The Alpha King's Rebellious Queen
The Alpha King’s Rebellious Queen Chapter 88

Jemma’s POV

It was finally the day of Nicky’s first therapy appointment. The week leading up had been rough for my pup. He seemed to be getting worse and was having incidents during the day. I had gotten calls twice in the week from pupcare saying he woke up screaming during nap time. The ladies at pupcare had a hell of a time consoling him. So the last two days, Nicky had been with Cassius and me in the office so we could keep an eye on him. Last night, he spent the night with his grandmother, Liz, so Cassius and I could have a night to ourselves.

I woke up in my mate’s arms. We had spent the night making love, and I was a bit sore and tired this morning as I opened my eyes. It was still a bit early as I managed to remove Cassius’s arms around me. I did my usual routine in the bathroom. Cassius eventually joined me in the shower, and we emerged half an hour later after steaming up the bathroom. We were in the closet getting dressed as I was frustrated trying to find something that fits. It seemed the twins had doubled in size overnight, and nothing fit, not even my dresses. I sat on the chair with tears streaming down my cheeks.

“What’s wrong, love?” Cassius asked from his side of the closet.

I wiped the tears from my eyes. “Nothing fits,” I whined. In a second, he was on his knees in front of me.

“Nothing?” He asked with a sympathetic look in his eyes.

“No.” I folded my arms and suddenly felt like just staying in bed all day instead of working.

He sighed and stood up. He was wearing a pair of black slacks and a blue button-up shirt. He looked through my clothes. “Not even the dresses fit?”

I shook my head. “No.”

He sighed. “Wear sweatpants if you have to. I don’t care.”

“I don’t think those even fit.” I sniffled as more tears fell down my cheeks. He set a pair of sweats on my knee and knelt again. He leaned his face on my big belly. “I look like a damn whale.”

He chuckled softly. “A beautiful whale, oh mother of my children.” He kissed my belly, and the pups began to kick. It was sort of painful and uncomfortable as they were also pressing against my bladder.

I pushed Cassius away and stood to run back to the bathroom. After I was done, I walked back into the closet and pulled on the sweatpants he had given me. They fit but were a bit tight. I sighed and put on a t-shirt. I brushed my hair and pulled it into a ponytail. There was knocking at the door as I walked out. Liz was standing there with Nicky. My pup immediately squealed and leaped into my arms.

“Mommy!”

“Hi, Nicky. Were you good for Nana?” I asked my pup as I carried him in the room with Liz behind me.

“He was a good pup.”

I leaned towards her as I set Nicky on the couch. “No incidents?”

Liz shook her head. “No. Not at all.”

I sighed. “That’s good. Thank you for watching him last night.”

“Anytime, Jemma.” Liz smiled as Cassius had walked out of the closet wearing a black suit. “Good morning, Cassius.”

“Good morning Elizabeth. Did you and Nick have a good night?”

She nodded. “Yes. This morning I am traveling to my sister’s pack for my nephew’s birthday. If that is alright.”

“That’s fine, Liz,” I responded to her. “Which nephew is it?”

“The youngest Chad.”

I nodded. I vaguely remember her younger sister and nephews. They had visited Zephyr Moon a few times. Liz’s sister was just a regular pack member where she lived. “Well, say hi to your sister for me and have fun. Nick will be okay in pupcare for a few hours.”

“I hope so. Barb was so scared the other day when he woke up screaming, and not even I could get him calmed down. The other pups were freaking out,” Liz remembered the incident.

“Today is his first therapy appointment.”

Liz placed her hand on my arm. “Let’s hope that helps. I hate seeing my little Noodle in such distress. Especially when I remember that distress came from my own s-” She stopped short of saying, son. I could see the pain in her eyes. I squeezed her arm.

“Everything will work out, Liz. I know it will.”

She sighed and smiled weakly. “Thank you, Jemma. Well, I better get going. It’s a four-hour drive to my sister’s pack.”

“Have fun.” I hugged her. She walked over to Nicky to hug him.

“Bye, my Noodle. Be a good little pup.” She kissed his cheek and then walked out of the room.

