I was sitting in bed, flipping through wedding magazines with Sarah. Every couple of minutes, I would point at one dress and Sarah would shake her head.

"Too much lace" or "Too long" or "Too conservative."

I was choosing a dress for the coronation ceremony that was to take place in a month. Gerald was organizing everything, partly because it was his job, but mostly because he was the only werewolf on the continent who even remembered how the ceremony was performed.

Chloe had been a frequent visitor, helping me with my pregnancy and telling me what to expect for the ceremony. Mom was my other constant companion, with her arms full of baby books from the 1990s that she had read herself when I was born. She even downloaded the Pinterest app and shared a board with Julie to plan my baby shower. They also had a board for my "wedding," which was going to take place at the same time as the coronation; while Gabriel was going to prove to the other Alphas of the continent that he was a capable king, he was also going to prove to me that he was a worthy life mate. Gerald somehow combined the two ceremonies, and Chloe was the event coordinator advisor for my mom and Julie. Thankfully, Chloe had no problem saying "No" to all the ridiculous things the pair of them found on Pinterest, citing how inappropriate something was for the ceremony or how it wouldn't be necessary.

Vance suddenly appeared in the doorway, his hardened eyes on me and his body tensed. "Alpha Rex requests to see you in his office."

Even with his intimidating demeanor, I baited him, "I thought your fetching days were over, Vance."

"My queen, please," he said tightly. "Let me escort you to his office."

I frowned, but didn't tease him further. I made eye contact with Sarah, who stood silently by my bedside. She shrugged slightly, indicating she didn't know why my mate would summon me so formally, or why he wouldn't come see me himself.

The pack doctor had insisted I wasn't allowed to train or be on my feet for hours at a time. He said to avoid stress, which to Gabriel meant I was bedridden. Fortunately for him, I was already an experienced couch potato and didn't mind sitting in bed with Netflix and copious amounts of snacks.

Also fortunately, Mom had an iron will and a mean glare and told Gabriel and the pack doctor that caging me inside the house wasn't going to help me or the baby. We compromised; I would rest often, but I also wouldn't stay hidden away in the pack house. I visited with other pack members on the compound and sometimes went into town to feel a semblance of normal—even though five enforcers followed me into every store . . . Except Victoria's Secret. Sarah shooed them away and they gladly stood outside for half an hour.

As I slid off the bed, Sarah fell into step beside me and we followed Vance down the stairs and to the double doors of Gabriel's office (or the "werewolf oval office," as Kellan likes to call it). I shared a puzzled look with Sarah at the sight of two men, dressed neatly in tight black suits, standing outside the office. Vance knocked sharply and waited for the faint, "Enter," before swinging open the doors.

I stepped inside, followed closely by both Vance and Sarah. I almost faltered at the sight of seven random strangers, all dressed similarly to the two men outside the door, all of them men; aged thirty-five or older, I estimated. I immediately moved toward my mate, the men parting to let me by. Gabriel stood as I came nearer to his desk. I instinctively stood to his left since Seth was on his right. Vance stood slightly behind me; Sarah, slightly beside and in front of me—my own personal protection detail.

"Gentlemen, I would like to formally introduce my mate, Phoebe Carmichael, Alpha Female of Luna Nova and Alpha Regina of North America," Gabriel said with a hint of pride in his deep voice.

I almost preened at my full title. Almost.

"This is not a conversation for a teenage girl, Alpha Alexander," an older man—maybe forty or forty-five years old—spoke from the other side of the desk.

Sarah tensed, her foot moved forward, but my hand instinctively touched her upper arm. She relaxed at my touch, but her eyes still shot daggers at the man who spoke. Her lips were pressed in a thin line, like she wanted to say something particularly nasty.

"My mate is my equal, Agent Donahue," Gabriel said flatly—as though stating a fact.

My stomach fluttered and I had to stifle my grin. Good boy.

"The information that is to be exchanged at this meeting is . . . classified," Agent Donahue stressed, his eyes looking at me and Sarah sharply. Misogynist.

"It seems I must remind you that my mate is the only reason this country's werewolf population isn't currently in a civil war."

"A war you swore to us that you would end, Alpha Alexander," another agent jumped in angrily. What agency they were a part of was beyond me. If I was still on my pain medication, I probably would have guessed Men in Black. Then again, werewolves did require a new branch of government to represent them when they came out to the world, so maybe these men in tidy suits were men in black—just for werewolves, not aliens.

Weird.

"A war that never took place because my mate—yes, a teenage girl—sacrificed herself for another species. She killed a fully grown and well-trained Alpha werewolf to save an entire population and end a rebellion that would have led to more lives lost." It sounded so badass when he said it like that—but to me, I still felt queasy thinking about what I had done.

