“I know,” I muttered.
“Ye cannae go to the funeral this weekend.”
“I have to!” I exclaimed. “The village expects me to be there, and it would be an insult to their memories if I didn’t pay my respects to the fallen.”
“Yer safety comes first,” he argued. “Damnit, Yer Majesty, if ye must go, I’m telling Ranulf I’m in charge of yer detail. No new guards; only the ones trained by me.”
I nibbled on my bottom lip as I thought about it. If we put a kink in their plan and made it obvious that we knew, we wouldn’t be able to find out everyone who was involved in this scheme. I wanted to know all the players in the game. Because if we didn’t play now, we’d end up playing later, and I might not know the game plan then. I needed to take advantage of the information that had fallen into our laps.
“No,” I said as I slowly stood. William followed. “Let’s see this play out.”
William scratched at his buzz cut in frustration. “Yer driving me mad, Yer Majesty! Yer putting yerself directly in front of danger. They plan to serve ye up on a silver platter to Abaddon. Does that nae frighten ye just a wee bit?”
I scoffed. “Of course it scares me, but I can’t be controlled by fear. The best thing to do is face this head on, or I’ll spend the rest of my reign looking over my shoulder, wondering when the Summits will strike. Let’s let this play out, but have back-up ready and waiting. You’re not going to send me in alone.”
William and I made it back to the castle without being seen, but boy, was it a struggle just to get out of the stables. Charles and the other guy had locked us in, so we ended up having to crawl out through a window. Not the most graceful of exits for the Queen and her most trusted guard.
When we arrived back at the royal wing, we called an emergency meeting with Ranulf, Alexander, and Bash and relieved the guards on duty. William stood at the door while I regaled them with everything we’d learned.
“I’m going to kill Charles,” Bash seethed, fisting his hands.
“Nae before I do,” Alexander snarled, baring his canines and flashing silver eyes.
“Easy there, champ,” I said. “Nothing’s been done yet. And honestly, let’s leave the killing to me … I already have my hands dirty.” I grimaced, thinking of everyone I’d killed in my short life.
“Ye really want to go through with this, Yer Majesty?” Ranulf pondered. “There’s a lot of variables that we cannae account for. It’s risky.”
“We still have the tracker we used for Lucian so he could find me, correct?” I asked.
“Aye,” Ranulf responded.
“Let’s use that and have my guards at the ready – but only the guards who trained under William. They’re the only ones I trust right now. Let our guards handle the rogue contingent. I can take care of Charles.”
Alexander’s silvered eyes widened. “Did ye forget yer with child? Ye cannae go around fighting an alpha!”
I patted my tummy and grinned. “I’m just prepping this kid for what he’ll face once he gets out. He’ll be a badass since his days in the womb.”
Bash’s eyes glowed sapphire. “You’re insane. Literally insane. You can miscarry!” he yelled. “If you get punched in the stomach, I swear to God, Mackenzie—”
“Okay!” I shouted. “I get how serious this is; I’m just trying to lighten the mood. Relax. Don’t give yourself a heart attack.”
“Sebastian makes a good point, darling.” Alexander made a great effort to calm down. “Ye’ve been tortured before. Ye cannae go through that again. I can’t—” His words cut off and he lowered his head, too choked up to continue.
“I won’t,” I said. “I won’t let it get that far. I won’t put myself at risk needlessly, but we have to take advantage of the opportunity that’s been presented. Don’t you see? We’re one step ahead of them!” I said eagerly. “We can’t lose this chance.”
“I hate to admit it, but I agree,” Ranulf said reluctantly. “However, if we go through with this, we must put additional precautions in place.”
“Like …?” Bash asked.
“First, we condense her detail,” he said. “The less guards we have to fight, the better.”
“Smart. Gives our loyal guards the upper hand,” I said.
“Second, we choose the location,” Ranulf said. “Without specifically telling them why, we let them know if the Queen needs privacy, to take her to a designated location. That way, we control the area and can have loyal guards already posted around the perimeter.”
As they continued crafting a plan for this weekend, I wondered if we could actually pull it off. Wolves had keen senses. The only reason Charles and that guard didn’t pick us out in the stables was because all the horses and competing scents masked our location and appearance. We got lucky. But it would be hard for my guards to tail me without the others finding out.
This was one mission I might have to do alone, with no back-up.
Whether they liked it or not.
15
“I’d like to start with my pack,” Maria said as she sat across from me at my desk. We were having a one-on-one meeting to discuss her game plan. Her tight curls were picked up in a messy bun atop her head with curls spilling out on the sides. Her lips were painted a shade of mauve that went well with the dusky complexion of her skin. Her face seemed to glow with excitement as she began detailing her approach.
“You want to infiltrate the Barcelona pack first?” I raised a brow and rested my elbows on my desk.
She nodded. “I already know how they treat lunas, and it’s not according to the law,” she admitted in her thick Spanish accent. “While lunas are given other jobs in accordance with the law by King Alexander, they are still required to
