The Werewolf Queen

by Brandi Elledge

  “Demon, you must not recognize me. I am the King of were-creatures.” The demon’s black eyes looked to the ground as he pushed himself up. “Ah, now you show fear. You wanted to play, so let’s play.”

  The demon wiped at a trickle of blood dripping from his nose. “I have no qualm with you. I came for the girl, and I must leave with her, or my life is over.”

  CG clearly understood the foreign language as well. He took a couple of steps closer to the demon and smiled a terrifying smile. “So, demon, I guess you have to decide, would you rather be killed by your king or by me?”

  The demon looked at me one more time before he ran into the woods. CG sighed and ran after him. My adrenaline was wearing off and I was hurting. I gave myself a couple of minutes of just sitting there on the cool grass until I finally found my way to my feet.

  CG strolled out of the woods and was beside me as I climbed the first step to go back in the trailer. His eyes searched my face. “Are you okay?”

  His once pristine, white shirt was bloody. “You... you gave him a choice of fighting you or someone else, and he chose to run. Did you still kill him?”

  “Of course, I killed him.” CG’s handsome face scrunched up like he was stumped. “Don’t sympathize with him. If I hadn’t shown up, he would have had his way with you before he gave you over to the Demon King. If I let him escape, every demon in the world would know that you were with me, and I don’t want anyone to know who has you yet. Not until you are stronger.”

  I had so many questions popping through my head it spun. Or maybe I felt like I was on a carousel because I had a concussion. “How did you get here so fast? How did you know I needed help? And what do you mean by you don’t want anyone to know who has me?”

  CG was scanning the woods as he half dragged me through the front door. “I have been patrolling the woods around your home because I feared others would know about you and something like this would happen. Word travels fast, does it not?”

  I was still in shock as we went through the trailer. Somehow, he knew which bedroom was mine. As soon as we entered the small room, he made me sit on my bed while he walked into my closet and found my only suitcase. He threw it beside me.

  “What are you doing?”

  He quickly grabbed as many clothes as he could and tossed them into the open suitcase. “Packing. You’re coming with me.”

  I stood up and put both hands on my hips. “Listen here, douche bag, I’m not going with you or any other creep for that matter.”

  CG took a giant step toward me. “Yes, you are because the others that come for you will try and use your loved ones as pawns. They are safer with you far away from them.”

  He opened up my panty drawer, and I said, “That is enough!”

  He turned around so sharply it made my blood freeze in fear. “There are more in the woods. At least four. Leave everything and follow me.”

  He grabbed my hand, and I immediately felt an overwhelming amount of power flowing through my body. He looked over his shoulder at me, as he pulled me through the small trailer to the back door. “You have no clue how powerful you are, do you?”

  I had a hard time finding my voice with all his power pumping through my system, so I just shook my head.

  He squeezed my hand. “Don’t take too much from me. We don’t exactly know how much power you can handle at one time, or what the consequences are if you overload.” My eyes widened as I realized how much power I had been siphoning off of him. My senses were so sharpened I could hear four supernaturals heading for us. As he opened up the trailer door, I noticed my night vision was off the charts as well. As soon as we stepped on the porch, it made a sound under our weight that was like an explosion to my new hearing. With my hand in his, we took off at a dead run through the woods, and thanks to his power, I was able to match his super speed.

  “I parked my car a mile down the road. We’re going to circle back around to it.”

  I glanced down at my bare feet and was amazed I wasn’t complaining about all the thorns and stickers I could feel jabbing into my skin.

  “You know someone is waiting at the end of the road for us?” From my peripheral vision, I could see him nod. “Yes, I’m aware of that, and it’s good to see that you can sense her, too.” I didn’t want to point out that even though I could sense someone, I had no clue if they were male or female. CG stopped running so quickly he almost pulled my arm out of my socket. My nostrils flared at the sickening sweet smell rolling off of me, but there was nothing I could do about it. Fear was coming out of every pore in my body. The only thing keeping my knees from knocking together was the adrenaline pumping through my body.