My stomach growled as I looked at my boys. Cassius was sitting on the couch beside Nicky. “Okay, you guys ready for breakfast?”

They nodded and stood up. Cassius clasped Nicky’s hand, and we walked out of our room and down the hall to the elevators. Just Ainsley and Titus were waiting. Terry and Izzy had gone on a vacation and would be gone for a week. “Morning Ainsley, Titus.” Cassius greeted them. He hugged his sister and clapped Titus on the back.

“Good morning,” Ainsley said as she looked me over and raised an eyebrow. “What’s with the sweats?”

“It’s the only thing that fits this morning. I need another shopping trip to buy more clothes.”

Ainsley laughed. “Oh boy, I don’t look forward to that part of my pregnancy. Though I am only growing one pup. Can I go shopping with you?”

“Perhaps we can go tomorrow since it’s Saturday,” I suggest as I looked up at Cassius. “Would that be alright?”

He shrugged. “That sounds fine. I was hoping we’d get some family time.”

The elevator door opened, and we all walked in. “Well, I guess Ainsley and I can go before lunch, and then after, we’ll spend the rest of the day together.”

Cassius mulled it over. “I suppose that works.” He looked at Nicky. “Want to go to the carousel park tomorrow, Nick?”

My pups nodded happily. “Can we feed the duckies?”

Cassius laughed. “Of course.”

The door opened, and Nicky ran out ahead of us as we walked to the dining room. My pup was gleefully giggling and skipping. I looked away for one second to say something to Ainsley when I heard Nicky yelp. I looked ahead to see him on the ground, and that b***h nurse Heidi was standing arm in arm with a warrior. She had her arm raised.

“Watch where you are going, you little brat.” She sneered as I ran over to my crying pup.

“If you touch my son, I will knock your head off you so fast you won’t know what hit you.” I threatened her as I picked up my son.

Cassius growled behind me. “Why are you trying to hit my son?”

Heidi stiffened and leaned into the poor warrior she was holding onto. “King Cassius, this pup,” She said pup with disgust. “Ran into us.” She was playing the victim.

“And you thought hitting him was the correct course of action?” I said to her. “He is just a pup.”

Heidi sneered at me. “Maybe you should keep a better eye on the brat.”

Cassius stepped towards her, and the warrior let her go and backed away from his angry king, leaving Heidi to fend for herself. “Do not call my son a brat.”

“He isn’t even your son. He is the bastard whel-” Heidi didn’t finish her sentence as Cassius had grabbed her by the throat and was growling dangerously.

“Cassius,” I said to him, placing my hand on his arm. “Cassius, please let her go.”

He looked at me with black eyes. “She insulted our pup, Jemma.”

“I know.” I set Nicky down and leaned into my mate. “I don’t want Nicky to see you manhandling a female that way no matter how much of a b***h she is. Please.”

He sighed and let Heidi go. He turned to her. “You are treading on thin ice, she-wolf.” He snarled at her. He looked at the warrior who she was with. “Take her away.” He ordered.

The warrior nodded and bowed. “Yes, your majesty. I apologize for her behavior.” He grabbed Heidi and started pulling her away from us.

Cassius growled and stormed away from me. We reached the dining room, and everyone stood up. “Let’s just sit and eat breakfast,” Cassius grumbled as he dropped into his chair. I sighed as I took my seat beside him. I could feel his anger through our bond. The omegas brought out breakfast. Just some simple bacon and eggs with toast. I hesitated to eat as I watched my mate.

‘Are you mad at me?’ I asked through the mind link.

‘I don’t like it when you undermine me in front of others.’ He growled a response.

‘That wasn’t undermining you, Cass.’ I replied to him. ‘I didn’t want Nicky to see you strangling a she-wolf. I know she insulted him and was about to hit him. But after what he experienced with Jeremy, I don’t want him to think that sort of thing is alright.’

Cassius sighed and looked at me. His expression had softened slightly. “Sorry, love. I let my anger get the best of me.” He said out loud, eliciting looks from others down the table.

I clasped his hand and squeezed it. “It’s alright, Cass. I know you were just protective of Nicky.”

