I read her family background and learned she had a sister who was mated to the Alpha of the pack. Her parents were still alive, but they hadn’t had much contact since the war. Maria was unmated, and I was almost positive that was on purpose. No one in that pack would want anything to do with her after what she did. That was okay. Because I wanted her.
“Fly her over.” I grinned as I took her profile and put it to the side.
“Really?” Bash looked over at me. “Just like that?”
I peered up at him. “I trust your intuition, and from what I’ve read I like what I see. We’ll meet her in person and if she impresses me then, I’ll offer her a position.”
“She doesn’t have any political experience,” he countered. “She’s completely green.”
“But she knows the lunas. She’s a voice for them, and that’s more important than politics. I can worry about the political side,” I reassured him. “Who’s next?”
Bash nodded and I cuddled closer to him as he shuffled through the pages until he found the profile he was looking for. “Junior Khumalo from the South African Pack.” He handed the profile over to me.
“South African?” My brows furrowed as I digested his information. “I didn’t know we had packs in Africa.”
“It’s because the Lycan are a bunch of elitist assholes who think they only belong in America and Europe,” Bash grumbled.
My attention snapped in his direction in shock. “Did you just bad mouth the Lycan?” I gasped mockingly with one hand over my open mouth and the other at my chest in my best clutching my pearls impression.
Bash rolled his eyes and bumped me with his shoulder. “Why do you think we don’t have any established packs in South America? Because they don’t deem them worthy. That’s why lone wolves flock down there. Tracker packs are sent down there to control them and exterminate the problem, but in Africa they can’t do that because they already have established packs and they’re not considered lone wolves. So they keep quiet and dutifully report to the European Summit.”
My mouth was hanging open in shock by all the information that as the Lycan Queen, I should have known. “That’s bullshit.”
“It is.”
“So why did Junior pique your interest?” I asked, looking over his profile.
“Junior has been petitioning the Council for an African Summit for the last ten years, or at least a seat at the European Summit. He’s the Alpha of the Johannesburg Pack, and they are stronger than all the others on that continent. From what I’ve gathered, the European Summit has had a close eye on them for years for fear of a revolt against the system,” Bash reiterated what was already on paper.
I looked up from the stack of papers. “How big is their pack?” I whispered.
Bash’s eyes widened. “Big.”
“I’m guessing they’re not having problems reproducing,” I mumbled. “What did they do during the Freedom War?”
“They stayed out of it.” Bash motioned to the document. “They weren’t affected by it whatsoever. And I haven’t been able to get any information on how they treat their lunas, so I don’t know what his stance is on that.”
“Hmm … that’s a gamble. But I can understand why they didn’t help during the Freedom War; it seems like the Lycan haven’t done much for them, either. I wouldn’t have lifted a finger if I was in their shoes. But if they’re old-school with their lunas, that won’t mesh with me.” I mostly spoke to myself, but Bash listened intently. “Still, send out an invitation. I want to meet him.”
Bash took his profile and put it to the side with Maria’s. “Ranulf has a luna he wants you to meet from the village, so right now we have three potential candidates on top of four already established members, bringing you to a total of seven. We’re getting close.” He gave me one of his rare smiles and it melted me in place. His optimism was what I needed right now.
I rested my head on his shoulder and sighed. “Thank you, Bash. I hope you know I don’t take you for granted. Not for one second.”
“I know, Mackenzie.” He kissed the top of my head. “How about we call it a night?” Bash started gathering all the papers and stacked them neatly on the nightstand beside him.
We lowered ourselves further down on the bed and Bash wrapped his arms around me, pulling me in close. Lying in bed, secure in his arms, was the safest I’d ever felt.
Morning dawned with many changes. After breakfast, Bash and I went our separate ways. He left to meet with Alexander and brief him on the potential candidates for the Queen’s Council, then to start trying to contact them to set up a meeting. I headed in the opposite direction to meet with Ranulf and the rest of my guards at the South Tower.
