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

Her honey brown eyes widened and her mouth fell open. “What?” she muttered.

I motioned for my guards to retreat and stand by me. They did as they were told, and I took another step toward Raven. “You and Fenrir are here because something or someone is coming for us. What is it?”

Her shocked expression didn’t last long before she schooled her features and closed herself off. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I grinned knowingly. “Sure you don’t.” I stepped closer until we were separated by scant inches, then leaned in and whispered in her ear, “To kill or not kill her … that is the question.”

She gasped and stumbled back in shock, pushing me away from her. “What are you?”

“I’m a Lycan. What are you?” I asked innocently, even though I already knew what they were.

“What’s wrong, Hrefna?” Hildr asked, but Raven ignored her.

Raven narrowed her eyes menacingly. “Whatever you are, I’m going to find out.”

I waved at her. “Have fun with that.”

She and Hildr spread their wings and took to the skies, leaving us in a cloud of dust.

11

“What were ye thinking?” Alexander yelled from across my desk. He was pacing the floor and pulling his hair out of sheer frustration with me. “And where were ye?” he asked Ranulf pointedly.

Ranulf huffed, “I was organizing the guards. William came by and I had to get him settled in.” He gave me the evil eye and I knew he was upset with me.

“I was perfectly safe,” I reassured them. “I had my guards with me, and I’m no spring chicken, either.”

“That’s beside the point, Mackenzie!” Alexander shouted. “These are unknown enemies! Yer nae safe outside the castle until they are defeated.”

“And how’s that coming along?” I deadpanned.

“Well, it would be a lot better if ye had nae fired yer whole Council!” Ranulf accused.

Yeah, I guess that part was my fault. But I couldn’t deal with those old bastards any longer. They had to go.

“Has Ailios given a progress report on the movements within Caledonian Forest?” I asked, leaning back in my chair.

Ranulf shook his head. “The Highlanders have been quiet.”

I frowned. “That’s unlike Ailios to not report back … I want to make a trip to the forest tomorrow and pay her a visit.”

“Are ye daft?” Alexander exclaimed. “Did ye nae hear what I just said?”

I nodded. “I did, but I’m not hiding in the castle, Alexander. I also need to see Ophelia because … I had a vision.”

“Ye what?” Alexander deflated and plopped down on one of the club chairs in front of my desk.

“It was a vision of a conversation between Fenrir and Raven,” I mused. “And after seeing it, well, something doesn’t sit right with me. There seems to be more to this story. There’s a reason Fenrir is after the Lycan, and I’m not sure it’s for entirely selfish reasons.”

“Don fall for anything he says, Yer Majesty,” Ranulf grunted. “That man only wants to be praised.”

“Something’s coming,” I muttered. “Something we don’t know about and they do. Something that will affect all supernaturals. We have to find out what it is.”

“Ye cannae always rely on these visions, darling. They’re nae reliable,” Alexander chided.

I bit my lip and nodded. “I know, but something about this vision rings true. I felt like I was intruding in a private moment between the two of them.”

Ranulf sighed and scrubbed a hand down his grizzled face. “I’ll send a message to Ophelia and ask if she can see us tomorrow.” He typed a reminder into his phone. Ophelia didn’t have a cellphone, but he would dispatch a messenger to the temple. Hopefully we would get a response today.

“Whatever is coming our way, we need to be prepared.” I zoned out for a minute, replaying the vision in my mind. Fenrir didn’t think I was capable of leading the Lycan through whatever troubles lay ahead … and maybe he was right.

After being escorted back to the royal wing, I stumbled into the Queen’s chamber on leaden feet to see Bash already in bed waiting for me. He was propped against the headboard, the lamp turned on beside him, with a stack of papers on his lap. He looked very studious. All that was missing was a pair of bifocals perched low on his nose to drive the image home.

“Well someone’s working hard.” I grinned as I kicked off my flats and shuffled to the closet to put on my pajamas.

“Trying to stay busy since someone likes to torture me by putting themselves in constant danger,” he mumbled, not looking up from the papers he was shuffling through.

“My bad. And what are you up to?” I quickly changed the subject as I slipped into a pair of yoga pants and one of his t-shirts, then walked out of the closet and crawled into bed and under the covers.

“I’m trying to find some Council members for you.”

My interest piqued, I looked over to see what he was reading. It looked similar to a resume, or more like a profile. It had someone’s picture and a laundry list of personal information. A full background check.

“Whoa.” I reached for the stack and pulled it toward me, shuffling through the names. “Who are these people?”

“They’re some of the most influential Lycans currently alive.” Bash pointed to the luna on the page I was looking at. “That’s Maria Fernanda Sandoval from Spain. She led a rebel group of lunas during the Freedom War and took down half her pack. She still belongs to the Barcelona Pack, but from what my intel has gathered, things haven’t been the best for her since the war. Her pack has held a grudge.”

I frowned. “What are they doing?” I read over her profile, but nothing really stood out to me.

“She’s not being forced into anything, if that’s what you’re wondering, but she’s not Ms. Popularity, either. She hasn’t had much opportunity for growth, but I think she has potential,” Bash observed.

I read her family background and learned