  “They have split up to attack on all sides. Stay behind me.”

  I heard the demon before I saw him. He ran full force towards us. My throat almost closed in panic when I saw that he was twice as large as the other demon. I had a feeling this was it for me and the werewolf. Both demon and wolf leaped into the air to meet one another. When they landed on the ground in a heap, CG was on top. Without hesitation, he punched the demon in the chest twice. The first time I heard ribs cracking, and the second hit was to find what was underneath the rib cage—the demon’s heart. I felt my knees buckle as he threw the heart on the ground for some wild animal to find.

  He grabbed my arm and shook me. “Pull it together right now. We don’t have time for any hysteria.”

  I thought seeing someone rip a beating heart out of a demon was an excellent time for hysteria. Before I could voice my opinions, the remaining three that had been chasing us now stood in a triangle formation. Two demons and one human?

  The biggest of the two demons said in perfect English, “Adorjan always did jump the gun.”

  The demon on the right side of him had tattoos all over his face. His lousy ink job scrunched together as he smirked. “I told him his lack of patience would be his undoing.”

  CG dragged me behind him. I turned around, so our backs were together and to keep an eye on the big-boned brunette headed my way. One look at her black eyes and I realized this demon must have found a body to take over.

  She said, “Boys, please focus. We need the girl alive, but the wolf can die.”

  With her words, all hell broke loose. Both demons attacked CG at once, and the brunette lunged for me. Thanks to my borrowed power I was stronger than I’d ever been, and I used that strength against the Amazon. She grabbed me by my hair and I got pissed. Having my hair pulled twice in one night was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I kicked her so hard her kneecap dislocated. She released me as she howled in pain. My dad had always told me, “don’t ever kick somebody when they are down,” but I figured this was the exception. It felt natural to open myself up and draw power off the surrounding creatures. When I felt dizzy with the amount of energy coursing through my veins, I charged the Amazon. Jumping in the air, I wrapped my thighs around her neck, clenching her throat as I twisted my upper body. I heard a snap an instant before both of our bodies crashed onto the ground. I jumped up and spun around to see how CG was faring. Both demons were splayed on the ground with gaping holes in their chest where their hearts should have been. He repeated the process with the Amazon. My stomach was rolling as CG leaned over and wiped his bloody hands as best as he could on the tall grass.

  “Here I was worried about you, and it looks like you handled yourself exceptionally well.” He finally looked up at me, taking two steps towards me. He went to grab me, but he stopped himself, glancing at the stains on his hands instead. His arms dropped down to his side and to be honest, I was thankful. “How bad are you hurt?”

  “I’m not hurt. I’m just really dizzy, and my head is pounding.”

  “Sadie, some blood is dripping from your nose.”

  I swiped the back of my hand under my nose, and sure enough, it came away red.

  “I’m not sure what happened. Maybe I took too much power from you, and this is a result?”

  “It looked like you were taking powe
r from the demons, too. That’s pretty dangerous, considering you’re new to all of this.”

  I shook my head in dismay. “I can’t believe that I just snapped that girl’s neck like it was nothing. I have never killed anything in my life. I might be a little bit in shock. No, no, I’m definitely in shock.”

  Bloody hands or not, I was in desperate need for some emotional support. I took a step forward and rested my forehead on his chest. His arms wrapped around me as I tried to steer myself away from a panic attack. This guy was a complete stranger. But let’s face it, if he wanted me dead, I would be dead. He just disabled demons like he was swatting at flies. Right now more than anything, I needed comfort, so I just stood there while he gently rubbed my back.

  “First of all, that was a demon, not a human. She lost her soul a long time ago, and second, it was self-defense, and technically, she wasn’t dead until I removed the heart.” I looked up into his reassuring turquoise eyes, and I felt mine tearing up a little as I nodded. “But the demon had inhabited a human, so tonight she died, but so did the human, right?”