When I arrived at the training area, I found it fairly empty of guards except for the Queen’s Guard, plus Ranulf and William.
“Ah, the man of the hour has arrived!” I greeted William as I entered the sparring circle where they stood. “Welcome to the Queen’s Guard.”
“Thank ye, Yer Majesty.” William bowed and a slight blush crawled up his neck.
“I’m just going over the protocols and schedules,” Ranulf said. “William said ye want him to train yer guards?”
“Correct.” I nodded. “Have them work in shifts—”
“That will leave ye unprotected, Yer Majesty,” Ranulf cut me off.
“Pull from the regular guards in the meantime. I want my personal guards trained by the best,” I enforced. I wasn’t budging on this. If William was the beast everyone claimed he was, then I wanted all the guards to be one. From what I saw in Caledonian Forest when they went up against Hildr, they could hold their own, but it shouldn’t have taken four of my men to take down one Valkyrie.
“Very well,” Ranulf grunted. “I will set up temporary guards in the meantime. I’ve also set up a meeting with Ophelia. Yer scheduled to meet in an hour. It’s best if we leave soon, Yer Majesty.”
“Okay—”
“I understand ye want us to train, Yer Majesty,” Liam interrupted, “but I would feel more comfortable if I accompanied ye into the forest.” He bowed slightly to soften his request.
I raised a brow and contemplated his suggestion. There was no harm in him missing the first training. Liam was a good guard; I knew he was just worried, especially after what happened the last time we were in Caledonian Forest. “Only this one time, Liam. But you can’t miss any more trainings, got it?”
“Aye, Yer Majesty.” He bowed again and excused himself to gear up for our trip.
“The rest of you, work hard and listen to William,” I commanded. “I want you to be the best. An elite team, different from the other guards. You understand?”
“Aye, Yer Majesty!” they all yelled. Like a busy hive, the guards broke formation and got to work.
Once Liam was geared up, the three of us exited the South Tower. Ranulf already had the temporary guards waiting for us at the entrance of the castle. When we started crossing the drawbridge, they surrounded me and we walked into the village as a tight unit with Ranulf latched to my side.
“I have nae gotten ahold of Ailios. We might want to take advantage of the fact we’ll be in the forest and see if we can spot any Highlanders,” Ranulf noted.
We walked down the cobblestone street, passing storefronts and waving at the people of the village.
“Something doesn’t feel right,” I whispered to Ranulf, never letting my queenly smile slip as I waved to the children playing in the street. “It’s unlike Ailios not to respond. Something is wrong.”
“I agree, Yer Majesty.”
“All you did was tell her to search for the missing guards, correct?” I inquired. When Ranulf nodded affirmatively, the ball of unease in my gut fluttered. “Hmm … I’m worried.”
Did the Highlanders have a confrontation with Fenrir and his Valkyries? Did they switch teams? So many questions and not enough answers.
“Your Majesty?” someone called out.
Ranulf and I looked over to see Dr. Harris standing
outside his medical practice, waving at us. We paused our march down the road and the doctor approached, the guards making an opening for him to come near.
“I’ve been meaning to come up to the castle for a follow-up, Your Majesty. How are you?” he asked.
I’d been doing much better since his treatment with the warlock Tavish, but I was still fairly weak and plagued by tiredness throughout the day. I just hadn’t wanted to mention it to anyone. I didn’t want them to insist on me being bedridden, and I certainly didn’t want them to draw my blood.
I gave a broad smile. “I’m much better, thanks to you. Thank you for asking, Dr. Harris.”
He nodded. “My pleasure. I would still like to do a full check-up just in case we missed anything.”
“Of course,” I agreed reluctantly. “You can schedule it with Ranulf.”
“Aye, I will touch base with ye this afternoon,” Ranulf said. With that, Dr. Harris bowed and we said our goodbyes.
