Chapter 63 - The Alpha King and His Second Chance

Edward

The drive back home was grim and long. I felt numb. The witches said they wanted to take Sierra's body. They wanted to honor her by cleaning her up and dressing her in a burial dress. I don't know how my mate even had a body left after the explosion which I had no doubt came from her. I think Gwen mentioned something about a glass casket. My head was too foggy to comprehend what they were saying but I reluctantly agreed to let them take her body. We were only a few minutes from home and I had no clue how I was going to tell my pups that their mother was gone. I had been so wrapped up in losing my mate I didn't have any clue how to tell my pups. Levi and Xander would be able to understand, Stella I wasn't too sure about. Hunter and Abby were far too young. Goddess, Abby. We weren't able to find her body or Seth's in the rubble. I wouldn't doubt it if they had already been disposed of by the Purebreds.

After speaking with some of the survivors, we realized that these weren't actually willing participants of the Purebred army. William questioned the three men who weren't affected by the lab exploding and was able to get them to talk. They were true Purebreds bearing their groups signature tattoo. The others we fought today were your plain old average Joes who had been taken to the lab and were given a microchip implant without their knowledge. The men who came with me to battle graciously offered to help the innocent. Some were injured, others just needed to be pointed in the direction of their home. We advised each of them to seek medical attention to remove the chip just to be safe.

William pulled in front of the palace, which had definitely seen better days. There were many people cleaning up the mess our war had left behind. I could see a bon fire on the side of the palace, probably burning the dead bodies. Outside, people were moving debris into a dumpster and using a hose to get the dried blood off the pavement. Some were also scrubbing the side of the palace in an attempt to bring it back up to par. The front doors were wide open, allowing workers to come and go with ease. I could see the wooden boards had been removed from the windows and doors and my staff was busy bustling around inside. I sighed and exited the car, not ready to face any of the aftermath, but I was the King. I didn't have a choice but to face this now.

"King Edward!" Someone called my name the moment I shut the car door. He looked like a contractor with his neon colored vest, steel toe boots, and hard hat. Steve I think his name was. He helped build the training center for Sierra several years ago.

"Yes?" I sighed.

"The hospital burned down, the injured were sent to smaller packs for help. There is a crew removing the rubble now, we need you to sign off on the new building." He said, handing me a clipboard and pen.

I skimmed over the papers and signed. I trusted him enough to do his job. We also needed a new hospital immediately. I didn't care what it looked like at this point, it just needed to be functional.

"Here." I said, handing it back to him.

"Thank you Alpha!" He said, running off towards the hospital.

"Alpha!" Someone else called just as I reached the threshold of the palace.

"Hm?" I grunted. My mood was darkening by the minute.

"King Derek is looking for you, I think he is in your office with Beta Jackson."

"Thank you." I nodded.

"Edward?" A soft voice called out.

"What?!" I snapped. I felt guilty when I saw who it was who had called me. Queen Amber, King Jesse's mate. Shit. "Queen Amber, my apologies. King Jesse-" I began.

"No need." She said quietly. She looked as broken as I did. "I know he is gone. My men have collected his body already. I came here to give you this." She said, handing me an envelope with a wax seal on it. "Please give this to Queen Sierra. It will explain everything."

"Queen Sierra....she, she....she is gone." I struggled to get the words out, my eyes burning from unshed tears.

"Oh Goddess....I am very sorry for your loss." She said, looking over the envelope in my hands. "It falls to you then."

"What falls to me?" I asked, confused.

"Read the letter. I wish you the best." She said, giving my arm a reassuring squeeze and leaving in the direction she came from with a suitcase in hand.

"The best for what?" I called out.

I brushed it off and headed upstairs to my office. Derek and Jackson were waiting for me, both wearing grim expressions of their own. I wordlessly sat down at my desk, the two men looking at me expectantly while I began opening the letter.

"Did you find her?" Jackson asked carefully, seeming to already know the answer.

