Freeing Starr

“I solemnly promise and swear to dedicate my life to the Divine Alpha Kingdom. To guide, to protect and to prosper are the responsibilities I swear to uphold as I stand here before the people, being crowned their queen. As Queen Luna, I promise to act within the laws regulated by the Kingdom. May the goddess guide and protect this Kingdom as I swear upon this throne to govern to the best of my abilities.”

Fingers brushed against my hair as I lifted my hand to unclasp the veil from my head. It fell silently to the floor as Leon stepped forward, a crown clutched tightly in his hand.

A smile tilted my lips as I bowed and allowed him to place the crown atop my head. The minister’s voice then boomed throughout the room.

“The goddess has answered our prayers. Our Queen Luna has been found. This Kingdom shall forever prosper as we raise our hands to the moon and swear,” he pointed his hand up above his head, the audience following after as many voices filled the room.

“We raise our hands to the King and Queen of this land. To the goddess who birthed them and to the prosperous future of this Kingdom. We swear our loyalty to the King and Queen of this land, standing straight, we stand with pride for our Kingdom. Prosper always.”

I stood tall and turned to look straight ahead at the crowd with their hand raised to the sky, my heart moved. Leon’s arm came to wrap around my waist as he stood beside me, radiating pride.

I asked curiously over our link, “where’s your crown?”

He glanced over at me with a slight frown, “I don’t like it. It’s too heavy.”

“Aren’t you supposed to wear it to formal events like this, though?”

“I’m the King. Who’ll force me?”

A chuckle slipped pass my lips at that. I noticed the slight arrogance that coated his words but I couldn’t refute. He had every right to be arrogant.

The ceremony slowly came to an end and after being declared Queen Luna, I hooked arms with Leon and had him guide us back down the aisle and into the dining hall to begin our reception.

The tables were arranged by status. The higher your rank, the closer you were to the bride and groom’s table. Leon and I sat on our own at the very front, with Stacia, Leona and all of Leon’s close family members sitting close by to our right. On the left were people that I weren’t familiar with.

Everyone was getting settled into their assigned seats. I looked around curiously at all the unfamiliar faces in wonder.

Leon watched me the entire time.

My eyes strayed to a table in the second row where a man and woman was sitting with a few others. My hairs immediately stood on end as I felt an eerie feeling radiating from their bodies. I sniffed the air slightly and noted that they were humans. Curiosity swirled in me.

Reading my curiosity, Leon spoke out, “they’re assassins.”

I snapped my head around to look at him, “what?”

He nodded seriously, his eyes hardening in displeasure as he mind-linked, “they’re a family of assassins known as the Grilen Family. Humans who perform atrocities in order to receive power beyond their limits. They’re famous for their assassinations. They’re extremely powerful and dangerous. We sent an invitation to them for mere formalities, but we didn’t expect them to actually show up. They have a strong dislike for werewolves and try to kill us discreetly, but there’s nothing we can do because of the peace treaty that we’ve established. Their kills are so clean that they never leave any evidence that point back to them. It’s frustrating because we know they’re responsible but we can’t do anything about it because we can’t prove it. They don’t care about anything else besides money. If someone were to give them a hefty price right now to take my head, they’d probably attempt it. They can’t be trusted. Right now, if my hands weren’t so tied up with Glacial City, I’d have probably turned my focus on them. I have suspicions that they’re actually assisting Glacial City in this war but there’s no way for me to find out. They have their information locked down. We can’t even find their base or their members no matter how many times we send someone to trail them.”

I breathed in astonishment, “wow, they’re that powerful.”

Leon snorted in distaste, “more like annoying.”

The man snapped his eyes to me and I felt a cold chill travel down my spine. My insides curled in unease as I maintained eye contact and refused to be outdone. No more cowering.

The man’s lips tilted as he broke eye contact and leaned into his wife to whisper in her ear. The loud chatter in the room made it hard for me to make out what was being said.

Leon’s finger hooked my chin as he turned my head to look away from them, “don’t mind them. Even if you focused fully on their table, you won’t be able to hear what they’re saying. Sneaky bastards.”

I shifted uncomfortably as I asked, “Are you confident you can protect yourself against them?”

Leon glanced over at me with a raised eyebrow, “are you doubting your mate?”

I quickly shook my head, “No it’s not tha-”

He chuckled, “I was just joking. You have nothing to worry about. Although I said they were extremely powerful, they’re also extremely weak. Their bodies are still that of a human’s. It snaps if you squeeze tight enough. They’re only powerful because of their amazing ability to blend into the shadows and evade our keen senses. They’re just like flies to me. Annoying and hard to get rid of.”

