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

the Queen!” Liam ordered. Without hesitation, the guards encircled me as we waited for whomever was hiding in the forest, watching us.

I pointed my finger in the direction of the heartbeat and crooked it toward me, motioning for them to come out.

The bushes wobbled and rustled before I heard the light footsteps of someone approaching. They definitely weren’t trying to stay silent now. Stealth was no longer their game, even though I knew they were capable of it.

“Stay back, Yer Majesty.” Liam positioned himself in front of me, but I could still see around him as a blonde woman emerged from the tree line.

Cloaked in golden armor, her long, gleaming yellow hair fell in a silken curtain all the way down to her bottom. A sword was strapped to her back and daggers were clipped to her thighs. She reminded me of Xena the Warrior Princess.

“State yer name and business,” Liam commanded the woman.

She held her hands up in surrender, but her eyes were focused on me. “My name is Hildr. I come to speak with your leader.”

Shadow whined and paced the confining space in which we stood. I stroked his side and cooed softly to calm him down. He didn’t do well with strangers.

“What is it that you want?” I asked, keeping still in my saddle. “It’s bold of you to come here alone.”

She grinned. “I’m a skilled fighter. I have a message from Hrefna.”

“From who?” I furrowed my brows in confusion. And here I thought Ranulf had a strange name.

“Pardon, I mean Raven,” she corrected. “She wants you to meet her at the edge of the village at midnight.”

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. “Why?”

“You’ll have to come to find out.”

I shook my head. “Nope, that’s not how this works. I’m not commanded to go anywhere. If she really wanted to speak to me, she would have come here today. That must mean she has an ambush planned for tonight.”

“Are you always this paranoid?” Hildr asked with a teasing tone.

“When it comes to psychotic flying bitches, yes I am.” I smirked. “Let’s cut to the chase, shall we? Tell me what you want.”

“Href—Raven wants to strike a deal with you,” Hildr said.

“How can she strike a deal for Fenrir? He’s the one after the throne.” I didn’t understand this train of thought at all.

Her gaze traveled around the forest. “Let’s just say Raven has her ways.” Hildr’s gaze met mine. “Meet with her. You won’t regret it.”

I paused for a moment and then my eyes roamed the surrounding area. I closed my eyes and opened my hearing, but all I heard was silence. It was too quiet. Something didn’t feel right. No matter how strong a fighter Hildr was, there was no way they would send her there alone.

I stretched my hearing even further and focused on each and every sound more intensely. What caught my attention again was the strange whistling in the trees … It wasn’t whistling, but more like flapping—flapping of wings.

My eyes sprang open and I peered up at the sky. Unfortunately, the sky was covered by trees, but in that moment I knew we were covered by a hoard of Valkyries.

We were not alone.

I lowered my head and stared at Hildr, who gave me a knowing look. She knew what I’d just realized.

“No,” I answered firmly. “Tell her to come down. Now.”

Hildr chuckled. “As you wish.” With her pointer finger and thumb, she placed them to her lips and whistled loudly, the sound echoing in the vastness.

My guards looked around them, not expecting anyone to come from above. That was their first mistake.

Raven dropped from the sky like a fallen angel with her golden wings spread in a wide arc behind her. With a loud thud, she landed on her feet in a crouch and folded her wings instinctively.

“I don’t like playing games,” I snapped as I stared into her clear brown eyes.

“I needed to know if you were worth saving,” she replied nonchalantly. “If you were dumb enough to meet me in the middle of the night and not notice I was above you this whole time, then did you really deserve to be Queen?”

“And who made you the authority?” I fired back, feeling insulted about my worthiness being tested just now.

“I’m not, but if we’re going to strike a bargain, it better be worth it.” She crossed her arms over her chest. Wearing a black tank top with ripped jeans and combat boots that had seen better days, she definitely looked like a scrappy fighter.

“And who said I want to make a deal with you?” I raised a brow.

“If you want to get out of this alive, you’re going to want to hear me out,” she answered matter-of-factly. “Fenrir wants his people, and he’s going to do whatever it takes to get them. So instead of working against each other, why don’t you work together?”

I snorted in disbelief. “Excuse me? You want me to work with that psychopath? He wants to be the ruler of my people! No. It’s not happening.”

Raven rolled her eyes. “He is the first wolf. He is your true alpha. There’s no denying that—”

“Oh, yeah? Then where has he been all this time?” I asked fervently. “Why isn’t he in our history books? Why hasn’t anyone heard of him before now? He might be the first wolf, but he’s no Lycan. I won’t step aside to be someone’s beta just to accommodate their ego. Especially a man’s.”

Raven laughed and shook her head. “Ah, so you’re one of those …”

“One of what?”

“A man-hating feminist—”

I shook my head and chuckled. “No, you’re way off base. I’m surrounded by men more than half the time and I literally only have one female friend. Trust me, I don’t hate men, but I won’t tolerate their stupidity, either. I fight for what’s right, whether it’s for men or women. It just so happens that in my current predicament, it’s a man trying to bring me down. And why? Because he feels entitled?