Defy The Alpha(s)

Chapter 915: Welcome The New Queen

Elijah had to admit that the current Lunaris Academy was better than their time. At least when it came to the food. Everything else was a mess.

The wolves and humans were far too comfortable with each other. Sure, he had introduced the Luna Ranking during his time, but it had been a tool of control, not whatever this nonsense was.

Look at him, an Alpha King having dinner, and yet none of the students had the sense to leave the hall until he was done. That was the least respect they could show the King of the Wolves.

His gaze lingered particularly on Ace Storm, son of Caspian Storm. What in the world was he doing with that human? And by human, he meant Daisy Fairchild.

Daisy, Ace, Ivy, Dion and Natalie were having dinner together alongside the other students of Lunaris that evening. It was something that hadn’t happened in a while. Between the zombie virus, the werewolf civil war and the witches’ attack, movement around the academy had been heavily restricted, with most students confined to their rooms unless absolutely necessary.

Sure, they had food and all their personal needs delivered during the lockdown, but they had missed this. The company, laughter and endless chatter filling the dining hall.

More than anything, the recent events had reminded everyone how fragile life truly was. One moment you were making plans for tomorrow. The next, tomorrow never came. So why not enjoy the present while it lasted?

"What do you think of it?" Daisy asked eagerly as she watched Ace take a bite of the tiramisu she had recommended.

It still felt strange to her that he hardly knew comfort food. Or junk food, as his mother Zara called it.

Growing up, Zara Storm had controlled every aspect of her children’s diet. Anything she deemed unhealthy was immediately banned from the menu.

It wasn’t until recently that Ace understood why his brother Alaric spent so much time attached to Griffin Hale’s hip. The East Alpha’s heir supplied an endless stream of comfort food.

So here Ace was, trying to discover all the treats he had apparently missed out on. At least that was how Daisy had described it.

"Well?" she asked again, her brown eyes shining with anticipation.

Ace chewed slowly, making a show of considering it.

"It’s terrible."

Daisy’s jaw dropped.

"Oh no. Terrible? You don’t like it?"

She looked down at the plate in confusion. Most people loved tiramisu. Then again, everyone had different tastes.

"Absolutely awful," Ace declared before taking another bite. "I should probably finish it so nobody else suffers."

Daisy narrowed her eyes. Then she scoffed.

"You’re impossible."

That was when she noticed the small streak of cream lingering at the corner of his mouth.

"Hold still."

Ace stilled as she leaned forward and wiped it away with her thumb.

"You’re such a messy eater," Daisy chuckled, her hand lingering longer than necessary.

Unfortunately, that was also the exact moment she noticed how kissable his lips looked.

Fuck. What was she thinking?

Daisy immediately tried to pull away. Ace caught her wrist with such speed that her heart skipped a beat.

"What?" she asked, suddenly breathless.

Ace’s blue eyes had darkened.

"That was the perfect kissing moment." His voice came out lower than usual.

Dion whistled knowingly. "Long overdue."

Natalie immediately kicked him beneath the table. "Behave," she warned.

Ivy sighed. At this rate, she was about to become the only single person left in their friend group.

Ace never looked away from Daisy.

"So why are you still hesitating?" he asked. "I already told you I don’t mind the age gap."

Daisy suddenly found herself tongue-tied.

She wasn’t stupid. Ace had made his intentions clear from the beginning. The boy had literally transferred schools because of her.

So what exactly was stopping her? Was it really the age gap? Most people these days barely cared about that.

Except what scared Daisy wasn’t the age difference.

It was the thought of losing him. The recent war had forced that realization on her. Ace could have been sent to fight and he could have died.

Just like that.

If he had, he would never have known how she truly felt about him.

Sure, she was scared.

What if she gave him everything only for him to wake up one day and realize she wasn’t the one?

But then again, how would she ever know if she never gave him a chance?

So this time, Daisy let go of the fear.

She leaned forward while Ace watched her carefully. Her lips brushed the corner of his mouth. It was so brief one could almost believe it never happened.

But the cream disappeared, and there was definitely a lingering tingle where their lips had touched.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Daisy lifted a brow. "You were saying?"

Ace’s eyes immediately gleamed with something dangerous.

"And this is the part where I take over from where you stopped."

He cupped her face with both hands and crashed his lips against hers in a passionate kiss.

"Yes! Finally!" Dion cheered so loudly that half the dining hall turned toward them.

Several students immediately broke into applause. Others wolf-whistled, while a few even started chanting. The entire hall burst into noisy approval as though they had all been waiting for this moment.

That was the scene Elijah witnesse and slowly shook his head. Another royal wolf lost to a lowly human.