Gabriel's annoyance at the agents in the room flushed through me. I could feel the heat of his anger nearly suffocating me. I cleared my throat and the annoyance almost completely dissipated in a second as he reeled his emotions back into check. His hand flinched, as though he wanted to reach for me, but stopped himself.

"Shit, that's a pretty tough teenage girl, if you ask me," said another man, who sat almost bored in one of the sofas at the center of the room. His eyes appreciated me with heavy interest—as though he was looking at a his prize horse. "She can be read in later, Donahue. We have some important business to get through."

My jaw dropped an inch before I caught myself and slammed it shut again. I recognize that face.

Agent Donahue sighed and reluctantly nodded. "Yes, Mr. Vice President."

Don't panic, Phoebe. Do not panic. I swallowed around the rising nervousness in my throat. I slowed my breathing and pulled on the calm that was settled in Gabriel to steady my racing, nervous heart.

"Now that your mate has joined us, can we continue with the debriefing?"

My mate nodded once. "It was as I reported it to your office—Leo is no longer a threat to anyone, your human citizens included."

"As you've said, but I hope you understand our concern, Alpha Alexander," another man spoke. "We haven't fought a battle on our own soil in over a hundred years. And even then, each side had an equal chance, capabilities-wise. Humans are not prepared for a supernatural war."

"As long as I am in power, there will not be a war. I can assure you that."

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Alpha Alexander," Vice President Delacourt warned calmly. "Leo Alvarez is out of the picture, yes, but there still stands the little issue of . . . politics."

Gabriel made a cruel sound that was suppose to be a scoff. "Does your president feel threatened? As to that, I can also assure you he can keep his pretty white house—I don't want it."

"America was founded on democracy, son," Delacourt countered. "We've never had a monarch in this country, and we intend to keep it that way."

Gabriel chuckled darkly. "I am an Alpha, Mr. Vice President, and no son of yours. Do not presume my physical appearance correlates with my age. I have seen the birth of your so-called democracy and I can promise you this system you are manipulating now is not what they had in mind when they signed that weathered piece of paper."

I struggled to swallow that new puzzle piece of information. Gabriel looked no older than thirty—at most, twenty-three or twenty-four—but if my history lessons served me right, he was most definitely well over thirty years old.

"I am a king, yes. But my purpose is to serve my species. I do not intend to impose on your fickle human politics, but I will if I feel my people are being threatened."

Gabriel grabbed a folder from a drawer and slammed it on the table. A couple papers spilled on to the desk.

With his hand pressed against the folder, my mate growled, "If I learn that you approve these blueprints and you go forward with making these weapons designed to detain and kill my species, I will not stand idly by. I hope you understand my concerns, Mr. Vice President."

I glanced at the loose papers and held in my gasp. They were designs for different types of weapons and a letter from the Vice President of the United States to the CEO of a private weapons manufacturer. All I managed to catch from the letter was "contingency plan" and something about "preparations."

"You didn't honestly think we would welcome you with open arms into our world without making sure we had some sort of protection. This fatal feud with Leo only proved humans needed the means to protect themselves from—"

"What, monsters? Was that what you were going to say?" I blurted. My blood hardened in my body as I glared at Vice President Delacourt. I scoffed and murmured under my breath, "And to think my parents voted for you."

"Something you'd like to add, Alpha Phoebe?" Delacourt raised an eyebrow at me, surprised at my outburst. Gabriel tensed, but wisely made no move to silence me.

"Respectfully . . . you quite honestly disappoint me, Mr. Vice President. I'm almost ashamed you're one of the people representing this country today."

Some of the men in black around the room tensed, but Sarah stepped forward, her eyes alive with the challenge.

When Delacourt didn't say anything, I continued, "You've preached multiple times on your soap box that the American people need to be more accepting of those we considered different—werewolves included. You made claims that America was one of the most progressive countries in terms of tolerance—that this country was founded on freedoms that should be rightfully given to every man and woman and child, regardless of race, sexual orientation, and species. The werewolf amendments have already been in place for years and nothing has happened to warrant these weapons you're producing other than this 'feud,' as you call it, which was dealt with internally. Mass producing weapons doesn't make you tolerant—it makes you a bully who's afraid because you're no longer the top of the food chain. You're nothing but the typical politician—a coward and a hypocrite, through and through."

Vice President Delacourt steepled his fingers and pressed them to his lips in thought. "And what would you propose, Alpha Phoebe? Do you suggest the human population remains unprotected from the supernatural?"

"The human population has nothing to fear from werewolves. They sure as hell are not unprotected. Alpha Rex isn't just a title, Mr. Vice President. It's a heavy responsibility—one that Gabriel does not let crush him with its weight. He is a strong and wise leader, and you would be foolish if you think to challenge him or our pack by creating weapons that will be used to target our people."

