Wolves' Queen (The Royal Heir Series Book 1)

by Jen L. Grey

  Considering the way Kassie was acting, I'd thought he'd be a scary man, but he appeared more like someone I'd go to the university with.

  "Well, if you like it..." Ella purred.

  "Stop." Mason climbed from the backseat and stood next to me. "We aren't here to flirt or whatever the hell you're doing."

  The guy grinned at her and scanned her from top to bottom.

  "Chester, we're in a hurry." Kassie pointed at the trunk of the car. "Can we get the guns and get out of here?"

  "Sure." He scanned each one of us. "Are any of you armed?"

  "No." I just wanted to get in and out and get this whole thing over with.

  The others shook their heads too.

  "All right, if I find out differently, there will be hell to pay." Chester's features relaxed to indifference as he turned and headed across the driveway to the small place next door.

  Instead of heading straight to the door, he waved for us to follow him as we walked around it right up against the woods. "You can take what you can carry."

  "Got it." Kassie caught up to him as we approached a small door that was cut into the ground with a lock on it.

  It reminded me of the storm cellars you see in the Midwest.

  He leaned over and pulled out a key, unlocking it. Then he swung the steel doors open.

  I'd expected it to be just a small cold hole in the ground, but it opened up to steel steps leading inside.

  "It won't take much longer," Chester said as he began his descent.

  "Mona, stay behind them, and I'll take the front with him." Kassie quickly followed after him as Mona waved us forward.

  "Do you know this guy?" I had to know what we were getting ourselves into.

  "Not really." Mona patted my shoulder. "This is her contact. My contacts are more in the south, but if she trusts him, we should be good."

  These two ladies were my world, so if both of them were comfortable, I wasn't one to disagree. "Okay."

  Mason took my hand, and we stepped into the underground building right after them with Ella and Mona taking up the rear.

  The stairs ended at a metal hallway that had to be at least ten yards long. At the very end was a door that had a computer and a scanner on the outside. Chester walked up to it and punched several buttons fast, which made the scanner buzz toward him. He opened his eyes wide and let it scan over him.

  "Access Granted," the computerized voice said as the door clicked and opened.

  "Go on inside." Chester motioned us in as he kept the door opened. "Pick out what you think you'll need."

  As I passed him, entering the room, his piney scent hit me hard. He was a wolf too.

  The room wasn't like anything I expected. It reminded me of some futurist place. The whole place was made of metal, and there were guns, swords, daggers, bows and arrows, and so much more lining the walls. Every type of weapon had to be here.

  "We're going to need some daggers, guns, and maybe bombs." Kassie slowly moved around the place, taking inventory.

  "Take all that you need." Chester nodded as he watched us.

  Kassie grabbed five daggers, two bombs, a shotgun, and a few pistols. "This should do us. We're going to have to be able to shift too when needed, so we don't want to get loaded down too much."

  I sure hoped that she knew what she was doing.

  "That makes sense." He nodded.

  She divvied out the daggers and grabbed a steel container to put the bombs in. There were cut-outs to hold both of them. She closed and locked it so they wouldn’t be jostled. Then, she collected the shotgun and two pistols. "Mona, can you grab the other three?"

  "Yup, sure can." Without a moment of hesitation, Mona picked them up and carried them around like it was second nature to her.

  "I think we're done here." Kassie nodded at Chester. "Thanks for allowing us to get here on such short notice."

  "No worries." Chester waved us ahead of him. “Let’s get out of here before the sun gets too bright. I don’t want anyone nosey coming around.”

  “Got it.” Kassie looked at me and nodded her head. “Go on and get in the car. Mona and I will be right behind you. The car is unlocked.”

  Mason took a hold of his sister, who’d been glancing at Chester every few minutes, and tugged her toward the door. “Let’s get going. You heard the man.”

  I had to bite down on my cheek to prevent myself from laughing too hard. Within minutes, we were back in the car and heading toward a hotel.

