The Werewolf Queen

by Brandi Elledge

  I winced a little at that remark. “Well, there is one that is not extinct. My dad is a mind reader.”

  “Impossible. If there were a power like that available, I would assume both sides would already know about it. Both sides would want to persuade that individual to join their cause.”

  “Our town is made up of witches. If they didn’t want someone to find out about the town and what the residents’ powers are, then they could make sure no one ever knew. That’s part of the reason I was so confused when you and your brother showed up. Someone had to have known you were coming, and they would have to have allowed you both in. Then I realized Jo wanted you both to come because it was part of my fate. She allowed the demon to terrorize me in our home because she knew it would spur me into action. She wanted me to go with you.”

  “Powerful witch community or not, Ariana could have found your dad if she wanted to. Or maybe she already knows about him, but then again she’s the most powerful soothsayer that there is.”

  “You know that night that I first came into my powers, I accidentally siphoned off of him. Not only that, but I sought out his aura, and it wrapped around me like it was hugging me. What if I can tap into it?”

  His muscular arms crossed in front of his chest. “Try.”

  Concentrating on the man in front of me, I called to my father’s aura. It was warm and kind.

  “This won’t work, but if she wants to try, there is no harm in that. Her snow-white hair is braided back from her face, showing all of her angles. She’s the most beautiful creature I’ve ever laid eyes on, and it’s been hard to be around her without touching her. These last few weeks have been torture. Even now, I can walk through the house and smell her everywhere. The smell of sunshine makes me long for her. But I just… I just—”

  My eyes opened, and I gave him a sad smile. “You just can’t. I’ve understood since you told me about your past.”

  His mouth dropped open in shock. “Sadie, I—”

  Shaking my head, I held up a hand. “If you can get me close to Celia’s father, I think I can tap into him, and I can probably locate the key.”

  Anger radiated off of him. “You are crazy if you think I would let you anywhere close to him. No. We will get the key, but we will figure out another way.”

  I pointed a finger into his chest. “The whole reason you brought me here is to use me. Remember? Ariana told you I was instrumental to winning this war. How can that possibly be if you make me stay on the sidelines?”

  He grabbed my hips. Pulling me into him, he said, “I care for you, damn it.” He didn’t sound too pleased about it. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

  I put my hands on his shoulders, and then he was kissing me. His mouth parted my lips, and before I knew it, I was kissing him back with just as much enthusiasm. There was nothing gentle or shy about the kiss. As my tongue touched his, I heard him groan softly. His arms tightened around me, and I was engulfed in his warmth. When the kiss ended, we clung to each other without saying anything for several seconds. I knew no matter how great the kiss was, it didn’t change anything for him and to be honest, I didn’t want to be anyone’s mate. I was a teenager, and mate-hood sounded like a forever kind of thing that one shouldn’t take too lightly.

  “Sadie—”

  I didn’t want to know what he was about to say. If it was regret, it would destroy me, so I cut him off. “I will meet Celia’s father tomorrow, but try not to stress because you will be there, and you’re, like, indestructible. With you by my side, what do I have to worry about? You’ll protect me.”

  His grip on my hips tightened. “Sadie, you’re mine to protect. If we do this, we do it my way. You will listen to my every command, or when I meet with Celia’s father, Merek, you will not be there. Understood?”

  I didn’t know what he meant by the “mine to protect,” but I assumed he meant while I was under his roof, because any other conclusion I could draw would mean we were crossing boundaries. I stepped back from him, so he could see how serious I was. “If I was going to be in danger, don’t you think Ariana would let you know?”

  “Yes.” He gave me a stern look. “But I mean it, Sadie. I need to protect you.”

  “Protect me. But don’t box me out. I’m here to do a job. I can’t do that if you keep me on the sidelines.”

  “Go to bed and get some rest. I’m going to wait here with you until you get to sleep.”

