of the trial, Draco and Aida were both on edge, for different reasons of course. Although Draco was King of the North American Lycan Kingdom and he was soon to become a God, he still worried that someone on the High Council would veto the ruling. And in this world of politics, all it took was one person to say no.

On the other hand, it was going to be the first time since her shift that Aida would be in the eye of anyone other than her pack.

Draco watched his female rub her thumb and forefinger together, a habit he realized she did to keep herself grounded when she's nervous. His arm swung around her waist, fingers dancing over her bump, while his lips brushed against her temple. There wasn't much he could do to stop her anxiety but he figured some form of physical contact would help.

A soft sigh escaped her lips as they pulled up to the courtroom. Placing her tiara on her head she smiled at Draco, her eyes flickering up to his crown; it was gold with silver and red gems. It sat crooked on his head and her hands itched to try and fix it almost like Ryan Evans' father from High School Musical.

The monarchs walked hand in hand, Draco's gold crown a match for her gold gown and her silver tiara paired perfectly with his tux. As she walked to the center of the room she stared up at the number of Lycan in awe.

His hand dropped from hers, moving it to her lower back instead, guiding her slowly to the thrones. There were eight other chairs in total, one for each of the Council Alphas, on Aida's left sat four women and on Draco's right sat four men. "Lycans," Draco's deep voice silenced all chatter. "We are gathered here today to try Kyle Lines for the rejection, torture, and murder of his true mate Pearl Jacobs and for the kidnapping, forceful mating, marking and abuse of Daphne Simons."

The trial had started three hours ago and no new information seemed to pique the Queen's interest. Aida peered over at Draco watching his silver eyes turning almost black and his jaw clenching as Kyle took the stand. Her small hand reached for him under the table, finding a spot to rest just above his knee. The action was small but her touch was enough for his eyes to return to silver and his jaw to unclench.

"Kyle," Draco said after his story ended, to which he pleaded not guilty.

"That's Alpha Lines to you." He glared at each of the members seated at the long table, his gaze not faltering until he got to the young Queen. He stared at her, flickering from her perfectly straight hair, to her mismatched eyes, he counted every one of her freckles splattered across her nose and spilling over onto her cheeks before gazing at her plump pink lips. "You wear the Queens crown," Kyle spoke directly to Aida. "Yet you don't bear his mark."

He was only half correct; yes, she did wear the Queen's crown but she also wore his mark, however, the dress she wore was high enough that he just could not see it. "The hearing will reconvene in 10 minutes," Draco was seething at Kyle for having the nerve to talk to Aida. Slowly pulling her to her feet Draco tried to make a break for the door, but slimy fingers latched themselves around her wrist—Kyle.

"My my aren't you a pretty little thing." He tried to bury his nose in her neck, hoping to get a whiff of her sent but his knees crumpled before he even got the chance.

Draco looked between his mate and Kyle trying to piece the puzzle together.

"I just squeezed his pressure point," she shrugged like it was no big deal. "He'll be awake in five minutes."

Something about Aida being able to handle her own made blood rush to Draco's lower region. "I think he should be sentenced to life in the Royal Prison." Draco's tone was firm and the other members knew there was no point in trying to argue with him.

"We should consider removing Daphne's mark." To remove a mark was unheard of in the Lycan Kingdom, even more so than rejections. "He kidnapped her from her true mate, gave her a second mark and then abused her. Even though they aren't true mates, him being locked away in the Royal Prison will still tear her apart."

Draco stared at Aida pondering her words. "And how would we do that? Witches?"

"No," Aida firmly shook her head. "I have a way." Kyle's beady eyes made Aida shift uncomfortably in her throne while she announced the verdict. "Kyle Lines of the Dark Moon Pack will hereby be sentenced to life without parole in the Royal Prison for the rejection, torture, and murder of his true mate Pearl Jacobs and for the kidnapping, forceful marking and abuse of Daphne Simons." Aida's voice emulated power as she spoke to her Kingdom for the first time. "Daphne Simons is to be released from the Dark Moon Pack and returned to the Royal Blue Moon Pack with her mate John Simons. To ensure that Daphne's pain will end when she returns to her pack, she will be stripped of Kyle Lines's mark. Case dismissed."

The pair were quickly ushered away to their vehicles, missing the uproar that the kingdom jumped into.