I thought I’d get away with not having to do a follow-up with Dr. Harris, but it seemed there was no dodging him in such a small town. And who knew how long I could keep up this charade? Eventually I would tire out and have to tell someone. Until then, I had to keep going.
We continued through the village, discussing the potential candidates Bash found for the Council as well as the luna Ranulf was scouting from the village.
“Rowan is a tough lass,” Ranulf said as we entered Caledonian Forest. “She’s tried to join the King’s Guard a few times but cannae quite pass the physical test. But she might be a good fit for the Council.”
“If she wants to join the Guard so bad, why don’t you train her?” I asked.
Ranulf huffed and gave me side eye. “Ye think I have all the time in the world to train every headstrong wolf who wants to play in the Guard? I’m a busy man, ye ken!”
I laughed. “Okay, okay. So you’re eyeing her for the Council—what’s so special about her?”
Ranulf peered down at me with a wicked grin. “Ye ready for this?”
I nodded eagerly.
His grin widened. “The lass is Jacob’s granddaughter – William’s cousin. She’s been a pain in the old man’s rear for the longest—well, ever since ye came along.”
I choked on my own saliva. “What? You’re telling me Jacob has a rebellious luna for a granddaughter that he’s keeping hidden?”
“Well, I would nae say hidden … but he does nae speak much about her,” Ranulf clarified. “His pride and joy is William.”
“Does he know William joined the Guard?”
“Aye.” He nodded. “From what my insiders gathered, Jacob believes he can turn William into a spy. We’ll have to be very careful until we establish where that boy’s loyalties lie.”
“Don’t worry about that.” I waved off his concern with a smirk. “I’ve already taken care of it.” William and I had an agreement. I promised to take care of his mom if anything happened to him, which secured his loyalty. She was all that mattered to him.
After a quiet forty-minute hike into the forest, we arrived at the Sisters of the Sight temple. Many of the oracles were outside gathering herbs in the surrounding area. While the rest of my guards fanned out around the temple, Ranulf and I bypassed the oracles outside to climb the temple steps to the front door, which was already open. Inside, several oracles were humming and holding hands, swaying around the altar. For a moment, Ranulf and I paused at the threshold, afraid we were intruding, when we saw Ophelia seated on the front row of the stone bleachers.
She waved us over as if she could see us in her uncanny way and we headed in her direction, taking a seat beside her. Ophelia reached fragile hands out to clasp my stronger ones and brought them to her lap.
“Tell me, child. What did ye see?” she asked eagerly.
I wasn’t surprised she already knew I’d had a vision.
“I think I saw a vision of the past,” I started. “I haven’t been able to see anything in almost a year … maybe longer. Why now?”
She tapped my hand. “Because it was something ye must see.”
“There have been many times over the past couple years where I could have used a vision and never got one,” I muttered bitterly.
“Aye,” she mused. “You may have wanted one … but did ye really need one?”
I frowned at her logic. It sure felt like I needed it at the time, but I always ended up surviving without it. So the real question was, did I actually need it now?
“Tell me, Mackenzie, what was yer vision?”
I repeated everything about who and what I saw, then explained the situation going on with Fenrir and the Valkyries, particularly what they were after. I didn’t have to go into detail about what happened at the coronation reception since she was there, but I gave her the full rundown on everything else from the first moment I met Fenrir until now. By the time I finished at least forty-five minutes had passed, but Ophelia’s attention never wavered, and she listened intently to every word.
“Hmm … Mackenzie, did I ever tell ye about yer mothers’ special talent?” Ophelia teased; both Ranulf and I leaned closer.
I shook my head. “No one’s told me much about her. Most of what I’ve learned, I learned on my own.” Which was true. I did most of my digging through the archivist back home.
“Aye, well, Adaline had a special skill. She heard the whispers of the gods. It’s an extremely rare gift,” Ophelia emphasized. “Those whispers came to her as visions sometimes, or as actual whispers in her ears. It kept her up late at night and almost drove her mad until she learned how to control them and tune them out.”