He leaned over and kissed my cheek. “Next time, I’ll let you handle the bitch.” He whispered into my ear.

I smiled at him. “Oh, don’t think I won’t.”

“It’s always weird to watch you wolves mind linking each other,” Titus interjected.

I snorted and looked at him. “Afraid we are talking s**t about you?”

He shook his head. “No, you all do that out loud enough.” He laughed. “It just looks weird to me.”

“Who is talking s**t about you out loud, Titus?” Cassius asked.

The vampire shrugged. “It’s not a big deal, Cassius. I am used to it.”

“You are my sister’s fiancee, thus making you a member of the royal family. I expect you to be treated with the respect that you deserve.” Cassius clenched his fist.

“Don’t get angry, brother.” Titus pleaded with Cassius. “I’m used to it. I am a lone vampire in a palace full of werewolves. There is going to be apprehension and fear. I can handle a bit of s**t talk.”

Cassius sighed heavily and pushed his food away. “Sorry.” He shook his head. “I am going out to the training field to blow off some steam.” He mumbled and got up from the table. I let him walk out without a second glance.

“I’m sorry if I angered him,” Titus said to me.

“I think he was already a little angry over what happened with Nicky right before we walked in here.”

“Oh right. Yeah, I didn’t like the vibe I got from that she-wolf.”

Ainsley snorted. “Is that the one that has been extra handsy with my brother?”

I nodded. “Yeah, she is supposedly a nurse.” Ainsley laughed. “Yeah, that’s what I say, Ains. I know I should have just let him punish Heidi. But I just didn’t want Nicky to see him choking a female.”

Ainsley sucked in a breath. “I think you did the right thing, Jemma. As much as she deserved it.”

I stood up from the table. “Thank you, Ainsley.” I looked down at Nicky. “Are you ready for pupcare?”

He nodded, and I clasped his little hand.

“Come on then.” I lead him out of the dining room. I hoped he would be alright today. We reached the building at the same time as Maria and Nico. “Good morning Maria.”

“Morning, Jemma. What’s up with Grumpy Pants?” She said, referring to Cassius.

I laughed. “I’ll tell you in a minute,” I replied as we walked in. I let Nicky’s go of the hand, and he and Nico ran into the playroom. “Good morning Barb.”

“Good morning Queen Jemma,” She bowed to me. “Good morning Delta Hall.” She acknowledged Maria.

“I hope Nicky has a better day today. I’ll be picking him up later for an appointment.”

Barb leaned in. “Therapy?” She asked. “Sorry, Liz said something about it.”

I nodded. “It’s alright, and yes.”

“I hope he gets some help. I feel so bad for that pup. He is such a sweet little guy and doesn’t deserve to have such horrid nightmares.”

“Thank you, Barb. I hope it helps him too.” I smiled at her. “See you later.” I waved to her and walked out of the building with Maria. We stopped just outside. “Cassius is upset because we ran into that handsy nurse again. Nicky had run into her and fell, and she tried to hit him.”

Maria’s eyes widened. “And she is still alive?”

“Well, she insulted Nicky and Cassius grabbed her by the throat. I made him let her go because I didn’t want Nicky to see that.”

Maria blew out a breath. “No wonder he is pissed.”

“Look, I know Heidi needed to be put in her place. But I just don’t want Nicky to see his father handling females that way.”

“I understand what you mean, Jemma. Cassius can let his anger get the best of him sometimes,” Maria explained.

“He said I undermined him.”

She placed a hand on my shoulder. “You were doing what a mate should do and kept him from doing something he would regret,” Maria smirked. “I suspect you’ll take care of that b***h yourself when Nicky isn’t looking.”

I returned the smirk and shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not.”

“I have to get to work. I’ll talk to you later. Hopefully, Cassius won’t be so grumpy later.”

“He is blowing off steam on the training field.”

Maria laughed. “Oh, dear.”

“I should go check on him and make sure he doesn’t kill our warriors.”

“You better.” Maria laughed again before walking towards the dungeon building.

