Alpha King Of The Heavens (Heavenly Alphas Book One)

The Lion Rises

LEO’S POV:

18 years later…Coronation day

The day I had been raised for all of my life was finally here. The day I would be crowned as King. Father decided to step down from the throne so he could enjoy the rest of his life in peace. I happily agreed. He didn’t wish to live to be an old king. I understood that. So I agreed to assume the throne early on in my life. My only regret about this whole ordeal was I wished I had found my mate beforehand. The throne could be a lonely place for a king. Dad had told me when the moon goddess graced him with the throne, he hadn’t found mom yet. But still, that didn’t make me feel any better.

I walked around the castle as dad’s pack busied themselves packing. Since I was to take my rightful place on the throne today, the palace would serve as the pack house for my pack. So dad had agreed that it would be best for him and his pack to relocate to a pack house. I hated seeing everyone go, but they wouldn’t be far away. It would just take a lot of adjusting.

“Hey, kiddo.” Nolan smiled as he carried a few boxes to the car.

“Hey, Uncle Nolan. Do you need help with anything?” I asked as I watched him struggling a bit.

“Absolutely not. You have other things to worry about kid. Don’t worry about an old man and some boxes.” He laughed trying to balance them all in one hand so he could ruffle my hair.

“You better not drop a single box!” I heard Jaylene yell as she approached.

He rolled his eyes and mocked her. “Yes, dear.”

She laughed. “Old men think they can do whatever they want. Well, how is that working out for you?”

I laughed and answered for him. “Apparently not too well, Aunt Jaylene.”

She smiled and gave me a hug in passing. “See, you could learn a thing or two from the new generation.” She said smacking him in the head.

He sighed. “If I drop a box because of your harassment woman, I will not take the blame for that.” He said as he walked away.

I laughed and shook my head a bit. I walked down the hall and to the kitchen to grab something quick to eat. I haven’t been eating much this week, probably just the nerves to be honest. As I walked into the kitchen mom already placed a piece of toast in my hand.

I laughed. “You know me all too well.”

She smiled. “Gee, I don’t know. Maybe that is because it is my job.” She laughed and nudged me. “I just can not wait until this whole ordeal is over. I worry when you don’t eat like you should. And before you ask, yes. I do keep track of what my baby eats.”

I laughed and blushed a little. “Mom. I am not a baby anymore.”

She smiled and fixed my hair. “You will ALWAYS be my baby.”

I rolled my eyes. “You are so typical, mom. That was such a cliche thing to say.”

She laughed. “I can’t help it. It is the oldest line in the book because it remains true.”

I rolled my eyes and laughed as I ate the piece of toast. Dad walked into the kitchen as I sat down. “Son, are you ready? The ceremony is in only a few hours. We have royals coming from a few kingdoms today. You need to make a good impression as the new King. Understood?” He said watching my movements.

“Of course.” I nodded. Great, let’s add more pressure onto this already stressful event.

“When you are done eating, you really should go get ready,” Dad said as he kissed mom’s cheek.

“I will,” I said nonchalantly trying to push all of the worries out of my head.

“Leave him alone, Deryn.” Mom warned. “He will do just fine. You did, and you didn’t have as much training as he did.”

“She is right, you know. Stop pressuring the boy, Alpha.” Nolan said as he walked in.

Dad sighed. “I suppose you are right. I just want him to understand how important today is.”

Nolan laughed and snatched a piece of bacon before mom could even pull it from the pan. “Ow! Hot…hot!”

“Well duh.” Mom said smacking his hand away.

Nolan laughed as he ate it quickly. “He was raised knowing how important the day is. So you don’t need to keep reminding him. He will do just fine.”

I smiled thankful to have Nolan around. He could always pull Dad out of a stressful state by joking around. It always seemed to work. Mom and Nolan always managed to pull Dad from even the darkest of storms. I finished the toast as I snapped myself out of my own head and stood up. I walked back to my room silently so I could get ready for the day that I once was so excited for.

When I walked in my room I noticed that Jaylene had already brought my suit up. I laughed a little. Between her, Mom and Lillian, I don’t have a chance to not be prepared. I walked over and traced my hands over the elegant fabric. Leave it to Dad to make sure even the suit made an impression. It was a frost blue suit with purple stitching.

I grabbed the suit and put it on slowly. I hated wearing these things. I always felt so constricted. I straightened it out and put some hair gel on my hands. I ran my fingers through my short sandy blond hair slicking it back. I sighed and put my shoes on tying them quickly. I don’t know why Dad is always so pressed about when I should start getting ready. It typically only took me 20 minutes if that. He always made mountains out of mole hills.

I walked out of my bedroom and walked down the halls to meet up with Mom and Dad to welcome the royals to our home. They were all bringing the heir to their thrones. We were only required to invite royals from the three neighboring kingdoms. The witches, the humans, and the vampires. I walked into the parlor where they were already sitting and Mom stood up and hugged me tightly.

