The Queen, the Lover, the Huntress, and the Rogue

Please Note: This is Book Two in the PHOENIX WOLF SAGA. Book One is called BETROTHED TO A PRINCE, IN LOVE WITH MY BODYGUARD, and can be found on my page. Please read it before starting this story, as this is a direct continuation from its ending! Hope you enjoy! - - - - - Red’s POV   “The king is dead, Your Majesty. And with his dying breath, he declared you Queen of the Wolves.” I stare at the father of the man I love, sure that I haven’t heard him correctly. That’s the only explanation, isn’t it? My father can’t be dead. He avoided everything; he hid behind the walls of his castle. How could he be dead and I be alive? “I don’t…” I trail off. I have no idea what to say. I’m not sure my brain is even on. Is it possible for your brain to just… switch off? Without you being dead, I mean? I feel Rowan’s hand brush against mine, and I eagerly accept it. It’s the only familiar thing in this sea of confusion.  “Stand up,” I finally say—a little too abruptly. I glance behind Auron at the thousands of wolves who are also kneeling and yell, “Stand up!” They do as I command, heads still bowed. I feel dizzy. “I don’t understand,” I say to Auron, still clutching Rowan’s hand for all I’m worth. “He was nowhere near Ramsay or Slade or… or any of it. What happened?” “Your Majesty,” says a voice from behind me. I feel fingertips on my arm and jump instinctively, relaxing when I realize it’s only Queen Leighton, the Faerie Queen of Vila who has been nothing but kind to me. “Might I suggest we move this into the royal dwelling to speak a bit more… privately?” I try to process what she’s saying. I suppose it makes sense that we not have this meeting in front of thousands of wolves, and yet… what are we supposed to do with them? “I can’t just leave them here. Do you have… I mean, can you…?” King Maxton gives me a small, gentle smile from his wife’s side. “We’ll take care of them, Majesty. I’ve already got my best men pitching tents and setting up campgrounds in the Lavender Fields not a half-mile from here. It’s safe and open. We’ll lead your people there, and you can return to them once you’re caught up.” I find it hard to believe that what seems to be the entire population of Canis can fit in a place called the Lavender Fields, but frankly, there’s too much else running through my mind to linger on it. The king is dead. My mind flashes back to all the arguments I had with him over the past year—all the anguish; all the resentment; all the pain. How many times did I disobey him? How many times did he force me into situations that were awful for me? How many times did I consider him a coward—a loveless bastard, even?  I was a fool, I realize. He was my king and my father, and no matter what I thought about the things he asked of me, I should have, at the very least, respected his position in asking. Did he hate me? Did he go to the grave hating me? Hey. The sound of Rowan’s voice instantly soothes me, and I feel myself let out a breath I hadn’t even realized I was holding. You’ll have time to process all this later. Do you think you can handle finding out what happened, for now? He’s right—I know he is. I can’t just stand here, basking in my own shock, while everyone around me waits for me to wrap my head around it. I have to move forward. “Okay,” I manage through gritted teeth. “Let’s go.” Leighton starts to lead Auron, Rowan, Kenton, Nelle, and I toward the royal dwelling, but I hesitate, glancing behind me.  I might not be able to bring the entire population of Canis with me, but I’m sure as hell not going to leave behind the wolves who have just traveled across multiple kingdoms and risked their lives multiple times to save me.  “I want them to come—what’s left of Nova’s Fire.” I hear a throat clear pointedly behind me, and I can’t help but smile. “Yes, that includes you, Westley.” Leighton and Maxton don’t look thrilled by the prospect of the seven bloodied, mangled soldiers behind me joining us, but they don’t object either. I don’t take a single step forward until I’ve confirmed that Corrin, Westley, Eli, Aurora, Macie, Brody, and my uncle Edward are all following us. As we walk, the realization strikes me that there’s someone else we’re missing—someone important. I come to a stop again. We’ve made it inside, though not quite to the sitting area. “Kat?” To my right, I feel Aurora stiffen with the same rigidity that I did.  Auron’s eyes trail from mine to Aurora’s, and I know from the way he reaches out to squeeze her shoulder that Kat is dead, too. “I’m so, deeply sorry for your loss, Aurora,” he tells her gently. “And for yours, as well, my queen.” I take a seat at this point—not so much because it’s expected of me, but because I no longer have the strength to stand. Once I do, everyone else does.  “How?” I whisper. Auron looks pained. “It was… well…” He turns away from me, eyes cast downward. “It was my fault, Your Majesty, and I am prepared to die for that mistake, should you will it so.” This time, it’s Rowan who stiffens. He doesn’t let go of my hand, though. Thank the Moon God. “Your fault, how?” I ask Auron shakily. “They caught us unawares. We were still scrambling from the dragons’ attack on the castle, and from your k********g, of course. Your father—may he rest beneath the stars in peace—was struggling with the decision of whether to send his full force north to rescue you. We were in our fourth hour of counsel meetings when…” He trails off for a moment, but I don’t mind; it gives me a second to process this. My father was considering sending his army after me? I would have never guessed that—not after everything I’ve been through with him. It almost—almost—makes me smile, until I remember that now he’s gone. “It was Sawyer Lancaster,” Auron continues when he’s regained his faculties. “He had an army unlike anything I’ve ever seen, Your Majesty. Almost the full strength of the Gibbous and Umbra Packs, but also dragons, vampires, sprites, ogres—” “Hold on.” Rowan does drop my hand this time, along with shooting out of his chair. “They were all fighting for him? The vampires struck a deal with us. They—” “How long ago was this?” I interrupt Rowan. The vampires didn’t necessarily betray us—not if it happened before yesterday. Before yesterday… Has it really only been one day?  “Four days ago, Your Majesty. Those of us who survived the attack fled from the Crescent Castle to Fort Eclipse, where Emmett Eclipse gave us shelter and defense. We remained there long enough to summon the rest of the Canis wolves who were still loyal to King William, then made our way north.” I glance at Edward, whose eyes sparkle with pride. Emmett, of course, is his son, who took over as Alpha when Edward had his fill of the job. “So the vampires didn’t necessarily betray us,” I infer, taking Rowan’s hand and gently guiding him back down to the seat next to me. “Please continue, Auron.” Rowan shakily takes his seat, eyeing me like I’ve lost my mind. He doesn’t understand how I’m so calm, I can tell. I think it’s the shock, to be honest.  “Most of the castle that could burn already had, and the dragons could scarcely fit into the throne room. But they outnumbered us twenty to one, and it was a lethal combination. You’d target an ogre, and twenty sprites would launch at you, seemingly invisible until then; you’d target the sprites, and a vampire’s sinking his teeth into your neck. By the time I spotted Sawyer going after King William, we’d lost at least half the castle’s forces. I intercepted, catching Sawyer’s sword with my own, and we started to fight. But then the Gibbous Delta, that swine Braxon Cartwright, came at me from behind—knocked me down, and I dropped my sword. Sawyer raised his sword to end me, and…”  He shudders, and I realize what that shudder means: my father took the sword hit for him. Like father, like daughter.