The Crowning Surprise

Rains' P.O.V.

I hear Jess gasp loudly, and I don't need to open my eyes to know that she's feeling the warmth of my mothers' magic covering her for the first time. When I feel that familiar warmth covering my body, I smile at the sensation. The front door opens, and I hear Zion call out, asking if I'm ready. I tell him we'll be out in a few minutes, and my mom says she's finished, and we can open our eyes. When we open our eyes, we both smile. My mom and Odett are standing between us in matching silver and black dresses, a perfect mix between Jess's silver dress and my black dress.

"Absolutely stunning," I say as I look at the for of us in the mirrors. Jess nods in agreement as she smiles. I look at the clock in the corner of the room before turning to face the ladies. "Are we all ready?"

"I think so," Jess says with a laugh as she twirls around in the mirror, clearly happy with her dress, making me giggle.

We open the door and walk out to the living room to find Zion, Orian, and Alpha Mathew sitting around, already dressed. I look at Zion, but he's already on his feet and moving toward me quickly. I meet him halfway as he wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me into him tightly.

"You look lovely, my Queen," He says to me, and I blush and try to hide my face. "Are you ready for your crowning ceremony?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," I say, feeling the nervousness growing from the pit of my stomach.

"Why are you nervous, my Love?" He asks, and I shrug my shoulders as his grip tightens slightly around my waist.

"I'm not sure. I just have an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach." I say, and his face tightens into a frown.

"Are you feeling okay?" He asks. "You're not going to be sick again, are you?"

"No, I'm okay. And the doctor said he would have the results from the blood tests back soon." I say, looking at my arm where Doctor Jameson took the blood samples as he nods.

"He's going to work through your crowning ceremony," He tells me. "I hope you don't mind that he'll miss it."

"Not at all. I'm grateful to the doctor for everything he does, But as long as my family is there, no one else matters." I say with a smile as he picks up Odett.

"I'm glad to hear it. We will all be right beside you no matter what." He says, and I nod. Thankful that I have such an amazing family by my side, and I know I can always depend on them. The nervousness I was feeling just minutes before begins to dissipate. "The ceremony will begin any minute. We should make our way to the Throne room."

"Let's do this," Jess says as she walks to my side and grabs my hand, giving me a huge smile.

"Okay, We can do this. Let's go." I say, taking a deep breath, letting go of the last of my nervousness, and I'm filled with determination. We walk out of the suite and down to the first floor, where the Throne Room is.

We get to the door of the Throne Room and meet up with Sam, James, and Evan. They bow with smiles. Zion places Odett on her feet, and she runs for Sam. He lifts her up as she giggles, making Jess and I laugh at her happiness to be close to Sam. Zion, on the other hand, doesn't seem to be happy about it. I look over at him questionably, but he shakes his head. "We'll talk about it later." He links me, and I nod.

"It's time," Zion says as he reaches his hand out in my direction, and I place my hand in his as we face the door. Jess and Orian do the same behind us, as well as Sam and my mother, after Sam places Odett down while still holding her hand. Evan and James stand at the back while holding hands.

Once everyone is in place, Zion links for the double doors to open. The heavy double doors make a creaking sound and slowly open. When the doors were fully open, we began to slowly walk our way to the stairs as everyone watched on, making my nervousness bubble back up. Zion gives my hand a light squeeze when he feels it. "There are so many people in the Throne Room!" I link him.

"It's okay, my love. Unfortunately, it's tradition to have leaders and Alphas from all over attend the Crowning Ceremony of a new royal. Try to keep your eyes forward and your chin up. And remember, we are all by your side, No matter what!" He links back. I take a deep breath and try to push away the judgemental emotions I'm picking up from others as we reach the bottom of the stairs. Zion puts his hand on the small of my back to help steady me, and we start making our way up.

After making it to the top of the stairs, I finally notice the second and slightly smaller throne, placed next to Zions. My eyes glide over the beautiful black wood incrested with bright blue sapphires. It's absolutely perfect. "Do you like it?" Zion whispers in my ear.

"It's perfect," I answer him in complete disbelief. I smile up at him and see his cocky smile. How did I get lucky enough to have this man as my mate?

We then turn to face the crowd as the same elder from our mating ceremony approaches us, smiling down at me and whispering. "Shall we begin?" I nod, and he turns to address the crowd.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are gathered here today to witness the crowning of the new Queen of the Southern Werewolf Kingdom and her ascending to the throne. And with her, the ascending of Lady Jessica as the new Female Beta." He says, and the crowd cheers. Zion takes his seat on the bigger of the two thrones as Orian and Sam stand behind him on either side. Jessica walks over to my side as my mom and Odett stand on the left side of my throne.

The elder has us recite our vows to protect, represent, and stand with the Kingdom and its people, keeping the people always at the forefront of our minds. He gives a wave of his hand, Mia and Annie walk across the stage, both carrying a black silk pillow. One with a beautiful sapphire and diamond encrusted crown, and I'm thrown by its beauty. The other is a magnificently crafted sword of gold. Jess and I kneel as the elder grabs the crown from the pillow Mia holds, Placing it on my head before helping me rise.

"I give you, Queen Rain, of the Southern Werewolf Kingdom." He says as everyone howls and cheers with excitement. Zion walks up to my side, wrapping his arm around my waist and smiling at me before guiding me to my throne and sitting back on his throne.

The elder steps up to Jess next, taking the sword from the pillow Annie is holding, Unshethes it, exposing the blade, and taps it on both of Jess' shoulders. It reminds me of someone being Knighted in the old movies. He slides the sword back into its sheath, helps Jess to her feet, hands the sword to her, and announces her as the new Female Beta of the Southern Werewolf Kingdom. The crowd howls and cheers again as Orian approaches her and walks her to the right side of my throne before taking his place at the side of Zion.

Zion stands and thanks the elder for performing his role in the ceremony. The elder bows and begins to walk off the stage, followed by Mia and Annie. He calls out to the ladies before they can reach the steps, asking them to come back. It confuses me since this wasn't planned. They look at me nervously as they approach the center of the stage where Zion is standing. I nod and smile even though I'm not sure what's going on myself since I can't feel his emotions. But he doesn't look angry, so hopefully, it's nothing bad.

"For your constant devotion to the castle and its people. I want to take this time to acknowledge your effort and would like to promote both of you to the position of Head of Staff if you will accept it." Zion says, and my mouth drops as my eyes start to water. This man is absolutely amazing and thoughtful.

"We would be honored, my King. Thank you so much!" They say as they begin to cry and continuously bow. When they walk off the stage, Zion joins me on his throne. I turn to look at him and just smile up at my amazing mate.