The Raven Queen

by Emma Jayne Mills

  Lykos and Jax looked at each other across the table for a few minutes, allowing Jax’s words to sink in. Neither man particularly wanted to be in the other’s company, let alone work together. Finally, Lykos decided if Jax could see past their rivalry, then so could he.

  “If you two are done with your pissing contest, shall we get this plan worked out so we can get some sleep?” Marco knocked his knuckles on the tabletop.

  “I do have an idea. However, I feel it may earn me further bruising.” Lykos rubbed his jaw as he spoke.

  “I’m sure you’ll cope, what’s your plan?” Aurora asked.

  Lykos looked at her for several moments before he spoke, leaning forward in his seat and inspecting her. Would she find his plan acceptable? Would she allow him to protect her in the way he wanted? Before she had resumed contact with her mate, he had faith that she would work alongside him. Although he could tell their bond remained unsealed, the process had begun and Jax’s scent seeping from her was stronger than it had been before. She was now more heavily influenced by her mate than she could be by any other. He was taking a risk with his suggestion, having become excited at the prospect of it when Aurora insisted on coming to Greece. He was no longer sure it was a good idea, but it was the only plan he had.

  “I don’t know how close an eye you’ve had on events since you left my care.” Lykos shared a small smile with Aurora, hoping to invoke the memory that, whether she could admit it or not, she had begun to trust him in that time. “The prophecy is now public knowledge and rumours that you are alive are rife. Packs across Europe seek you, some wishing to align themselves with you, others wishing to harness your power for their own gain. Chaotic instability has swept the shifter world and the vampires are taking advantage. They have no idea what they are facing, some are afraid, some are acting irrationally. All they have to go on is the history books. Whether they are in support of the prophecies or not, the one commonality is you. My pack and The Shadow Pack are being watched. Getting out of Ireland untracked was no simple task. One piece of information they all seem to agree on, is that they believe you and I to be mated.”

  Lykos paused to await the explosion from Jax. Lykos watched Aurora and Jax for any kind of interaction, a touch from her to calm him, they merely waited for him to get to the point. Their bond was far stronger than he had expected. Neither one needed to look at the other to know their feelings and reactions to situations. They touched each other automatically to calm flares of temper and emotion and he suspected they communicated constantly through the connection in their minds. Seeing them together was unsettling for him. He struggled to control the jealously he felt and it was only his devotion to Aurora that stopped him from killing Jax.

  “It is my understanding, that my brother’s pack are in support of you and believe in the prophecy.” He paused again, watching the woman opposite him.

  “Get to the point, Lykos,” Aurora huffed and he smiled, loving any reaction he could provoke from her.

  “As you know, I secured the invitation to the auction in your name. If I were to reveal that you are the owner of the item Ambrosios desires, he will definitely agree to the meeting. I will obviously accompany you and introduce you as my mate. I believe we have a chance to bring him on side.”

  -I hate it, but if we can get it without a fight and form an alliance at the same time it’s one less headache to deal with.

  -I agree. Will you be able to hold your temper, O’Conner?

  -Have faith, wild thing, I got this.

  “What if he doesn’t agree to the meeting?” Aurora asked.

  “Then we bid on the dagger during the auction and secure it that way. Lykos will bid in the museum with Hunter backing him online,” Zane said. “It makes sense to offer the exchange first.”

  Zane had been watching Jax and Aurora, knowing they would discuss Lykos’s plan between themselves first. The idea was a good place to start but rested solely on whether or not Jax could handle it. He noted Aurora’s nod in his direction and immediately took the plan on board, beginning to work through it.

  “As an alpha and his mate, you’d have security. Marco will act as your beta, Cole and Mel will also join you,” Jax added.

  “Why not you?” Melaina asked.

  “Lykos is an alpha, he wouldn’t have another alpha guard him,” Zane answered.

