The Fallen Queen: (Gods & Monsters Book 2) (The Gods & Monsters Trilogy)

by Janie Marie

  With tears running down her face, Jane screamed and yanked her mask off, chucking it to the ground as she faced off with him.

  “YESSSSS!” he roared. “Let me see what you got, bitch!”

  “No, Jane!” David yelled.

  “Are you afraid to take me on alone, little vampire?” Lycaon asked as he pointed David out to her. He was running toward her, but he was constantly having to fight off wolves. “I’ll kill him, too. You see how foolish he is because of you? The boy will not be able to concentrate when he sees your body, and I will rip him apart—just like this pathetic mutt.”

  Jane shook her head at him and held her hand out toward David.

  “No!” David shouted as her barrier was thrown up. “Jane, don’t do this!”

  Lycaon laughed. “Well, that is impressive. We better be quick now. I don’t think your boyfriend will like it if I take too long with you.”

  Jane looked at David as he began to punch at her barrier, shouting at her to drop it. Thor even ran beside him and began hitting it with his hammer. She could feel their attacks as if they were hitting her, but she kept it up and looked back at the man in front of her. “Forgive me, David.”

  “NO, JANE!”

  She blocked him out and looked at her wolf’s dead eyes. Her heart cracked wide-open. She’d seen so many pairs of empty eyes of those she loved. She had so much power, and she was afraid to use it, and this was what happened when she failed. This was what would happen to David if she didn’t succeed.

  Jane returned her gaze to the Wolf King. He grinned and pointed at her. “I see you. Come out and play, bitch. I’ve been waiting for you.”

  The image of Jane’s own face, smiling that wicked, heartless smile flashed within her mind. The smile she’d tried so hard to push away. The smile that terrified her, called to her—she began to ask it to come forward when a spear flew right into Lycaon’s shoulder.

  Odin stepped in her way, blocking her from Lycaon. “Forgive me, Jane . . . And prove me wrong.”

  “Well, if it isn’t my old friend, Odin,” said Lycaon as he ripped the spear from his massive shoulder.

  “Fenrir.” Odin walked closer to Lycaon.

  “Tell me, Ole Father, how does it feel to know that you will die shortly with the knowledge that Hell is inside your walls?”

  Jane didn’t understand this, but Odin seemed to. His eyes widened, clearly piecing something together in his head just before Lycaon laughed and charged.

  They came together with a loud bang. Odin was quick and powerful, but Jane could tell he wasn’t as strong as Lycaon. She thought about letting down her wall, but she still imagined David winding up like her wolf, so she made it stronger and turned in time to see Lycaon fall to the ground.

  Odin brought down his fists again and again onto his face. He was delivering deadly blows, and Jane wondered if he could maybe prove the legends wrong by defeating his enemy.

  Lycaon let out a thunderous roar and shifted into a horrifying werewolf. He quickly stood on two legs and bit Odin’s neck with his massive jaws. Lycaon ripped away half of Odin’s shoulder and neck. Jane could only stand frozen with the others as Odin’s blood sprayed into the air while the werewolf howled over his kill.

  Jane screamed as Odin’s lifeless body was tossed to her feet, and she sobbed hearing Thor’s yell echo off the mountains like thunder.

  She looked back at Lycaon as he started to stomp his way to her. He looked even bigger than he did as a man. I can’t win on my own.

  David yelled for her, “Jane!” He kept hitting her wall with so much force that she felt the blows leaving an impact against her side. “Baby, drop the fucking wall!”

  She looked back at Odin and then her wolf who sacrificed itself for her. Lycaon growled, and she glanced at him before turning to David as that fire and wicked laughter filled her mind . . .

  “No!” David shouted at the sight of black replacing Jane’s hazel eyes. She looked away from him to face Lycaon, and the Wolf King’s steps faltered. The werewolf’s own pair of black eyes glinted as moonlight poured into the clearing they were in. When Jane smiled that wicked smile he had not seen for so long, David swore the werewolf smiled back at her.

  “No, baby,” he said, punching the wall again.

