The Unexpected Queen 2: His Hunted Luna

LEAH

The following days go on as usual, except that the castle is now full of guards. Ares has chosen to increase the guard force in and around the castle after the rogue attack. They have also increased all surveillance around the pack grounds.

The atmosphere at the castle is dim, many are worried about the fact that rogues managed to get past the guards in the first place. I am walking through the corridor toward the large entrance when someone shouts after me.

“Your Majesty!”

I swing around quickly toward the foreign voice as Zeke and John place their bodies between me and the person jogging toward us. I sigh and try to see past them. An elderly woman comes forward with an envelope in her hand. She stops in front of Zeke as she tries to catch her breath.

“Give me the envelope,” Zeke says grimly.

“It’s for the queen,” the woman replies, puzzled, looking up at him. She is almost half as tall as John and Zeke. I have never seen her at the castle before, but on the other hand, there were a lot of people working here.

“Give it to me.” Zeke holds out his hand. The older woman hesitates and seeks my eyes. I shrug my shoulders at her in an attempt to make her understand that there’s no point in arguing with Zeke.

She sighs and hands the envelope to Zeke, who immediately brings it to his nose. He sniffs the paper gently before holding it up to the nearest lamp. You can clearly see a folded paper inside the envelope.

“What do you think it is?” the woman asks and looks at him skeptically as he examines the letter.

“You can never be too sure,” he replies irritably. She bows and excuses herself before leaving us.

“What’s the matter, Zeke?”

He holds the letter in his hands, visibly unwilling to give it to me.

“Is it okay if I open it? If it’s wolfsbane or something like that, just to be sure.”

I nod in response, and he gently begins to tear open the envelope. Carefully, he takes out the paper and unfolds it. His eyes go back and forth over the text before handing it to me.

I hold my breath when I see that it is my mother’s handwriting.

“Dear Leah,

I am writing to you since you are not only my daughter, but the queen. Our pack is extremely vulnerable to rogue attacks, many have lost their lives and it is not certain that we can hold back the attacks much longer. They have knocked out our phone masts so therefore I have not been able to contact you earlier.

The attacks have been calm in recent days; I hope this letter finds its way to you.

Please, send help.

Love, your mother.”

My mother left the castle six months ago because she missed our old pack so much. Thinking back, I can’t seem to remember the last time I spoke to her on the phone. Two months ago? Or is it longer?

Without saying anything, I turn around and march toward Ares’s office. I throw open the door and slam the letter down on his desk.

“I’m going to go see my mother and I’m taking part of the army with me.”

Ares’s stare blackens at my statement. A muffled growl escapes him before he turns his gaze down to read the letter.

“Never,” he says briefly, his facial expression deadly as we stare at each other.

“I’ll go even if you say no. It’s my MOM!” I shout, furious that this is even a discussion.

Ares clenches his fists as he grits his teeth while he contemplates what I just said.

“And you know I’m going to go, with or without your help,” I add threateningly.

He runs his hand through his hair, gets up, and walks over to the window.

“Okay, Leah, you can go. But I’ll go with you. It’s unacceptable for rogues to attack the smaller packs that can’t defend themselves.”

My shoulders sink down, surprised and relieved that he agrees that I can go to my mother. I take a few steps up to him and place my hand on his back. Ares turns around and looks at me; he seems tired.

“Thank you,” I whisper. He places his hand on my cheek, and I lean my face against it. The sweet sparks spread over my skin, and I smile.

“I’m doing this unwillingly, Leah,” he says as his hand slides down to the back of my neck. His gaze lands on my mark, and I see a glimmer of pride in his eyes.

“I know, Ares, and I’m grateful for this,” I reply as my eyes wander down to his plump lips. I am instantly affected by the sweet warmth radiating from his body. My breaths immediately become shallower, and his stare more intense and darker as he smells my arousal.

“Leah,” he growls, taking a step forward to close the gap between us. I place my hands on his chest before they slowly caress their way down over the contours of his abs. Suddenly, he grabs my hands and backs away from me.

“I want us to talk about the topic that you are avoiding all the time,” Ares finally says, turning around and walking over to his desk. I bite my lower lip, disappointed that the hot moment has passed.

“Do we have to do it now? I need to pack so that we can leave for my old pack as soon as possible,” I sigh with my arms crossed over my body.

“Then when are we going to talk about it? You are avoiding the subject like the plague!” Ares is getting annoyed; he’s clenching his fists as he stares me down.

“We can talk about it when we get back, okay? I promise we’ll talk about it then,” I plead.

He snorts loudly. “Fine, when we’re back. Until then, we are not going to be intimate with each other.”

I look at him with a surprised stare. “What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean. If you want to be intimate, we can discuss the topic beforehand. Otherwise, we’ll wait with both until we get back home.”

I frown and snort back. “Fine!” I say, storming out of the office.

***

John and Zeke follow me as I stride away from the office toward the bedroom. I ask them to pack their own bags because we are leaving tonight. It’s only a few hours’ drive, so there’s no point in waiting.

I insist on just packing my own stuff, since I guess we’ll stay a few nights I’ll bring a couple of different changes. Ares can pack his own bag, I think passive-aggressively.

I throw my backpack over my shoulder, walk out of the bedroom, and down toward the entrance. Zeke is alone after me and it’s not until I stop in the main hall that he gives me a worried look.

“How is it, Your Majesty?” he asks after a moment of silence.

“Ares is an idiot!” I reply angrily. He raises his eyebrows in amusement, a small smile dancing on his lips. “Don’t laugh at me,” I say even more irritably.

“Sorry, I’m not laughing! It’s just refreshing to hear someone talk about the king in this way,” he replies with his hands up in the air. “It seems as if I can never get used to your outspokenness.”

I roll my eyes and turn away from him. It isn’t long before John and Ares join us, and I can see that Ares was smart enough to pack his own bag. A large black SUV drives up to the entrance and we all get in the car in silence. We have two identical cars in front of us, and two more behind us, probably full of our best warriors. I turn away from Ares who is sitting in the back seat next to me. The forest whizzes by outside the window, the sun has begun to set, and it will be late when we arrive. The atmosphere in the car is thick, almost to the point where you would be able to cut it with a knife. Sometimes I see John looking back at me through the rearview mirror, but I try to ignore him too.

I straighten up in my seat when I see how the trees outside the window show signs of tear marks. The closer we get to the pack lands, the more damage can be seen on the forest and the road ahead of us. Anxiously, I glance at Ares, who is watching me. My gaze goes to John and Zeke. Zeke has his eyes fixed on the road ahead while John is looking at me through the rearview mirror.

“Shit…,” I whisper as the devastation gets worse and worse. We pass houses that have burned down; a heavy darkness is resting over the area. Ares puts his hand on mine and squeezes in reassurance.

We drive up and park the entire vehicle equipage outside Alpha Jason and Luna Isabelle’s main pack house. The lights are on in a few of the rooms in the house, and I pray to the Moon Goddess that my mother is in there, unharmed.