the same time.

Oh Goddess, am I famous now?

*Flash forward to tomorrow morning*

A man with arms twice as strong as mine is glaring at me, ready to rumble. He is my opponent for the tournament and he wants to win, by any means necessary. It is only the first challenge and I already met my match. What about now? What am I going to do?

A|N: This is unlike any other book I have ever written.

I don't even know how to proceed. I just know I want you guys to have fun and root for Brad and Colin, if possible.

Now, there is a score to settle. You can hardly wait! #Danger

I literally googled the title to find this song. I know I will have a tough time with this book because it's so out there, even by my standards.

Love,

Léo.