Queen of the Lycan - Karina Espinosa (bill gates book recommendations .TXT) 📗

I rolled my eyes. I couldn’t help it. I could never understand her riddles, and with her earlier warning ringing in my ears, I knew better than to ask.

“Okay … I’ll come see you this week,” I replied slowly.

“Come by tomorrow,” she insisted. “I’ll be expecting ye, Mackenzie.”

I nodded as if she could see me and belatedly remembered she was blind., “Fine, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Ophelia and her sisters smiled before turning and leaving, moving gracefully through the crowd as if they could see perfectly. It was beyond eerie.

Bash leaned over and whispered, “You shouldn’t have agreed to a meeting without talking to Alexander or Ranulf.”

I smirked. “I’m Queen. I get to make the decisions now.” Bash still looked unsure, so I reached for his hand. “Look, I’m not going to be reckless and go alone. I’ll take a couple of guards, and if you want to come along, I wouldn’t mind either.”

Bash nodded and his shoulders relaxed slightly. “Okay.”

Although my offer to include him seemed to appease him, I knew he was still worried. Regardless of what Ophelia said, the forest was dangerous and we couldn’t let down our guard. Those guards were still missing and most likely in Fenrir’s clutches. That is, if they weren’t dead.

I trailed Ophelia’s movements through the crowd and noticed that her two companions were nowhere in sight. I craned my neck and looked around, but couldn’t find them anywhere in the ballroom.

“Hmm … what are you up to, Ophelia …?” I muttered to myself as I watched her easily navigate through the bodies using nothing but her senses.

“Pet?” Lucian approached and I tore my gaze from the oracle to the dapper vampire standing before me.

I grinned. “Lucian!” For some reason, I was happy he still called me by his nickname. “Glad you could make it.”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he drawled. “You did wonderfully in your coronation. Your father must be very proud.”

I smiled awkwardly and looked away, uncomfortable by the praise and uncertain how Alexander was feeling after having his power stripped away.

“Well, I brought you a gift.” Lucian extended his hand, which held a box wrapped in gold foil paper and a velvet red ribbon.

I reached for it and held the box tightly. “You didn’t have to buy me anything, Luce.”

“Technically I didn’t buy it.” He looked up to the ceiling in contemplation. “More like I’m passing it on.” He smiled wide enough that the glint of his fangs peeked from behind his lips.

Now I was really curious, so I slid off the red ribbon and tugged the gold paper away. Lifting the lid, I pushed the tissue paper aside to reveal a brown leather journal. My brows furrowed and I looked up at Lucian in confusion.

“I never look a gift horse in the mouth, but I’m not really the journaling type, Luce.”

Lucian laughed and nodded. “I know, Pet … It was your mum’s.” I nearly dropped the box. “She wanted to journal as much as she could until she lost her sight. Then, when she found out about you, well, they became letters to you. Especially when she realized her time was coming to an end.” Lucian cleared his throat, obviously getting choked up. “I’ve never read it. I didn’t want to invade her privacy. But I told her if I ever crossed paths with you, I would hand it over. It never seemed like the right time until now.” He took a moment to compose himself. “There’s an unopened letter in there for you as well. She made me promise to give it to you if you ever found out about her. I guess now is as good a time as ever, Pet.”

I knew I looked wide eyed and bewildered as I stared at Lucian and then back at the journal.

This was my mother’s. It was Adaline’s. These are her thoughts. Everything I ever wanted to know is probably in this journal. The thought made me nervous. What if I didn’t like her? What if I did? That would almost be worse because it would mean I missed out on something great. And from the bit Lucian and Alexander said about her, she was pretty amazing.

“Thank you,” I muttered, avoiding eye contact with Lucian. I put the lid back on the box again and held it close to my body. I wasn’t going to read its contents now, in front of everyone. This was something I needed to do in private.

“Of course, Pet. Let me know what she says, if you’re comfortable sharing. I’m curious, myself.” He smiled softly and gave a low bow before excusing himself.

“You okay?” Bash whispered.

I nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“You want me to hold on to it?” Bash reached for it, but I shook my head and tightened my grip.

“No. I’ll hold on to it.” I didn’t want it to get mixed in with the mountain of other gifts and get lost.

I started to get up to grab some water when the crowd parted like the Red Sea and the room quieted, save for the escalating murmurs that could be heard as a small group of fae approached the throne. While we were technically at peace with the fae since the Freedom War, they still weren’t very popular among the Lycan and were still looked upon with unease and suspicion.

“Angus.” I greeted the fae who stood front and center in the group. With long, silky white hair and lavender eyes, one didn’t need to see his pointy ears to mark him as fae. He was dressed up for the occasion in the traditional fae style, which meant a lot of loose linen and flowers.

“Queen Mackenzie MacCoinnich,” he declared as he and his companions gave a deep, respectful bow. “It is a pleasure to see you again in your new position.”

“Thank you. I didn’t know you were invited,” I replied honestly.

His smile looked awkward and forced. “Until we find a new leader for our people, I am the current representative. And since you and