Queen of the Lycan

by Karina Espinosa

  Last I saw them, Alexander had the upper hand. How the hell …

  “Let him go!” I yelled.

  “Let her go first!” Fenrir shouted back.

  “I don’t trust you! Release him and I’ll let her go,” I growled. “Now.”

  Fenrir grinned and tilted his head. “How’d you find us, little wolf?”

  I smirked. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

  “As a matter of fact, I would like to know what brings the Lycan out to the fae realm entrance. How did you find out?”

  “You’re not as skilled as you think you are, Fenrir,” I taunted. “Your mistake was coming to visit me in the castle. It exposed you.” I wasn’t necessarily lying. He just didn’t know his appearance triggered a vision that exposed him.

  He frowned. “How?”

  I shook my head. “Release him!”

  “You first.”

  I rolled my eyes. “On the count of three, and if you don’t, I’ll fucking torture her so bad she’ll wish she was dead, so make sure you’re honorable.” Maybe she couldn’t die, but I could make her hurt.

  Fenrir’s jaw clenched and I knew I hit a nerve. “One,” he clipped out.

  “Two,” I continued.

  “Three!” we shouted in unison.

  We released our captives at the same time; I sighed in relief when Alexander fell forward and quickly stood to put some distance between him and Fenrir.

  Instead of giving her back her dagger, I slipped it in my boot. Then, because I was feeling petty, I kicked sand in her face. I turned my attention back to the wolf god. “Your fight is with me!” I yelled. “Tell your Valkyries to stand down.”

  He glanced at Raven and nodded, giving her the directive. She let out a loud whistle and suddenly all the Valkyries stopped fighting and spread their wings, taking to the skies. I was pleased to see Raven stay grounded due to the damage I inflicted on her ruined wings.

  “Happy?” Fenrir waved at the area. “Now let’s settle this, little wolf.”

  “Let’s.”

  I stalked toward him, wiping the blood from my nose with the sleeve of my sweater. When we finally came face to face, mere inches from one another, my heart raced with anticipation and nerves. I’d seen what he was capable of and knew I didn’t stand a chance. Especially in the condition I was in. I was barely running on fumes. The only thing that had kept me standing this far was the extra boost of Alpha strength. If not for that, I’d still be on the ground from Raven’s kick to the face.

  “Are you afraid, little wolf?” Fenrir whispered. “I can hear your racing heart.”

  “Nothing you say will intimidate me,” I muttered. “But if I’m going to die, at least tell me why. What’s the reason for why you’re willing to kill an innocent person?”

  Fenrir laughed. “Innocent? You’re far from innocent.”

  I clenched my teeth. “I’m innocent in this situation.”

  He tapped his chin. “Better wording. But if you must know … there’s something worse than me out there. I don’t know what it wants, but no one is safe. I need to protect what’s mine. Since you won’t step down, I’m forced to take you out of the picture.”

  “What is it?” I looked deep into the black pits of his eyes. “Why is it targeting us?”

  Fenrir frowned. “You don’t have to worry about those details, and like I said, I don’t know why it’s interested in the Lycan, but it is.”

  “And you can’t protect us without being the leader?” I tilted my head in confusion.

  “The Lycan are mine by right—”

  “We don’t belong to anyone! We’re not property,” I corrected. “Get that through your thick skull before you start your reign or else you won’t last.”

  “I’ll last longer than you,” he smirked.

  I snorted. “Well, yeah, but only because you don’t have a god threatening your life. So go ahead … kill me. If you think it’ll help you save the Lycan, do it.”

  “Mackenzie!” Alexander shouted from behind me. I glanced over my shoulder to see Raven standing in his way while the other Lycan stood around confused, unsure what to do.

  “You think I won’t do it?” Fenrir asked. “Because I will.”

  I shrugged. “Go ahead, then. I’m not afraid to die. I’ve faced much worse than you,” I lied. Possibly.

  Fenrir reached for my neck and squeezed, cutting off my air supply. Alexander let out a ferocious chorus of shouts and growls, but Raven must have been holding him back because he didn’t approach. With Fenrir’s punishing grip on my neck, I couldn’t turn and look in his direction.