  “It’s also highly likely they’ll pick up on my bond with Rory, putting the whole thing in jeopardy,” Jax put in. “If Ambrosios thinks we’re deceiving him in any way, he’ll shut up shop.”

  “So, you two will sit this one out,” Lykos stated, looking from Jax to Zane.

  “Oh, we’ll be there,” Jax informed him, with a sly smile. “Don’t worry about that.”

  “Once you’re inside the museum, Jax, Hunter and I will set up on the outside. To avoid radio transmissions being picked up we’ll communicate through Jax and Aurora’s bond,” Zane continued.

  “No messing around, no stalling, you get in, get the dagger and get out. If the plan works, fantastic but if it doesn’t, everyone needs to be prepared to fight their way out of there.” Jax gained eye contact with Lykos, his look expressing that he expected the other alpha to protect Aurora at all costs. One simple nod from Lykos showed he understood.

  “If the shit hits, that’s where we’ll come in,” Hunter added. There was no need to go into specifics since he, Jax and Zane would stick to a well-rehearsed routine that had never failed them.

  “What of the witch? Will we fly directly to England from Crete?” Lykos moved on to the next part of the job.

  “Yes, we have that already in place. I haven’t yet filled them in on our knowledge of Veronica,” Zane told him. “I was waiting until tonight, to get your input as well.”

  “Of course,” Lykos acknowledged.

  Zane looked around at the expectant faces of the team. His life before them was not one he spoke of much. The men knew he had been part of the Laignach Faelad for many years before their team was put together but he had never shared details.

  “The mission involving Veronica Harrington was our first within the Laignach Faelad. We were both young and eager to get to work,” Zane began. “As you know, the organisation and its missions are top secret, so we weren’t surprised to learn of the involvement of a witch.”

  “Veronica and her only daughter had spent a life in hiding, concealing themselves in the human world. Veronica, however, acted as a kind of foster parent? Is that the right English?” Lykos looked to Aurora, who nodded. “She was a foster parent to paranormal children, orphans, strays, any child who needed a place to stay.”

  “Her daughter, Jemma and one of the boys who stayed at the house, fell in love when they were teenagers and eventually married,” Zane picked up the story. “Jonathan and Jemma had a prophecy of their own.”

  “I don’t like the way this is going.” Aurora frowned and Zane flashed her a sad smile.

  “They were destined to bring triplets into the world. Triplets who would become the saviours of the witch race.”

  “The war left witch numbers in decline and the prophecy was deemed obsolete,” Lykos continued. “However, the king of the vampires, upon learning of their existence, did not wish to take the chance that these children could overthrow him.”

  “Jemma and Jonathan were threatened many times and we were brought in to investigate the threats. On the day they were killed, we were called away to another mission and were unable to protect them.” Zane’s shoulders slumped.

  “One of the triplets, Ethan, was with them. He disappeared that day and was never found,” Lykos added.

  “How long ago?” Jax asked.

  “Fifteen years, the two remaining children are around the same age as Aurora now. Veronica bound their powers to protect them,” Zane said. “I believe they grew up in the human world, knowing nothing of their heritage or their brother.”

  “It’s no secret that the vampire king was responsible. Our team searched far and wide, but we could not f
ind the boy,” Lykos brought the story to its conclusion.

  “The thing is,” Zane said. “Veronica has the hatred for the king that Drake spoke of, but I don’t believe she has the power to put into a potion that would incapacitate him long enough to kill him.”

  “I agree,” Lykos nodded. “However, there are two others.”

  “Xander and Addie?” Zane asked and Lykos nodded once. “Together, they would certainly have the power. But Addie…”

  “She is well,” Lykos told him, then addressed the table. “Addie and Xander are two more of Veronica’s waifs.”

  “I know these names, all of them. Veronica spoke about them while I lived with her. But I never knew she had grandchildren.” Melaina expressed her sadness at the story. “I can’t believe all this happened and I knew nothing about it.”

  “She was protecting them and you, Mel. It was not personal,” Lykos assured her.

