The Lunar Queen Chapter 84

Cole POV

Every morning since I found out where she is my chest has been heavier and heavier the closer I get to getting her back. It doesn’t ease the closer I get it tightens, like something is counting down and I’m already behind. Zeus gets closer and closer to the surface scratching at my thinly veiled control. Not just restless, impatient, irritated, waiting for me to slip so he doesn’t have to. I’ve been up for hours as sleep has been impossible since she’s been gone. Every time I close my eyes my mind goes straight to where she is, what’s being done to her, and that alone is enough to keep me up. I take a deep breath and walk out of my room and down to the conference hall tonight the real war begins. No more waiting. No more planning. Just action. Finally.

When I step into the conference room all the Alpha’s are already present. Good, we don’t have time to waste. No greetings, no small talk just tension sitting thick in the room waiting for direction.

“Good morning gentlemen let’s get down to business” I say walking to take my seat.

As I walk past Mason his aura is leaking and his father is glaring at him and the other Alpha’s keep glancing at him. It’s not subtle. It’s loud. Uncontrolled. He wants attention and that alone is enough to irritate Zeus.

“Don’t we need to wait for Clayton?” Alpha Orion asks.

I shake my head “No. I got a tip that David was going to attack his pack today, so he left last night to protect his pack along with some of our warriors to aide him” I say.

Mason scoffs

There it is. Of course.

“Something to say Alpha Lane?” I say glancing at him.

“Just wondering who gave you the tip?” he asks smirking.

I raise a brow at him “Is he challenging us?” Zeus snarls pushing forward. My fingers twitch slightly at my side, claws threatening without fully showing.

“It was the mate of the witch who is helping MY mate” I say low. Emphasis lands heavy. Mine. Not his. Never his.

“Oh and is he not a rogue?” he asks as murmurs break out across the Alpha’s.

My brow raises at that and I let out a laugh. Short. Sharp. Not amused.

“So you did follow me last night pup” I say

“I did and you didn’t answer the question” he says sharply.

I nod my head, he's going to die. Not now. But soon. That decision settles easy. Too easy.

“Yes he is a rogue, he is also one of the people Lyric chose to trust. If my mate can trust him to help her stay safe then I will trust them to help me save her” I say walking closer to him

I don’t rush it. I close the distance slow enough for him to feel it.

“Now shut the fuck up so I can talk” I say watching as the command rolls over him.

His body stiffens for half a second. That’s all I need.

“Now as I was saying Clayton is set to be attacked today and he will win. While he is attacking Clayton we will be attacking the bear King simultaneously” I say.

“Are we sure that we can trust the rogue and his information?” Alpha Silas asks

“We’re never sure but as I said Lyric has the power to detect if someone is being honest and if she trusts them then I will too” I say.

“To know my mate is to know that is enough, and if you are listening to her first mate instead of me then I can just kill you now and your Beta’s can take over for you” I say and the room goes quiet.

Not a threat thrown out carelessly. Understood. Accepted. Silence follows immediately.

“Wait Lyric was mated to Alpha Lane before you?” Orion’s Beta Horatio says.

“Yes he was, I was her second chance mate, but Mason here was in love with her way before the mate bond so now he won’t let go” I say.

I don’t look at him when I say it. I don’t need to. I can feel his reaction anyway.

“Moving on to the attack, Moonveil will provide us with the archers who will be working with Elias as he is our best shot next to my mate. The archers will take position in the trees around the border to take out the border patrol. The goal is to knock them out not kill them. The only death will be the King” I say.

“So why not kill I thought all the bears who didn’t want war came with the prince” Silas asks.

“They did but the one’s who stayed are loyal to the crown not the man wearing it” James says.

“The bears want peace not war, my father and David wants power” James adds.

Silas nods his head slowly.

“After the archers take out the guards we will storm the gate, Sable will provide all of us with scent blockers so that we can do this swiftly without casualties” I say.

“Casualties is part of war” Liam says.

I nod “You are right, but if it can be avoided let’s do that, Once inside contain everything James and I will take the King” I add.

I don’t explain further. I don’t need to. They know what that means.

I look around the room “Any questions?” I ask

“What about the witch?” Silas asks

“The witch is a problem for tomorrow, today we focus on the bears while David is distracted at Howling Moon” I say.

“Tonight needs to go perfect, we leave before dinner, we should make it to bear territory by the time the sun is completely down” I say.

“If your warriors have never encountered a bear they have a few hours to learn how to successfully take one down, we only get one shot at this everybody needs to be as prepared as they can, go and get ready meet in front of the palace at 5 ready to move” I say.

Everybody stands to leave the conference room, chairs scraping against the floor, but Mason stays planted in his seat, defiance etched into every line of his body. He wants this. He’s been waiting for this.

Liam pauses at the door, glancing back at him. I give a subtle shake of my head. Liam meets Mason's glare one last time before striding out, the door clicking shut behind him.

Silence drops heavy the second it’s just us.

"Speak," I command, my voice a low rumble that fills the empty space.

