Alexander growled even louder in protest, but I knew if Fenrir was going to talk to anyone, it would be me. I had to go out there and find him—or let him find me.
“He can’t get away with what he’s done. Not to you. I won’t let him,” I whispered fiercely. “Just … get better, okay? I’ll be back shortly.”
I dropped a kiss on top of Alexander’s furry head and shot to my feet. He started growling and barking, trying to get someone’s attention to stop me, but the others had already left to give us privacy. Their absence worked out in my favor because now I had a clear path out of the castle.
Possibly.
Leaving Alexander in a state of distress was the hardest thing I’d had to do in a while, but I didn’t look back as I walked out of his chambers and departed the royal wing. As I pushed on the wooden double doors to exit the royal wing, I ran into two of the King’s guards standing resolutely at their post and came to an abrupt halt.
“Princess,” they both greeted with a bow.
“Carry on,” I said hurriedly, then power-walked down the corridor. I passed the priceless artifacts and artwork without a second glance as I hurriedly made my way toward the lower level that led to the exit. Deciding that power-walking was too slow, I picked up the pace and ran down the grand staircase and across the spotless marble floors. Finally arriving at the front entry doors, I spared the carved wolves a cursory glance as I pushed on the door, my escape clearly in sight.
I heard the guards posted by the door and skidded to a stop before I made it outside the foyer’s vestibule. Shit. I stood in a darkened corner with closed doors behind me and in front of me, and knew if I didn’t move before they began to secure the castle, I’d be locked in this little section. I glanced around furtively, and my eyes snagged on a row of cloaks hanging on a set of hooks along one wall. I snatched one up and put it on quickly, pulling the hood over my head and obscuring my face.
“Here goes nothing,” I muttered as I stepped outside and onto the drawbridge that bristled with guards on high alert, searching the sky for threats.
I steadied my heartbeat and forced myself to walk at an even pace so I wouldn’t draw suspicion. I felt pretty confident with my strategy until I reached the halfway point across the bridge and an eager guard stopped me.
“Excuse me, but where do ye think yer going?” he asked, grabbing my arm.
“I er, I’m going to get more supplies for Dr. Harris,” I answered quickly, keeping my head down so he wouldn’t see my gray MacCoinnich eyes. “I’m his nurse.”
There was an uncomfortable pause before he asked, “Yer name?”
My mind scrambled and the first name it came up with popped out of my mouth. “Layla,” I replied, remembering the luna who came up to me earlier with a bouquet of flowers.
My heart galloped loudly in my ears and I heard my blood pumping as I waited for his response. After what seemed like an eternity but was probably only seconds, his grip on my arm relaxed. “Make sure ye return within the hour, Layla. We’re closing the gate soon.”
I nodded in affirmation and hurried out of the way. Thankfully, I crossed the bridge and reached the village without any guards recognizing me. Releasing the breath I didn’t realize I was holding, I peered out of my hood and surveyed the town.
I attempted to think like my adversary. Fenrir wouldn’t be here, so out in the open and with too many witnesses. He’ll be in the forest. Hopefully the Highlanders were safe.
I rushed down the cobbled road until I reached the beauty salon, where I turned left onto a side street. From there, I tried to remember if it was four or five blocks before my next turn, but then I saw the shoemaker’s shop and made a right. I passed a row of similar residential houses until I reached a dead end that opened into a vast amount of undeveloped land. The wide meadow was verdant green and dotted with tiny white flowers, capped by a single house at the far end that bordered the edge of the forest. This was how I remembered to get to Lucian’s house.
But I wasn’t going there right now. Today, I was heading into Caledonian Forest.
I darted across the field, carefully bypassed the cottage, and plunged straight into the forest, quickly getting lost in the multitude of trees and brush. I spun around to get my bearings and tried to think of his most likely hiding place.
My hood fell back, revealing my face, and I gave myself a mental slap for not thinking to change my clothes before leaving the castle. I was still wearing my sundress and flats from earlier; the brambles caught on my bare legs and I felt every twig and rock beneath the thin soles of my slippers. Not the most comfortable outfit to wear while on a hike.