  My heart raced as we pulled out of the hotel parking lot and headed toward the house where my uncle was staying. We all piled into one room, and I only got an hour or two of sleep. Every time my eyelids closed, my parents showed up in my dreams.

  Even when Mason wrapped his arms around me, he still couldn’t protect me while my eyes were closed.

  Now it was after midnight, and we were heading toward a house that I’d never heard about before yesterday.

  “We should be there in twenty minutes.” Kassie glanced into the back.

  Once again, Ella claimed the seat beside me again since Mason would have the plane ride home to sit with me.

  Everything is going to be fine. Mason tried to be comforting, but he couldn’t make that promise.

  I just want this over with. My hope was that as soon as my uncle saw me alive, he’d apologize and let me have the crown, but that was just wishful thinking. I was going to have to kick his ass and maybe even kill him. The question was would I be able to live with myself after that?

  I know. Mason’s jaw clenched. I hate the bastard who’s made you suffer for all these years.

  That was the weird thing. I didn’t hate him. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t love him either, but he was nothing to me.

  Before I could process it, Kassie turned down a long driveway and immediately pulled the Tahoe to the side. “We can’t drive up there without alerting the whole damn place someone is here.”

  “We’ll have to go on foot.” Mona nodded her head. “Let’s get the weapons sorted and get our asses in gear.”

  In less than a minute, we were all out of the car, standing at the trunk.

  “Okay, each one of us has two sheaths.” She placed a set in my hand and pointed at my ankles. “Put one on each side. The dagger should be on the side with your dominant hand because we need to try to use it versus the gun. Once a gun is shot, it’s game over, so put the gun on the other side.”

  All five of us got situated, and when we each stood up, the tension was thick between us. It was time.

  “Let’s run.” Kassie pointed in the direction of the house. “There will be a small gate we have to scale, but we shouldn’t run into too many guards. He’s not expecting us to know anything about the house, so he’ll have a false sense of security. Just be quiet, and we’ll get this show on the road.”

  I’ll be right beside you the whole time. Mason touched my arm and leaned down, brushing his lips on mine.

  I love you. I didn’t want to say anything more than that. If I kept going on, it’d be a goodbye, and I wasn’t going to jinx us before we began moving.

  I love you too. He smiled at me.

  “So… now probably isn’t the time to let you all know I’ve never shot a gun.” Ella popped her lips and took a deep breath.

  “I figured as much.” Kassie glanced behind her. “So you’re going to be stuck with me.”

  “Well, what about Elena?” Ella pouted like she was going to a party without a friend.

  “We’ve trained her in case this day ever came.” Mona winked at me. “She can wield a gun and dagger better than me sometimes.”

  “Well, okay.” Ella bowed down ever so slightly in front of me. “You are officially a badass.”

  I couldn’t hold back the smile. “It’s taken you this long to figure it out.”

  “Touché.” She stood as she shimmied up next to Kassie. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

  At least, she was enthusiastic.

  “Let’s go.” Mona glan
ced at Mason then me, but her eyes locked with Ella. “No one says a word from this point on.”

  This was it. I was doing the one thing I’d always feared would happen. I was trying to reclaim the throne. I just hoped no one else I loved was lost in the process.

  Chapter Twenty

  It didn’t take us long to approach the gates that Kassie had referenced. They were black metal and at least eight feet high with spikes on top of them. There weren’t any lights on outside, so it was easier to sneak over them without being seen.

  “Everyone can scale a gate, right?” Kassie turned and looked at Ella.

  “Uh… no.” She glanced around and spotted a tree that was close to the fence. “But I do know how to climb a tree.” She pointed in its direction. “It’s close enough I can make it.”

  “Just don’t make any noise,” Mona barely whispered. “Once we get in there, we can’t talk or someone might hear us.”

  “But I thought they weren’t expecting us.” Ella frowned as she stared at the house again.

