Forbidden Queen
Chapter Fifty-Four – Enemies in the Palace

Katy

I have only been asleep for a few hours when I am woken by screams and shouts from downstairs. Something terrible is going on.

I quickly pull on a shirt and trousers and make my way quickly through my rooms to the door. I open it quietly unsure what I will replace when I look out. There is no one in the corridor so I walk to the staircase and peer down.

Members of my household and guards, are fighting with thirty warriors that I have never seen before. My wolves are outnumbered, but they are battling ferociously with the enemy. I move to go down and join the fight when I feel someone slam a fist into my head.

It is a vicious blow, and it makes me stagger. I lose my balance. I am going to fall downstairs, but my attacker pulls me back and roughly drags me into the nearest room.

I feel the prick of claws digging into my throat, close to my jugular vein. I know that if I move this wolf will rip out my throat. I feel disorientated, and it takes me a few seconds to recognise the wolf who has attacked me.

“Hannah?”

“Yes, your majesty, your royal beta Hannah” she sneers at me.

My head feels woozy from the blow, but it is beginning to clear. I am starting to recover. I want to know why she has assaulted me. I also need to keep her talking while I try to figure out a way to free myself from her grasp.

“Why have you attacked me?”

“Because you are the worst thing that has ever happened to this kingdom. We managed just fine over the last eighteen years without a monarch to rule over us. We don’t need the interference, especially not from someone like you. You will bankrupt my territory with your terrible schemes.”

“And that is your justification for attacking me? What have you done? Are you responsible for the enemy warriors fighting downstairs? Have you betrayed our pack to Lucius?”

“I don’t consider you or any of the wolves from the other territories to be my pack, but yes, I am with Lucius. He is going to give me the autonomy that I deserve to run my territory as I see fit and to keep all of the money that we make. He will be a much better ruler than you could ever be.”

I laugh at her words. “Are you really that stupid? When has Lucius ever given any of the wolves, he leads freedom to do what they want? Do you honestly think that he won’t use all the money to fund his wars?”

I can see in her face that my argument has hit home, but she continues. “Once you are dead, and Lucius is in control of the royal kingdom there will be no need for wars.”

“There will always be wars, wolves like Lucius don’t stop.”

“It doesn’t matter what you think. He will be here soon.”

He will be here soon, does that mean that Lucius is coming here himself? That I am finally going to face him? It is what I want, to look him in the eye and make him pay, but not like this, trapped in a room of his choosing, surrounded by my enemies.

I am feeling better, my head has stopped spinning, and I know that I need to take on Hannah now before he arrives. She managed to overpower me before because she had the advantage of surprise, but I know that I can take her.

She is so caught up in her argument that she doesn’t at first react when I pull my arm up and slam it into the arm she has wrapped around my throat. She lets go and I shove her back. I partially shift so that my hands change into claws, and my fangs drop in my mouth. My claws tear into her, creating a deep slash from her breasts down to her stomach.

She screams in agony and tries to push me back, but I don’t move I am driven by overwhelming rage at her betrayal. I push forward, and bite down on her shoulder. I am aiming for her neck, but she struggles and I am unable to get a firm grip.

The door behind me bangs open. We both freeze, I hope it is one of my guards coming to help but I don’t dare to turn around and check. I can’t leave myself vulnerable to Hannah. I don’t need to though I can tell from the smile beginning to form on her face that it isn’t good news.

Arms roughly pull me off Hannah and swing me round.

In front of me stands a large, fierce looking wolf surrounded by warriors. I have never seen him before, but I know that it is him, Lucius. He is tall and muscular, with deep scars down his left cheek, the expression on his face is one of cruelty and hate. Alpha power flows from him,

“We meet at last my Omega Queen” he says in a deep, gravelly voice.

Alex

I had made my way round the perimeter of the palace, checking in with the warriors on guard duty to make sure that nothing untoward has happened. They had confirmed that there had been no suspicious activity, and I felt myself start to relax.