  I was still a little shaken up by Celia the maniac, so I wasn’t going to argue. Having him in the same room made me feel safe and something else... It made my stomach flutter and my heart race, which made me blush. I knew the werewolf sitting eight feet away from me could tell how much I liked him. The attraction I felt for him was so intense I felt like I could burst into flames at any moment. He cleared his throat and shuffled his feet. Yep, he knew I was attracted to him. Ugh. I immediately started thinking about the time I had to wash out Granny’s pantyhose for her. That extinguished the fire real quick. Yep. I would just focus on Granny until I went to bed. Whatever it took to douse this need I had for him. I climbed in the bed as Camden was turning out the lights. I could make out his shadow as he headed over to the chair beside my bed.

  I asked in the darkness, “Can I ask you a question?” His voice was smooth.

  “Yes, but I might not answer.”

  “If the keys are so important, why doesn’t Merek keep it? I get that he wants his daughter to be queen, but wouldn’t he be more powerful by holding onto the key?”

  “He’s not a strong enough warlock to control whatever comes across the portal, at least not without help. Even with the portals containing the weakest beings, he would still be no match for them. But I am. He thinks that his daughter can enthrall me enough to do her bidding, which will really be his bidding. He assumes if I make his daughter queen, then they both can use me to open the portal and let over some Degenerates to join my pack.”

  “Why does he care about your pack?”

  “He doesn’t. When the Lux were dragging off the worse Degenerates—the ones who had committed crimes—into the portals, his son was one of the first to go. Merek’s brother, Devon, had the key in his possession, and he was said to be a powerful warlock, but he knew you couldn’t just pick and choose who comes through the portal. To retrieve Cecil, he would have to allow thousands of Degenerates over, and there was a chance that Cecil, Merek’s son, might not even be alive. When Devon refused to help rescue his nephew, Merek began to plan. A week later, he killed his brother in his sleep and has been holding onto the key ever since then.”

  “So, it has never really been about getting his daughter a crown; it has been about finding a king or someone with enough power who can open the portals to find his missing son.”

  “Before you start sympathizing with Merek, let me tell you that Cecil is about as evil as they come. Those demons that tried to take you on the first day are nothing compared to Cecil.”

  “Wait! I remember my history teacher saying something about Cecil. Didn’t he kill a psychic? And doesn’t he have his own key? How did he get stuck in a portal?”

  Camden chuckled. “I love how you always ask multiple questions at once. The girl he killed wasn’t a strong psychic because she hadn’t come fully into her powers. Yes, he did kill her for the key, but when he was arrested by the Lux, he didn’t have time to grab the key. The Lux searched for it everywhere but came up empty handed. Wherever he hid the key, he didn’t disclose its whereabouts to anyone. When Merek couldn’t locate the key either, he pleaded with his brother, but I’ve told you how that worked out. Merek, unfortunately, wasn’t dragged off to a portal with his son because the Lux didn’t have enough evidence against him to do so. Everyone knows that Merek killed his brother but there’s no proof.”

  “Obviously, you need the key, but why didn’t you just take it by brute force?”

  “Ariana said that if I followed that path, it would lead to loneliness and destruction. If I would have taken the
key from Merek when I first learned he had it, I would’ve—”

  “You would’ve what?”

  “I would have never met you.” He cleared his throat, and I started thinking about Granny again, so he couldn’t smell how much I liked his words. “If he would have offered the marriage of his daughter for a key to another king or someone with enough power, then who knows what would have happened? Think how many Degenerates would have been let into this world. I couldn’t let that happen.”

  We couldn’t let that happen. “If I can’t read Merek’s thoughts and this doesn’t work tomorrow, what will happen if we don’t find the key?”

  “Then we have let down mankind.”

  He could have saved the world by marrying Celia, but we’d botched that plan, and I couldn’t help but feel like it was my fault. In a hectic moment, Camden had chosen me over Celia and the key. I had to help him find the key tomorrow. I couldn’t let me be his downfall, especially when it came to him saving the world. He might not forgive me, and I couldn’t live with that.

