CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

I was pleasantly surprised to smell both Hugo and Dior when my eyes fluttered open the next morning. I went to stretch, but heavy arms restrained me. I huffed, hearing a familiar chuckle in front of me.

"He's quite the heavy sleeper, isn't he?" Rory whispered, rubbing the sleep from his own eyes.

I giggled. "So it seems."

Bastion started to stir as I spoke, and I snapped my mouth shut again. "What time is it?" I mouthed to Rory.

He rolled over, picking up his cellphone and waking the black screen. "We have twenty minutes 'til breakfast. Should we wake the bear?" He rolled back over, booping my nose with his finger like I had done to him.

"Probably." I sighed. "Bastion, honey." Nothing. I frowned. "Bastion, breakfast." This time he squeezed me tighter, mumbling about pancakes and sausage. I looked to Rory for help, but he just propped his elbow up, rested his messy waves on his hand, smiling at me.

"Asshole," I mumbled under my breath.

"Ass... Mm, threesome," Bastion grumbled.

"Okay, hell no, wake up!" I shot up, my face beet red as Rory busted into a fit of laughter. Bastion merely stretched, yawning a sleepy "Good morning."

"Not a word!" I glared, pointing a threatening finger at Rory, who was wiping invisible tears from his eyes.

He mimed zipping his mouth and throwing away the key. Damn Kings.

"Hey Bas, why didn't you go to the gym this morning?" I asked, slipping out at the bottom of the bed. Rory followed after me from the side, performing some stretches of his own.

"I worked out plenty last night. A run would just be overkill." I slipped off my tank top and threw it at him, which he caught with a grin.

"Mm, stripping for me so early." He winked.

I rolled my eyes, fighting my smile. "Shameless," I muttered, swinging my hips as I entered the walk-in closet.

"Only with you, baby!" I heard him shout back after me.

Rory was already buttoning up his dress shirt when I entered. He stopped to give me a quick peck on the lips, then moved on to rolling his sleeves. "Do you always dress up so much?"

He cocked his head, his dirty blonde hair brushing against his forehead. "It's rather casual for my line of work. Does it displease you, love?"

I staunchly shook my head. "No, absolutely not. You look handsome this way. It... suits you. I just feel kind of plain next to you, is all." I slid my jeans up my scrawny legs, shimmying to get them over my hips. He watched me closely, his heart picking up its pace.

"I could buy you some dresses if you'd like."

I cringed, remembering the sequined call-girl dress I met Rory in. Seeming to read my mind, he added, "Dresses that suit you, of course. Not party dresses." I thought about it. I owned some nice dresses back at home, but I lost them all in the fire. It wouldn't be a bad idea to stock up on a few practical but stylish pieces. "Okay. You can help me choose some, but you aren't buying them. I have a bank account. I'll buy them."

He snorted, handing me my neatly folded t-shirt. "I knew you'd say that."

Of course, my measly three thousand was pocket change to him, but I didn't care. I didn't want a sugar daddy. His money would be better used for the kingdom, not buying me clothes. Once I was clothed, his arms wrapped around my back, pulling my chest flush with his. "Why won't you let me spoil you?"

"Because it's unnecessary."

"That's the definition of spoiling, love."

I raised my brow, unconvinced. "Plus, if I'm choosing them, they will likely be out of your price range. The boutiques here aren't cheap."

I knew he wasn't trying to insult me, but I pouted anyway. "Surely I could afford a couple of simple dresses. How much was your shirt?" I asked, tugging on the crisp white sleeve.

"I think about $900. This one wasn't custom fitted."

I tore my hand away lightning fast. "Okay, so I could afford three dresses."

"Oh no, love. Dresses cost much more than simple dress shirts. Please, just let me splurge. You're a Queen, Aria. And it's just money."

I groaned. "Fine. But my first decree as Queen is making your puppy dog look illegal."

He snickered into my hair. "A noble decree that is, Queen Aria."

I gave him another kiss, this one a little slower as I savored his soft, plump lips. I could get used to this; waking up between my two loves, holding them, kissing them, and growing with them. I broke the kiss, staring deeply into Rory's baby blues with reverence. "Hey, love?"