Lucius had missed his best chance of attacking us, and I hope that when the news of what happened at the coronation spreads more widely that it will put him off ever trying to fight us again. What wolf would choose to defy the moon goddess? Unfortunately, I know that if anyone is prepared to do it, it will be Lucius.

“Alex” I hear Euan shout as he walks towards me.

“Hi, what are you doing still up?”

“Couldn’t sleep, beside Lily is still excited and wants to keep talking about the coronation. I love my mate, but sometimes I need a break” he says with a smile.

“So, you went for a midnight stroll?”

“Yes, and I hoped I might run into you. “Some day! How is Katy?”

“Exhausted, overwhelmed, a bit shocked by what happened at the coronation.”

“She couldn’t have had a better start to her reign. After all these years of war, and trouble, it feels like things are about to change for the better.”

“Yes, but there is still Lucius out there, plotting to kill her. Things won’t change unless we can defeat him.”

“I wonder what his next move will be. At least the coronation has put Katy in a strong position. More packs will want to ally with us now.”

“True.

We need to talk about what is going to happen to my brother,” I say changing the subject.

“I have arranged for the trial to start as soon as we get back to the Lunar Eclipse pack lands. The jury will be made up of the pack’s ranking wolves. I have tried to be fair, but it is difficult to replace anyone with any sympathy for him. He is as good as dead.”

“I guessed as much. What he did was unforgiveable, and he must pay for it. Whatever happens don’t feel guilty because he is my brother.”

Suddenly I can hear shouting and screams emanating from inside the palace. I look at Euan for a second and then we both start to run. This is an attack. Katy is in danger. I have to get to her, she is in there, with goddess knows who.

Euan and I reach the front door, it is closed, I try to open it, but it is locked, I push hard but it doesn’t budge.

“Quick there is a side entrance down here” I say pointing left, as I run towards the side door. Euan following quickly behind me.

Fortunately, this door hasn’t been locked, and I rush inside. The shouting sounds louder now that we are in the palace, and I can hear snarling and the sounds of wolves fighting. Euan and I make our way towards the fight. I start to panic when I realise how close the fight is to the rooms that I share with Katy. Have they already managed to replace and hurt her? I can still sense that she is alive through our bond, but not much else.

We reach the hall and discover household servants and some of the guards fighting with what looks to be Lucius warriors. I snarl anger racing through me. I launch myself at the nearest enemy wolf, he is fighting with one of the palace servants.

The enemy warrior is too strong for his opponent, he could easily defeat him with one bite to his throat, but he has chosen to toy with him. Inflicting deep wounds as he slashes his claws into his shoulder and arm. His assault is designed to cause maximum pain without delivering the killer blow.

He hasn’t noticed me he is too intent on torturing his victim. I use this to my advantage and dig my claws into his arms and spin him round so that he faces me. I swipe at his stomach, leaving a cut so deep that it tears into his entrails, he screams in pain and tries to stagger away from me, but I hold him fast and bite down hard into his neck, tearing out his throat.

I grab hold of the servant who is shaking with fear, he is in shock. “Go replace the commander of the guards, tell him we are under attack from the Black Moon Pack. He needs to mobilise every guard, and any guests that remain in the palace.”

He nods and runs away.

I turn around and scan the room looking for my next opponent. Euan has already joined the fight and is trading blows with a large muscular warrior. His opponent is bigger than him, but Euan is a skilled fighter, and easily takes him down. If feels like old times, the two of us fighting together.

I need to make my way through the fighting wolves and get up the stairs to our rooms. I don’t know if Katy is safe inside or if the Black Moon Pack are up there already.

I feel my wolf take over, and I don’t try and fight the shift. He is desperate to protect our mate and I will get to her quicker in my wolf form. We leap forward pushing one of the enemy warriors to the ground, biting down and ripping out his throat in one swift movement before bounding towards the next. Our goal is to reach the stairs, protect our mate, and we will kill any wolf that gets in our way.