"Your people? Are you not a human then?" Mr. Delacourt challenged.

"I am a human, but I am also Alpha Regina, Mr. Vice President. My people are those I care about deeply, both human and werewolf alike, and I will protect them against my own species if it's necessary."

Vice President Delacourt studied me intently. He dropped his steepled hands and stood. He approached my side of the desk, the men in black stepping aside to let him pass, but then moving forward when Sarah growled at the man.

Delacourt paid no attention to Sarah. His icy blue eyes locked with mine as he held out his right hand slowly. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Alpha Phoebe. You are wise beyond your years and passionate about what you stand for—something we need more of these days. I hope we meet again in the future, hopefully on better terms."

I gave him a slow nod as I shook his hand. "It was nice meeting you, Mr. Vice President."

He released my hand and turned to my mate, who stood silent and dominant beside me. They shook hands and Gabriel handed him the folder. "If I receive any more reports on this . . ."

"I understand, Alpha Alexander. It seems I need to revisit why I ran for office." He gave me a quick wink. He weighed the envelope in his hand. "I assume these aren't the only copies you have . . . ?"

Gabriel remained silent.

Delacourt sighed in defeat. "I'll be in touch."

With that, they all left.

Once the door was closed and I heard tires on the gravel driveway, Gabriel turned to me, his eyes dancing with amusement. "Did you enjoy that?"

I grinned. "It felt pretty good, that's for sure."

Sarah chuckled behind me before asking in a more serious tone, "Why did they come all the way over here? I'm sure that could have been done over the phone."

Gabriel shook his head, as though disappointed. "Americans and their secrets. I submitted a report to the bureau, but the Vice President insisted on coming himself."

I frowned. "What bureau is that again?"

"BSA—Bureau of Supernatural Affairs. They're the agency that I, and every other Alpha in the country, report to. How many pack members we have, whether we've made any a rogue, how many births and deaths, criminal cases we've handled internally. They also represent us in D.C., lobbying on our behalf and upholding the Moon Amendments."

The name of the laws put in place once werewolves came out to society were informally called the "Moon Amendments." Such laws included the secrecy of pack house locations and the law that states humans cannot deny a werewolf their mate. The amendments go into a lot of finer details about the werewolf laws, but their sole intention was to make cohabitation seamless. The fact that the Vice President was approving the manufacturing of anti-werewolf weaponry was a little shocking to me now, but a year ago, I would have been all for it.

Strange how that happened.

Gabriel dismissed Sarah, Vance, and Seth—who had remained unusually silent throughout the meeting. As they closed the door behind them, I scooted on to the desktop, pulling Gabriel between my legs.

"What do you think will happen now?"

"The rogues are being relocated and they are abiding by the contract they swore in blood . . . for now. We are still on uneven ground—there is still a lot to be done. Leo has done a lot more damage than we realized. Packs are asking for help for various reasons." He sighed. "But the weapons the government intends to produce in secret—they're our priority right now. I follow through with my threats—they know this. I just hope they make the right choice."

I nodded in agreement. "Me too."

He bent his head to kiss me. As he pulled away, I tugged on his bottom lip gently with my teeth. He responded with a growl.

I grinned. "I can't believe I'm in love with an old man." I gave him a quick peck to the lips. My arms wrapped around his neck. "Sooo . . . Do you still have your Union soldier uniform? Because I was thinking—"

He cut me off abruptly with his lips on mine. I gave in to the kiss, a moan tearing from my throat. My thighs tightened around his waist. His hands slid down my back and cupped around my bottom, pressing me flush against him. My ankles locked around his torso. My hands slid under his shirt, my fingers tickling his rippled abdomen.

The door to the office flung open and Julie barreled inside. "Let's go, let's go, let's go!"

Gabriel pulled away from me slowly. I groaned, resting my forehead against his chest. "What do you want, Julie?"

"Come on! There's a huge sale going down at the mall. You haven't been out of this house in days . . . and I'm bored. Let's go!"

"Julie, I—"

"Shut up and put some shoes on. We're making this a double date. Seth is coming and so are you, Alpha Alexander. Grab your macho bodyguards and let's hit the road." She walked out of the office, shouting, "SETH! Grab my coupons!"

I chuckled, glancing up at my mate. "Do you wanna go on a date, Gabriel?"

He smiled. "I like the sound of my name on your lips." He kissed me.

"I planned on saying it a lot just now, but it seems we have a date to go on."

"I look forward to it ending much like our last date."

My laughter filled the office. His answering smile brightened my entire world.

___

Author's Note:

ONE CHAPTER LEFT. ONE CHAPTER LEFT. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.

I was SO PUMPED to write this chapter. What do you think of it?

The ceremony will be in the next and final chapter as well! I AM SO EXCITED UGH

Vote and comment! I love your feedback!

xo -Willow