  “You’ve seen Addie?” Zane asked Lykos.

  “I saw Xander a few months ago. While she still searches for Ethan, she is better.” Lykos looked at the others. “She blamed herself for the attack. Jemma foresaw the deaths of herself and her husband, but not Ethan’s disappearance. They asked Addie and Xander to take care of the children after they were gone. Addie became consumed with finding Ethan and was unable to care for his siblings.”

  “Xander thought he was going to lose her to madness for a while,” Zane said. “I’m glad she’s recovering. Do you know how to find them?”

  “No, my meeting with Xander was purely coincidental. I am certain Veronica would know however,” Lykos answered.

  “Agreed,” Zane nodded once.

  “So, we still start with Veronica, once we have the dagger,” Aurora commented.

  “We do,” Zane agreed.

  “I believe we have a plan.” Aurora stood, resting a hand on Jax’s shoulder, and looking down at him. “Let’s get out of here for a while.”

  “Suits me,” Jax stood and took her hand.

  “Where are you going?” Lykos wanted to know.

  “To raise hell, old man,” Aurora threw over her shoulder, allowing Jax to lead her towards the door.

  “We’re going to get eyes on this chaos you were telling us about,” Jax clarified, more for Zane than for Lykos.

  “Don’t be seen!” Zane called after them as they left. “And no fighting! With the locals or each other!”

  Zane sought solitude after Jax and Aurora left, needing time to ensure he had every possible outcome covered, when it came to the acquisition of the dagger. The story of his involvement with the Harrington witches had also brought forth a need to reflect. Veronica had, when he was younger, helped him in controlling his bear’s anger, but he hadn’t seen her for an awfully long time. It had been her that told him of his own destiny and involvement with a young wolf holding a prophecy, who would come to him with an offer that he must accept.

  “Commander, a moment of your time, if you will?” Lykos approached Zane, who was standing on the balcony of the hotel suite.

  “Zane,” he sighed, annoyed at the interruption. “It’s Zane, unless we’re working.”

  “Aren’t we always working? Protecting a queen is a job that never ends,” Lykos debated.

  “What can I do for you?” Zane ignored the baiting.

  “I received a call from my beta, new information has become known concerning Aurora’s safety. I felt it better to come to you with it, since it is of a delicate nature, before informing her.” Lykos may not have been his favourite person, but he was a member of his team and Zane would give him a fair hearing. Not one without question, however.

  “Caspian is your beta, I don’t think I need to tell you he can’t be trusted,” Zane snapped.

  “I anticipated that you would be dubious, so I personally looked into what he told me and found it to be correct. A price has been put on Jax’s head,” Lykos announced. Although, he was unconcerned with that particular detail, it was relevant to the remainder of the information he had received.

  “I don’t see why that would bother you,” Zane said, sarcastically. They had all known Jax would become a target once word got out about Aurora’s destiny. They had planned for it.

  “Ordinarily, it would not,” Lykos admitted. “Particularly, since many already believe I am Aurora’s mate. Jax and I will never be friends, but while we serve the same queen, I will protect him as I would a member of my pack. I am no monster and I can respect their bond, as much as it pains me. I know how Aurora would feel if anything were to happen to him.”

  “Even though you want her for yourself?” Zane asked.

  “As I said, I would not inflict such pain on her.”

  “You know she’ll never love you back, don’t you? Not like she loves him.”

  “I believe in our bond.”

  “It’s the same bond she shares with me and the other warriors, it’s not a mate bond.”

  “I have reason to believe otherwise.”

  “The prophecy,” Zane wasn’t sure why he was arguing the point with the stubborn shifter, but he felt someone needed to. “I remember the way you used to talk about your destiny. Lording it up over the team like you had some higher calling that made you better than the rest of us but refusing to give details. Now that I know what you were talking about all those years ago, I can assure it’s not going to happen the way you thought it would. You’ve spent half your life building her up into something she isn’t, putting her on a pedestal and believing her to be perfect. All because of a story your Grandmother told you when you were fifteen. You aren’t in love with Aurora, you’re in love with the idea of her.”