  “Mackenzie!” I heard Bash’s shout from down the shoreline, followed by the galloping hooves of his horse.

  The panic in his voice was palpable, but I couldn’t think about it now. I was taking a calculated gamble that I hoped payed off.

  According to Ophelia’s vision, everything depended on me, and in the course of my journey I would face death multiple times. I had to believe this was one of those times, but one I’d survive.

  I know, crazy, right? But sometimes we had to make nutso decisions in the heat of the moment.

  “Mackenzie!” Bash was still too far away. Blackness seeped into the corners of my vision. I didn’t think I would make it long enough to say goodbye.

  “Release that child,” someone commanded behind me.

  I recognized the voice, but in all my near-death experiences, I’d discovered one weird thing that happened: when one of your senses started to go away, the rest of them faded away with it. My vision faded and my hearing was muffled, like I was partially submerged underwater.

  “I said, release that child!” A cane came down and smacked Fenrir on the arm with a meaty thwack. He loosened his grip on me and I sucked in a deep, ragged breath, then he dropped me to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

  “What is it, old woman?” Fenrir snapped, annoyed.

  “Ye cannae kill her.”

  I glanced up from my place on the ground and stroked my neck, partially unsurprised to see Ophelia standing behind me. She wielded a wooden cane with both hands and a hoard of oracles stood behind her in silent solidarity.

  “She is one of us,” Ophelia claimed, “and ye swore an oath to nae harm us if we lent ye our lands.”

  My eyes widened at the fact that she’d made a deal with Fenrir and didn’t tell me. Then again, she also didn’t agree to help him, either. Maybe this was why.

  “She’s not one of you!” Fenrir yelled. “She is a Lycan!”

  Ophelia shook her head. “She’s a hybrid—the first of her kind.” As her declaration rang out, I closed my eyes slowly, shocked that she’d just announced one of my biggest secrets to everyone. “She is half Lycan, half oracle; the only one in existence. If ye kill her now, we will be forced to retaliate,” she threatened.

  Fenrir choked out a surprised laugh. I opened my eyes and glared at him. “So that’s how you know? You’ve been spying on me?”

  I didn’t admit or deny his accusation. Instead, I climbed to my feet and dusted myself off, standing beside the old woman who’d just saved my ass.

  “You still haven’t answered me, old woman. Are you going to help us or not?”

  I wondered what they were talking about. I peered over at Ophelia.

  She pursed her lips a moment before answering. “If I agree, it will nae be me ye’ll be dealing with.”

  Fenrir’s eyes narrowed and then widened in realization as they traveled in my direction. “What? No way! The little wolf?”

  Ophelia nodded resolutely. “Ye need an oracle? Ye have one.”

  “The fuck?” I shouted as I stepped away from her. “I’m not helping him! He’s tried to kill me multiple times! Including just five minutes ago!”

  I glanced at Alexander, Bash standing by his side. They wore matching dubious expressions. Like me, they didn’t like the direction this conversation was heading. What the hell was Ophelia’s end game?

  “I’m not working with half an ora
cle,” Fenrir grunted derisively.

  I glared at him. “Well, this half oracle found your hiding spot, so I wouldn’t be so high and mighty if I were you,” I sneered.

  Raven limped forward, dragging her torn wing along the rocky shoreline. “If this puts an end to the fighting, just work together,” she said wearily.

  “I don’t trust you,” I growled, reaching up to cradle my broken nose.

  Working with Fenrir would be a gamble. Instead of leading his people, he wanted the Lycan to worship him like a new religion. There was no way that would ever happen. He couldn’t just show up after a millennia of absence and demand to rule over a species. It didn’t work that way.

  “You don’t know what you’re up against, little wolf. You won’t be able to handle it—”

  “It is she who the demon wants,” Ophelia interrupted.

  I snapped my head in her direction and jerked back in surprise. “Excuse me, did you just say demon?”

  “Ophelia, what is going on?” Alexander demanded, coming to stand by my side. “No more secrets.”

