Queen of the Lycan, Karina Espinosa [accelerated reader books .TXT] 📗

was waiting for us next to a priest. I tried not to frown. I didn’t know about that part. I also didn’t realize the Lycan were religious. Was that dude really a priest?

The instant we approached the altar, the music stopped and everyone took a seat. Bash released my arm and kissed my cheek before taking his seat in the front row.

“Kneel,” Alexander commanded.

I did as I was told, which was incredibly difficult due to the weight and girth of that damn gown, but I wisely realized this was the last place to be throwing a hissy fit.

Alexander held out his hands as he addressed the room. “We are gathered here today to witness the transfer of power. I’ve had the opportunity to lead the Lycan for twenty-six years, but now it’s time for the next generation to lead us into the next chapter in our illustrious history.” Alexander looked down at me with a stern expression; there was no trace of the tender man I’d come to know in his gaze. “As the last MacCoinnich, ye now have a responsibility to our people. With the acceptance of the crown, ye promise to put the Lycan first and foremost and live by the law. Do ye accept?”

“I accept.” My voice rang out, stronger and louder than I thought it would be.

“Ye may rise.”

I stood on wobbly legs and the priest came forward holding a dark purple ribbon. Moving between me and Alexander, he told us to clasp hands and then he looped the ribbon over our right wrists, interlocking us together.

“May the transfer of power commence,” the priest announced to the room.

He placed a hand on the ribbon and began chanting in a language I didn’t recognize. I didn’t think it was Scottish Gaelic, although I could have been wrong. Suddenly, a burning sensation began to sizzle around my wrist. The louder the priest chanted, the hotter it burned. I looked up at Alexander for guidance. He nodded reassuringly, so I gritted my teeth and accepted the pain without comment.

A surge of energy arced through my body, making me gasp so loud, my voice echoed throughout the throne room. My eyes widened and silvered, and I felt a surge of power stronger than I’d ever felt before pulse through me like a shot of adrenaline. Right now, I felt like I could lift a five-ton truck.

My right fist clenched as more power than should be possible to possess in one body coursed through me like a bolt of lightning until I couldn’t hold it in anymore. My eyes darted around the room wildly, looking for somewhere to release it. Feeling dizzy and out of breath, I ripped my hand away from the ribbon, tearing it straight through the middle. I gulped fevered breaths and then let out the loudest howl I’d ever made in my life.

The walls shook and everyone in the room struggled to hold on to something for fear of being knocked over from the blast. Hundreds of gaping faces winced from the force, watching me grip the skirt of my dress and give a continuous, earthshattering howl for five solid minutes.

Once I was utterly spent, my howl died to a whimper. Sweat poured from my brow and my heavy breaths sounded ragged in the opulent throne room. Even so, I felt more powerful than ever before. I wondered, Did I just receive Alexander’s power?

After I regained my bearings, I glanced at Alexander, scared I would see him as a withered husk. Strangely enough, he didn’t look any different from before.

Where did that power come from?

Alexander stepped to the side and the priest took his place. “With this acceptance, ye will forever be known as the first Queen of the Lycan.”

A guard stepped forward holding a burgundy pillow with a brilliant gold crown resting atop it, the rubies glittering and sparkling around the base. The priest gently lifted the crown and placed it on my head, then muttered a string of words I didn’t understand, but that I recognized enough to know it was in Scottish Gaelic.

“Mhà an rathad èirigh suas gus coinneachadh riut.

Biodh a ’ghaoth an-còmhnaidh aig do dhruim.

Biodh a ’ghrian a’ deàrrsadh blàth air d’aghaidh;

tuitidh na h-uisgeachan bog air na h-achaidhean agad agus gus an coinnich sinn a-rithist, gun glèidh Dia thu ann am pailme a làmh.”

The priest completed his recitation and made the mark of a cross on my forehead with his thumb and again in the air in front of me. I peered over at Alexander, wondering what he was saying. He could have been cursing me, for all I knew. That was what I got for not being bilingual.

“I now present to the Lycans, Queen Mackenzie MacCoinnich, the first Queen of the Lycans.”

Everyone stood and clapped, and I even heard a few whoops. I turned around to face the crowd just as the priest removed Alexander’s crown from his head. Alexander met my eyes for a second before he dropped to one knee, bowed his head, and placed a fisted hand over his heart.

“I pledge my loyalty to you, now and until my final breath,” he said. With his declaration, I noticed the Lycans in the crowd start to form a line behind him.

Bash stood behind Alexander, and the moment he stepped away, Bash came forward and dropped to a knee, placing a fist over his heart and repeating what Alexander said. “I pledge my loyalty to you, now and until my final breath.” Ranulf was right behind him.

One by one, they all pledged their loyalty to me as I stood there like a dimwit, wondering what to do with my hands. I was partially saved from my inner ramblings when several of the pledge bearers took my hand and kissed the back of it. Hopefully I didn’t look completely oblivious.

The guards came to pledge their loyalty in shifts to make sure there was always someone guarding the posts. As the line inched forward, I took the opportunity to sneak peeks at some