  “Without the bond…”

  “She would still love Jax.”

  “She would be free to choose.”

  “It doesn’t matter, it will never happen.” Zane realised further argument was pointless. “A bounty on Jax’s head was to be expected, we’ll protect them both.”

  “The bounty was taken out by Connell Byrne, Aurora’s father,” Lykos delivered the vital information he should have opened with.

  “I know you have more than that for me,” Zane’s bear reared to the surface and snarled, angrily. Now was not the time for Lykos to be playing games.

  “My source tells me Connell has not reacted well to Jax’s refusal to bring her home. It appears Aurora’s father is enamoured by the power she can bring to his pack and isn’t willing to lose that. While he once accepted the little king and treated him as one of his own, he now realises that as long as she’s with Jax, he will never own that power.”

  “Kill Jax and she goes running home to Daddy,” Zane mused.

  “Precisely. However, it is not quite as straight forward as a bounty on the little king’s head,” Lykos continued. “Connell has announced a mating tournament in his daughter’s name.”

  “What?” Zane was unsure he’d heard correctly.

  “He has specified that only beta shifters may take part, unless, the man who brings Aurora home is an alpha. He, no matter his species, will automatically earn a place in the battles on the stipulation that should he win, he merges his pack with Connell’s. He not only wants Jax dead and his daughter kidnapped and brought to him, he wants power over all shifters.” Lykos, as much as he liked having power in his hands, was disgusted that a man could behave this way towards his own daughter.

  “Fuck!” Zane began to realise the enormity of the situation. His brain started to work through a plan on the spot. “This stays between you and me until we get the dagger.”

  “I agree, neither of them needs to be distracted with this information while we’re putting ourselves in such a precarious position.” Lykos readily deferred to Zane’s authority, maybe there was a team played in him after all.

  Obtaining the dagger had to go smoothly now that a new threat was on the horizon. Thankfully, they had known Aurora and Jax would become targets eventually and were prepared. Connell had specified the tournament was open only to betas of all species,
except for the man who brought Aurora home. In doing this, he had pitted every alpha and beta, of every species, who fancied themselves as Aurora’s mate against each other. He had sent the shifter world into self-destruct mode.

  Jax and Aurora strolled, hand in hand, through the busy city. The night air was balmy and their skin was sticky with sweat, the warm breeze not bringing any relief from the heat. They wandered through the rabbit warren of back streets until they came across a secluded taverna. It was quiet, but it was still early. They both suspected if things were as bad as Lykos claimed, trouble wouldn’t begin until much later in the night. Going inside, they ordered a bottle of Ouzo and sat at a small table, tucked away in a darkened corner.

  “Thank you,” Aurora said.

  “For what?” Jax raised an inquisitive eyebrow and poured them both shots of Ouzo.

  “Not killing him.” Aurora glanced up at him through her long lashes and he couldn’t resist reaching over to release the clip from her hair.

  “It wasn’t easy,” he admitted, pocketing the hair clip.

  “That’s why we left.” She grinned at him and ran her fingers through the hair he had freed. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to spend the rest of the evening in that room without hurting him.”

  “You know me well.” He returned her grin and held out the tiny glass towards her. “Slainte!”

  “Slainte!” Aurora tapped her glass with his and downed the shot. “There was another reason I wanted out of there.”

  “As much as I want to believe you just wanted me to yourself, it’s more realistic that you want to see if those claims about the shifter packs are true.”

  “Yes,” she answered and silently acknowledged his joke with a heated look. One that promised there would be time for them to be alone. “I also want to check out the vampires. Unrest in the shifter world puts them out in the open, makes them a target. If what Lykos said is true and the vampires are taking advantage, things could escalate quickly. That leaves me uneasy.”