  Chapter Twenty

  I woke up madder than a wet hen. I had no clue where the heck I was, but I knew one thing for sure: I wasn’t in my assigned bedroom. I jumped up out of bed, still in the cute little pajamas I went to sleep in, but everything else was different. I opened the bedroom door and started walking down a hallway that looked vaguely familiar.

  I’d be damned. There was Camden in his kitchen. He was bare-chested, showing off his beautiful tattoo and wearing a pair of loose sweats hanging low on his hips. It should be a sin to look that good in the morning. He was cracking eggs into a bowl while he whistled. He must have heard me before he saw me because his lips lifted into a smile.

  “Good morning, sunshine.”

  “Um? Hello!” I shouted.

  “Whoa. Did someone wake up on the wrong side of the bed?”

  I marched over to him. “How about waking up in the wrong bed period. How the heck did I get here?”

  He flashed a lopsided grin. “I knew you would not agree to move up here, so I waited until you were completely asleep before I moved you. You’re definitely not a light sleeper. All your stuff has been moved, too.”

  I started sputtering, and he held up both hands in mock surrender.

  “Before you get too mad, please listen to reason. This is exactly like our downstairs arrangement, except your room is bigger, and you are safer here. No one can get to this level without an elevator key, and the only other person who has one besides me is Ariana. Plus, I don’t have to keep lugging clothes downstairs.”

  I guess he had a point, but I was fully committed to being mad, and once I was committed, there was no giving in easily. My dad didn’t raise no quitter. “Whatever. But in the future, I would like for you to ask me before you assume that I won’t have a problem with something.” I turned on my heel to go take a shower, calling over my shoulder, “I like my eggs scrambled.” That was not me giving in easily. That was making sure my belly was satisfied.

  After a steaming hot shower, I felt a little less grouchy. I shook my head as I opened up a large walk-in closet and saw all my clothes had been moved, too. Camden was confident, arrogant, and presumptuous, and yet here I was, hurrying to get ready so that what? So, I could spend some time with him? No! It was because I was hungry. Yeah, that was it. Those eggs smelled delicious, and everyone knew eggs weren’t good cold. Boundaries, Sadie. Boundaries. I put on a bright blue sports bra, yoga pants, and my tennis shoes and headed towards the kitchen.

  By the time I scarfed down breakfast, Camden had come out of his bedroom with his hair wet, dressed in his gym attire of a black muscle shirt and black gym shorts.

  “You ready to head down to train?”

  I nodded, and we both made the long journey to the gym. When we got there, we did some stretching and a couple of warmup drills.

  “There is no going easy on you today,” Camden said apologetically. “We’re down to the wire, and we need to see what you’re made of. You ready for this?”

  “For you to stop holding back? Definitely.”

  He gave me a nod and came to stand before me. “Don’t pull off me today. Or the vampire. I think it’s too much power for you, and I don’t want you to have a bloody nose or something worse. Not when we’re meeting with Merek tonight.”

  Without using his power, I would be no match for him, but I nodded. The next two hours were pure torture. I called upon the auras I had previously tapped into, including some of his werewolves and Lil, but with his strength and speed, it was almost impossible to stay one step ahead of him. I was constantly tapping into all of the previous supernaturals that I had, at one time or another, siphoned off of, but I made sure not to tap into him or Stephan. None of the supernaturals I had ever pulled from were nearly as strong as Camden or Stephan, so most of the time I felt like I was on defense. In the end, I almost gave half as good as I got. I was tempted a time or two to siphon from him to wipe that smug look off his face, but I decided a nosebleed and a headache wasn’t worth it.

  As we were cooling down on the mats, Camden said, “We leave tonight to go to Merek’s estate. It’s not that far away by plane, but since Lil won’t fly—”

  “Whoa! Wait a second. Lil won’t fly? Isn’t that irony at its finest.”

