The Lunar Queen Chapter 104

Cole POV

The amount of people in my own kingdom that have been working against me has Zeus sitting at the edge of my control.

Every new piece of information feels like another betrayal.

Alpha fucking Warren experimenting on different species right under my nose has me seeing red.

The image of those bodies keeps flashing in my head no matter how hard I try to focus.

I have to keep my anger in check because right now my mate is having a hard time. Her visions always hits her hard especially when a wolf dies but seeing that little girl and her being a seer.

Lyric looked genuinely shattered walking out of that lab.

Puts another level of fear for both of our girls especially Eloise because she’s destined to be the strongest seer amongst our kind.

And if Warren is hunting gifted wolves then my entire family just became targets.

“Now we know who Hannah and Ezra’s parents were running from” Zeus says.

The realization alone makes rage burn hotter in my chest.

I walk Lyric to the car.

“She looks pale” Zeus growls low.

“We will be leaving soon princess, I just need to give out a few orders” I say to her as she stares blankly in front of her and she just nods.

Even through the bond I can feel how disturbed she is by what we saw.

I kiss her forehead and close the door gently.

For once I don’t know how to make this better for her.

Anything involving pups is always difficult to deal with but when it hits so close to home it hits so much harder.

That little girl looked too close in age to Hannah for comfort.

“Winter she needs you right now” I say to Winter when I walk back over to them.

“Don’t worry brother I got her ” she says patting my shoulder and walking towards the car.

Relief flickers through me knowing Lyric won’t be sitting alone with those thoughts.

“I need this place scoured with a fine tooth comb, I need every piece of evidence we can find. We need to take some of the bodies, I need Lydia and Dr Stewart to take samples of what is left to see if we can figure out what was done to them” I say to Dominic and Hunter. They have been working in tandem as my Beta and it honestly has been the best decision I made.

If Warren found a way to extract magic then we need to understand exactly how before more people disappear.

“Where could he be?” Hunter asks.

“Not sure but there’s no trace of anyone, I know Lyric could probably figure out what he did with Tabitha but she’s not in the head space for that right now” I say.

And I refuse to push her any further after what she just witnessed.

They both nod their heads in understanding.

“I’ll stay and wait for the rest of the warriors, and I will run back once I give them instruction” Dominic says.

“You think he would come back here?” Hunter asks.

We all pause.

Honestly after seeing that lab I don’t know what Warren is capable of anymore.

“I won’t rule it out, work quickly and get the fuck out of here” I say.

Every instinct inside me is screaming that this place isn’t safe.

“Got it Alpha” Dominic says as Hunter and I head back towards the car.

And for the first time since becoming King I truly feel like something dangerous has already infiltrated our world before we even realized we were under attack.

When I get to the car Lyric is resting her head on Winter’s shoulder and crying softly.

The sight alone twists something painfully in my chest.

She picks her head up when I open the door.

“Ready to go princess?” I ask.

She just nods her head and Winter climbs out and sits in the front with Hunter.

She climbs into my lap the moment I sit down.

She doesn’t say anything at first, she just melts into me and I wrap my arms around her tighter.

“I just want to get home to our pups, I need to kiss them and feel them in my arms” she says softly.

I understand exactly what she means because I feel it too.

I wrap my arms around her and rub small circles on her back.

5 minutes later she’s fast asleep.

Exhaustion finally pulled her under faster than sleep ever could.

“You okay Win?” I ask Winter.

She shifts slightly in her seat to look at me.

“growing up I never really thought gifted wolves existed. Then finding out about Lyric and then the pups was an eye opener, but that was something else.” She says.

Her voice is quieter than normal. Less teasing. More shaken.

“Yeah that was a lot” I say as my mind flashes back to that lab.

No matter how hard I try I still see rows of bodies every time I blink.

“I hope we find this Alpha before we find another lab like this because I don’t know how much more of this any of us can take, it just hits way too close to home” Winter says.

“Way too close” Hunter says.

Nobody says anything after that because there isn’t really anything else to say.

“So who are you going to take with you to the Western kingdom?” Hunter asks trying to shift the focus.

“Probably just you and Jace and Joshua for Lyric, not that she needs him but he goes everywhere, she had to command him to stay behind today" I say laughing thinking about that conversation last night.

A small smile finally pulls at my mouth remembering Joshua’s offended expression.

“Also warriors I’m not really sure what to expect when we get there but if Hannah’s visions say anything then Kairo isn’t doing well” I say.

And after today I don’t know if I trust anything unexplained anymore.

“Right” he says.

The rest of the drive is quiet on the way home.

Nobody turns music on. Nobody talks. The silence feels heavier than conversation.

When we pull up in front of the palace I lightly kiss Lyric’s forehead.

“Princess we’re home” I say softly.

She groans “I’m up” She says groggily.

I chuckle at her.

For a second she sounds normal again and relief moves quietly through the bond.

A warrior opens our door and I just climb out with her in my arms.

She giggles “Eventually this will get old” she says.

I shake my head “Never” I say smiling kissing her softly.

If carrying my mate around annoys people they can deal with it.

The moment we step into the palace Hannah comes running out of the playroom with Elise.

“Mama, Papa” She screams and I put Lyric down just in time to catch her.

I pick her up and spin her around.

“Hello my little sunshine” I say kissing her cheek.

The second she laughs some of the darkness from earlier finally loosens its grip on my chest.

I put her down and she jumps into Lyric’s arms.

“Mama you look sad” she says squishing Lyric’s cheeks.

Kids notice everything.

“Mama just missed you guys so much” Lyric says as she showers her face with kisses and her laughter fills the hall and it makes my chest loosen just a little.

Because this is what normal is supposed to sound like.

“Where is your brother?” she asks.

“He is in the nursery with the babies, he said he was helping keep them safe” Elise says.

Lyric smiles at that.

The answer makes something warm settle in my chest.

She picks up Hannah.

“Okay let’s go upstairs and then we can all go to dinner” Lyric says.

When we step into the nursery Ezra’s face lights up with excitement.

“You’re back” he says standing from the floor and running straight into my arms.

The excitement in his voice still surprises me because a few days ago he barely spoke.

“Hey buddy did you have a good day?” I ask him.

He smiles at me “Yes, I was helping with the babies” He says proudly.

His shoulders straighten a little like he’s proud he had an important job.

“Good job buddy and I’m happy you were helping, are you ready for dinner?” I ask.

“Yes papa” he says.

The word hits me unexpectedly hard.

I put him down and Lyric holds out her arms and he walks right into her arms.

“Hello my sweet boy, I missed you so much” She says showering him with kisses also.

He smiles big at her “I missed you too mama” he says laughing.

I catch Lyric’s eyes for a second and emotion flashes across her face before she hides it.

Seeing him laugh and smile is a good feeling because when he got here a few days ago he was quiet and shy and I’m so happy he is coming out of his shell and fear.

Lyric walks to the cribs and picks up each pup and showers each of them with kisses.

The entire nursery feels brighter somehow just because everyone is together again.

This moment is what makes all of this worth it and this is why whatever is going on with Warren I need to deal with soon because this is what needs protecting these moments with my pups and my mate.

Not kingdoms. Not titles. Not crowns. This, this is what I’m fighting for.