"Yes. She sacrificed herself for our men. She destroyed the lab and freed the innocent. Her funeral will be in three days." I deadpanned. I felt numb saying it.

"Edward..." Jackson began.

"Stop. I don't want to hear it right now." I said, fighting back the lump in my throat. "King Derek, what is it you need?" I asked, opening the envelope and unfolding the papers from King Jesse's letter. Out fell a key with it all, which was odd.

"The Southern Kingdom is a mess and I have no idea what I'm doing. Half of the wolves who live there are corrupt and need to be stopped and the other half are slaves to those monsters. I am asking for your help."

"Yeah, I'll help you." I grunted. I half expected him to ask for some form of help. King Bruno left the poor kid a sinking ship.

"Really?!" His face lit up.

"I was in your shoes once. I wish I had someone who had been there to help me. Plus, if our suspicions are correct, you were my mate's half brother, am I correct?" I asked bluntly.

"...Yeah" He sighed. "My father had a habit of kidnapping women. He wanted to be responsible for the legend. So he took as many gifted women as he could from every and any species, and got them pregnant. When he found out they only carried one pup inside of them, he would kill them. I was supposed to be a twin, which is why he let my mother live past delivery." He sighed.

"Shit." Jackson said.

"My father was an awful man, he did nothing to help our people. I don't know much about how to rule but I am willing to learn and I am confident that I will do better than him," Derek said.

"If Jackson is willing to hold down the fort here, I can come to your kingdom and help you establish yourself. Teach you, train you." I offered.

"I can temporarily act in your absence." Jackson agreed, his voice emphasising the 'temporarily'.

"Its settled then. I will leave here in a weeks' time and we can begin reforming your kingdome and training you up." I said.

"A week? A bit soon, don't you think?" Jackson asked. "You do have pups who will need you."

"I worry that there will be an uprising in my kingdom. My father has many enemies but also many who would follow him to the death. Not many know where I stand, but the minute they do, all hell will break loose." Derek interjected.

"Jackson, I need to do this. I can't be here at the palace surrounded by everything that reminds me of her. I have too much anger and I don't want to take it out on my pups who so closely resemble her. I don't plan on abandoning them, but I need to blow off some steam first," I said.

If I was being completely honest, my sadness was dissipating with each passing moment. Of course, I was sad that my mate was gone. But more than that, I was angry. So angry I didn't even notice the mate bond break. She promised us a long life together! She promised not to do anything stupid! Yet here we are, here I am about to plan my mate's funeral! The moon goddess must really have a cruel sense of humor, giving me two fated mates and taking them both away from me so soon.

"Understood." Jackson nodded.

"I will see you in a week then," Derek said.

I nodded and he left my office. I turned my attention back to the letter in my hands from the fallen King Jesse. It wasn't very long, and it was hand written.

"What's that?" Jackson asked.

I frowned as I began to read it. "A letter from King Jesse to Sierra. Dated from over six years ago"

"What does it say?" Jackson pushed.

I cleared my throat and began reading King Jesse's letter to my mate.

"Dear Queen Sierra,

If you have received this letter it is because I have unfortunately passed on from this life and have moved on to be with our loving moon goddess. I wrote this letter the night I first met you, the night you became Queen. Before I get into the nitty gritty, let me first tell you a story about myself. I was not always king. I was once a young boy, second born to my father, Alpha Frederick. My father was a hybrid, his genes passed down to my brother and I. We were taught from a young age to hide our powers. We were told to never procreate with someone outside our dominant race. It was far too dangerous. I found my mate on my 18th birthday, my childhood best friend, Amber. She was the love of my life, and a regular old werewolf. My brother, on the other hand, found his mate in his early twenties. She was a hybrid who threw caution to the wind and refused to hide her abilities. My father warned him not to pursue the relationship. He encouraged him to reject the fated bond. But my brother didn't listen. So, in a final attempt to protect his first born, my father denied him the position of Alpha. My brother and his mate ran away and we cut off contact in the hope of protecting ourselves and them from the dangers that were lurking around us. That being said, the title of Alpha fell into my lap.

