The throne room erupted in chaos at Jason's motion to dissolve the Alpha Council. Not that it bothered him one bit. The Council had withered into a bunch of old men hanging onto every bit of power they still had left. They weren't the powerful wolves they once were. They could hardly defend themselves; even less so, their own packs. Their firstborns were already of age and had taken over the titles of alphas in their respective districts. By law, the younger alphas were supposed to sit on the council, but their fathers refused to stand down. So if the old fools weren't willing to stand down themselves, he needed to kick them off their little silver thrones.

The pudgy alpha growled out and said, "How dare you make such a motion! You have no say in the inner workings of this court!"

"That's where you are wrong, Soren," Killian growled out, silencing the crowd. "He's my mate and your future king."

Alpha Soren's eyes widened at the King's words but disappeared behind a veil of arrogance. "As it may be, King Killian. No one in this court will second his motion. The citizens of this city trust us, and we have kept them safe until now. So his motion to dissolve the council will wither to dust before his feet." A smirk appeared on the alpha's face, which Jason wanted to redecorate with his fist.

"And how will you keep the city safe when Alaric makes his appearance?" Jason asked. "Will you defend the people of this city with your fat ass, or will you send the people out to die for your sake?"

Killian coughed beside him, trying to mask his chuckle. Several laughters broke out amongst the crowd, Darren being the loudest.

"Silence!" Alpha Soren barked, puffing out his cheeks. His beady eyes bore into Jason. "How dare you mock my devotion to the people of this city? I would happily die on the battlefield if the King so wishes."

"But you secretly hope he doesn't ask you, don't you?" A smirk of Jason's own spread across his face.

"It doesn't matter... The defense of this city has nothing to do with the likes of you. You are the reason the old vampire has gotten too arrogant for his own shoes."

"My fault?"

"Yes, yours!!" The alpha pointed his sausage finger at him. "Your blood runs through the abominations Alaric has amassed—"

A thunderous roar shook the keep. Before the alpha could finish his statement, Killian grabbed him by the throat.

Killian hissed out, pulling the frightened alpha to his face. "Finish your statement and I'll rip your guts out." The pot-bellied alpha dangled an inch off the ground, whimpering at his king's threat.

A squeal rang out when Killian dropped the old wolf on his ass. Soren lowered his head in submission, but his defiance still flared through his aura. The other four silent alphas also lowered their heads. But the fallen alpha broke the silence that lingered over the chamber.

"My apologies, my King. But I stand by my statement... Your mate has no right to interfere in the matters of the council. His motion has no support—"

The doors of the throne room burst open. Five younger alphas and Christopher strode into the room, making their way toward the commotion. The lard-ass stumbled to his feet just as Christopher reached them.

"Well, Alpha Soren. You're mistaken. I, Christopher Maxwell, second in line for the throne, support the motion of having the current Alpha council dissolved."

Another round of gasps filled the throne room. The five council members growled at Christopher, but it didn't faze the young prince.

Christopher chuckled and said, "You've clung to your positions for too long. It's time that your heirs take their rightful places on the council."

The second disgruntled alpha, named Roderick, as Jason remembered, stepped forward. "They are not ready for such an important task."

"Says you, father." An enormous mountain of muscles stepped forward with a mane of red hair that made Darren's pale in comparison. His blue eyes pierced Roderick.

Jason wondered how this impressive specimen could be the son of Alpha Roderick. The older man could hardly withstand a push before toppling over like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The council's lavish lifestyles had fucked them over.

"We have been leading our packs successfully for years now, and we don't see any reason to why we can't serve the crown as its council," the hulking redhead told his father.

The older man shook his head and said, "It's a discussion for another time. We'll talk about it when the time arises, but for now, I can assume this meeting has run its course."

Jason wasn't having it. The Alpha wasn't about to sweep the matter under the rug and ignore it. The motion had been called and Christopher had seconded it. By law, the council couldn't ignore the challenge.

"Not so fast, Alpha Roderick," Jason said, drawing the council's attention. "The motion has support and you can't ignore it. So, you'll have to—"

"The council will never pass the motion!" the alpha roared out. "We won't let an upstart destroy everything we worked so hard for!"

Jason scoffed and said, "Worked hard for? Your fathers gave you the titles, and now you are clinging to them. Either you step down or your children can challenge you for the seats."

The blood drained from the old man's face. The council had its back to the wall. If they voted to remain on the council, their children could fight them for their positions. Which meant the older alphas would get their asses kicked by their stronger offspring. This left the council with just one choice: they had to go.

By the expressions of the three silent alphas, they had accepted their fates. However, the two defiant council members seemed to go down fighting. Their faces twisted in anger as they glared at their offspring. Despite their posturing, nothing could save them.

Alpha Soren turned to Jason and charged at him. A snarl erupted out of the pudgy old man when he swung at Jason's head. Jason, however, easily sidestepped the council member's fist and grabbed the old man by his gray ponytail. He yanked the alpha off his feet and slammed the man on his back. Before Alpha Soren could react, Jason slammed his hand onto the old man's throat, pinning the council member down. He cringed when the alpha's sweaty double chin brushed against the back of his hand. Yuck!

