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

Bash stood and left the room to get Dr. Harris, who returned with Tavish, the resident warlock of the castle. This was my first time meeting the warlock, and my first impression was that he seemed totally normal, unlike Bobby Wu. Tavish had long, wavy hair that fell just below his shoulders. It gave off a bit of a hippie vibe or maybe Jesus Christ. Whichever of the two.

Dr. Harris and Tavish ran various scans and determined that I wasn’t poisoned, much to my dismay. Which meant I was actually sick. Weird.

“I’m going to give you a B12 shot, but I want you to stay hydrated. Increase your caffeine intake—”

“Wait a minute,” Bash interrupted. He’d been leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. “You mean to tell me she has to have more caffeine?”

Dr. Harris looked over at him. “Yes. Her blood pressure is extremely low. She also needs to increase her salt intake, so that means more sodium.”

“She drinks massive amounts of coffee already!” Bash exclaimed, aghast.

I chuckled. “Actually, I’ve been so busy lately I haven’t had the time.”

Dr. Harris turned back to me. “So you’ve had a change in diet?”

I shrugged. “I guess.”

“Hmm. Still doesn’t explain the fever,” Dr. Harris muttered. “Tavish, give her something for the fever and body aches. We’ll observe you for the next few days and see how you do.”

I nodded and let Tavish get to work.

9

By the end of the week, I was roughly back to my old self again. Slightly weak, but at least the cold sweats and body aches were gone. And just in time for my meeting with the Summits. The last thing I needed was to show them I was ill. They would take full advantage of that. So, I did the one thing I hated more than anything—I wore make-up. I needed something to cover the dark circles around my eyes that made me look like a damned zombie, but I also needed to look like myself, like I was living my best life, in front of the Summits. Show no weakness, and all that jazz.

“Where is the meeting being held?” I asked Ranulf as I shuffled through some last-minute paperwork in my office before the meeting.

“The throne room. I had the guards set up some tables and chairs for the alphas,” Ranulf reported as he stood in front of my desk. The throne room was probably best with the amount of people that would be in attendance. I didn’t think the council room would be big enough.

I took a sip from my third cup of coffee that morning. “Good. Have they arrived yet?”

“They’re filtering in as we speak.”

I looked at my watch. They still had ten minutes, but they were cutting it close. Then again, so was I.

“Do ye want yer father to accompany ye?”

I thought about it for a moment. I wanted to keep Alexander in the loop. I didn’t want to exclude him from anything—I needed his help. But I also needed the alphas to know I could stand on my own two feet without Alexander. That I didn’t need any hand holding. Ugh, politics were so complicated. It was like high school … but supernatural.

“Have Alexander on standby,” I acquiesced. “I’ll tell you when to bring him in.”

Ranulf bowed and left to relay the message to one of the guards. I chugged the rest of my coffee and set my mug aside. I wouldn’t have had time to finish another one before the meeting anyway.

Dressed in a pair of black slacks, a dark blue sweater, and my oxford flats, I stood from my chair and got ready to leave. My dark brown hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail away from my face so they could see every expression I made.

Ranulf re-entered the office, ready to escort me to the throne room. “Ready, Yer Majesty?”

I took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. “Ready.”

We walked out of the office and down the corridor to the open foyer that led to the grand staircase. From there, we descended the steps surrounded by the Queen’s Guard. They marched a path toward the throne room, bristling with protective energy for their Queen. As we approached the wooden doors with the carved wolves on the front, the guards opened them and we stepped inside.

The Summit Alphas all stood at my presence. I walked toward my throne with my head held high, avoiding their gazes. Stepping up to the platform, I paused for a moment to look at the sea of alphas—there were about forty to fifty of them present—and then I sat down. Ranulf stayed glued to my side while my guards spread out across the room. I knew there was also a large contingent of my guards outside in case they were needed.

I nodded at the alphas and they took their seats. I carefully observed their expressions and could tell most of them weren’t thrilled to be taking cues from a luna. Or maybe it was just me in particular. I didn’t have the most stellar reputation, as we all knew by then, and I was sure they’d already heard about what happened to the King’s Council, so that was probably not jiving with them at the moment. Yikes. Yeah, there were a lot of unhappy faces in the crowd.

My gaze stopped in the center and slightly right, where I locked eyes with none other than Charles Cadwell—Alpha of the Northeast American Pack and Jonah and Jackson’s father. From the fire in those familiar chocolate eyes, he still blamed me for Jonah’s death. Either he was resigned to my new position, or he planned to take advantage of my naivety to take me down. Whatever game plan Charles had, I would be ready for it. His petty schemes were nothing compared to what I was already dealing with.

“Welcome to Sheunta Village,” I said by way of greeting with a toothy smile that was beyond fake. “I hope your accommodations have been