He raised his brows, looking troubled. "Yes?"

"I know this sounds really pathetic, but—"

A loud knock sounded on the door, startling us. "Hey, brush your teeth, we got to go. I just got an angry text from Kim. We're late."

Rory looked down at the watch he had strapped to his wrist. "Later?" I offered.

He smiled reassuringly back at me. "Yes, love. Later."

When we entered the conference room, I was met by an unfamiliar wolf, bowing in front of me. He looked around 25, had short, jet-black hair, tan skin, and black-rimmed glasses. He was relatively slim for a wolf and wore dark jeans and a navy blue polo. I was definitely getting studious vibes from him.

"Um, hi," I said awkwardly, still not used to the whole bowing thing.

He glanced up at me, and I saw that his irises were nearly indistinguishable from his pupils. "Queen Aria." He looked completely starstruck.

"You can stand up, er—"

"Oh, ha, Brett. Brett Lawson."

Oh. The Alpha's son.

I flitted to Bastion, who smiled proudly in return. "It's nice to meet you, Brett." I held out my hand for him to shake, to which he accepted, flashing the seal on his forearm. I cocked my head to get a better view. "Advisor?"

"Yes, Queen." I used our connected grip to help him to his feet. "The Moon Goddess told me it was my job to handle the paperwork in addition to advising the Kings on options concerning important decisions. I suppose I'm just a glorified planner of sorts."

He certainly looked the part.

"Well, you've been a great friend to our King, so I'm sure you will be a wonderful Advisor." I gave him a warm smile, making him blush.

"Love, why don't we take a seat? We must discuss Bastion's meeting with the Alpha."

"Right." He walked me over to where he had already prepared my plate for breakfast. Everything was exactly as I had stacked it myself the morning before, and I grinned at his aptitude for remembering the little things. As I dug into my bacon, my mate stood to speak.

"Yesterday, I visited the pack hall in order to confront the council on their attack against our Queen. They... They responded poorly, with the exception of three, who are currently with our General."

I hadn't even noticed Anthony's absence that morning. I glanced around the room. The seat beside my mother was empty, and she appeared on edge. She wasn't the only one, though. At the opposite end of the mahogany was a dejected Oracle, swirling the coffee in his mug with deep-set and tired eyes.

"They killed my mother in front of me. As a warning to stay away and as punishment for supposed treason." Bastion clenched his fist. "That son of a bitch—"

"Bas," I warned, nodding to our advisor. Even if what the Alpha did was wrong, he was still Brett's father. I didn't want to offend anyone.

"No worries, Queen. I watched my dad commit the atrocity. It was unforgivable," he stated matter-of-factly. He nodded at Bastion to continue.

Bas took a deep breath. "He isn't done attacking. Taking a hundred of his men will be seen as a reason for war. Goddess knows what he will do when he finds out Brett is on our staff. Point is, we can't keep them hiding out in the desert. We need a place to set our Kingdom that isn't in a den of vamps. No offense." He offered Rory, who waved it off.

"How about Paradise? It's a human-owned land with plenty of mansions, probably even large enough to house our army. The only problem would be the money," our advisor suggested.

Rory cleared his throat, sitting up in his chair and folding his hands under his chin. "Money will not be an issue. Those homes rarely exceed $75 million. Between my father and I, that will be an easy sale."

Brett nodded, shaking away his awe. "Okay. Well then, I'll do some research and contact some agents. Give me a couple days. With those huge rooms, I'm sure 15 bedrooms would be enough to house the wolves, so long as we get some bunks to convert most of the rooms to barracks. I'll order some tents for any extra we might receive. Are we expecting Vampires to join our cause?"

I nodded emphatically. "Absolutely. Lysander made that clear. Our kingdom will bring peace between the two species, so I believe that it is only a matter of time before we receive some loyal vampires." I looked to Rory hopefully, and he smiled in return.

"Yes, love. I have a few people I would like to speak to. Our hotel employs nearly two hundred fifty vampires, and there are many more throughout Vegas. You can count on me." With a wink, he popped a grape into his gorgeous mouth.