I started waddling my way towards the training field. As I approached, I heard growls and snarls from the other side of the bleachers. Cassius was sparring with his head warrior Ward. They were both bruised and bloody from their efforts. Ward is a big male wolf, but he was still a bit shorter and less bulky than the king. There was a bit of a crowd watching. I sat on a bottom bleacher and watched my mate. I tried to think of calm thoughts, hoping it helped him calm down. He managed to flip Ward onto his back.

He looked towards the crowd. “Who’s next?” He growled. His blue eyes briefly flicked to me. ‘Are you spying on me?’ He mind linked me.

‘It’s not spying if you can see me.’ I teased. ‘No, I am being a good mate and checking up on you.’

‘I’m fine, Jemma.’ He snarled. ‘I just need to get out some frustrations.’

I sighed as two warriors started to spar with him. He was going hard on them. They were getting bloodied and bruised.

‘Mate is too angry.’ Leonora whined in my head.

‘I know.’ I replied to my wolf. ‘That’s why I am sitting here hoping our presence will calm him down.’ I explained to her.

‘I am trying to talk Enoch down.’

‘Is it working?’

She snorted. ‘Enoch and Cassius are of the same mindset.’

‘So, in other words, no.’

‘Let’s just hope they don’t kill the warriors,’ Leonora remarked.

I looked out at the field, and Cassius had beaten a few more warriors. They were walking off the field with bloody injuries. It seemed Cassius was getting angrier and angrier. I needed to stop this before he went overboard. I watched as one warrior went flying across the field, landing in a heap. Medics ran over to attend to him. With a sigh, I stood up and waddled my pregnant self onto the field as Cassius was taking on two warriors. His eyes were black, and I knew that Enoch had taken over. Taking a breath, I stepped between him and the warriors. His fist nearly collided with my head, but I dodged it.

He snarled. “Jemma! What the f**k? I could have hurt you,” His voice was Enoch’s.

“You need to calm down, Enoch,” I said as I grabbed his arms. “You need to calm down and give control back to Cassius.”

He growled loudly as his eyes flickered.

“Give control back, now,” I said to my mate’s wolf.

With a final growl, Cassius’s eyes turned back to ocean blue. He glared at me. “What the f**k were you thinking walking out here in the middle of a sparring match, Jemma?” I didn’t let his anger affect me. I stood my ground. “I almost punched you.”

“And luckily, I am a trained warrior and was able to dodge it,” I said to him. “I needed to step in before you went overboard.”

He growled and folded his arms. “Overboard? I was just letting out frustration.”

I looked back as the warrior he had thrown across the field was being carried off on a stretcher. “Letting out frustration is one thing. But injuring the warriors in the process is not the way to go about it. I am sorry what happened earlier angered you. But this is not the proper way to get that anger out.”

“Don’t tell me how to relieve my anger.” He turned away from me. “You should have just let me finish that bitch.”

I stepped around him and grabbed his hands. He tried pulling away from me, but I held tight. “Cassius, you know that wasn’t the answer.”

“She insulted Nick.”

“I know, I was standing there. But strangling her was not something I wanted Nicky to see you doing. He saw enough of that s**t with Jeremy. Heidi will get her due. Okay. But I can’t have you handling females like that in front of my son. He has seen enough s**t like that.”

“He is my son too, Jemma.” Cassius growled at me. “He may not be of my b***d, but he is my son. And I will not allow anyone to hurt him or raise their hand to him. He has been through enough!” He shouted.

I wrapped my arms around him and placed my cheek on his chest. His heart was racing. “Please calm down, Cassius.” I pleaded with him. He wrapped his arms around me. “Cass, I love how protective you are of Nicky. But please see where I am coming from.” I felt him calm a bit.

“I’m sorry, love.” He said in a more even tone. “I am so sorry.”

I pulled back from him and looked up into his blue eyes. I ran my hand down his cheek. “Let’s go get started in the office. Alright?”

“Okay.” He replied. “I will go shower first.”

“Good.”

He leaned down and kissed me tenderly. I smiled as the crowd that was still gathered cheered. He pulled away from me. “Get back to training.” He bellowed. We laughed as the crowd of warriors scrambled away back to training. We pulled apart, and he clasped my hand, and we walked towards the locker rooms. One of the twins kicked me hard in the side.