“What are ye trying to say, Ophelia?” Ranulf asked what I was wondering.
“I believe ye have inherited this skill as well. That vision ye had was nae a vision at all, but rather the whispers of Fenrir, the first wolf,” she declared matter-of-factly.
When I first went to the archivist of New York City and looked up Adaline in the oracle registry, I learned about her ability to hear the whispers of the gods but didn’t put too much stock into it. I didn’t think it was real because I didn’t believe in multiple gods. Now that Fenrir was in the picture … well, it put things into perspective.
Could she have passed this trait down to me? If that was the case …
“Is there any way for me to hear more?” I asked.
“Are ye mad?” Ranulf spat. “Ye don know what yer doing, Yer Majesty!”
I placed a hand on Ranulf’s tense arm, practically vibrating with unease. “But he mentioned something is coming, Ranulf. Something big. I need to find out what it is so we can prepare,” I urged. “We can’t stay in the dark. If Fenrir knows something, we have to find out what it is before it’s too late!”
Ranulf shot up from the bleacher and started to pace, running a hand through his dark hair. “Hells bells, Yer Majesty,” he grumbled. “This is madness.”
“Relax, Ranulf,” Ophelia eased him. “Mackenzie cannae go searching for them; they have to come to her.”
I deflated. That wasn’t the answer I was looking for. If I couldn’t go searching for Fenrir myself, I at least wanted to try searching through his memories. Anything to get a clue or an inkling to what he’d been talking about with Raven.
“Ye cannae stay in the dark any longer, Mackenzie. It is time I start training ye. Yer oracle abilities will only grow from here,” Ophelia added as she squeezed my hands reassuringly.
She was right, I couldn’t put it off any longer. It was imperative that I learn how to use my oracle abilities, and it might as well be now. Now that I was in Scotland with full access to the sisters, I didn’t have any more excuses. It was time I learned more about my abilities.
“Did you see anything else about the new ruler of the Lycan that you can share?” I asked Ophelia without replying to her statement.
“Everything in due time, Mackenzie.” She released my hand. “I’ll come to the castle at the end of the week to start yer training so ye don have to come to the t
emple.”
I nodded. “Thank you.”
After saying our goodbyes, Ranulf escorted me out of the temple and the guards surrounded us as one, leading the way back into the forest. Once we were deep into Caledonian and away from the Sisters of the Sight, we began tracking the Highlanders in hopes of finding one of them. It wouldn’t be easy. The light-footed Highlanders were careful not to leave any traces of their presence behind, which meant we were mainly wandering the forest blindly.
Two guards shifted into wolves and ran ahead of us to get a further look while the rest of us continued to walk and search the area with no luck.
“Why are they in hiding?” I murmured as I scanned the forest, looking up at the canopies that partially obscured the clear blue sky. “It’s very unlike them.”
“They must have had an encounter with the wolf,” Ranulf grunted, not mentioning Fenrir by name. “The Highlanders have never been reliable.”
I didn’t believe it. I had to — more like I wanted to — trust Ailios. I had to believe she wouldn’t turn on me.
A howl deep in the forest erupted, freezing us in place.
“It’s our scouts, Jeremy and Douglas!” Ranulf said, taking off in their direction. “Stay with the Queen!” he ordered the others, but I followed him anyway.
He should have known by now that I wouldn’t stay behind.
The guards ran along with me as I followed Ranulf in the direction of the howls. The sound sent us off the trail and dashing between trees and bushes. I definitely hadn’t worn the proper footwear for this kind of jaunt, but it didn’t stop me from hopping over logs at full speed behind Ranulf.
We caught up with the two wolves after a half-mile sprint. They were feverishly pacing a clearing when we burst through the trees and took in the gruesome scene. I was so busy focusing on their howls, I didn’t catch the metallic tang of blood swirling through the air, but now that I was there, the smell assaulted me in every direction.
Blood was splattered everywhere, but there were no bodies to be found. Except one.
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