Pregnant With Four Alphas' Babies: A Reverse Harem Romance Chapter 273: A New Luna Queen

*Braden*

We’re all shocked, even Damon, who’s not easily surprised. He pulls over the car and practically slams on the brakes so we all lurch forward. He turns the car off, faces Daphne—Trisha—and starts to speak before I’ve even processed it all.

“You’re a princess from Dark Forest?” he asks, his tone higher than usual.

“Sorry, I guess I shouldn’t have said that while you were driving,” she says.

“But it’s true?” Alessandro chimes in.

“Yes,” she says. “I’m one of the Luna Queen’s four children. Tristan Stone is my father.”

Damon takes a breath. “So it’s likely those people knew who you were and targeted you, the ones who kidnapped you.”

“It’s likely,” she says with a nod.

“All right.” Damon restarts the car. “We need to get to my father.”

We don’t say a lot for the rest of the ride, which is long. About halfway through, we switch drivers so Damon can get some rest, though frankly he seems wired up enough to make it the whole way. I think we all want to talk, but we all feel the tension. Damon’s father is about to attack our mate’s homeland, and all we can think about it is stopping it.

As we finally reach Westmont and approached the castle, we all open up a bit. I guess we’ve had time to absorb the news.

“What’s it like in Dark Forest?” I ask. I’ve always heard it is an awful place, but it can’t be if Trisha is from there.

“Honestly, it’s about the same as here,” she says. “I don’t know why we don’t trade regularly or share technology.”

“That figures,” Damon says. “You have no idea how bad they’ve brainwashed us to think that Dark Forest is full of thieves and murderers.”

Trisha chuckles. “It sounds like we had the same education. Teachers in school tell the kids it’s horrible here, and they don’t even know anything about it.”

“I was pretty surprised when I went there,” Alessandro says.

She turns to look at him. “Why were you there?”

He nods toward Damon. “The Alpha King Heir here sent me to see if what his father was rattling on about was true. Of course it wasn’t.” We’re quiet for a few moments until Alessandro adds, “So how do you think those people knew you? That ship we were on is the only one that comes here, and that’s rare, maybe once a month at most. It’s amazing that you chose it.”

“I didn’t choose it. Whatever was guiding me here did,” she says. “And I really don’t know. I guess it could have been anyone who recognized me. What did you say that witch’s name was?”

“Coraline,” Damon says with a bit of a growl in his voice. I know he’s anxious to get to his father now that we know he’s being poisoned. I hope we’re not too late.

“Hmm.” Trisha turns and faces ahead, watching the road, but she doesn’t say more.

We arrive at the castle and practically run inside. I know Damon’s mind-linking everyone to find his father, and after running down a couple of hallways, we find him in the library. But he’s not reading. He’s sitting in a chair… facing a wall.

“Father?” Damon asks.

The king looks up like he’s surprised. “Oh, my boy! It’s so good to see you.”

“It’s—um—good to see you too.” Damon stares at his father, and the king’s Beta comes into the library, still panting after an apparent long run.

“He’s been this way for hours,” he whispers. “I’ve had the healer come in, but she doesn’t have a clue what’s wrong.”

Alessandro hands him a pouch of the antidote herb from Northside. “Make a tea with this, quickly. It’s an antidote.”

The man doesn’t even hesitate, just runs out of the room with it.

Damon pulls a chair up next to the king. “Father, I need to talk to you.”

The king turns his head again. “Oh, Damon! It’s good to see you, my boy! Did you bring me a lollipop?”

“Um….” I look at Alessandro and Trisha, and they both shrug.

“What do you mean, Father?” I’ve never seen Damon look so worried, and I’ve known him all my life.

“You went to the candy store for me, right?” the king asks. “Didn’t I give you enough change?”

“Just go with it,” I whisper. I figure it’s probably better to play along. Clearly, there’s something wrong with the man’s mind.

Damon nods. “Oh, I didn’t realize you wanted one too. I’ll have to go back there.” The Beta walks into the room, and Damon takes the hot cup from him and shows it to his father. “Look, Beta Kurt has your tea.”

The king sniffs it. “It doesn’t smell like my tea.”

“This is a special kind,” Damon explains. “Coraline gave this to me to give you.”

Beta Kurt steps back beside me and whispers, “I know this is going against the Alpha King’s orders, but I’m going to go ahead and go with this and ask for forgiveness later.”

“I think his son is in charge at this point anyway,” I whisper back. “Clearly, the Alpha King is incapacitated. No one will blame you.”

