The Raven Queen

by Emma Jayne Mills

  “I’m not shadow pack,” Melaina reminded them.

  “Lykos came from a pretty fucked up Dad.” Aurora grinned at the man at the end of the table. “He can join the dysfunctional family crew.”

  “Jax, you come from the first warrior?” Addie asked.

  “If you mean the first raven queen’s mate, then yes, he is my ancestor,” Jax said.

  “He was the first warrior for the first raven queen, as are you this time. He found her men, he stood by her side until his last breath,” Addie answered. “You are his mirror image in this time.”

  “Got’cha!” Jax nodded his understanding.

  “Only he won’t be dying!” Aurora cut in. “None of my warriors will die for me.”

  “What will be, will be, Koraki,” Lykos said, gently.

  “Fuck! Will you stop?” Aurora snapped her head around to glare at him. “This time will be different. We’re all different, we’re stronger. We’re already on our way to getting rid of the vampire king. We already have allies that they didn’t have. We’re not just a group of people fighting together, we’re family, we are pack and as alpha of this pack, I will not be losing any of my warriors!”

  “My queen.” Lykos bowed his head in submission.

  “Damn straight!” Hunter thumped the table with his fist.

  Addie and Xander shared a look of pride and love for their daughter. They had spent years watching from afar with the power of magic. Watching her grow and become the woman they saw now, waiting for the time they could be part of her life. The time was almost here.

  “About the potion,” Addie gained the attention of the shifters before speaking again. “The potion requires the blood of all three queens to ensure its strength. You all descend from witches and…”

  “Wait, what?” Hunter interrupted.

  “Ah, you haven’t read the prophecy yet?” Addie looked around the room.

  “We haven’t got the prophecy,” Aurora said. “Things got out of control before I had chance to read it fully.”

  “We already knew Lykos and Jax descend from witches. Now we know about Aurora,” Zane said.

  “You will find your individual family histories in the book,” Xander told them. “Where is it?”

  “Connell has it, at Shadow Fen,” Jax provided.

  “No, I know my parents, how can I come from witches?” Marco frowned.

  “I do not know details for each of you. I only know that each of you has witch blood in your history, as do all three queens,” Addie explained. “I see a witch in the way Aurora sees a shifter, and you are all of witches.”

  “We need that book,” Cole said.

  “Yes, you do, but our time with you is running out and we must tell you everything.” Addie said, with urgency.

  “We will protect you,” Aurora said.

  “We know and we are more than capable of protecting ourselves. But it is our presence that puts you in danger,” Xander revealed. “The vampire king will already have men on their way here, we will have been picked up the second we came out of hiding.”

  “So, we must move on,” Addie pushed. “The potion requires the blood of the queens. I have it here.” She laid a tiny bottle on the table containing silver liquid. “Aurora must be the only one to handle it, it contains silver. Although, I believe she may be able to extend that intolerance to her warriors. She must add a drop of blood from each queen and herself on the night of a full moon. The full moon strengthens the magic, ensuring it will be powerful enough to complete its task. Once the blood is added, you have twenty-four hours to use the potion or its magic becomes useless.”

  “Do not add the blood before the full moon,” Xander added. “The magic must all come together on the full moon or its effects will do no more than stun him. You need to coat the blade with the potion, meaning again, that it must be you who wields the dagger until the time you can pass it to the vampire queen.”

  “I understand,” Aurora nodded. “We have a month until the next full moon. That’s a month to find the other queens and work out how this is going to go down.”

  Aurora didn’t reveal that she knew the identity of one queen. The news would be a shock to Melaina and the timing needed to be right.

  “What do you want to do?” Jax picked up on her thoughts.

  “I think it’s time to go home.” Aurora looked at Marco with a gleam in her eye. “Let’s deal with Daddy dearest.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  And the queen shall unite the shifters.

  Together in battle, divided no more.