"You know you should never ride in the third vehicle," Aida said as they pulled away.

Draco turned to her in confusion.

"When a rattlesnake is startled by a group of people, the first person scares it, the second person causes it to rise up and rattle and the third gets bitten. In this case your enemies are the rattlesnake," her eyes were closed as she craned her neck up to the sky.

He stared at her mark, his wolf itching to sink his canines in it again and Draco's head started to pound. "Why are you telling me this?" It came out more like a painful grunt, but the Queen didn't even hear the discomfort in his voice, she was too busy day-dreaming.

"Because," she opened her eyes. "I would like to have a King who returns home to his Queen at night."

He wanted to say something but as he watched the blood rushing through her veins, it became too much.

Aida gasped when she felt herself being placed on his lap. A loud moan escaped her mouth as he re-punctured her mark. It took her awhile for her to realize that he was easing his wolf. "Draco," she gasped, her hips rocking against his.

His silver eyes shot open at the sound of her moaning his name. A look of horror washed over his face when he realized what he had done. "I'm sorry," he cried. "Fuck Celeste I shouldn't have-"

"Baby, I'm fine. More than fine, I didn't hurt at all. Besides it's not like I'm going to die so you can do it whenever you want." Shifting her position she sat on his lap sideways, her surprisingly long legs extending onto the seat.

He didn't respond, just simply pulled her even closer.

"Will I need to re-mark you too??"

"Eventually yes," he nodded grimly. "At the coronation, we'll both have to do it again."

Her mouth made a circle. Snuggling deeper into his chest she slept the entire way home.

Slowly but surely Draco made his way out of the SUV with his mate still fast asleep in his arms.

She stirred a bit when she felt her body entering the familiar place, they called home. "I can walk you know."

"I know," but he only held her tighter. She was small enough that he could skip the stairs two at a time, bringing them to their destination; the balcony. Setting her feet down he held out a hand, "care to dance?"

Giggling as he twirled her she rested both hands around the back of his neck. "We don't have music." A playful grin etched across his face and Aida assumed he had a band hiding somewhere, but what she was much greater than any band.

He sang to her. His voice was smooth like the silk sheets they shared at night and rich like the dark chocolate truffles he keeps bring home for her.

While they swayed back and forth to the sound of his voice Aida felt enchanted. "I didn't know you could sing like that," she murmured playing with his long hair.

"It's a secret," he blushed. "One that I only share with the ones I love."

"I know I'm being overbearing," Draco whispered into Aida's here. Her back was against his chest as he gently massaged her belly.

Aida's head leaned back. Her mouth was open as she contemplated lying and telling him that he wasn't overbearing at all, but Draco beat her to it.

"I'm just scared, Sweetheart." He let an exasperated sigh. "I've never been a father before and there's a potential war coming and the coronation, I'm just doing my best to keep you safe."

"I know," she murmured. "And I appreciated it, but I'm not that fragile. There are still some things that I can do."

With a nod, Draco kissed her shoulder. "Roll over," he said quietly.

She followed through with his command, a tad confused as to what he had in mind.

Lifting her shirt slowly, Draco stared down at her belly. In the past weeks, her stomach had begun to bulge more, an obvious indication to pack members that they were expecting.

"What are you doing?" Aida asked, her fingers weaving through his curly hair.

"Shh," he whispered, a finger to his mouth. "Hi bubba's," his lips moved against her stomach. "I just wanted to say that daddy loves you both so much and he can't wait to meet you. Sweet dreams, don't keep mommy up too long tonight." When he was done, Draco pressed a kiss against the highest part of her stomach.

Tears pooled in the bottom of Aida's eyes as she cupped his cheeks. "I love you."

"I know you do," he whispered, brushing her tears away. "I love you too more than you will ever know." Draco wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her closer to his side and closed his eyes. "Are you excited about Greece?" He felt his mate nod against his neck and let out a sigh of relief. Draco didn't know what he would do if she wasn't excited about the move, he might have just called the entire thing off. "Yeah, me too."

~

awe look at that they're communicating with one another! smt i fail to do because i'm a bratty september virgo 🤪 (i actually hate that emotion but i find myself using it sm it doesn't make any sense)

question of the day: favorite netflix show? i need recommendations

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