Blood of the Wolf: The Crown (Mackenzie Grey Book 11), Karina Espinosa [top 10 ebook reader txt] 📗

my arms and sized me up, a million questions spilling from his mouth a mile a minute.

“Slow down there, speedster. I’m perfectly fine!” I laughed. “But Alexander should get checked out by Dr. Harris.”

“You’re not perfectly fine.” Bash gingerly touched my nose and I winced. “That needs to be set.”

“Are you afraid I’ll have a crooked nose and won’t be pretty enough for you anymore?” I raised a challenging brow.

Bash rolled his eyes. “I don’t care about that, but I’m sure you want to breathe properly.” Bash turned to William, who stood just behind us. “Contact Dr. Harris. Get him to the castle A.S.A.P.”

“Aye,” William responded with a curt nod, jogging off to do as he was told.

“She also has some pain in her arm from when she fell,” Alexander tattled.

“You fell?” Bash exclaimed, looking down at my stomach with wide eyes.

I rolled my eyes. “Well someone had to pull you away from the edge of the cliff,” I said pointedly, glaring at Alexander.

“Ye were on the edge of a cliff?” Ranulf said, startled.

“Long story, guys. You should wait for the movie.” I waved them off and started walking away. My legs were ready to give out and I wanted my bed more than anything else. Before any of the guards could see me collapse and start gossiping about it to the Summits, I wanted to be in the royal wing.

Adrenaline was an interesting thing. I managed to make it across the yard, over the drawbridge, through the foyer, up the stairs, and down the corridor that led to the royal wing without stumbling. My knees only started to wobble when I entered the common room and saw the sofa. Suddenly, the adrenaline that had coursed through my veins drained away and I began to crash from the high. As soon as I reached the sofa, I flopped down face first and took a deep, relieved breath.

Bash squatted beside me and brushed my hair back to get a look at my face. “Water?”

I could only nod. I didn’t even have energy to form words. Since we were alone, I assumed Ranulf was in the process of escorting Alexander to his own room to await the doctor.

Bash crossed the room and plucked a bottle of water from the refrigerator, jogging back to my side and unscrewing the cap before handing it to me.

Groaning from the effort of sitting up, I reached for the bottle and chugged half of it in two gulps. “Can I just go into hibernation?”

“Do you even know how hibernation works?” Bash chuckled.

I pushed him away. “Whatever. I just want to sleep for like, a year without anyone bothering me. I’m tired.”

Bash caressed my face. “I know,” he whispered.

A grin slowly spread across my face. “I totally kicked Abaddon’s ass.”

He snorted. “Seriously, Mackenzie? That’s what makes you happy in this moment?”

I thought about it for half a second and nodded. “Yep.”

“You’re insane.”

Feeling a burst of sudden energy, I crowed, “You should have seen my backwards high kick! It was, chef’s kiss!” I put my fingers to my mouth and made the kissing motion.

Bash shook his head, laughing at my antics. “I can’t imagine what you’re going to be teaching our kid.”

I scoffed. “That backwards high kick, for starters.”

Bash flicked me on the forehead. “Smartass.”

I grinned and chugged the rest of the water, quenching my thirst. I was about to ask for another bottle when someone knocked on the door.

William poked his head inside. “Yer Majesty, Dr. Harris is here.”

“Let him in.”

The door opened wider and William let the doc inside. Dr. Harris walked in holding his black bag and William closed the door, returning to his post outside the door.

“Your Majesty.” Dr. Harris bowed. “Looks like you’ve had a rather eventful day.”

I shrugged. “I guess. You should really check on Alexander first—”

“No,” Bash interrupted. “You’re injured. Alexander isn’t.”

“Sebastian is right.” Dr. Harris started to walk towards us. “I see you’ve broken your nose.”

“You can set it, right?” Bash asked.

“Well … preferably I’d like to get some scans, but for now I can just take a look and see if it needs to be realigned. I can do it manually, but I don’t have any anesthetics with me so it might be quite uncomfortable,” he grimaced.

I waved him off. “I’m a big girl, doc. Realign this bad boy.” I tapped my nose and winced.

“Are you sure, Your Majesty? We can go to my clinic—”

“Doc,” I interrupted, “I just want to go to sleep. I can’t walk to the village right now. I won’t make it,” I complained. “Just do it.”

Dr. Harris sighed reluctantly. “All right.” He reached into his black bag and brought out a set of gloves.

Bash brought over a chair from the dining table and I sat down, leaning my head back to give the doctor a better angle.

“Are you ready, Your Majesty?” he asked, needing reassurance.

I nodded. “Go for it.”

He reached for my nose and the minute he touched bone—I screamed bloody murder.

The next day I was walking around the castle with a splint on my nose, totally embarrassed for shaking the foundations of the castle with my screaming the night before. I hadn’t realized how badly it would hurt. Maybe I should have listened to the doc and gone to the clinic. Too late now.

With my guards flanking me, I headed to the throne room for my meeting with the Summits, who were already waiting for me inside. I was trying to come up with a plausible excuse for why I had a broken nose. My busted arm I was able to hide with a sweater, but unfortunately, I couldn’t hide my face. They would pressure me to shift so I could heal faster, and I had no excuse why I couldn’t because I hadn’t yet announced I was pregnant.

The guards posted outside the throne room opened the doors with a bow. I entered with my head held high as if there was nothing wrong with my face.

Everyone stood and turned to look