He nods, and we continue to watch as Damon coaxes the king into drinking a few sips of the antidote. I don’t expect it will work right away. It seems like this is long-term damage that might not even be reversible.

“I’m very tired,” the king says. “I think I’d like to sleep now.”

“I’ll help you to your quarters, Your Majesty,” Kurt says. As he escorts the king away, he whispers, “I’ll ensure that the healer watches over him. And we’ll give him more of this.”

“Thank you, Beta Kurt,” Damon says.

I wait a moment because I know he’s mind-linking everyone in the kingdom who can stop the war. He’s the acting Alpha King now, so we have a chance to stop this.

“It’s no use,” he finally says. “The fighting has already begun.”

* * *

*Ethan*

After a long day of cleanup, we’re exhausted. Everything in the marketplace has been taken care of, and our people are working on getting everyone compensated for the goods they lost. Unfortunately, there have been some deaths from the rogue attacks. All we can do is be sure their families are supported.

We’re ready to get out of here now, and Matthew gets into the car in front of us we collapse into our SUV, and Rylee leans against me. I reach my arm around her to settle her in more comfortably.

“I’m so impressed with you,” I say.

She chuckles and lifts her head. “Oh? I think that giant red wolf of yours did some damage as well.”

I laugh, wrapping my fingers around hers. “It was incredible, shifting like that. I didn’t think it would be so easy.”

“As I told you, you’re a child of the moon,” she says. “Everything about you is unique. The kingdom will be proud of you… except that your mate is a friend of rogues.”

She chuckles at this, but I cradle her chin in my hand, gently lifting her head to eye level. “My mate is beautiful, caring, and loving. She’s a friend to everyone in the kingdom, and she will be respected as such. It’s a beautiful thing you did today, helping all those people get to safety. You’re going to make an incredible Luna.” I move in closer, bringing her mouth to mine and enjoying her taste on my lips and then my tongue as we deepen the kiss.

She moves closer, wrapping her arms around me and propping one leg up on mine to turn herself more toward me. Her jet-black hair falls around my shoulders, and I run my fingers through it. It’s so soft, like silk, and my cock stiffens with the close proximity of her inner thigh.

But I realize that we have no privacy here, and the driver and front seat occupant squirm uncomfortably in their seats.

“We’d better save this for back in the castle,” I whisper.

She giggles and nods. “I’ll try to control myself, but it’s not easy.”

“I hear that.”

We both laugh and separate, and I swear I can hear a sigh of relief from the front seat. I know they would have kept their cool even if we’d gone full-on hot and heavy, but that wouldn’t have been fair to them.

I pass Rylee a water bottle from the cooler and grab one for myself, and the ice-cold water helps… a little. I can’t wait to get home and really show her how I’m feeling.

But for now, we cool off.

“I recognized some of those wolves,” she says suddenly.

I look at her. “Was Calvin one of them?”

She shakes her head. “No, but some of his officers were in the attack. Calvin is a coward. He doesn’t even fight anymore, just has others do his dirty work. I don’t know whether you’ve captured any of the officers since I was with the women and children most of the time. I’d like to look at them to identify them if I can have the chance.”

“Of course,” I say. “They’re all going straight to the dungeon.”

“Will they be executed?” she asks.

I take a breath. “Of course not. Why would you—oh, I guess that’s what they’ve all been saying about my mother and fathers.”

“I’m sorry,” she says. “That’s how the rogues would handle anyone they captured. I guess I’m just too used to being on the wrong side of things.”

“There shouldn’t be a side,” I say. “Everyone in this kingdom is a citizen, whether they’re recognized in a pack or not. We’ve come a long way since King Gene and the evil people who guided his rule. I know we still have more work to do. My brother and I will finish the job, I promise.”

She nods. “So you’ll rule equally together?”

“That’s the plan,” I say. “The kingdom will have two Alpha Kings and two Luna Queens.” I touch her cheek. “You’ll be one of them.”

“I guess I haven’t thought much about that,” she says.

I nod. “I think you’ll do a great job helping the rogues feel like they belong.”

“Maybe we’ll start by not calling them rogues anymore.”

I nod again. “Good point. See? You’re doing better than me already.”

She laughs. “I’m doing well with you because we’re partners.”

“That we are.”

I’m about to kiss her again when my father Eli’s voice comes in through the mind-link.

‘Oh, thank the Goddess you’re in range,’ he says.

‘What’s wrong?’ I ask.

‘There’s a skirmish at the port. The kingdom is under attack.’