  “Mackenzie has something the demon wants,” Ophelia revealed, her sightless eyes locked onto my wide, disbelieving ones as she ignored Alexander completely.

  “What is it? What do you have?” Fenrir scowled at me like I was supposed to know.

  I shrugged. “How the hell do I know? I’m still stuck on the fact that demons are real.”

  “It escaped the underworld last year, but it’s been roaming quietly until recently,” Fenrir explained, his eyes narrowing. “Now what could you possibly have that it wants?”

  I glanced at Alexander, silently pleading for help because I had no idea what it could be. My most valuable possession was the damn crown I received at my coronation, or maybe the MacCoinnich family ring. Other than that, I didn’t own anything that was worth much.

  “I have an autographed Coldplay album …” I mumbled, knowing how stupid I sounded.

  Fenrir scoffed, “We’ll talk about your poor choice in music another time, but right now I don’t think Abaddon is looking for a Coldplay collectible.”

  “That’s its name?” Bash asked. When Fenrir nodded, Bash chided, “You should have told us about it sooner instead of fighting us. People have been hurt because of this!”

  Bash wasn’t wrong. The Highlanders had already been attacked by this Abaddon demon. At least I thought so. If we’d known about this threat earlier, maybe they would’ve had a chance.

  “If little wolf is the obstacle, then that’s more than enough of a reason to get rid of her.” Fenrir stepped closer to me. Alexander and Bash closed in on me and growled protectively.

  Ophelia held up a hand to stop them all. “She may be the problem, but she is also the solution.”

  Fenrir threw his hands in the air and scoffed, “Bloody hell! What have you seen, old woman?” He ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

  “Enough to tell ye she cannae be killed. Defy me if ye want. My sisters and I are ready,” Ophelia threatened, tightening her grip on the staff.

  Fenrir narrowed his eyes and stared me down. The air crackled with tension and poised muscles, ready to strike. “Let’s meet tomorrow to figure this out. I’ve had enough of this.” He turned around, clasped Raven’s hand, and walked into the forest until they were out of sight.

  We could have attacked right then and there, but we didn’t. I watched their retreating backs without raising a hand against them because I was exhausted. Besides that, I had a lot of questions. If meeting with Fenrir tomorrow would get me those answers, I’d do it.

  14

  I didn’t know how much longer I could keep this up. My energy was lower than it had ever been after returning to the castle from our impromptu battle with Fenrir and his Valkyries. We sent for Dr. Harris once we arrived, and after checking on me, he went to tend to the wounded with the help of Tavish. They wouldn’t let me visit Cosima’s apothecary without my guards, which meant if I wanted the help only a witch or warlock could provide, I had to be craftier.

  I entered the ballroom where they’d established a triage area and approached the warlock, who was busy bandaging a guard’s leg.

  “Hey, Tavish,” I whispered, tapping him on the shoulder.

  He peered over at me and startled when he saw who it was. “Yer Majesty!” He bowed. “Are ye okay? Do you need my assistance?”

  I waved off his bow. “You’re a warlock; you don’t have to do that. I’m not your queen.”

  He blushed. “It’s purely out of respect, Yer Majesty.”

  I nodded graciously, then noticed my father on the other side of the ballroom, helping tend to the wounded. I pitched my voice low as I asked, “By any chance …” I scrutinized his bag of goodies, “do you have a stamina potion?”

  His brows furrowed and he tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. “A stamina potion?” he repeated. “For ye?”

  I bit my lip. “Yeah … I just need a boost …” I glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention to us. “You know, like a jumpstart.” I smiled weakly.

  “Are ye sure yer okay, Yer Majesty?” he asked again.

  My palms started to sweat. “I’m perfectly fine, just really tired.”

  He twisted his mouth to the side and finally nodded, his long, hippie hair falling over his face. “Okay, well, I have one with me that I can give ye. It’s nae very potent, but—”

  “That’s okay! I’ll take it!” I cut him off like a crackhead feening for my next hit.

  Tavish dug into his bag and searched through multiple jars of tonics before finding the one he was looking for. He pulled out a small vial that contained a bright red liquid. When I reached for it, Tavish pulled it out of my reach.