"Let me go!" Alpha Soren yelled, thrashing about. The old man's hands clamped around Jason's biceps, trying to pull Jason's grip off him, but to no avail.

Jason's smirk darkened. "Not in your life. So tell me, Soren. How are you going to defend this city when you're not even capable of defending yourself?" He raised his eyebrow. "You would have been dead in a second if one of Alaric's abominations hooked their claws into you." Jason raised his head toward the rest of the council. "This is why the Alpha council needs fresh blood. All of you have become arrogant and weak. If Killian ever appointed you five as his generals, Alaric and his army would slaughter us all."

Jason loosened his grip and stepped back from the poor fool, who lay on the ground coughing up his lungs. His words slowly but surely sank into the pompous heads of the council, who stared at the fallen alpha as he clambered to his feet.

One of the silent alphas stepped forward and said, "Very well... We accept your motion." He then glanced over at his daughter, who began smiling at her father. "It's time that we admit we've been foolish to remain on the council. My daughter has proven herself more than capable of taking over." Before the alpha could bow, his daughter crushed him in a hug.

"You're foolish, Grimm," Soren spat out, still heaving heavily. "Our children have no idea what they are stepping into. If you continue on this course, you'll see your daughter die before your eyes."

Alpha Grimm's daughter spun around and glared at the councilor. "Don't worry, Alpha Soren. I can handle any monstrosity Alaric throws at me. Better than you can by the looks of it..." Her insult earned a few snickers. "So why don't you sit down before you pop a hernia?"

The insulted alpha's face turned scarlet and then shouted, "Fine!" He turned to Jason. "Have it your way. But don't come running to us when Alaric has decimated your armies. "Such arrogance..." Soren straightened his disheveled tunic before bulldozing through the crowd.

The rest of the elder alphas silently followed suit. A deafening slam announced the departure of the former council members. Jason breathed out a sigh of relief. He no longer needed to deal with the senile old farts. As much as it seemed cruel for Jason to remove the old alphas from the council, he had to. He needed the strongest leaders at his side if he had any chance of defeating Alaric.

With a jubilant cheer, the crowd welcomed their newly elected Alpha council. Three strong young men and two vibrant young women. Together, they had a chance of stopping Alaric. Jason and Killian joined the alphas with Ishmael and the gang on their trail.

Before Killian addressed his newly appointed council, he turned to Ms. Bell, who stood at the edge of the group, looking like a kicked puppy. "Ms. Bell... I want you to resume your duties until I summon you. We have a long and arduous discussion ahead of us."

Ms. Bell quickly bowed and said, "Very well, my King. Have a lovely day." She turned to Jason as well. "To you too, your highness."

She turned around and fled from the room before her dress caught fire. Jason noticed the strain in her voice when she uttered, 'your highness'. Most likely, she cursed him while she had to vomit out the words.

Jason was so lost in his own thoughts that he squealed when Killian wrapped his arms around his waist. A few chuckles rang out from the group. Jason slapped Killian playfully on the arms and muttered, "Ass."

Killian grinned while tightening his grip. "Sorry, my love. But I'm proud of you. It took a lot of courage to stand up against the council. And I'm impressed that you convinced them to stand down from their positions without a fight, so to speak. I've tried before, but they ignored my requests."

"You could have pressed the matter—you are the king. You could have easily dissolved the council."

Killian leaned down and kissed Jason on the neck. Jason choked down a moan from slipping past his lips. Killian then hummed and said, "I could have, but it would have caused a rift between me and the packs."

Jason nodded. Killian's hands were tied.

Before Killian could reduce Jason to a moaning mess, a low growl from Darren caught their attention. Darren glared at Alpha Roderick's son when Ishmael and the young alpha hugged each other. Jason's eyes furrowed at the beta's reaction.

"It seems your friend's a tad jealous," Killian whispered in Jason's ear.

Jason nearly swallowed his tongue. Never did it occur to him that Ishmael and Darren had a thing going on. True. Sometimes the warlock and the beta flirted, but Jason just wrote it off as innocent banter. He knew Ishmael had many lovers. But this was a new revelation. And to put the cherry on top, why did Darren react so badly toward the young alpha?

"Maybe they're fuck buddies?" Cyron chirped out.

"Maybe..." Jason said, still staring at the three men.

Jason's attention snapped back toward Killian when he nipped Jason on the neck. "What's running through that pretty head of yours?" Killian asked.

"Who's the sexy redhead?" Jason nodded over to the young alpha.

A loud growl pierced the chamber, and before Jason could register where it originated from, he hanged over Killian's muscled shoulder. His nether region grinding (oh, so lovely) against his mate's tensed muscles. A smack rang out, causing Jason to gasp. A slight burn spread across his ass. Jason was about to protest, but another bum-numbing slap shut him up.

"Not a peep out of you," Killian growled as he walked out of the chamber, leaving the rest of the pack dumbfounded.

The last thing Jason saw was the gaping mouths of his friend as the throne room doors slammed shut behind them. What did I do? Jason pondered as he watched his mate's sexy ass flex about as they made their way back toward their room.

"Someone's in trouble..." Cyron laughed.

Jason huffed out and said, "What did I do?"

"Oh Hades, save me... How can you be this stupid?"