Then again, he couldn’t entirely blame them. This was his fault. He had started the trend, and now it had come back to bite him in the ass.

Suddenly, Elijah heard footsteps approaching from behind.

He glanced over his shoulder and was surprised to find Irene Hale, Leon Draven, Caspian Storm and Ezra King making their way toward him.

Immediately, he sensed something was wrong. His instincts told him it had something to do with the near destruction of District One, but he pushed the thought to the back of his mind. As Alpha King, he did not show unease.

Instead, he leaned back in his seat and gestured casually at the empty chairs around him.

"Well, this is unusual. If you’re here to have dinner, then sit down. Though I should warn you, the food is surprisingly decent tonight."

None of them smiled. Their expressions remained hard, serious.

Even the students nearby noticed it.

Caspian turned his head in the direction of his son and ordered through the pack link, "Ace, clear the hall immediately."

The command did not stop with Ace. Every wolf student received a similar order from their respective leaders. At once chairs scraped against the floor as the wolves began rising.

Daisy looked around in confusion. "What’s going on?"

"We need to leave," Ace told her quickly.

Her gaze shifted toward the gathered Alphas surrounding Elijah. Something was about to go down.

Without arguing, she picked her things and stood. Around her, the other students did the same. The staff took the hint as well. Nobody wanted to become collateral damage if things escalated.

Within minutes, the once crowded Silver Court stood empty. Only the Alphas remained.

Elijah’s expression darkened. He picked up a napkin, wiped his mouth and tossed it onto his unfinished tray.

"You just ruined my appetite," he said annoyed. His gaze swept over them. "Now if you have something to say, let it out."

Irene was the first to speak.

"Did you contact President Roy regarding the bombing of District One?"

Elijah’s eyes narrowed.

"Why are you asking me that kind of question?"

"Answer her," Ezra growled.

The challenge in his voice did not go unnoticed.

Elijah slowly straightened in his chair and regarded them carefully.

"Even if I had called Roy, he would never have believed me," he said calmly. "District One has been a stain on the face of this country for years. Cure or no cure, they would have destroyed it regardless."

Leon told him to his face. "That wasn’t your decision to make."

Elijah scoffed.

"No? Then whose was it? We had an untested cure from a girl whose powers nobody understands. Was I supposed to gamble the future of the humankind on hope?"

"Humankind?" Irene could not believe her ears, "Since when did you begin to care for the humans, your majesty?" sarcasm dripped from her words.

Irene said, "Stop playing around, we all know you didn’t act out of caution, but of spite. You knew innocent people were down there. You knew Violet had already proven the cure worked. And yet, you still chose to remain silent."

Elijah’s gaze hardened. "I don’t understand why this is a conversation right now. My responsibility is to the wolves, not humans."

"No," Leon corrected sharply. "Your responsibility is to lead and your decision put us in jeopardy with the human government."

For the first time, Elijah glared at the south pack Alpha.

Leon continued, "That aside, you lied about Angus death and concealed his survival. A mistake that cost the lives of our people. This is just a few amongst many, but every time we overlooked your mistakes because we believed you were acting for the greater good." He sighed. "But we were wrong."

Caspian finally spoke. "Which is why we’re here."

Elijah’s eyes moved to him.

"We are impeaching you."

For a moment, silence filled the Silver Court.

Then Elijah laughed. It was a short laugh of disbelief. Or was it amusement. Surely they were joking.

Unfortunately, none of them laughed with him.

"You cannot be serious."

"We are," Caspian replied.

Elijah rose from his seat.

"You cannot vote against an Alpha King. This has never been done."

"Neither has stealing a throne from your own brother," Leon answered immediately.

"That was the elders’ decision, not mine!" He snapped.

Leon thundered back, "Unfortunately, those elders are gone. And yes, this begins now. The sub-Alphas are already in agreement. You may be Alpha King, but you cannot take on all four of us and the entire kingdom."

For the first time, genuine disbelief crossed Elijah’s face.

"You’re making a mistake. If you remove me, who exactly takes my place? Violet?"

He scoffed, "She is still a child and lacks experience. She will bring ruin upon the wolves."

Irene replied, "You’re right."

The answer caught him off guard.

"Violet is young and inexperienced. She would likely make mistakes. But she has accomplished more for the wolves in a few months than you have in your entire reign."

Elijah suddenly had no words to say.

"She united the packs. Defeated Angus. And cured the virus."

Irene leaned towards him. "So if I were you, I’d start preparing because your reign is over."

Her voice was cold and final.

"It’s time we welcomed our new Alpha Queen."