  “Sadie, once a demon takes over a human’s body, there is very little that anyone can do to save that person. After the demon possesses them for so long, the human mind breaks from the things it has seen and been forced to do.” After I had somehow managed to stop the tears, he said, “I won’t force you to go with me, but more and more Degenerates will be coming your way. Will you leave with me?”

  “My family and—”

  “Your family has already come to terms with you leaving. Your friend, Jo, gave your dad and grandmother a heads up.”

  That’s what Dad had been talking to him about at the party. That also explained why Jo was currently unreachable. “If what you’re saying is true, then I would like to tell them goodbye.”

  He grabbed my hand and started walking through the woods. “We don’t have time for you to track each of them down to say goodbye. Would a phone call suffice?”

  “Yes.” He handed me a black iPhone from his pocket. I tried to think of who would answer. My granny was always home, so I found myself dialing her number.

  She answered on the first ring. “Hey, sugar britches. It’s about time you called. Jo’s sitting here with me having a cup of coffee, and she told me about how you kicked that demon’s ass.”

  “Granny, remember that guy from the party? The—”

  “Have you ever in your life seen such smoking men? Don’t get me wrong. I loved your grandfather, but holy cow. Those boys were fly.”

  My granny was always trying to keep current with the new slang, so I didn’t have it in my heart to tell her that “fly” was about twenty years too old. For whatever reason, the nineties phrases were what stuck with her the most.

  “Yeah, Granny they were fly.” I knew the wolf could hear every word my granny was saying because he was fighting a smile.

  “I mean, Sadie, their bodies were bangin’, and that wolf of yours, he is swoll.”

  The said wolf ’s shoulders now shook with laughter, as I trailed behind him in the woods. How freaking embarrassing. “Yeah, Granny, but he’s not my wolf.”

  “But Jo said—” The phone hit the ground, and I heard some mumbling. Then Granny said, “Well, shit, Jo! Quit trippin’.”

  “Um, Granny?”

  “Yeah, yeah, I’m here. Listen, we know that you’re going with the wolf. Have fun and call us when you can.”

  “So, you’re okay with me leaving with a complete stranger?”

  “If Jo is okay with it, then so am I, and so is your father. I don’t mean to cut this short, but me and Jo are going to play God of War on the PS4, so I’ve got to bounce. Oh, and Sadie, if you need the sex talk, remember—”

  “Granny! I’m losing signal. I can’t seem to hear you. Are you there?”

  “Girl, don’t lie. You do know I’m sitting right beside a psychic, right?”

  “Then you should know I’m about to hang up. Love you. Bye.”

  I quickly ended the call before she could embarrass me anymore. I knew my cheeks were bright red as I handed the phone back to CG.

  “I told you that your family was fine with you leaving with me. Your grandmother had a long talk with me. She said there wasn’t a boy in this town who wasn’t half in love with you. Then she went on to list every single one of your attributes. It was all kind of hard to follow, and I think I lost her somewhere around not buying a cow if you get the milk for free.”

  Mortified. That’s what I was. I felt like I owed him an apology. “I don’t know what came over my granny.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I liked her, and I don’t like too many people.” CG jumped up a steep six-foot bank, reaching down for my hand to pull me up. “My car is right behind those trees.” After dropping my hand, we walked around some giant shrubs towards the road. He whispered, “Listen, I don’t want you sharing your abilities with Celia. Understand?”

  “Um, no. Who’s Celia?” Someone cleared their throat, and I don’t know what first grabbed my attention, the pretty redhead with mile-long legs or the sleek, black Porsche she was currently leaning up against. She stopped filing her nails and narrowed her eyes at me. “So, this is her? Really? What a joke.”

  I didn’t know what her problem was, but it wasn’t mine. I stuck my hand out. “I’m afraid I don’t know who you are. As you’ve guessed, I’m Sadie.”