“You look so handsome.” She smiled as she assessed me.

I rolled my eyes. “Mom. Stop it. So, Dad, when will the royals be arriving?”

He smiled. “They should be pulling up now in fact. Let’s go out to meet them if you are ready, hm?”

I rolled my eyes a little. “Oh great,” I mumbled.

Mom laughed a little. “Oh come on, it won’t be that bad.” She said grabbing my hand and pulled me with her as we walked outside.

The light was almost blinding. I blinked a few times trying to hurriedly force my eyes to adjust. I heard the engines of cars pulling around as I quickly composed myself. The first car door opened and shut. The Humans.

“Welcome to Lycansbane old friend!” Dad said as they stepped out of the car.

“Oh Deryn, it has been too long.” King Simeon said as he walked up and embraced Dad in a tight hug.

“Yes, it has! You have to come and visit us more often. Spend a few days!” Mom laughed as she hugged him as well.

“That trip is too long to come here just to turn around and leave.” Queen Adelia laughed as she embraced Mom.

“Of course it is! Feel free to stay as long as you want. Please. We can set up a few rooms for you and your family!” Mom said excitedly. Oh great, that was the last thing I needed. My first few hours as king will be spent catering to guests.

Dad must have noticed my thoughts because he nudged me hard and cleared his throat. “This is Leo. It is hard to believe you have never met my son, old man.” Dad laughed nudging King Simeon gently.

He laughed. “Old man huh? Look who is talking!” He said plucking one of Dad’s gray hairs. Kings? More like teenage boys. “This is Everett. Our only pain in the ass.” He said motioning to the boy next to him. He seemed to be only a year or two older then me if that.

Everett held out his hand. “Nice to meet you.” He smiled. It seemed he had his father’s personality.

I returned the gesture and shook his hand. “The pleasure is all mine,” I said as he looked around. He seemed kind of excited. It wasn’t too often the humans traveled to other kingdoms.

He grinned as he looked around. He seemed so fascinated. I couldn’t help but smile. It was almost childlike. He had so much energy. It was almost contagious. Dad moved to the side, allowing them to walk into the castle. As the next car pulled up, I was just wishing this was all over and done with. I hated making a big deal out of occasions. Even my birthdays. I watched as the next family stepped out of their vehicle. The witches.

Mom smiled. “Welcome to Lycansbane. I hope the trip treated you well?”

“Of course. The travel went well. We are so happy to be here to see another heir on the throne.” Queen Jadis smiled kindly. The witches were different. You could feel the power radiating off of them.

The witches did things different than us. They crowned a Queen long before a King in most cases. Queen Jadis was a lone ruler as her husband died 13 years ago. I was only 5 years old but I remember taking the incredibly long car ride to attend the funeral.

She smiled kindly watching me. Dad broke the silence. “Yes, I am sure you remember our only heir, Leo.”

She smiled watching me, analyzing my movements. “Of course. It has been quite a while since I last saw you.” She smiled. Yea. 13 years. “I am sure you remember my only heir, Aradia.”

“Of course.” I smiled. “Pleasure to see you again Princess Aradia.” I bowed to her out of respect. “Welcome to our home.” None of the royals bothered me. I just didn’t like the meet and greets that came with their visits.

“Thank you for your kindness.” She smiled softly. “I just wish we didn’t have to travel by car.” She laughed playfully.

Queen Jadis smiled. “She has complained the whole time. Even though I have told her time and time again that it is your kingdom, we follow your traditions.” She said shooting her a warning glare.

“Oh, it is no problem at all. I can’t count all of the times Leo has complained about nonsense.” Mom laughed.

“Mom.” I groaned as I felt a blush creeping up my cheeks.

She laughed as Dad ruffled my hair. “Oh hush now. Let her have her fun. When you are king she won’t be able to do that as much.” He laughed.

I sighed and rolled my eyes as they walked past us and into the castle. The final car pulled up as I straightened up my suit. The vampires. The exited the car slowly and walked up to the steps.

“Welcome old friends!” Dad said enthusiastically.

“You always sound so excited to see us. Don’t you have any other friends?” King Acheron teased.

Dad laughed and pat his back. “Pretty soon I won’t have anything better to do with my time than to travel and harass you.”

King Acheron made an exaggerated painful expression. “Oh no. Now we have to move.”

Dad laughed as Queen Ballari approached with their son. “If I didn’t know any better Narcia, I would say they were going to leave us for each other.”

Mom laughed. “Who knows? It does seem that way.” She said shaking her head.

Dad looked at her in mock horror. “Hey, we resent that.”

Mom laughed and shook her head. “I am sure you remember our son, Leo.”

“Queen Ballari laughed. “Yes, of course. I am sure you remember our son Adrien.” She smiled motioning to him next to her,

I extended my hand for a handshake. “Nice to see you again, Adrien.”