  The man at the vampire king’s feet shifted his position and Leo glared down at the naked wretch. He had been bound, in a stress position, resting on the balls of his feet. Forced into a crouch, with ropes to secure his hands behind his back, preventing him from using them for balance. Malnutrition assisted the ridges of his spine in poking through his almost transparent skin, forming a cobbled curve along his rounded back. Ground in dirt darkened his once fair complexion, open wounds adorned his limbs, from the whippings he received when his steadiness faltered, and the ropes burned red scorch marks into his wrists. A drip, hooked into his vein with an infected needle, slowly drained him of blood, droplet, by tiny droplet. He was a sorry sight and Leo found himself disgusted by him suddenly. His life had become a series of waiting games. He was impatient and his usual twisted, human experiments no longer brought him amusement. Still, the man would remain, enduring the wait as long as Leo had to.

  “My lord.” The messenger bowed from the waist upon entering the gothic chamber.

  “Speak,” Leo commanded, brushing invisible lint from his trouser leg.

  “The Greek alpha has entered the tournament. He holds the queen and her mate captive.” The messenger took great pleasure in the announcement, knowing it was news that would excite vampire king.

  “He has betrayed her?”

  “Yes, my lord,”

  “And he is returning them both to Ireland?” Leo queried, a twist of his head and a quirked eyebrow showing his interest.

  “They will arrive tomorrow,” the messenger replied. “It appears he was not as trustworthy as the queen believed.”

  “Indeed,” Leo mused.

  Although the information was beneficial to him, Leo wasn’t ready to believe the Greek alpha had turned on the raven queen. While the man was well known for his vicious nature and ability to get what he wanted, in whatever way it took, he had seemingly been tamed by the woman. His thoughts remained unvoiced.

  “I bring more news,” the messenger ventured.

  “For crying out loud, will you just get on with it?” Leo huffed, ready to be done with the meeting.

  “Her parents have surfaced.”

  “I know where her parents are, you dithering idiot!”

  “No, my lord, her real parents.” The messenger’s voice filled with glee that this was new information to the king.

  “What are you talking about?” Leo demanded.

  “Adaline and Alexander.” The messenger watched the king closely for his reaction.

  Leo stilled; a breath he didn’t need caught in his chest. He leaned forward, scrutinising the messenger. Seeking a hint of a lie or a glimmer that told him this was a mistake. He found nothing. That the raven queen’s parents were his old adversaries made the entire situation all the more delicious, while also increasing his chance of failure.

  The messenger went on to tell him that they had only briefly revealed themselves, but that the queen now knew her parents were not who she previously thought they were. She also knew that Connell Byrne was the orchestrator of many problems she had faced. The messenger believed she had let her guard down, an emotional breakdown had been the words used, allowing the Greek alpha to make his move.

  Leo dismissed the messenger and demanded complete privacy from his court. Events had taken an unexpected turn and he had some thinking to do. The raven queen was close to becoming his. However, the identity of her birth parents complicated matters and
he now needed to ensure he was meticulous in his moves.

  The plan, which the pack spent several hours plotting and going over every possible outcome, mainly relied on Lykos posing as a double agent. They toyed with Zane, or even Jax himself, returning to Shadow Fen to fight and claim Aurora. Zane, they decided was too loyal, his reputation preceded him and would likely be his undoing in a plot such as this. There was no way they could see to guarantee Connell would believe or trust Jax and guessed he would just kill him anyway. When all said and done, Lykos was the obvious choice. Being an alpha, he had a right to a place in the tournament, so long as he returned Aurora and killed Jax. He also had a large and strong pack that would appeal to Connell, should they merge with the shadow pack. Not to mention, he had already kidnapped Aurora once and expressed his desire to mate her. However, Connell had ruled that proof of Jax’s death must be supplied and, as much as Lykos was keen on the idea, the others were not.