  “They still aren’t going to be guardless.” Mason grabbed his sister’s arm and turned her body toward him. “Maybe you should stay out here and be a scout for us or something.”

  “What the hell?” Ella frowned. “I was just asking a fucking question. Stop being a prick.”

  “This isn’t a joke.” Mason leveled his gaze on her. “Either get your shit together or stay out. I don’t want any of us getting killed because you aren’t taking it seriously.”

  Both his sister and I were being put in harm's way and Mason was overreacting.

  “I know it’s not a fucking joke.” Ella yanked her arm out of her brother’s grasp. “Don’t treat me like some kind of pathetic person.”

  “We don’t have time for this familial bullshit.” Kassie pointed at Mason then Ella. “You both get it together or you’re going to get us all killed.”

  “Now, let’s be quiet and go.” Mona glared at all four of us. “The more we stand here and talk, the higher risk we have of being seen.”

  “She’s right.” If I was going to be Queen, I’d better get used to leading. “Let’s go. Once we scale the fence, we’ll rush to the side of the house.” I pointed to a dark section between the humongous front side of the house and the garage.

  It reminded me of the house in the Hamptons we’d stayed in. It was a huge stone house that had to be at least four stories high, and it had a stone driveway that rounded out from the black asphalt driveway, curving toward the walkway, and then continued the arch back toward the asphalt. It was at least a five-car garage.

  “Once we all reach there, our best bet is to go around the back and try to find a window down to the basement.” Kassie turned and headed toward the gate.

  “All right, there is no time like the present.” Mona quickly followed after Kassie.

  “Are you two okay?” I butted in before Mason could make it worse. “We need to work as a team or nothing will get accomplished.”

  “I’m not the one with a problem.” Ella nodded her head and touched my arm. “But let’s get moving before we get caught.”

  How the hell did you do that? Mason’s tone was half annoyed and half full of adoration. If I said something like that, she would’ve bitten my head off.

  It’s all in the delivery. He should know. He and Ella were very similar when it came to others telling them what to do. “Let’s go.”

  I took off toward the gates in a run. I jumped to the halfway mark and grabbed the top of the railing that was flat underneath the spikes before pulling myself up the rest of the way. I balanced on a smooth section and jumped back down to the ground, landing on my feet.

  Okay then. Mason took a running start and jumped, reaching about two-thirds up the gate. However, when he grabbed at the top of the gate, one of his hands landed on one of the spikes, causing him to grunt, and when he flipped himself over the top, he landed on his back.

  Are you okay? I forced the laughter back.

  I’m fine. He slowly stood and glared at me. Go ahead and laugh.

  I can’t. I covered my mouth with my hand. I gotta stay quiet.

  Ella appeared as she jumped from the tree branch to the ground. She landed in a squat with her hands helping her stay upright. She glanced at her brother and rolled her eyes.

  Even without a pack link, I could hear what she was saying internally - ‘And he thought I was going to cause the noise.’

  Needing to not spend too much time out in the open, I waved them both on to follow me.

  The three of us ran across the yard, heading straight to Kassie and Mona.

  When we reached them, Kassie nodded and pointed toward the back of the house. Once we acknowledged her, she took off running, blending in with the dark.

  As we reached the back, I noticed that there weren't any partial windows to the basement, so I wasn’t quite sure what our plan was.

  Kassie took in a deep breath and placed a finger to her lips. She hurried off to the other side of the back yard when a light turned on inside.

  If we didn’t move, we’d be found. I pointed to the bushes that were at the edge of the house, and the four of us headed in that direction. Luckily, both sides of the house had them, so Kassie managed to hide as soon as the back door opened.

  A walkie talkie buzzed to life. “Do you see anything?”

  “No, it must’ve been a squirrel or something.” The guy walked outside with no concern at all. “You know this happens at least one time a night. Fucking suburbs.”