The dense tree canopy blocked out the sun that struggled to pierce the darkness, making it harder to discern the path. I opened up my sense of smell and hearing and tried to sense the presence of someone nearby, but all I heard was the rustle and echo of the wind as it danced along the leaves.
“Looking for me?”
I spun around with a start and came face to face with Fenrir; I couldn’t contain my surprise that my finely-tuned senses hadn’t detected him in the forest. He stood just a couple feet away in a well-tailored suit, which was in stark contrast with our environment, but not at odds with him. I had yet to see him wear anything else.
“How is it possible for you to be here?” I demanded, staying rooted in place.
He gave a wolfish grin, his dark eyes glistening. “I told you I’d be here, little wolf. Didn’t you believe me?” He tilted his head questioningly.
“You shot Alexander with an arrow,” I accused through gritted teeth, fisting my hands at my sides.
Fenrir smiled. “Oh, that wasn’t me.”
“I did,” a woman said challengingly, emerging from behind a wide tree to stand beside Fenrir. The newcomer was a beautiful Hispanic female with honeyed, short brown hair that fell to her shoulders, her athletically fit body garbed in a pair of ripped jeans and a tank top. She appeared to be the polar opposite of Fenrir, but her honey brown eyes made me do a double take.
“I know you,” I breathed as I watched the woman stare back at me with a quirked brow. “How do I know you?”
She shrugged noncommittally. “I don’t know.”
Fenrir laughed. “Trust me, little wolf, you don’t know—”
“Raven!” I declared as her name trudged up from the depths of my memory bank.
I remembered meeting this drunk chick a long time ago at a bar. I was pretending to be drunk while she was completely plastered. It was during a time when I was working for the SIU and I was very anti-Lycan. Cassidy had just joined the team and had kicked my ass in the ring since I was moon bound at the time. We also had a serial killer on the loose and I’d been kicked off the case because I wasn’t playing well with others, so I went to that bar to lick my wounds. Except I wasn’t actually a drinker, and spent the whole time drinking water. When Raven found out I was a cop, she split. I shook my head. At the time, I could have sworn she was human! Was she?
Fenrir froze and his eyes narrowed on me, obviously surprised that I seemed to be familiar with his cohort.
“What the hell is going on here?” I asked, jabbing my finger in the air between them.
“I don’t know her.” She stabbed a finger at me like she thought I was the scum beneath her shoe.
I rolled my eyes. “Of course you don’t. You were plastered when we met. You were on your way to the West Coast, if I remember correctly.”
She frowned and took a moment to process what I said, then smiled. “Sounds about right. Guess she does know me.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“Now why did you shoot my fath—Alexander?” I demanded. Frankly, I didn’t care who this chick was. I would take her out for going after Alexander. It was her own fault for keeping such shitty company.
“He was in my way,” Fenrir responded simply, slipping his hands into his pockets. “I didn’t peg you for the sentimental type, little wolf. When he went down, it was quite a sight. Is he dead?” He fro
wned mockingly.
I growled and my canines and claws extended without thought. My face twisted in anger as I transitioned into a half shift and prepared to attack.
Fenrir made a tsking noise and wagged his pointer finger admonishingly. “We’ll have none of that, little wolf.”
I didn’t care that he could kick my ass. Fueled on adrenaline and righteous anger, I charged him without another thought, but my momentum was halted when Raven darted in front of him and launched an arm out front, sending me flying across the forest until my back slammed against a rather unforgiving tree trunk. I slid down and became hopelessly tangled in the cloak. With a frustrated growl, I ripped it off and scrambled to my feet. I didn’t care what it took – I wasn’t going to let them get away with this.
“Fight me, you bastard!” I snarled.
“Why would I do that,” he shrugged, “when I have her?” He motioned to Raven, who was already prowling toward me with feline grace.