  She glanced at him for a moment, halting him before he hit the invisible barrier. He’d never in his long life seen so much evil in a single stare. None of his enemies had ever made him feel as though he was staring into the Gates of Hell, but she did.

  A flicker of gold and green in her eyes lasted for less than a second before she snarled and looked at Lycaon, who was still in his werewolf form.

  “What is happening to Jane, David?” Thor asked, punching the wall in defeat.

  “That’s not Jane.”

  Lycaon growled and David looked back, horrified, as the huge werewolf charged her. Jane was so tiny, so easy to break by the strength everyone knew Lycaon had, yet she stood there with a smile, only dodging attacks at the last moment.

  She let out a haunting laugh, not sounding at all like the woman David loved. Every time the Wolf King charged her, she’d scratch or punch him once then dart away before he could touch her.

  Lycaon growled, snapping his jaws in her face, barely missing her.

  “She’s toying with him,” Thor said when Hades came to them.

  “I’m sorry, David,” Hades said, hovering his hand over the barrier. “She threatened to use her power on me and drain herself if I didn’t let her finish freeing the wolf.”

  David said nothing. He could only watch as the entity inside Jane danced around, infuriating the Wolf King with quick, powerful blows.

  Lycaon threw his head back and roared, but he suddenly started stomping away from Jane. Toward him. David was fine with that, but he made eye contact with this evil version of Jane and knew he would not fight the werewolf.

  She hissed and held out a hand until the dagger flew to her before running and blocking Lycaon’s path. “The prince is mine!” The way she said it didn’t make David feel the same way he did when Jane said it. It wasn’t a possessive claim as it was in Jane’s case. It was something much darker.

  The Wolf King growled and she growled back.

  Lycaon returned her vicious growls with louder ones, and Jane lunged. She tackled the huge werewolf to the ground, but Lycaon managed a gruesome scratch across her left shoulder. Her blood sprayed out, covering Lycaon’s face as she screamed.

  With her right fist, she punched the werewolf in the face and then grabbed him by the snout, forcing his head back. She roared in his face, and they all stood frozen as flesh and fur began melting away from Lycaon’s body.

  The werewolf writhed below her, howling as it seemed Jane was almost pouring acid on him.

  “Dear God,” Arthur said, standing beside him along with the other knights now. None of them could look away, and David didn’t even check to make sure all of his brothers had survived.

  Again, David watched that evil smile spread across her beautiful lips before she roared and stabbed Lycaon’s massive head over and over again.

  David shook his head, refusing to believe this was happening. It was, though. Jane didn’t stop. Chunks of flesh and blood flew around her as Lycaon tried to fight her off. He couldn’t. His face began to cave in and she finally stopped, tilting her head to the side as she watched the life fading from her opponent.

  She leaned down, face to face with Lycaon’s mutilated head, and kissed his snout before she said, “Say hello to Father for me. I’ll make sure you’re reunited with Hell soon.” Not waiting for a response, she roared and stabbed the dagger into his chest.

  Lycaon tried to push her off, but she removed the dagger and reached into the opening with her hand.

  She smiled as Lycaon writhed in agony until he finally stopped breathing.

  David didn’t look away from her face, away from the smile that wasn’t quite Jane’s. She yanked Lycaon’s heart out and bit into it, sucking the blood as more
dripped down her arm.

  Arthur looked away, putting his hand on David’s shoulder. “You have to bring Jane back. That thing will kill us all.”

  “We have to hurry,” Thor said, sounding sick to his stomach. “My men say there are growls from the east coming our way.”

  David swallowed and raised his hand to the barrier as he called out to her. “Jane.”

  She instantly turned to him, those dark eyes scanning his face slowly as she lowered the heart in her hand.

  “Baby, come here.”

  She stood up, smiling before she began wiping the blood from her face, which only caused it to smear over her porcelain skin.

  The barrier vanished, and he lowered his arm as she walked to him. She ignored the others and finally stood right in front of him, studying him like she was trying to figure out what she wanted to do with him.