I felt myself calm down a bit as I nodded in acknowledgment. Leon nodded towards our left, “you’re probably wondering why they’re sitting so close up front. Well, those are the respective rulers of their own Kingdoms.”

My eyes widened, “other Kings and Queens of other Kingdoms!?”

Leon nodded, “yeah. As you know, there are six werewolf kingdoms. The Divine Alpha Kingdom, the Heavenly Alpha Kingdom, The Celestial Alpha Kingdom, The Holy Alpha Kingdom, The Cosmic Alpha Kingdom and the Hallowed Alpha Kingdom. Out of the five of those kingdoms, we’re only on friendly terms with the Heavenly and Celestial Alpha Kingdoms. The Holy Alpha Kingdom keeps to themselves and remain neutral whenever there’s a dispute between kingdoms. The Cosmic Alpha Kingdom has immoral laws that we look down on and the Hallowed Alpha Kingdom is the weakest of all Kingdoms and has formed a treaty with the Cosmic Alpha Kingdom.”

I took in the information readily and asked, “so whose kingdom is most powerful?”

Leon thought about it for a bit before shrugging, “I would say that the Divine, Heavenly and Celestial Kingdoms are of the same strength since we’re all trusted allies. As long as the Holy Alpha Kingdom doesn’t pick a side, we’ll have nothing to worry about from the other two kingdoms. As you can see, they’re the only two Kingdoms who refused our invitation and didn’t show up. That blonde haired man right there and the brunette lady sitting next to him,” he gestured towards the table where the Kings and Queens sat, “that’s Riana and Spencer, King and Queen of the Heavenly Alpha Kingdom. The man sitting next to them is Remington, their son and the next in line for the throne. We’re around the same age and have been friends since we were young. The man sitting opposite them is Theodore. I’m also good friends with him but he’s a silent one. His father died when he was young so he had to mature quickly in order to take over the throne. Now he’s King, but he’s having trouble taking back control from the elders who held onto the throne before he came of age. He hasn’t found his mate yet. The last person on the table is King Alpha Jordan, the King of the Holy Alpha Kingdom. I heard that his mate was to give birth any day now so she couldn’t make it. He’ll be leaving as soon as our reception is over.”

“Oh wow. This is a lot of information,” I breathed, trying but failing to keep up.

Leon chuckled, “did I overload you? Sorry about that. You’ll learn more about our kingdoms in due time. This isn’t the time for lessons.”

“Is this the time you’re supposed to arrive to your brother’s wedding? Huh?” I looked over to our right curiously to find Stacia’s angry eyes following a man as he approached their table with an old couple trailing behind him. A few heads turned in that direction.

The man that had a striking resemblance to Leondro, approached with a sheepish smile on his face, “Hi Ma.”

Leon mind linked, “that’s my little brother, Lomar.”

Lomar pulled out his seat that was next to Leona’s and evaded the hand that his mother swung to hit him.

Stacia looked offended as she asked, “you dare avoid me?”

“Don’t hit my grandson. Your mother’s here and you don’t even think to greet her.”

Stacia snorted, “Are you the q-”

“Mom, grandma. Let’s not start. We’ve been here since the ceremony started. We were just in the crowd,” Lomar interjected.

“Why didn’t you come up front then?” Stacia asked.

He shrugged, “the ceremony had already started. There was no point.”

“What do you mean there’s-”

“Alright, let’s not cause trouble. People are listening and the food is already being shared. Sit,” Leondro cut in before the argument escalated and gestured for everyone to take their seats. The table finally went silent.

As Leondro said, the food was quickly brought out and shared to each table, filling the room with the strong, rich aroma of delicacies. Forks and knives clanked against plates as everyone began to eat.

I picked my food carefully, trying to avoid getting my dress dirty knowing how much it had cost to make it. A while later, I placed my fork down and leaned back in my seat, satisfied.

The music played softly in the background, setting a nice, calming mood as everyone finished up their meal.

The waiters came to take all the dishes away and people began filing out of the room to enter the dance hall next door. The final segment of our ceremony was underway.

I glimpsed Michael, Alex and their family at the back of the room and waved when I caught their eye. Michael smiled in response while Alex nodded in greeting before they quickly left the room with the crowd.

“I guess that’s our cue,” Leon leaned over to whisper, “are you ready to bring this night to a close?”

A shiver ran down my spine as his breath fanned my ear and heated my face. My mind strayed as I imagined us finally consummating our bond after this reception. I began to feel slightly nervous as I anticipated our night together, and my heart rate spiked as my thoughts got heated.

Moisture pooled down below as my face flushed. As much as I was nervous, there was also a part of me that trembled in excitement. I wanted to be with him.

The only people left in the room now was us, Stacia, the rest of the family and the other royal families. Nobody moved.