  “I hear you.” The guy’s voice on the other end of the line was loud enough to hear. “I’ll be glad when we can head back to the city. I wish Chad and Bruce would give us a call. It can’t be that hard hunting down a stupid teenager.”

  “Let me just do a quick scan, and I’ll head back in.” He sighed. “These false alarms are killing my sleep.”

  “Yeah.” The guy talking through the walkie talkie yawned. “You’re telling me. All right, I’m heading back to sleep. Let me know if something comes up.”

  “Next time, it’s your turn.” The guy grumbled and put the device in his pocket. “Fucking squirrels.”

  As he took off in the direction where Kassie was hidden, she grabbed his leg, making him fall.

  He grunted as he hit the ground and went for the walkie talkie, but Kassie kicked him hard in the face, and his head jerked to the side.

  She reached down and took his walkie talkie, putting it in her jeans pocket, and glanced right at us.

  Your guardian is a fucking legend. Mason’s voice was filled with awe.

  Well, you can tell her all about it when this is done. I’d always known these two ladies were badasses.

  Mona grabbed my arm and motioned for me to follow.

  I took a hold of Mason’s and Ella’s hands, and we ran to Kassie with Mona following behind us.

  Once we were grouped together, Kassie opened the door and glanced both ways. When she confirmed everything was clear, she waved us in to follow after her.

  To be honest, I wasn’t quite sure what we were going to do. I got that we were going to confront my uncle, but other than that, I didn’t know what would happen. I guessed we’d have to just play it by ear. He wasn’t going to stop trying to kill me, so something was going to have to give.

  The house was dark, which wasn’t surprising. It was approaching one in the morning. As we made our way to the front of the house, my heart felt like it leaped into my throat. Houses like these were usually built the same with the stairs right at the front door. Usually, there were two staircases on each side in kind of an arc. If I had money to bet, I was sure that’s where we were headed.

  I peeked into a large den and found what had to be my twenty-five year old cousin lying on the couch. He had several beer cans thrown on the ground around him and he was watching something on the television. I glanced over at the group and lifted my finger to my lips. We had to make sure we were quiet.

  “Jay, is that you?” Richard’s voi
ce was slurred from his obvious binge drinking. “Grab me another beer.”

  He had heard us somehow.

  Kassie moved faster, heading toward the front door of the house.

  Mason and I stayed back as Mona and Ella quickly crept across the opening.

  “Jay?” Richard called out again. He stood, and his eyes met my own through the window. “Holy shit.” He began yelling. “She’s here. Guards. Guards.” He began a drunken shuffle over to grab his phone.

  I had to do something. I ran through the front door, across the room, and jumped for his phone. As my hands touched the cool plastic of the device, I prepared for him to land on me or something. But instead of weight, I heard a piercing “Ow.”

  Richard cried out in pain, and I turned to find Mason putting him in a chokehold. Despite that, my cousin glared at me. “Give me my damn phone now.”

  Did the idiot think that was actually going to work? “Oh, well, since you told me to.” I pretended to hand him the phone with my left hand as I reared my right hand back and punched him square in the jaw.

  “You bitch.” His words were filled with contempt. “I always hated you.”

  “The feeling was mutual.” Actually, it wasn’t, but I’d be damned if I admitted that. At one point, I loved my uncle and his family.

  Well, there goes me saving you. Mason tightened his arm around his throat.

  Someone had to hear all that commotion. I expected a fire alarm or something to go off at any second.

  It was as if they heard my thought because I heard yelling voices coming from upstairs.

  We needed to catch up to the others and try to form some kind of plan.

  Richard laughed as I glanced in the direction of the front entrance of the house. “You won’t be able to win. You’ll wish you died with your parents that day.”

  The sad thing was he didn’t realize how often I made that very wish. “Karma’s a bitch.” I lifted my leg up high and kicked him right in the nuts. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure, when I take back the crown, you get what’s coming to you.”

  He groaned, and his face began to turn red from lack of oxygen and the crotch kick. “You bitch.”