  This wasn’t his Jane, but he hoped she was still inside. He carefully put his hands on her face and stared into those dark eyes. “Come back to me, Jane. You promised, baby. Come back.”

  Her look was wrathful, but he crushed his lips to hers, pushing her mouth open and deepening the kiss even though he was completely disgusted and heartbroken. Her fangs cut his lips, but he didn’t let her go, not even when her nails dug into his shoulders and neck as she kissed him back.

  He kept his mouth against hers, whispering, “Please, my love. I know you’re there.” He kissed her again, softer, and felt her fangs retract.

  He leaned away far enough to look at her face and laughed, kissing her again and again when hazel eyes stared back at him. “I knew you were there.”

  Jane’s voice finally blessed his ears. “David.” She tried to hang on to him, but she slumped in his hold.

  “I’ve got you,” he said, lifting her up.

  She sobbed, looking down at herself and then around them. “What did I do?” She cried at the sight of Lycaon’s carcass along with Odin and the wolf.

  He got a better hold on her and kissed her head. “You did good, Jane.”

  She shook her head, covering her face as she cried. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t save them.”

  David shook his head and turned her so she wouldn’t see Thor lifting what was left of Odin’s body. “No, Jane. It’s not your fault.”

  She didn’t respond, but she dropped her hands from her face and leaned her head against his shoulder.

  “David, there’s a large group closing in,” Gawain said as he caressed Jane’s head. “We have to retreat.”

  “Go, David,” Arthur said. “Take Gawain and Gareth with you. We’ll be right behind you. Hades, show them where Artemis went.”

  David and the others immediately followed Hades into the forest.

  “I’m so sorry,” Jane said to no one in particular as fatigue settled in on her and her eyes fluttered shut. “She wanted you.”

  “Rest, my love. She’s gone,” he said, kissing her head as she passed out, and the whole situation crashed down on him: Jane had slain the Wolf King.

  Jane woke up inside the tent she and David had been sharing since they left Valhalla. She looked up when the fabric flapped roughly from the powerful winds outside. The way the sides of the tent caved in might have made her scared in the past, but she wasn’t now. She knew it was only wind and not monsters roaring in the darkness because of the man holding her, his lips pressed lightly against the back of her head as he slept.

  Safe or not, she felt tears welling up in her eyes. She tried to keep them in, her face scrunching up and causing the dried ones to crack across her cheeks. No matter how hard she tried to stop herself from crying, she failed to. Just like she failed everyone last night.

  “Jane?” David shifted, leaning over her a little bit. “Are you awake, baby?”

  She started to nod and let him turn her over to face him. He propped himself up on his elbow and held her cheek with his other hand. When she saw how worried he was, she whimpered and let out a sob. “I’m so sorry, David.” She took deep breaths as the images of everyone who died flashed in her mind. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for them to die.”

  “Shh . . .” David gently wiped her tears away. “Don’t be sorry.”

  “He killed them.”

  “I know, but we are all so proud of you. You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m proud that you stayed to save her.”

  She took several deep breaths. “She was in so much pain. I couldn’t leave her.”

  He smiled, caressing her head as she kept trying to breathe normally. “Of course I wanted you to run for safety, but you stayed and freed her. That was so brave, sweetheart.”

  Jane shook her head. “But she died. Odin died, and it was all my fault. I should have tried to help him or let you through the barrier, but I was afraid Lycaon would kill you.”

  “Oh, baby.” He smoothed her hair back. “It’s really not your fault. They made their choices, just like you did, and they chose to fight for you. They wanted to protect you, even if that cost them their lives. You were doing the same . . . You fought bravely and you kept your promise. You let your entity out, but you came back to me.”

  She trembled a little and sniffed. “Is Thor mad at me?”

  David smiled and shook his head. “No, he’s not mad. He’s actually grateful to you for avenging his father. And, with their beliefs, he said his father would have been happy to have died as their prophecies foretold. He’s not mad and neither am I.”

  “That wolf saved me,” she whispered, feeling another tear slide into her hair.

  “I know,” he murmured and placed another kiss to her chapped lips. “She couldn’t leave you either.”