She pulled two daggers from her boots and lunged my direction in a blur. I barely managed to dodge out of the way from their wickedly sharp blades. I stopped the next swing of her dagger with my claws and narrowly missed her other dagger as she attempted to stab me in the gut. I twisted out of her reach and planted my ballet-slippered sole in the center of her back, kicking her and making her stumble forward.
I took full advantage of her momentary befuddlement and wrapped my arm around her neck from behind, squeezing and applying pressure with my other arm. Raven was amazingly strong and resisted with everything she had. I tried vainly to snap her neck, but I’d never felt such strength in another creature since finding out I was a supernatural. Before I could analyze her mysterious origins further, she stabbed one of her daggers in my thigh and plunged it deep. I let out a howl so loud, birds scattered from the trees with angry, startled shrieks.
My grip loosened around her neck and she took advantage of my preoccupation to head butt me with the back of her head, knocking me back and out of her reach. Things were rapidly spiraling out of control. I was dizzy and couldn’t see straight, so when she tossed her next dagger toward me, I was already seeing double and didn’t know which direction to go. But her dagger never hit its intended target.
Metal grated against metal and the dagger was flung aside as something else deviated its direction.
That was when I heard it.
The battle cry of the Highlanders.
I shook my head and my vision started to clear as I took in the unfolding scene. Dozens of lunas swung from the trees while others ran on foot, their spears in hand and ready to do battle.
Raven looked at me and smirked, then she arched her back and a set of golden wings burst from her back.
Holy shit! I couldn’t help it – I gasped in amazement. She grabbed Fenrir and they vaulted into the sky, bursting through the canopy and quickly flying out of sight.
I wobbled on my feet and dropped to a knee just as a horde of Amazonian-like women surrounded me. Their hair was wild, their painted faces fierce, and the animal skins they wore were fitted to their slender forms. I saw a pair of familiar yellow eyes approach and their leader stood before me with a spear in hand, offering me her other to stand.
“Princess,” Ailios greeted, showing her razor-sharp teeth.
I clasped her arm gratefully and let her haul me up. “Hey, Ailios, thanks for the save.” I reached for the dagger still embedded in my thigh and pulled it out with a groan.
“I could smell yer blood from a mile away. What are ye doing here?”
I hobbled on one leg. “Alexander was attacked in the village earlier today. I came here looking for those who attacked him. I think they’re hiding in your forest.”
Ailios’s eyes flashed yellow. “Outsiders are nae allowed in our land,” she replied fiercely.
“I know,” I nodded, “but they’re not like normal supernaturals, as you can tell. They’re something entirely different.” Though how different, I wasn’t entirely sure.
“Do nae worry, Princess. We will handle them. Ye have my word.” She punctuated her statement by placing a fist over her heart and bowing her head respectfully.
“Thank you, Ailios.”
The first time I met the luna, she wasn’t exactly my number one fan. In fact, she made me fight her best warrior to the death to prove who I was. Interesting way to start a friendship, but the Highlanders weren’t bad people. Alexander had been working hard with the treaty to give them the opportunity to rejoin society again, which I knew was what they really wanted.
“Let me escort ye back inland,” Ailios offered. I didn’t even consider refusing. I would surely get lost in the forest, especially considering I ran in there like a hot head without a back-up plan for how to get out.
Ailios put her thumb and middle finger to her lips and whistled, which was apparently her signal for the other Amazonian lunas to disperse, leaving just us two. The beads in her dreadlocked hair clinked with each move she made.
“After ye, Princess.” She motioned me forward and we began our trek back to the edge of Caledonian Forest.
I dragged my busted leg through Sheunta Village and tried to avoid direct eye contact. Since I’d discarded my cloak in the forest, I kept my head ducked down to avoid attention, though that was easier said than done. My pale sundress was ripped and torn, blood dribbled down my thigh and leg, and I knew I looked a little worse for wear.
“Oh my goodness, Princess!” I heard the first shriek and shut my eyes, chastising myself again for not thinking to change out of the outfit I’d worn earlier that day. Of course they’d recognize me. Shit.
