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

Ophelia. Yer scheduled to meet in an hour. It’s best if we leave soon, Yer Majesty.”

“Okay—”

“I understand ye want us to train, Yer Majesty,” Liam interrupted, “but I would feel more comfortable if I accompanied ye into the forest.” He bowed slightly to soften his request.

I raised a brow and contemplated his suggestion. There was no harm in him missing the first training. Liam was a good guard; I knew he was just worried, especially after what happened the last time we were in Caledonian Forest. “Only this one time, Liam. But you can’t miss any more trainings, got it?”

“Aye, Yer Majesty.” He bowed again and excused himself to gear up for our trip.

“The rest of you, work hard and listen to William,” I commanded. “I want you to be the best. An elite team, different from the other guards. You understand?”

“Aye, Yer Majesty!” they all yelled. Like a busy hive, the guards broke formation and got to work.

Once Liam was geared up, the three of us exited the South Tower. Ranulf already had the temporary guards waiting for us at the entrance of the castle. When we started crossing the drawbridge, they surrounded me and we walked into the village as a tight unit with Ranulf latched to my side.

“I have nae gotten ahold of Ailios. We might want to take advantage of the fact we’ll be in the forest and see if we can spot any Highlanders,” Ranulf noted.

We walked down the cobblestone street, passing storefronts and waving at the people of the village.

“Something doesn’t feel right,” I whispered to Ranulf, never letting my queenly smile slip as I waved to the children playing in the street. “It’s unlike Ailios not to respond. Something is wrong.”

“I agree, Yer Majesty.”

“All you did was tell her to search for the missing guards, correct?” I inquired. When Ranulf nodded affirmatively, the ball of unease in my gut fluttered. “Hmm … I’m worried.”

Did the Highlanders have a confrontation with Fenrir and his Valkyries? Did they switch teams? So many questions and not enough answers.

“Your Majesty?” someone called out.

Ranulf and I looked over to see Dr. Harris standing outside his medical practice, waving at us. We paused our march down the road and the doctor approached, the guards making an opening for him to come near.

“I’ve been meaning to come up to the castle for a follow-up, Your Majesty. How are you?” he asked.

I’d been doing much better since his treatment with the warlock Tavish, but I was still fairly weak and plagued by tiredness throughout the day. I just hadn’t wanted to mention it to anyone. I didn’t want them to insist on me being bedridden, and I certainly didn’t want them to draw my blood.

I gave a broad smile. “I’m much better, thanks to you. Thank you for asking, Dr. Harris.”

He nodded. “My pleasure. I would still like to do a full check-up just in case we missed anything.”

“Of course,” I agreed reluctantly. “You can schedule it with Ranulf.”

“Aye, I will touch base with ye this afternoon,” Ranulf said. With that, Dr. Harris bowed and we said our goodbyes.

I thought I’d get away with not having to do a follow-up with Dr. Harris, but it seemed there was no dodging him in such a small town. And who knew how long I could keep up this charade? Eventually I would tire out and have to tell someone. Until then, I had to keep going.

We continued through the village, discussing the potential candidates Bash found for the Council as well as the luna Ranulf was scouting from the village.

“Rowan is a tough lass,” Ranulf said as we entered Caledonian Forest. “She’s tried to join the King’s Guard a few times but cannae quite pass the physical test. But she might be a good fit for the Council.”

“If she wants to join the Guard so bad, why don’t you train her?” I asked.

Ranulf huffed and gave me side eye. “Ye think I have all the time in the world to train every headstrong wolf who wants to play in the Guard? I’m a busy man, ye ken!”

I laughed. “Okay, okay. So you’re eyeing her for the Council—what’s so special about her?”

Ranulf peered down at me with a wicked grin. “Ye ready for this?”

I nodded eagerly.

His grin widened. “The lass is Jacob’s granddaughter – William’s cousin. She’s been a pain in the old man’s rear for the longest—well, ever since ye came along.”

I choked on my own saliva. “What? You’re telling me Jacob has a rebellious luna for a granddaughter that he’s keeping hidden?”

“Well, I would nae say hidden … but he does nae speak much about her,” Ranulf clarified. “His pride and joy is William.”

“Does he know William joined the Guard?”

“Aye.” He nodded. “From what my insiders gathered, Jacob believes he can turn William into a spy. We’ll have to be very careful until we establish where that boy’s loyalties lie.”

“Don’t worry about that.” I waved off his concern with a smirk. “I’ve already taken care of it.” William and I had an agreement. I promised to take care of his mom if anything happened to him, which secured his loyalty. She was all that mattered to him.

After a quiet forty-minute hike into the forest, we arrived at the Sisters of the Sight temple. Many of the oracles were outside gathering herbs in the surrounding area. While the rest of my guards fanned out around the temple, Ranulf and I bypassed the oracles outside to climb the temple steps to the front door, which was already open. Inside, several oracles were humming and holding hands, swaying around the altar. For a moment, Ranulf and I paused at the threshold, afraid we were intruding, when we saw Ophelia seated on the front row of the stone bleachers.

She waved us over as if she could see us in her uncanny way and we headed in her direction, taking a seat beside her. Ophelia reached fragile hands out to clasp my stronger ones and brought them