Queen of the Lycan

by Karina Espinosa

  I could tell from this journal entry that she still hadn’t seen her future, but she had an idea she wouldn’t be around long enough to be with me. It must have been her intuition. I really wished I had grown up with her. Maybe things would be different.

  After spending my hour break going through Adaline’s journal instead of napping, I finally put it away, slipped my shoes back on, and headed out of the royal wing to meet Helena in the dressing room. This afternoon I was supposed to pick out my gown for the mating ceremony.

  I left William and Liam outside the door before entering the dressing room, where I found Helena with her helper Ana and a rack with five garment bags against the far wall. I passed by the floor-length mirrors and stood in front of the rack.

  “Are these my options, Granny?”

  “Aye, chickie,” she answered excitedly. “I have a favorite, but of course it’s yer choice. They’re all black, as ye requested.”

  I grinned. “All right, show me.”

  Ana unzipped the first bag, revealing a sleeveless dress with a heart-shaped bodice and chiffon skirt.

  “It’s pretty, but plain.” I rubbed the material between my fingers, unimpressed. “Show me the next one.”

  The next dress was another mermaid dress with an off-the-shoulder neckline and a cascading ruffle in the front. It was nice, but it looked more like a prom dress than a wedding gown.

  “Next!” I skipped over it and Ana pushed it to the side to unzip the next one. When she revealed the third gown, my eyes widened as I took it all in, reaching for the silk and lace material. “This one,” I whispered. “This is the one.”

  Helena gave a satisfied grin. “I knew ye’d like that one.”

  I glanced at her with smiling eyes. “You know me so well.” I leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

  She waved me away with a proud smile. “Go on now, hen. Get on the platform so we can get yer measurements.”

  I did as I was told and Ana gathered my measurements. Even though the gowns were my size, they still had to double check to see if anything needed to be taken in or let out. It was a good thing they did.

  “Yer Majesty, ye’ve lost some weight,” Ana said as she took notes on my new size.

  I frowned. “I have?”

  Helena tsked. “That’s nae good, chickie. Ye must eat! I’ll be doubling yer servings for dinner.”

  Helena and Ana started talking amongst themselves about how and where to take in the seams, but I was lost in my head. Had I really lost weight? How? I was eating just as much as I normally did. Was it because I was still sick?

  Maybe I should just bite the bullet and see Dr. Harris. It’s the only way I’ll get better.

  I left the dressing room with William and headed straight for my office. When I arrived, Liam stopped me before entering. “Mr. Lucian Young is in yer office waiting for ye, Yer Majesty,” he announced.

  I nodded and stepped inside to find Lucian seated in one of the chairs across from my desk. “Hey!” I walked over and took a seat behind my desk. “What brings you around these parts?”

  He leisurely crossed one leg over the other and leaned back in the chair. “Oh, this and that, Pet.” He waved his hand in the air. “You haven’t called on me in so long, I was starting to worry.”

  I grinned. “You did me a great service being my intermediary with the Highlanders, Luce. Thank you.”

  He hummed and a troubled look crossed his face. “I haven’t seen them in quite some time. The forest has been quiet.”

  “The forest is dangerous right now,” I replied cryptically. “It’s best if you stay out of it.”

  Lucian’s dark eyes narrowed. “You think you can say that and not have me ask for more information, Pet?”

  I sighed. “I can’t give out any information right now. It would cause chaos.”

  “And when have you known me to have loose lips?”

  “Really?” I mean, he literally ratted me out to Alexander. Loose lips, my ass.

  Lucian rolled his eyes. “Whatever, Pet. All I’m saying is I have your back. Don’t keep me out if I can help.”

  It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Lucian. Quite the contrary, I trusted him with my life. But I also wanted to keep him safe. I’d dropped way too much trouble on his doorstep and it was time I stopped doing that. I couldn’t run to Lucian every time there was a problem.

