Chapter Twenty Four

**Bastion's POV**
The bastard had the gall to act innocent.
"What are you talking about? Bastion, we've all been worried sick about you. Your mother was racked with fear about what the mutt may have done to you."
*Oh hell no. He didn't just call my mate a mutt.*
"That bitch's ill found concerns didn't give her the right to destroy my mate's home!" I bellowed, making the Councilmen flinch and whisper. Alpha didn't appear phased, and I could've sworn I saw a brief smile form on his stupid face.
"Bastion, I think you might be ill. Why don't you head to the medical center for treatment? Your soldiers are eager to have you back."
"Fuck the military, Lawson. I no longer serve underneath your rule. I am a damn King and I will be respected as such." Even with my eyes full of fury, several men just laughed, including the fucking Alpha.
"I'm sorry, Bastion. You sound just like your father. You are clearly deranged."
I saw a light beginning to radiate from the corner of my eye and followed it to my seal. Gasps filled the room and I smirked.
"What's that?" One of the men whispered.
I dropped the corner of the blanket to show the illuminated seal.
"Alpha Lawson? That truly is a divine seal!"
"Is the boy right?"
"Is he a King?"
I could see the vein popping in the corner of Lawson's forehead as he stood.
"Silence!"
The room immediately complied, showing their necks. I, however, stood tall, unaffected by his Alpha command. He squared his shoulders, glaring into me with his nearly black eyes.
"Bow your head, son."
I smirked in return.
"No thanks, I think I'll stand. You will fall beneath my rule one way or another, Lawson. Don't make it be through death." He grit his teeth. "The same goes for the rest of the council. You will have to choose a side. I'll warn you, though. Only one is supported by our Goddess."
I looked around the room to see two or three members with tears flowing down their cheeks, fighting the Alpha hold to no avail. Lawson took three slow and confident steps towards me.
"Kid, you are no king. You will pay for your treason with blood."
I scoffed. "What, are you threatening to kill me, now?"
He let out a feral growl, making the wolves nearby whimper.
"Damn kid! Your arrogance is on a whole new level! You think you are strong enough to take on the wolves just because you got a seal and a whore to share with a blood-sucker?"
That was it, I couldn't hold Dorian back any longer. He erupted from my body with iridescent light radiating from the tips of his fur. I felt the power of the Moon Goddess flowing through me, and those three council members immediately rose from their seats to bow before me.
"You will not call the mighty Queen a whore, nor disrespect King Rory. You are lucky it is not yet time for a battle, or else I would rip your head off your body, pest."
Alpha Lawson responded in turn, shifting into his own large dark brown wolf. Size wise, he was larger than me, but I knew that I was much stronger than him.
"Get out of my hall or I will have you killed! Same goes for you traitors!" He directed at the three men before me.
"Bastion?" My mother's voice broke my glare, and I turned to her quickly. She stood in the doorway clutching her chest and I could smell the faint scent of Brett just beyond the doorway.
"Mom."
A deep chuckle came from behind me.
"Leave our territory. And let your mom here serve as a reminder of what should happen if I ever see you again."
I then looked on in horror as he gave the two warriors guarding the door a nod before they drove two sets of claws through my mom's chest and stomach.
"Mom!" I shouted, reverting back to my human form and falling to my knees with a thud. She looked at me with wide tear-filled eyes as the blood trickled down her mouth.
"Bas-" She choked, before collapsing to a heap on the floor.
Sorrow, rage, and other feelings that I couldn't begin to describe flowed through my body. My mom. I lost my mom. I tilted my head back, letting out an ear piercing howl that shook the very foundation, shattering glass in it's wake.
I would have Lawson's head.
I turned to him with a growl, my seal a glowing red.
"You will fall, Lawson. And I will make damn sure it happens at my hand."
With that, I transformed, followed by the three traitors of the pack. We hit a sprint, headed straight to the border with no concern for the stares we received.
My poor dad. I knew he loved my mom, even if she gave him a hard time. He cared about her more than anything, and now she was dead. I knew enough about the mating bond to know that the suffering he would experience at the connection breaking would be excruciating.
I needed to get to him, to be there for him.
But I also had the responsibility of leading our kingdom to safety.
I sniffed the air, an amalgamation of scents hitting me all at once and making me skid to a halt. I turned, my tail brushing up a flurry of sand in the process.
The first person to come into view was none other than Brett Lawson, but he wasn't alone. Behind him stood a hundred warriors, all with bags hanging from their shoulders. As if in a wave, starting with my best friend, each row of my men knelt in the dirt, bowing in reverence to their new King.
That was the coolest damn thing I had ever seen, but I acted unaffected as I approached Brett slowly with my shoulders tense and pulled back.
"Stand." I commanded, to which he immediately obeyed. He kept his head down, bashfully and clouded with shame. "Why are you here?"
"To serve, my King." He rolled up his left sleeve where the word 'Advisor' was scripted, along with a quill and eclipsed moon in the background. *What the hell?*
"When did this happen?"
"About ten minutes after you left, King." He admitted, his cheeks flushing crimson.
Deep relief washed through me. The Goddess had answered my prayers and Brett would serve beneath me, but I honestly had no clue what an advisor even did. I would need to consult my dad, maybe he would know.
I laughed, clearly startling the poor guy, before punching him playfully in the shoulder.
"Hell yea, man! Now stop calling me King. You're my best friend."
A grin took over his somber expression, and he patted me on the shoulder. "Let's join the others."
I gulped, looking at the large crowd of bowing men and women before me. "Shit, hope there's room."
"Yea, they just started following me. Where exactly are we headed, Bas?"
"To join King Rory and Queen Aria at the resort. I kind of bounced out of there without any warning. She's probably pissed..." I hoped not, but if she up and left to pick fights with reigning royalty of other nations, I'd be pissed.
Hopefully returning with all of these people will allow me a place in our bed.
"The resort? In Vegas? You sure we won't draw too much attention by heading to Vampire territory in such a large group?"
*Shit*. I hadn't thought of that.
They seemed fine with me, but walking 100+ wolves through the city might make them think it's an attack. It wouldn't be our first march to eradicate their species.
"Let me call the General."