I hissed from the pain and touched my side. “That hurt.”

Cassius placed his hand over mine, and I felt another kick. Then it felt like the twin joined in, and I was being attacked on both sides. I leaned into Cassius.

“This is starting to hurt.”

Cassius frowned and bent down to my belly and kissed it. “You two be nice to your Mama.”

The kicking seemed to subside. “Huh, they listened to you.”

He smiled at that and kissed my lips. “They better. I will see you in a few minutes, love.”

“Okay, I am going on ahead to the office and get started.”

He kissed me one more time before walking away. I started towards the palace, and Ward was standing watching us with folded arms. “Thank you for calming him down,” The head warrior said to me. “I don’t know what angered him. But damn.” I noticed the bruises on Ward.

“It was just an incident involving our son. I hope that warrior they carried to the hospital will be alright.”

Ward shrugged. “He is a strong wolf. He’ll heal.”

“Good.” I smiled slightly.

“You were very brave to have walked out on the field like that.”

“It was nothing. I am a trained warrior myself. But I knew I needed to calm my mate down. His wolf had taken over, and I didn’t want any warriors gravely injured.”

A semblance of a smile worked its way onto Ward’s face. “I am glad you stepped in. I am glad our king was paired with a woman like you. One that is not afraid to back down in the face of that kind of danger.”

“Enoch would never hurt me.”

Ward bowed to me. “I must go back to my duties, your majesty.”

“Okay, Ward,” I said as he walked away from me. I then headed into the palace. I reached the office and sat behind my desk as my cell phone started ringing. I answered it.

“Jemma!” It was my younger sister Tiffany.

“Hey, Tiffy. What’s up?”

“My birthday is next week.” She declared.

“Oh, right it is.”

“Anyways, Mom and Dad are throwing me a big party since I’ll be eighteen. And I want you and Cassius and Nicky to be there.”

I smiled. “Of course we’ll be there, Tiff.”

“Good. Do you think I’ll meet my mate?” She sounded so hopeful.

“I hope you meet your mate soon, little sis,” I replied to her.

“Mom is making me go to luna classes at the palace.”

I laughed. “I’ll be happy to have my little sister under the same roof for a bit. And Nicky will be happy to see his favorite Auntie.”

“Maybe I’ll meet my mate.”

“Well, the alpha classes will be starting up at the same time, and there are a few unmated young alphas that will make good mates.”

She squealed. “I hope so, Jemma. Do you think I will be a good luna?”

“Of course you will. You were always better at listening to Mom about Luna stuff than I was.”

“Thank you, Jemma. I can’t wait to see you. I’ve missed you.”

“I love you, Tiffany. I have to go now. But we’ll talk later.”

“Alright, big sis. Bye, I love you too. Tell Nicky I love him.”

“Okay, bye Tiffany.” I hung up the phone as Cassius walked into the office. I was still smiling after talking to my sister. I missed her. He smiled at me as he sat in his chair. “I’m glad to see my king smiling.”

“Thanks to my queen, I am.” He leaned over and kissed my cheek. “Who were you talking to on the phone?”

“Oh, it was my sister Tiffany. She invited us to her birthday party next week. And we are going.”

He laughed. “Okay.”

“I want to see my family and my old friends.”

“I said okay, love. I think it will be good for you to spend some time there.”

“Thank you.” I turned on my computer. “Let’s get to work. I have to take Nicky to his appointment after lunch.”

“Would you like me to accompany you?”

“Sure. I think the doctor may want to speak to both of us.”

“Okay. It’s a date.”

“I hope she can help him.” I sighed sadly.

Cassius clasped my hand. “I’m sure she will, Jemma. You need to have faith.”

“You are right, Cass.” I smiled at him and then turned my attention to the computer.

Hours later, after lunch, it was time to get Nicky from pupcare and take him to the appointment. Cassius and I walked hand in hand to the pupcare building. I heard my pup screaming as we approached, and we ran inside to a horror scene.