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

“I know,” I agreed. “It is. I find all of you ridiculous and unworthy of your positions. Now that I have my Council, I guess I should really start reconsidering who should be Alpha in your regions.”

Crickets.

I felt the tension and pure anger radiating off them. If they could do so with impunity, they would tear into me right now. I was sure most, if not all were actively praying for my immediate death.

“If you do that,” Grayson snarled, “you’ll have a civil war on your hands.”

I smirked. “You think I’m afraid … of you?” I snorted and leaned forward as if I was going to divulge a secret. “I have more battle scars than you’ll ever have in this lifetime or the next. You want to declare war? On me?” I chuckled and my grin widened. “Choose your words wisely, because I’m the last person you want to go to war with. I haven’t lost yet, and I don’t plan to, either.” I flashed my silver eyes and radiated dominance, making each Alpha cower before me. “Don’t make an enemy out of me.”

They wisely remained quiet, though if looks could kill, I would already be six feet under from the weight of Charles’s deathly glare. He thought he could storm in there and win this round, but I wouldn’t back down. Taking me out wouldn’t be easy.

“If you want to know about Abaddon, all you had to do was ask nicely,” I added with a smirk. “I’ll tell you what you want to know.”

I’d tell them what I wanted them to know. That and nothing else.

The Summits weren’t easy to quiet down, but once I told them about Abaddon, they realized we had bigger problems. Throughout the following week, they assisted in the search and put their packs on alert in case he tried to leave Sheunta Village. The only plus side with the Summit finding out was that their involvement took a lot off my plate, giving me the opportunity to prepare for my mating ceremony.

18

Waking up without the body warmth of Bash beside me felt foreign and uncomfortable, but I understood why he wasn’t there. Blame it on superstition, but with everything else going awry in my life, I didn’t want to add on more bad luck if the bride saw the groom the day of the wedding. Even so, I still wanted to spend last night with him. There was no way I was the only one who was nervous. After all our time together and our rollercoaster experiences, we were finally going through with a mating ceremony in front of everyone. And while that may sound like we were about to have sex in front of a bunch of people, it was far more PG than that.

All our friends showed up yesterday, but I was so busy I couldn’t greet them. The ceremony would be the first time I saw anyone. Not only did I have my queenly duties, but Helena was running me ragged doing countless fittings for the ceremony. Luckily, Bash was able to receive everyone upon arrival and get them situated in their rooms.

I climbed out of our massive bed and sat on the edge for a minute to rub the sleep from my eyes, then dragged myself to the bathroom where I took a hot shower. After drying my hair with a fluffy towel, I pulled it up into a messy bun. I glanced at the bedside clock and saw it was ten minutes to eight, which meant my breakfast was already waiting for me out in the small dining room outside my chambers. I shimmied into my bra and underwear, then slid into my robe and slippers and stepped out of my chambers, where I was greeted by William and Liam.

“Mornin’ Yer Majesty,” both offered with a bow.

“Morning,” I mumbled. “Care to join me for breakfast?”

Liam grinned. “I don think ye’ll want our company today, Yer Majesty,” he said as they guided me to the common room where the dining table was located.

As soon as I stepped inside, a small body jumped out in front of me screaming. I shrieked and stumbled back in surprise.

“Kenzie!” Amy yelled as she lunged for me, her wavy red hair bouncing all over the place.

“Oh my gosh, Aims, you nearly gave me a heart attack!” I hugged her back just as fiercely.

“I missed you so much, Kenz!” She gripped me tightly, then pulled back and sized me up and down. “You look so … queenly,” she noted with a chuckle.

I lightly punched her shoulder. “Asshole,” I grumbled. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be getting ready for the ceremony?”

Amy shrugged. “I told them to bring my stuff to your chambers,” she explained while wiggling her eyebrows. “That way, I can get ready with you. You shouldn’t be alone. This is something you do with girlfriends and stuff, not by yourself.”

I grinned. “Aims, you’re the best.”

She shrugged and gave a saucy wink. “I know, I’m sort of awesome. So let’s have some brekkie, as you say around here. Then let’s get this girl day started!”

I wrapped an arm around her, laughing, and dragged her over to the dining table. We sat across from each other and enjoyed a very American breakfast, complete with never-ending coffee.

Amy was wearing a pair of white shorts and a purple tank top, and each of her colorful tattoos were on full display. With two full tatted sleeves and piercings in her brows, lip, tongue, and nose, she looked unlike anyone else here. She was petite where I was tall. We were complete opposites and I loved it. Yin and yang. It was what made our friendship unique and cemented our bond as soulmates. She was my female better half. I wouldn’t have survived being a werewolf without Amy there beside me.

“Helena showed me your gown, and oh my gosh … it’s totally badass, Kenz.” She gave a wide grin. “I wholeheartedly approve. Alexander must have lost his