  Instead, he was to take both Jax and Aurora back to Shadow Fen as his prisoners and declare that he would kill Jax when he won the tournament, in front of Aurora. They all agreed that this idea would appeal to Connell. It was predicted that Connell would hold Jax prisoner in the cells under the courthouse during the tournament. They were confident that Lykos could win each bout, that was a minor detail. The others, along with three more teams from the Laignach Faelad, would be placed around the arena as back up, should things not go according to plan.

  During the tournament, Melaina and Marco would retrieve the book of prophecies from Connell’s office. Aurora and Marco were concerned that they hadn’t heard from Elouise or Marco’s mother, Aislinn, despite several attempts to contact them. Addie would perform a locating spell to find the women. Cole and Hunter would be with Addie as protection and to rescue Elouise and Aislinn, if necessary. Zane and Caspian, who was called in from the Stratitiori pack to show his face as Lykos’s beta, would remain in the crowd as back up for Lykos. At the same time, Aurora would sneak away, with the magical assistance of Xander, to release Jax. They would both then return to the arena to confront Connell.

  Aside from the tournament, the Laignach Faelad had supplied intelligence on the vampires. It transpired that Eldon and Ray were brothers. Eldon, turned by Drake in the late seventeen hundreds, had then turned his brother, Raymond, after killing the rest of his family. Drake, since Zane’s last contact, had been untraceable. Aurora had a bad feeling, but hoped his absence was because he was with the vampire queen and just couldn’t be found. The organisation had deployed a team to search for the missing vampire and his charge.

  Everything was in place. Everyone knew their jobs. What could go wrong?

  Lykos was convincing in his abduction of Aurora and Jax, playing the part well and securing Connell’s trust easily. Jax had sportingly (and eventually) allowed Lykos to hit him a few times to make the scenario more realistic. Jax argued that if Lykos simply claimed he had taken Aurora prisoner, then it was perfectly believable that her mate would have given himself up without a fight. Lykos, naturally, disagreed and insisted he would have still beaten Jax if he had gone willingly. The cuts and bruises were necessary.

  The Shadow Pack’s alpha had been visibly excited at the prospect of Lykos killing Jax at the end of the tournament. He claimed it made a fitting end to the event and would secure Lykos’s position among the packs. Although, he also reminded him that his competition was tough and his win wasn’t guaranteed. Another act in the spectacle that would give Connell the power he craved.

  Aurora looked out over the arena, from her seat on the raised platform in the centre. The sunken showground was dug into the earth and had once been the stage for regular contests in Ireland. Having been covered over, buried under the fen, when the practice was banned, Connell had ordered that it be uncovered to host his daughter’s mating tournament. Her fury remained precariously caged as she watched the proceedings. Burying her temper and concern for Lykos, who she was supposed to despise for the purpose of the fake kidnapping, was proving easier said than done. She wanted nothing more than to fly into the arena and fight the men herself.

  Around the outer edge of the arena were seats filled with shifters from all over the world, expectantly waiting for the bloodshed to begin again. The atmosphere among the crowd was a potent mix of excitement and fear of the unknown. She could feel the presence of her warriors mingling, but although they remained in contact through the link, she couldn’t see them. The knowledge that they were out there, along with other allays, was a comfort to her. They had no way of knowing how the crowd would react when everything went down. Would they support the raven queen and her warriors or would they revolt and demand their bloodthirsty tournament be completed? Either way, Aurora and her warriors were putting a stop to Connell’s scheming once and for all.

  All fights were to take place in human form, without weapons. Contestants were only permitted to shift when dealing a killing blow. The fights were to submission or death, whichever came first. Much to the jeering crowd’s disappointment, the contestants had submitted, rather than continuing to the death. Although shifting was disallowed, Aurora instructed Lykos to do whatever was necessary to survive.

  An initial round of fights between sixteen beta entrants wiped out eight of them. The remaining eight earned a place to fight against Lykos. As the only alpha, he would take on every contestant in turn, until only one remained. The winner of the final bout would win the right to claim Aurora as his mate. Lykos had fought twice and won both bouts with little effort, eliminating two of the eight and leaving him with six more fights. At the beginning of the next fight, two spells would be cast by Xander. The first spell would project a realistic holographic image of Aurora watching the action, while the actual Aurora would be sneaking away under a second cloaking spell to rescue Jax.