  A tight feeling surrounded her chest, and she pressed her lips together, shaking her head back and forth. She was trying so hard not to break down, but she was so sad. It should have been her who died, not them. No one should die for her.

  “Baby,” David whispered, leaning over her more.

  Jane realized they were wrapped up in a single sleeping bag. David was wearing the same type of pants he wore on missions, but had pulled off his shirt, and she was only wearing her undershirt from before.

  He placed his arms on each side of her head and leaned down, giving her a gentle kiss on the cheek. It burned her chilled skin and pushed away the unbearable pain that threatened to rip her apart. “They’re happy now, Jane,” he said, situating himself with a knee between hers. He played with her hair and kissed her. It was one of those long joining of their lips that was loving, but could so easily turn into something more. David gave her a shorter kiss before pulling back and looking into her eyes. “They had long lives, and they died knowing they were trying to save you. They do not regret trying to save you. Neither of them had to put themselves in danger, but you are worth protecting, and you gave a part of yourself to them. They wanted to do that for you. Don’t beat yourself up over something you couldn’t control.”

  “You’re dirty,” she blurted out all of a sudden, taking in his messy hair, along with the blood and dirt smears on his arms.

  David stared at her for a moment before he chuckled and lowered his head to rest on her chest. “I’m sorry, my love. There are no showers out here, and there is no way in hell I’m jumping in that icy water. I promise, when we return to the fortress, the first thing we will do is bathe.”

  Jane smiled and reached up to wipe her eyes again.

  He kissed her collarbone, trailing his fingers up her arm. “Are you a little better?”

  “I killed him,” she said, because she wasn’t better. “I saw myself doing it. I saw her doing it.” She paused and debated on saying more, but the trust she had in him made her continue. “I liked it, David. I liked hurting him for what he did. I wanted him to feel pain, and she gave it to him.”

  David settled over her again and kissed her lips. “Do you feel bad for taking his life?”

  Jane thought about it for a moment. “I think I do. Somewhere inside him, there was once a man, right?”

  “Lycaon’s origi
ns are uncertain. For the most part, I believe he was close to a normal man. I think he might have loved, but he has lived a very long life where he’s done nothing but inflict suffering on others.”

  “He would have killed you.”

  “Normally, I would feel offended in your lack of faith in my abilities”—he smirked—“but I know he scared you into believing I would die. He taunted you until you gave him what he wanted.”

  Jane turned her head to stare at the side of the tent instead of him. “I didn’t mean to say I don’t have faith in you—I know you are the best. But it’s true what they all say; I weaken and distract you.”

  “That’s not true.” He made her look at him again. “You know that. Do not let yourself start thinking this way. I know you feel bad, but you’re not to blame for their deaths, and I love how much you try to protect everyone. It frustrates me that you always wind up in these situations where I cannot save you, but you always fight so hard. No matter the consequence to you, you give everything you have to keep others safe.”

  She caressed his cheek, sliding her fingertips over his cheekbones, then his jaw before tracing his lips. “I need you to be safe. I will do everything in my power to keep you safe. If that means keeping you from me, then so be it.”

  He leaned back, making her hand fall to her chest. “Don’t say that. That is the worst thing you could do to me.”

  Her lips trembled. “She wanted you.”

  David watched her before nodding. “Have you felt her lately? Besides last night?”

  She rubbed her eyes and shook her head. “Not really. I see things—fire—me laughing in it, but I think she’s been leaving me alone because of us. I think you help keep her away.”

  He seemed hesitant, but he sighed and spoke again. “I saw her in your eyes the night we prepared to leave Valhalla. It was only for a moment, but I saw her.” He kissed her forehead before lowering his head to rest it on her chest. “What do you feel with her, Jane? Are you afraid of what she wants to do to me or to everyone?”

  His hair was getting longer, she realized, smiling sadly as she ran her fingers through it. “She scares me. There’s no goodness in her, not even a tiny bit. And she hates me. I don’t know what she wants with you, but she hates me. I can’t fight her, David.”