"You have no right to silence me," Mason snarls, his lips curling back to bare his teeth.

"Mason, I am your King," I reply, tone dropping even lower, claws pricking through my fingertips as Zeus surges against my restraint. "If you want to see Lyric make it home in one piece, watch your fucking mouth."

I feel it the second I say her name Zeus pushing harder, closer to the surface.

Mason growls deep in his chest and shoves up from his chair, muscles rippling under his shirt. "Yes. He wants a fight. Now kill him", Zeus purrs in my mind, satisfaction dripping from every word.

"Is that a threat?" Mason snaps, eyes narrowing to slits.

"I don't make threats, pup. I make promises." My voice tightens like a noose. "You're only breathing in this palace because of three women I love—Aria, my sister; Lyric, my mate; and Winter, your sister. But you're pushing your luck hard."

Each name grounds me. Barely.

I take a measured step forward. "Following me around, trying to plant doubt in my Alphas' minds? That reeks of treason."

Another step closes the distance. "Ask the council what happens to wolves who defy me. Oh, wait...you can't. I ripped their throats out."

My hand clamps onto the back of a nearby chair, claws sinking deep into the wood with a splintering crack. Zeus claws at the edges of my control, feral hunger building. "I don't tolerate disrespect. And my wolf... let's just say I'm the only leash keeping him from shredding you to ribbons."

Mason smirks, smug as sin. "You won't kill me. She'll hate you for it. Lyric loves me."

Wrong answer. The worst one he could’ve picked.

A savage smile splits my face, fangs fully extended, dark fur sprouting along my forearms in thick patches. "You think she'll hate me? She'd never choose you, Mason. Even without me in the picture, it still wouldn't be your sorry ass." My voice warps, blending with Zeus's guttural timbre as he rams against the barrier.

Mason roars, pure rage exploding from him. He launches across the space, tackling me full-force. We crash into the row of chairs behind, metal twisting and buckling under our weight.

Impact hits hard but Zeus hits harder.

That split-second chaos is all Zeus needs he shoves me to the back of my skull, seizing full control.

"ZEUS, DO NOT KILL HIM!" I bellow internally, scrambling to fight back.

He kicks Mason off with a brutal thrust of our leg, surging to our feet. Massive hand wraps around Mason's throat, lifting him like he weighs nothing, and hurls him across the room. Mason slams into the far wall, drywall cracking on impact.

"I've had enough of you staking claim on what's MINE," Zeus roars, each word a thunderclap as he stalks forward.

Possession. Rage. No control left.

"You dare challenge me, King of all Alphas? You bow to ME!" He snarls, crouching low as Mason staggers up. Claws dig into Mason's neck again, hauling him upright before flinging him straight through the glass conference wall. Shards explode outward in a glittering storm.

Zeus steps through the wreckage, pulverized glass crunching under our boots like brittle bones. "Fight now. You crave my mate? You hunger for what's not yours? You question me in front of my Alphas and think you deserve to live?" His voice drops to a lethal whisper.

Mason hauls himself up just as Dominic, Hunter, and the Alphas burst into the hall, boots pounding. Fire blazes in Mason's eyes he charges like a battering ram. Zeus snaps our leg up, boot connecting square in his chest with bone-jarring force. Mason flies backward down the corridor, glass shards raking his skin as he skids.

“Dominic, Zeus has control,” I link desperately. Get my father he's the only one who can pull him back from killing Mason.

“On it,” Dominic shoots back.

“Zeus, our mate wouldn't want him dead,” I plead, straining against the iron grip.

He growls, a sound that shakes the walls. "He has disrespected us one too many times."

Mason lurches to his feet again, blood streaming from gashes. Zeus closes in, fist hammering his face—crack. Another to the ribs, ribs splintering audibly. A third smashes his jaw, dropping him to the floor in a heap.

Still not enough. Not for Zeus.

Mason rises, defiant, lands a solid hit across Zeus's jaw that snaps our head back. He barrels forward, tackling us to the ground in a tangle of limbs.

“Zeus, give me back control now,” I snarl, clawing for dominance.

He surges up, flipping Mason onto his back and pinning him flat. Fists rain down, left to the cheek, right to the eye, blood spraying with each impact. Zeus's hand locks around Mason's throat, squeezing until veins bulge. "I could rip your throat out right here, pup. You can't beat me. I am your Alpha King."

He roars the words inches from Mason's battered face, spittle flying just as strong arms yank us off him, hauling Zeus back.

“I guess it’s a good thing I arrived early isn’t cousin” Tobias says laughing.

Relief doesn’t hit. Irritation does. He was close. Too close.

“You almost killed that pup” he says.

Zeus roars in his face.

“Oh Zeus calm down, give Cole back control and let’s prepare for this attack leave the pup to his father” he says pulling me towards my office.

Zeus finally gives me back control and I’m furious. Not just at Mason. At myself. At the fact that he got under my skin that easily.

I lost control, I almost killed Mason and I let him push me there.

Fuck he has to go, he’s a liability to me right now.

I need him out of the way.

Because next time, I won’t stop.