  “Hey!” he scolded. “I know that look! It’s the look of pity,” he added with a glare. “Don’t worry about me, Pet.” He placed a hand on his chest in a dramatic gesture. “I’m fine. I want to help, so let me help. If I didn’t want to, I would have stayed my behind in my cozy cottage—hashtag cottagecore.” He made a hashtag motion with his fingers.

  I burst out laughing. “Oh my God, Lucian, don’t ever do that again!” I snorted in laughter. “You’re spending way too much time on social media. You must be bored.”

  He groaned and dropped his head against the back of the chair, slouching in a very un-Lucian-like manner. “Ugh, I am extremely bored!” He lifted his head and peered at me. “I need you to get into trouble so there can be some excitement.”

  “Thanks,” I deadpanned. “Fine. You want in on the current drama? Don’t complain when it’s too much for you to handle.” I wagged my finger at him.

  Lucian waved his hands at me. “Give it to me, Pet. Lay it on me.”

  I pursed my lips for a moment before speaking. “There’s a demon in Sheunta Village. Don’t ask how he got in, because even I don’t know. His name is Abaddon and he attacked the Highlanders not too long ago. He’s … after something. We don’t know what. But he’s deadly and he won’t stop attacking until he gets what he came for.”

  Lucian stared at me for a moment and blinked. “Abaddon, you say?”

  I nodded.

  He leaned back and sighed. “Well, damn, I probably shouldn’t have had tea with him the other day.”

  I choked on my own spit in my haste to speak. “What?” I exclaimed. “You know him?”

  Lucian shrugged nonchalantly. “We’re old pals. I hadn’t seen him in centuries. Although I thought he’d changed. He said he was different,” he murmured mainly to himself, deep in thought.

  Well, I’d be damned. The one person I wanted to keep out was the one person I needed. Lucian was the only one who had seen Abaddon’s human face. He was the only way we could find him.

  17

  Before Lucian left, I called in Ranulf so Luce could divulge everything he knew about Abaddon. Which unfortunately wasn’t much more than what we already knew. The only advantage he provided was that he knew what the demon looked like. That was a critical piece of intel we lacked before.

  Ranulf paced my office, wearing a hole in the rug. He finally stopped and whirled around. “What were the odds that Lucian knew this demon?”

  “I don’t know, but he warned us to be careful. Lucian said he’s known for bringing destruction and chaos. He’s brought empires to their knees—”

  “And we’re sorely outmatched. If what Lucian says is correct, he can take out whole armies,” Ranulf grimaced.

  I tightened my fists. “I don’t believe in fear,” I growled. “Fuck this demon. We’ll find a way to send it back to hell.”

  Ranulf snorted. “I’m glad yer so confident, Yer Majesty.”

  “Well, somebody has to be! We’re not a bunch of pussies—”

  “Hey! I never said we were, ye ken,” he grunted.

  “I’m just saying. We’ve survived some tough shit. We can get through this, too.”

  I started to stand and make myself another cup of coffee when the office door bursts open and Bash stormed in with Junior trailing behind him.

  “We have a problem,” Bash said, out of breath. “The Summits—they’re in the throne room and they demand to see you. Now.”

  My eyes widened slightly, and I stood from my chair slowly. “Why?”

  “They learned about Abaddon. I’m guessing one of the guards is in their pocket,” Bash answered
, his face stern.

  This was the excuse they needed to dethrone me. If they knew why Abaddon was here, that he was after me, they wouldn’t hesitate to get rid of me.

  “Damnit!” Ranulf punched the wall. “We need the Council. You don have all ten!”

  I took a couple of deep breaths and fought to control my racing heart. “Where’s Rowan? Is she in the castle?” Ranulf nodded. “Good. Gather the nine we do have and get them in the throne room. I’ll figure something out.” I nibbled on my bottom lip as I tried to think about what I could possibly say to appease the Summits.

  “No, gather the ten,” Junior chimed in. We all turned to look at him. “I’ve decided, Your Majesty. I’ll join your Council.” He graced me with a full bow and then peered over at Bash. The two of them had been hanging out a lot recently. I guessed that whatever Bash told him must have worked.