Adrien smiled. “Oh, it is wonderful to see you are doing well Leo.”

I laughed. “It is good to see you again after all of these years Adrien.” Adrien and I had always gotten along great, but I rarely got to see him. Even when dad went to visit them, I stayed behind.

We moved aside allowing them to go into the castle as we followed behind. It was only moments away from what I have been waiting my whole life for. The crown which I had been schooled and bred. All of this hard work would finally pay off. I only hope that I didn’t disappoint anyone.

Dad glanced at me for a moment. “Well son, it is time. Go get in position for the ceremony.” He said placing his hand on my shoulder. “You will have plenty of time to spend in the company of friends afterward.”

I nodded nervously as my heart began to pound. While my parents took our guests to the parlor, I walked in the direction of the my room. My heart began to thud in my chest so fast and hard I was certain that once the ceremony began, they would use it as the drum. I listened to everything going on around me. Dad’s pack moving out, my pack moving in. The castle seemed so busy today.

I walked into my room to take a deep breath. My father would send my beta to get me as the ceremony starts. I tried so hard to even my breathing. This was going to be such a pain.

“Hey, you aren’t looking so good man.” Shilo smiled walking in. “Mom and Dad got worried, they said you looked really pale and told me to come to check on you.” Of course. Leave it to Nolan and Jaylene to still worry about me.

“It’s just nerves I suppose. I will be fine. It is just a big day.” I laughed shrugging it off. I couldn’t lie to Shilo. Somehow he always saw right through me. “Did your pack come with you?”

“Of course. They are already in their seats. But we aren’t talking about that. Tell me what’s on your mind.” He smiled at me as he sat on the edge of my bed.

I laughed and looked down. “What if I disappoint everyone? What if I am not the king that Dad is?”

He smiled watching me carefully. “You won’t be the king he was. You will be the king you are. With that mentality, the only person you risk disappointing…is yourself.”

I couldn’t help but smile. He knew me better then even my own Beta. He always knew the perfect thing to say. “Thank you, Shilo. I needed to hear that.”

“Of course you did.” He smiled. “Now, I am going to go back to my seat and tell Mom and Dad that your color has been restored. I will see you soon, King Leo.” He smiled as he pat my back and walked out of the room.

I sat quietly and waited. My mind playing my conversation with Shilo on repeat like a broken record. The more I heard the words, the better I felt. Every king is different. Every king was meant to do what the last king didn’t. I would make my people proud, and I would make my family proud.

Knock. Knock. Knock. I heard the light tapping on the door. I turned around quickly to come face to face with my Beta, Liekos. He smiled gently. “It is time, Alpha. Are you ready?”

I laughed. “As ready as I will ever be.”

He smiled and turned leading me down the stairs and to the throne room. I followed behind him closely and tried to keep my composure. As he walked in, I stopped and silently counted to 10. He took his seat quickly. I drew a long breath and calmed my shaky hands. I will be the king I am meant to be.

I walked through the huge doors as everyone stared at me in what seemed to be awe. Packs from all over the kingdom had gathered for this day. Not to mention the royals that were sitting on the stage behind what would now be my throne.

I walked up the long path and turned toward the audience as Dad stood behind me. I knelt down and bowed my head as the ceremony began.

Dad stepped forward to be closer to me as he spoke. “Today, we gather for the crowning of a new king. I have never been more proud to call someone worthy of this crown in my life. But my son, Leo, will truly be among the greats.” He said as it began to sound like he was getting emotional. “Fatherly pride aside, let’s begin. Leo, do you promise to do what is best for your people above all else?”

“I do,” I said trying to even my breathing.

“Do you swear to always protect your people at all costs?” He said as my heart kept thudding in my chest.

“I do,” I said sounding more like a whisper then anything else.

“Do you swear to give your life if you must for the sake of your people?” He stated as he watched me.

“I swear it,” I said hoping no one could hear my heart.

“Do you swear to live your life and rule this kingdom in the honor of the moon goddess who shines down from above?” He asked as he removed his crown from his head.

“I solemnly swear to always honor her in all that I do,” I said raising my head to make eye contact with the audience.

“I, Alpha King Deryn, crown you, Alpha Prince Leo, as the second King of Lycansbane. Now rise!” He said placing the crown on my head.

I rose to my feet as the crowd erupted in applause. I walked over to my throne and sat down to end the ceremony as cheers roared through the room. Liekos stood and walked over to stand by my side. I couldn’t help but look over at the empty Queen’s throne next to me wishing I had a mate to sit in it.

As if he knew how I felt, Liekos put his hand on my shoulder. “You will find her in time, Alpha.”

I nodded. “Yes, I suppose I will.”

I watched as the crowd left. Before I knew it, it was only myself, my pack, my parent’s pack, and the royals remaining in the room.