  “Ye know it’s nae good to take too many of these,” he warned.

  “Yes, I know. It’s just for today,” I promised.

  “Very well.” He reluctantly handed it over.

  I snatched it out of his hands, uncapped it, and tossed it back in one shot. I winced from the bitter taste, but didn’t really care about the flavor. The instant it slid down my throat, an invigorating surge of energy coursed through my body. My skin tingled and my muscles felt firm. It was as if I’d been shocked with one thousand volts of electricity.

  “Thank you, Tavish!”

  “Yer welcome, Yer Majesty.” He bowed and excused himself to get back to work.

  I bounced out of the ballroom, feeling wired and ready to tackle an army on my own. My guards were waiting for me.

  “Where to, Yer Majesty?” Liam asked.

  “My office. I’m meeting the candidates for the Queen’s Council this evening. I need to prepare.” I blinked multiple times, feeling the energy flow through me and trying to calm my racing heart.

  The Queen’s Guards escorted me to my office where I found Bash waiting for me with Ranulf.

  “Sorry I’m late!” I offered brightly, heading behind my desk. “What did I miss?”

  “What did you miss?” Bash looked taken aback. “Did you forget everything that just happened?”

  I rolled my eyes. “I know all about that, but did you fill Ranulf in on the Council hopefuls?” I glanced at Ranulf. “Where were you, anyway?”

  “The forest was filled to the brim with those women. We were overpowered,” he grunted, obviously displeased. “But Sebastian told me what happened on the shoreline. I don understand Ophelia. She wanted to keep ye a secret, so why reveal ye now?”

  I shook my head in consternation. “Your guess is as good as mine, but I have a feeling a vision is behind this. She knows more than she’s telling us.”

  “That bloody old hag,” Ranulf grumbled. “She does nae know when to mind her own business.”

  “Well, personally I’m glad she interfered, or I’d be dead meat,” I mumbled, gratefully accepting a large mug of coffee from Bash.

  “What’s that about, anyway?” Bash asked with a challenging glint in his eye. “Why are you so desperate to die?”

  I wagge
d my finger at him and made a tsk noise. “Don’t misunderstand me. I’m in no rush to kick the bucket just yet, but I also had a feeling he wasn’t going to kill me, so I decided to run with it. Did I get a little dramatic? Possibly. Sue me.” I shrugged.

  Bash rolled his eyes. “You’re going to get yourself killed one of these days. Stop depending on these visions.”

  “Yeah, yeah, I know.” I waved him off. “Anyway, Fenrir is coming to the castle tomorrow, which means we have to be prepared. I don’t know what’s running through his mind or what he has planned. We need information, so we have to figure out a way to pull it out of him.”

  Ranulf smirked. “What better way to get a man talking than loosening his tongue with some alcohol?”

  I chuckled and sipped my coffee. “You think that’ll actually work?” I wasn’t a drinker, so I didn’t have first-hand experience about the effects of alcohol. Ironically enough, I was pretending to be drunk the night I met Raven many moons ago.

  “It’s a worth a shot, Yer Majesty,” Ranulf offered.

  I nodded. “Set up a dinner,” I added. “We’ll greet our guests with a feast.”

  “For how many?” Bash asked.

  Fenrir didn’t tell us who he would be bringing with him, so I considered the possibilities. “Count on three for sure. Fenrir will definitely be traveling with Raven and Bobby, but let’s have additional seats available just in case. We’ll play it by ear.”

  “Very well.” Ranulf entered notes in his phone. “I’ll have the kitchen prepare.”

  Bash’s phone rang and he excused himself to step outside and answer it. Once he was gone, I turned to Ranulf.

  “Invite Ophelia. I want her here as a peace maker. She’s obviously the one who brokered this deal, so she must take responsibility. Also, is there any way to keep Alexander and Bash out of the dinner?”

  Ranulf scoffed, “Are ye mad? There’s no way they’ll miss this! Why don ye want them to attend?”

  I looked down at my half-drunk coffee and tapped on my mug with the band of my ring. “They’re too emotional,” I finally whispered. “If things go south, I don’t want them interfering … trying to save me.”