“Look, it’s the Princess!”
“She’s hurt! Someone help her!”
“Get a guard!”
Two Lycans ran up to me and tried to help me walk, but I brushed them off with a casual wave. “No worries, I’m okay. Really, I promise,” I supplied with a tight smile.
“Please, Princess, let us help you to the castle,” one of them pleaded as he lightly took hold of my arm.
I wasn’t some damned damsel in distress, and I hated that I looked so broken. This certainly wasn’t the empowering message I wanted to give the lunas. I could have entered through the back entrance of the castle, but the trek wound around to the other side of the forest and I wouldn’t have arrived until sometime tomorrow, especially with a bum leg.
My would-be helpers made enough noise to alert half a dozen guards, who came running down the cobbled street with Ranulf in the center.
When he approached me, he didn’t say a single thing. He just scooped me up in his arms and spun around to march back into the castle. I glanced back at the Lycans who helped me walk down the street and yelled, “Thank you!” I may not have wanted their help, but I wasn’t going to be rude, either.
Escorted by the guards, we hurried back to the castle, the draw bridge raising and the gate closing, sealing the castle from any more guests.
With my arms around his neck, I wisely remained quiet as a stone-faced Ranulf marched further into the castle. Instead of going toward the guest wing, he walked in the direction of the royal wing. My heart dropped when I realized he was taking me to Alexander.
I saw Bash standing in the corridor and the storm on his face told me enough. He was furious, and rightly so. He let me and Ranulf pass without a word but followed us as we entered the King’s chambers, which Ranulf opened with a booming kick to the door so he didn’t have to set me down. He was probably afraid I would take off running again. I’d be lying if I said the thought didn’t cross my mind.
Alexander was back in his human form, resting. Ranulf dumped me unceremoniously on the bed beside him.
“Ow!” I shouted with a scowl. “Be gentle, I’m injured,” I muttered.
“I wonder why!” Ranulf yelled. “Hells bells, Princess, what were ye thinking?”
“Do you understand the panic we’ve been in?” Bash chimed in. “Fenrir could have killed you!”
Yeah, he tried. Well, Raven did. Sem
antics. But I’m not telling them that.
“I was perfectly fine!” I argued lamely, trying to downplay the blood pouring from my thigh. “Besides that, I learned who shot Alexander. I’ve met her before.” Not that it really mattered since I still didn’t know what the hell she was.
“Who cares?” Ranulf shouted. “Do ye understand if ye would have died, we would be left without a Queen?” His face was beet red. I’d never seen the old guard so angry.
I lowered my head and placed my hand over my wound to stop the bleeding. I had nothing to say in my defense because they were right. If Ailios and the others hadn’t shown up and stopped that dagger from hitting me, I would be dead. I would have left the Lycan without a Queen and with no heir. The end of the MacCoinnich line would have ended with Alexander.
“Leave me with Mackenzie,” Alexander finally spoke. I didn’t look up from my bloody leg.
Ranulf huffed and stormed out of the chambers with Bash following, giving me one lingering look before closing the door behind him.
Before Alexander could say anything, I spoke first. “I’m sorry, okay? I know it was stupid.”
He sighed and reached for my hand. “It was nae stupid, darling. Poorly planned, aye, but nae stupid.”
I looked up at him in confusion.
He raised a brow. “Did ye find him?”
“He found me,” I admitted. “He was in Caledonian Forest with the woman who shot you.”
“And ye recognized her?”
I nodded. “I met her like, two years ago, I think. It was around the time of the Freedom Wars. I met her at a bar. At the time, I would have sworn she was human, but today, she had wings coming out of her back. I’ve never seen anything like it! Is she an angel? Are angels real? And if so, she’s a real bitch.” I mumbled the last part in case God was listening.
Alexander chuckled. “I don think she’s an angel, darling, but she is something. We must find out what those women are. Can ye and Bash do some research?”
Queen of the Lycan Page 6