“They’re waiting on us,” Leon muttered over our link.

He stood from his seat and placed a hand out to help me up from mine. A hand came to wrap around my waist as I was tugged into his side.

Chairs scraped against the floor as everyone stood up as well. The man known as Remington began approaching us with a bright smile on his face.

“Does your face not hurt?” Were his greeting words. I tilted my head curiously as Leon raised a brow.

“What?”

Remington’s smile widened as he mocked, ”You’re perfect. If you’re not worthy then I’m less than worthy. I’ve never seen a man so whipped. Where’d your face go? I never knew you were the romantic type.”

Surprisingly, Leon rolled his eyes and I watched in amusement as an embarrassed look crossed his face. He threatened, “I heard you injured yourself a while back from an attempted assassination. Should we spar and see if you’ve recovered?”

Remington rolled his eyes, “you just want to beat me black and blue. Go ask Theo to spar with you. He’d be more than happy to,” he turned his gaze to me and winked, “hey there. I’m Remington but you can call me Remi. I’m the guy you come to when you want to hear embarrassing stories about your mate here,” he lowered his voice into a whisper and leaned in closer to me, “don’t believe his nice guy act.”

Leon’s arm swung out to hit Remi upside the head but Remi quickly evaded, his eyes twinkling mischievously.

“When are you going to grow up?” Alpha King Theodore approached us, his eyes depicting that of someone bored out of their mind. He nodded towards Leon and I, “congratulations on your mating. I wish you all the best.”

“You’re just jealous you haven’t found your mate yet. Aren’t you the oldest of the three of us?” Remi snorted.

Theodore snapped his blank eyes over to him, “and you’re the youngest. Where are your parents?”

Remi opened his mouth to defend but was cut off by his father, who raised a hand and placed it on his head. The force that was exerted in that hold had Remi flinching.

“They’re right here,” Alpha King Spencer muttered then nodded briefly in greeting, “we’ll see you guys in the dance hall.”

“Come, we’ll lead you away,” Stacia and Leondro quickly came to our side. Stacia grabbed Queen Riana’s arm and greeted, “it’s been so long Riri. We’ve got to catch up.”

Then they left, leading the royal couple away with an aggrieved Remington trailing behind them. Theodore glanced at us briefly then excused himself, “we’ll talk later, Leon.” Were his parting words.

Alpha King Jordan came up to us with a soft smile as he nodded in greeting, “you have a lovely mate, King Leon.”

Leon’s arm tightened around my waist as he nodded and smiled, “thank you. How’s your mate?”

Warmth entered his eyes at the mention of his mate and Alpha King Jordan chuckled, “she’s hanging in there. Disappointed that she didn’t get to attend your mating ceremony but she sends her best regards. Unfortunately, I have to leave tonight as I’m too anxious of leaving her on her own in that state.”

Leon nodded and placed a hand out for a handshake, “I understand. Thank you for coming all the way out to attend our ceremony. We’ll talk another time then. I wish your mate a healthy delivery.”

Alpha King Jordan smiled and glanced at me pointedly, “and I wish you both a goodnight. Maybe you’ll get a child of your own soon enough.”

I glanced away shyly as my face grew hot.

Leon chuckled as they firmly shook hands. Then Alpha King Jordan left, leaving us alone in the room together. The music and everything was transferred to the next room.

Leon exhaled loudly and turned to me, “well then, are you ready?”

“For what?” I asked nervously, my mind still focused on the earlier discussion. I began to get slightly anxious.

What if I couldn’t bear a child for Leon? If I really thought about it, Zion and I never used protection and yet I never got pregnant. What if it was hard for me to get pregnant? What if I was infertile? A whole new pile of worries weighed on my shoulders.

“Starr.”

“Hm?” I answered absentmindedly, my mind astray.

“Dance with me.”

I snapped myself out of my mini panicking and met the eyes of the man that made me feel safe. My worries were silenced.

“What?” I asked.

Leon’s eyes crinkled as he smiled and clasped our hands together, “Dance with me.”

“Right here?” I asked in confusion, glancing around at the empty room, “what about the dance hall? There’s no music here.”

“We don’t need music, and the reception is coming to a close anyway. We don’t have to show up to the dance.”

My heart rate increased as I thought about what was soon approaching.

“Are you ready to go back to our room now?”

Leon shook his head, “No... I just want to be alone with you. To enjoy this moment right here.”

Without realizing it, our bodies had already began swaying as Leon held me close, one hand wrapped around my waist and the other clasping my hand.

Warmth radiated out of my chest as I leaned my head in to rest against his chest. His heartbeat thrummed against my ear and calmed my heart, allowing me to close my eyes and relish this bubble of bliss that had formed around us.

I didn’t care about anything else in this moment.