  “Thank you, Junior.” I sighed and turned to Ranulf. “Get everyone to the throne room. I’ll be there shortly.”

  Everyone departed, leaving me alone in my office as I gathered my wits. I’d been very careful with the guards I’d chosen for myself, so I was convinced that whomever the Summits were using as an informant wasn’t someone from my inner circle. Either way, all guards were on high alert searching for the demon and working with the Valkyries. I couldn’t assume the Summits knew everything, so I needed to wait and let them tell me what they knew first. If I didn’t, I would only dig a deeper hole for myself. Either way, I wasn’t going down without a fight.

  I walked stiffly to the coffee maker and poured myself a cup, chugging it in four big gulps. Once I felt more like myself, I stepped out of my office and came face-to-face with William and Liam.

  “Are ye okay, Yer Majesty?” William asked.

  “We heard what’s happening,” Liam offered.

  I nodded. “Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.”

  William straightened and lifted his chin. “We won’t let anything happen to ye, Yer Majesty.”

  “Aye,” Liam agreed.

  “Thank you.” I smiled at them both and followed them to the throne room.

  I heard the shouts coming from the throne room from the top of the grand staircase, and the thunderous roars of some shifting into their wolves became louder as we approached. Whatever was going on in that room was swiftly getting out of hand.

  We jogged down the stairs and I took note of the guards who were positioned in the corridor, confirming they were mine.

  “Follow me.” I motioned for them to come with us into the throne room. “William, call for more guards to be posted.” He relayed the order through his radio and we continued down the corridor.

  The two guards posted at the doors opened each side, revealing a room that had erupted in full chaos. The European and American Summits were up in arms against Ranulf and the Queen’s Council, which was a tiny contingent compared to them.

  Besides Ranulf, Alexander, and Bash, the rest of the Council hadn’t even been briefed on what was going on yet. Most of my ten were looking wide eyed and confused. I had to give it to Junior, though. He was made for this position. Even though he had no idea what was going on, he was fighting back with all he had.

  None of them noticed when I arrived, so I took a deep breath and then let out a massive roar that shook the foundations of the castle. In seconds, everyone quieted and I could finally hear myself think.

  “What the hell is going on here?” I demanded as I made my way through the crowd and toward the throne. The crowd parted, making a path for me to walk between, my guards following closely behind me. The Council filed in after them and stood at the front, flanking the throne.

  Standing front and center was Grayson, Alpha of the Canadian Pack. Behind him stood Lucas, Alpha of the Italian Pack, who didn’t look nearly as meek as he’d appeared in the past.

  The moment I sat on my throne, Grayson huffed, “We know about the demon! When were you planning on telling us? We have a right to know! This affects the whole Lycan community!”

  I tilted my head. “Does it?”

  “Does what?” he scoffed.

  “Does it affect the whole Lycan community?” I repeated. “Because as of right now, it only affects Sheunta Village—particularly the Highlanders, which the Summits don’t care much about, so what exactly do I have to report to you?” I raised a condescending brow.

  Grayson growled and Bash took a threatening step towards him. “Watch yourself,” he warned.

  Charles pushed through the crowd and pointed to my new Council. “What is this?” he demanded.

  I smirked. “This,” I motioned to the group beside me, “is the Queen’s Council. For now, it is the minimum ten designated seats, but as time goes by, I’m sure I’ll find others to fill the remaining slots.”

  Lucas scoffed, “You have two lunas.” He pointed at Maria and Rowan. “You can’t do that.”

  I laughed. “Says who? The Queen’s Council makes the laws, and we say lunas can join the Council. So there’s no problem.”

  Grayson ran a hand through his hair. “This is fuckin’ ridiculous.”

  “I know,” I agreed. “It is. I find all of you ridiculous and unworthy of your positions. Now that I have my Council, I guess I should really start reconsidering who should be Alpha in your regions.”

  Crickets.

  I felt the tension and pure anger radiating off them. If they could do so with impunity, they would tear into me right now. I was sure most, if not all were actively praying for my immediate death.