I was excited about starting on this new journey. I never thought I would be made alpha of our pack. I could have potentially started my own pack but it was so much work, I never thought I would peruse it. But fate had other plans. I was loved by my people, I even enjoyed ruling more than I thought I would. We lived in peace for many years, until the former Eastern King, King Garrett, passed down his title to his arrogant, hot-headed son, Prince Micha. Our once easy lifestyle was soon turned upside down by this pup who had no business being made King. So I challenged him for the throne. And I won.

Several years passed, I watched from afar as many hybrids were mysteriously plucked off the face of the earth. I worried about my brother and his family, but refused to get involved. I couldn't risk bringing attention to them. I even refused to have any pups with my mate, which didn't go over well. Thankfully, the moon goddess blessed me with a very forgiving mate who stayed by my side even through hard times. She didn't fully understand until one of the packs in our kingdom was brutally attacked, leaving no survivors. We later learned that they had several hybrid families living in that pack. Amber seemed more understanding after that.

So why am I telling you all of this? Well, if you haven't guessed by now, my brother was Alpha Andrew, your father. You, Sierra, are my niece and who I have assigned as my heir to the throne. Amber has no family. She has also expressed that if something should ever happen to me before she passes, she refuses to take over as ruler of the Eastern Kingdom. I know this might come as a big surprise, having two kingdoms to run, but I have faith in you and your mate.

I am a very organized man. All of the pack's finances are in order and generally we are a peaceful kingdom. I keep all of my important documents locked in a safe in my office. The key inside this envelope will unlock it. In the safe, there is a clear will notifying the council that I chose you and your mate to rule the Eastern Kingdom. Although it has never been done before, there is nothing in any of the councils rulebooks that says this isn't possible.

I wish you all the best. I hope you live a long and happy, prosperous life with your mate and family.

Until we meet again,

Uncle Jesse."

Jackson and I stared at each other in horror. I just had an entire kingdome thrown in my lap. How could I possibly run two kingdoms, help Derek reform his kingdom, be a father to my pups, while also dealing with my own grief and the aftermath of war?!

"Where is Andrew?" I said, already heading out of my office. Jackson's eyes glazed over, probably linking someone.

"Mom says he went to the kitchen to grab food Anita made for the pups." Jackson said, confirming my suspicions.

I all but flew down to the palace kitchen in search of my father-in-law. "Andrew!" I barked, looking around for him. Everyone else cleared out like there was a fire.

"Edward?" He said, looking perplexed. "Did you find Sierra?!"

Shit. I forgot, I hadn't told anyone yet.

"Come with me." I softened my tone and took him into my throne room with Jackson following closely behind. He took the news better than I expected. Though he was still a complete mess. He lost both of his pups so close together. I let him have a few minutes to grieve before I asked the question burning in my head. "King Jesse...was he your brother?"

"How did you find out? I thought he died too." Andrew said grimly.

"He did, but he left his kingdom to Sierra and I. It was highly unexpected," I said with a twang of irritation in my voice. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"He may have been my biological brother, but he chose to support my father in outcasting my mate and I. He was no longer my brother after that. There was no sense in bringing it up." He sighed. "Though I am a bit taken back that he would have left it to my hybrid daughter. Its against everything he ever followed."

"Maybe it's his way of apologizing," Jackson shrugged.

"Whatever it is, I don't know how I'm going to pull this off." I said, running my hands through my hair. "Two kingdoms to run and one to reform."

"What if your mother and I cover for you in the eastern kingdom until you get your affairs in order?"

"And I already promised to hold down the fort here, temporarily." Jackson reiterated.

"You'd do that?"

"Of course, you do for family." He nodded. "And it's what Sierra would have wanted."