  His laughter warmed my insides. “Since she won’t take a plane, and I really would like her to be there, we will take a car, so we won’t arrive until eight in the morning tomorrow.” At my nod, he continued, “I need to give you a rundown on what to expect. Merek has some employees who are very powerful individuals. Remember, we talked about the infamous mind controller named Zander? He is strong but his powers are limited. After about fifteen minutes he is left weak as a babe. But it’s those first minutes that I’m worried about. If things go wrong, we will need to take him out first. His other top dog is Zander’s twin, Chron. He’s telekinetic. Merek also has several rogue vampires working under him. All and all, there are about a hundred there at his estate.”

  “Hmm. How many are we taking with us?”

  His blue-green eyes met mine. “Here’s where it gets interesting. I could call in my pack, but we can’t take an army in with us because we will lose our advantage. It’ll look like we’re preparing to fight instead of just paying a visit to my future father-in-law. I thought you could go in there like a Trojan horse. Tap into Zander’s and Chron’s powers, so you can use them again in the future. Or for as long as your powers allow you to. The more supernaturals you tap into, the more powerful you will be.”

  I smiled at him. “Heck, yeah. I’ll be a floating, flying, speedy, mind controlling, mind reading, object-moving beast. Mama likes. Now, seriously, how many are we taking with us?”

  “Six, including us.”

  “What if he knows why we are there? Or worse, what if he knows that you have his daughter in a freaking cell?” He was crazy. “Suicide. That’s what this is. I’m not the greatest when it comes to math, but I can tell you right now those odds suck.”

  Camden grimaced. “You are right. This is a bad idea. Maybe you should stay here.”

  I rolled my neck to stretch out the sore muscles. “Of course, it’s a bad idea. And no, I’m not staying here. I just wanted to bitch a little. Considering that you’re taking me on a suicide mission, I think you listening to me is the least you can do. Have you talked to Ariana to make sure that us going in there is not like lambs going to the slaughter?”

  “I’ve never been considered a lamb. I don’t think I like it, and yes, I did ask Ariana. She said something discombobulated, but the gist was that we both had to go to be put on the right path.”

  “Let’s just hope the path doesn’t lead us to death.”

  He helped me to stand up, and his lips met mine in a brief kiss. My heart raced, and I felt tingly everywhere. This attraction wasn’t fading; it was getting stronger, and it was going to be the death of me. Not demons, ghouls, or warlocks, but my attraction to this man.

  “You’ve got to
stop doing that. Remember, we have boundaries?”

  His teeth slowly raked his bottom lip, and it took everything I had to quit looking at his lips. “I’m trying.”

  “Try harder.” I gave him a shove. “We need to go get ready. Move it!”

  We had a couple of hours to kill before we began the drive to Merek’s estate, so we sat on opposite ends of the couch from one another and watched a movie. Camden thought it would relax me and calm my nerves. A popcorn bowl sat in the middle of us, and we were both trying to pretend that the distance between us wasn’t awkward. I couldn’t help but think what it would be like if we were just two regular people, watching a movie together, and had no battles lurking in the future. His doorbell rang, jarring me from my thoughts. My whole body tensed with worry.

  His nostrils flared slightly. “Relax, it’s Ariana.”

  We stood up together and walked to the door. Sure enough, it was the strange old lady. She glided in and placed one hand affectionately on Camden’s cheek. “My boy. I’ve come to wish you luck. You come back to me in one piece.”

  Camden leaned into her hand as he kissed her palm. “Of course.”

  She cleared her throat. “I’m thirsty.”

  “Can I get you something to drink?”

  She smiled up at him. How she saw him through those milky white eyes, I hadn’t a clue. “Just a sip of water, please.”

  He ran off to do her bidding. As soon as he was in the kitchen and we were left alone, she turned towards me and crooked a finger in my direction. “Come here, child.” I reluctantly shuffled my feet closer towards her. This lady scared the crap out of me. When I was standing right in front of her, she whispered, “Yes, you will do well tomorrow. So much strength and you haven’t even really tapped into all of it yet. Tomorrow is not the end for you. As long as my boy is around, he will not let anything happen to you, for it would break him if his mate died and he knows this.”

  We weren’t on the same page. “Oh, but we’ve unofficially agreed to ignore that I’m his mate. We’re not bonded or anything.”