  She looked at me, then at my extended hand, and rolled her eyes while she shoved off the car. I dropped my arm back down to my side. I had a feeling this girl was going to make Stacy look like chump change. She went around to the other side of the car and opened the passenger door.

  CG said, “Climb into the back, Celia.”

  She jerked the passenger seat up so hard I thought it was going to come completely off its rails.

  I looked at CG, trying to figure out a way to calm the waters. “I don’t mind riding in

  the—” The look he gave me was menacing. “Front seat it is.”

  As soon as the Porsche roared to life, I asked, “So, where are we headed?”

  “To an airstrip. We’re going to take a plane.” CG kept looking into the rearview mirror every couple of minutes. “It will take us to my ancestral home. It’s different from my other estates.”

  I needed to build my walls and turn off this whole siphoning thing. I could smell Celia’s anger coming off her in waves. I didn’t know why she was so mad, or what I had done to anger her, but I had a feeling this was going to be a long drive. I turned as much as I could in my seat, so I could see CG better. Trying to make light conversation in a hostile environment was near impossible. “How is this home different?”

  He looked over at me briefly then focused back on the road. “It was the home I grew up in. It’s located in the middle of three hundred acres. Considering that you live in the middle of nowhere, I think you will like the seclusion.”

  Celia snorted. “Of course, she will like it. Did you see the dump she lives in? Before she leaves your house, you might want to check the silverware drawer.”

  I refused to feel shame over where I lived. Money didn’t define a person.

  CG gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turned white. “That will be enough, Celia. Not one more word. Don’t make me regret flying you out here.”

  Why Celia hated me was beyond me, but it was clear she thought very little of me. The good news was that Celia was more scared of CG than she hated me because she shut up. The rest of the ride to the airstrip was turbulent but quiet.

  Chapter Ten

  As I boarded CG’s private airplane, I knew I made the right decision to leave, especially with my family and Jo confirming it. If I had stayed home, there would always be someone trying to capture me or trying to use my loved ones as leverage. CG never threatened my family but gave me an option to leave with him after he saved my life. For right now, he was the answer. I wasn’t sure of all of his motives regarding the war, but if I believed for one second that he would be willing
to sacrifice my loved ones or me to defeat the Degenerates, I would find a way to escape him. But that was borrowing trouble. I just needed to focus on the here and now.

  When we arrived at the airstrip, I had to keep putting one foot in front of the other. My first time away from my little town and I was traveling by plane with a wolf and whatever the heck Celia was. There was little doubt she disliked me, if the daggers she kept shooting in my direction were any indication. The three of us boarded the plane. I overheard CG telling Celia that his brother had an important business matter to deal with and flew out on another private flight an hour earlier. CG then spoke to the pilot and with my adrenaline gone, I felt dead on my feet.

  I went to take a seat but Celia stopped me. She grabbed my arm and pushed me towards the back of the plane. “You’ll be sitting in the back.”

  I held my tongue and started walking towards the back. I dropped in one of the seats closest to the bathroom. CG walked down the narrow aisle, and to Celia’s and my surprise, he took the seat right next to mine. Maybe it was because he could still smell my lingering fear, and he thought sitting next to me would bring me comfort, or maybe it was because he would rather sit next to the newbie than the girl who had resting bitch face down pat. At this point, I couldn’t care less about his reasoning. My body was exhausted, and the anger coming off of Celia was enough to make me want to crawl into a ball. Siphoning other powers had mentally overwhelmed me and I’d learned the hard way that building walls was almost impossible when you’re exhausted. CG somehow sensed I was distressed. His head jerked up, his eyes roaming over my face before he looked over at Celia. He gave her a hard stare, and she finally dropped her gaze. Whatever her problem was, maybe she would get over it soon. I was too tired to be dealing with her childish drama. Today had taken a toll on me emotionally, so I laid my head back on the seat and closed my eyes.

  CG’s voice was warm and low. “Sadie, I know everything is happening quickly, but this was your best option. I will keep you safe.”