  “The next fight is a surprise entry,” Connell announced pompously and the crowd hushed. Lykos, standing at the foot of the raised platform shared a look with Aurora, neither had expected this. “The rules state that members of the resident pack shall automatically be granted a place in the finals. Being a member of the shadow pack, the entrant has progressed directly to the final round.”

  All eyes in the arena zeroed in on the gateway opposite the platform on which Aurora sat. Each fighter in the tournament had entered through the gate, but there was more to this entrance than any of the others. Anyone in the audience who knew the shadow pack, was on the edge of their seat waiting to discover the mysterious fighter’s identity. A silhouetted figure appeared in the arch of the gate and the crowd murmured speculative guesses to his identity. He began to slowly walk forwards, his unmistakeable swagger immediately identifying him to Aurora. Her stomach plummeted and bile rose in her throat. The fighter was someone she knew very well. His family had been among her closest companions. His father had been a second father to her, teaching and protecting her. An expectant hush fell over the crowd as the man moved into the light of day and removed his hood.

  -He steps forward with his left foot before throwing a punch and uses his feet more than his hands. He isn’t particularly strong, but he is fast!

  -Understood. Am I to kill him, Aurora?

  -I’m certain he’s been told to kill you if he gets the chance. Don’t give him that chance, Lykos.

  -He is your friend, are you ok?

  -Just focus on staying alive, old man. Losing my warriors is not an option. I don’t want you hurt!

  -Koraki, when you love someone who will never love you back, there isn’t anything else in the world that can harm you.

  -Drama queen!

  “Finn,” Aurora whispered, harshly, at the son of the shadow pack’s beta. Aurora’s trusted friend and training partner had betrayed her, she had no interest in a happy reunion.

  “My queen,” Finn approached the platform and dropped to one knee, bowing his head to Aurora.

  “What the hell are you playing at, fuckwit?” Aurora snarled at her old friend.

  “I know you don’t want
him, Aurora.” Finn smiled and flicked his eyes to Lykos. “I’m here to spare you from an unhappy life.”

  “Lykos is going to kill you!” Aurora hissed. While she was angry and confused by Finn’s actions, she didn’t want to see him die.

  “I doubt that,” another voice joined their conversation. She felt Lykos become hyper aware.

  “Ambrosios,” Connell greeted the man who had spoken and began to address the crowd through microphone he held. “A twist in proceedings, to make things more interesting. Lykos, as current reigning alpha, will now face both opponents at once.”

  “Are you ready to die, brother?” Ambrosios taunted and lunged at Lykos.

  The crowd roared, knowing someone was going to die. They didn’t care who. Aurora’s skin began to tingle with the spell Xander was casting. She frantically searched for him in the crowd. He had to stop; they needed another plan. She had to stay in the arena to help Lykos, but Xander was casting the spell on time, as planned and she had to go with it. There was no plan b!

  -Zane!

  -Right here, Aurora, we’ll step in as soon as he says the word.

  -That’s the point, he won’t! He’ll want to beat his brother alone. He’s outnumbered. You have to step in whether he wants it or not. I can’t be here. The spell is going to kick in any second. Finn is good, but Caspian can take him on brute force alone.

  -Don’t worry, get Jax. We’ll take care of this.

  Two minutes and twenty-one seconds. That’s how long Marco and Melaina were alone together, digging through the filing cabinets in Connell’s office, before they started arguing. It was no secret the two had taken an immediate disliking to each other. From the moment Melaina waltzed into Shadow Fen, demanding to see Jax like she owned the place, Marco had hated her. No matter what she did, he couldn’t bring himself to trust her. The feeling was mutual.

  “I already looked there,” Melaina snapped, turning to face the infuriating man with her hands on her hips.