  “If you do that,” Grayson snarled, “you’ll have a civil war on your hands.”

  I smirked. “You think I’m afraid … of you?” I snorted and leaned forward as if I was going to divulge a secret. “I have more battle scars than you’ll ever have in this lifetime or the next. You want to declare war? On me?” I chuckled and my grin widened. “Choose your words wisely, because I’m the last person you want to go to war with. I haven’t lost yet, and I don’t plan to, either.” I flashed my silver eyes and radiated dominance, making each Alpha cower before me. “Don’t make an enemy out of me.”

  They wisely remained quiet, though if looks could kill, I would already be six feet under from the weight of Charles’s deathly glare. He thought he could storm in there and win this round, but I wouldn’t back down. Taking me out wouldn’t be easy.

  “If you want to know about Abaddon, all you had to do was ask nicely,” I added with a smirk. “I’ll tell you what you want to know.”

  I’d tell them what I wanted them to know. That and nothing else.

  The Summits weren’t easy to quiet down, but once I told them about Abaddon, they realized we had bigger problems. Throughout the following week, they assisted in the search and put their packs on alert in case he tried to leave Sheunta Village. The only plus side with the Summit finding out was that their involvement took a lot off my plate, giving me the opportunity to prepare for my mating ceremony.

  18

  Waking up without the body warmth of Bash beside me felt foreign and uncomfortable, but I understood why he wasn’t there. Blame it on superstition, but with everything else going awry in my life, I didn’t want to add on more bad luck if the bride saw the groom the day of the wedding. Even so, I still wanted to spend last night with him. There was no way I was the only one who was nervous. After all our time together and our rollercoaster experiences, we were finally going through with a mating ceremony in front of everyone. And while that may sound like we were about to have sex in front of a bunch of people, it was far more PG than that.

  All our friends showed up yesterday, but I was so busy I couldn’t greet them. The ceremony would be the first time I saw anyone. Not only did I have my queenly duties, but Helena was running me ragged doing countless fittings for the ceremony. Luckily, Bash was able to receive everyone upon arrival and get them situated in their rooms.

  I climbed out of our massive bed and sat on the edge for a minute to rub the sleep from my eyes, then dragged myself to the
bathroom where I took a hot shower. After drying my hair with a fluffy towel, I pulled it up into a messy bun. I glanced at the bedside clock and saw it was ten minutes to eight, which meant my breakfast was already waiting for me out in the small dining room outside my chambers. I shimmied into my bra and underwear, then slid into my robe and slippers and stepped out of my chambers, where I was greeted by William and Liam.

  “Mornin’ Yer Majesty,” both offered with a bow.

  “Morning,” I mumbled. “Care to join me for breakfast?”

  Liam grinned. “I don think ye’ll want our company today, Yer Majesty,” he said as they guided me to the common room where the dining table was located.

  As soon as I stepped inside, a small body jumped out in front of me screaming. I shrieked and stumbled back in surprise.

  “Kenzie!” Amy yelled as she lunged for me, her wavy red hair bouncing all over the place.

  “Oh my gosh, Aims, you nearly gave me a heart attack!” I hugged her back just as fiercely.

  “I missed you so much, Kenz!” She gripped me tightly, then pulled back and sized me up and down. “You look so … queenly,” she noted with a chuckle.

  I lightly punched her shoulder. “Asshole,” I grumbled. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be getting ready for the ceremony?”

  Amy shrugged. “I told them to bring my stuff to your chambers,” she explained while wiggling her eyebrows. “That way, I can get ready with you. You shouldn’t be alone. This is something you do with girlfriends and stuff, not by yourself.”

  I grinned. “Aims, you’re the best.”

  She shrugged and gave a saucy wink. “I know, I’m sort of awesome. So let’s have some brekkie, as you say around here. Then let’s get this girl day started!”

  I wrapped an arm around her, laughing, and dragged her over to the dining table. We sat across from each other and enjoyed a very American breakfast, complete with never-ending coffee.