“Thanks for telling me,” I said.
I realized this was the first time in a long time I’d really looked at my friend. Really saw him. He had sacrificed so much of his own life to serve me. “Thank you for everything.”
He hugged me again, and it was only when a throat cleared that we pulled apart. I turned to find Calista in the doorway, tablet in hand and a half-smile on her face.
“Sorry to interrupt, but I’m going to need her highness for a few minutes.”
Blaine stepped back and I let all the softer emotions inside of me swirl around for a bit before I tucked them away. It felt as if things had changed slightly, as if there was a depth to our friendship that had not been there earlier. It was a nice feeling and I was surprised by it.
Shaking this off, I crossed the room to reach my advisor. She handed me her tablet, only remembering at the last moment that electronics and queens did not go well together. She snatched it back, holding it up so I could see. She then started flicking through the pages.
I read as quickly as I could; it was an entire webpage dedicated to Kade and me, like a memoir of our love story or some crap. Only we didn’t have a love story. Dark, stormy emotions crashed within me as I read through the information. Most of it was taken out of context, some completely made up, but teamed with a multitude of pictures – including one from when he’d saved me during my coronation and had his hand spread across my chest as he funneled the mecca energy out of me – well, it all looked pretty convincing.
Calista’s face was creased with concern, her eyes sad. “I have the technology department staff dealing with it. We’ve taken the site down multiple times already, but it keeps popping up. Some of your people have seen it, and already there are discussions across the message boards. It’s being contained right now, but I just wanted to let you know.”
I nodded, too angry to say any more. I had not crossed any lines with Kade since becoming queen, and before that it was nothing more than a kiss or two. It was beyond frustrating that not only did I have to ignore my attraction to the bear king, but now I had to defend myself for actions I didn’t even take.
“Figure out who created the site and bring them to me,” I said from between gritted teeth.
Calista nodded. We were walking now, my dominants trailing behind me. Within ten minutes, I’d left the basement and was back in my office. My crown went back into its special wooden box, then I let myself sink into the plush office chair behind my new oak desk. My new office furniture was perfect. I loved running my hands across the grains of wood and leather inlay. This place relaxed me, but unfortunately I had business to attend to first. I had to deal with Seamus – and all magic born, really. I loved Violet, but sometimes she did act above me, and I couldn’t allow that in my home.
Calista was the only one in the room now, so I said to her, “Print up a new royal decree. All magic born are forbidden from cloaking themselves in the presence of the queen. Punishable by…”
I would have to follow through with whatever I said here, and it would be stupid to kill a magic born over something like this. They were treasured and important, but they did need to learn their place. How dare Seamus spy on my private council meeting. The mere thought of it had my wolf howling inside of me.
“… banishment,” I said.
That was an order I could follow through with. If you were banished from the boroughs you were a disgrace to your pack and family. If you tried to reenter any of the five boroughs, you would be killed on sight. The closest you could live would be the Island. Not that I would allow Seamus to live in my Island house.
Calista nodded her approval. The first year as a queen was the hardest. If you let any wolf get away with anything, the entire race would walk all over you. Word would spread, and the last thing I needed were rumors spreading that I was weak. Especially with all these Kade rumors already floating around.
Plus, banishment was quite fair. The Red Queen would have boiled Seamus alive for what he did. The only one who would get around my new ruling was Violet, which was okay. I often needed her to cloak herself, and I trusted that she would never spy on me.
“Anything else?” Calista asked.
“Yes. Plan something fun for my dinner tonight. No business.”
She smiled and nodded. When I was just an alpha and heir I’d had time to relax. Now I had inherited an entire race and their drama was my drama. Rising from my desk, I crossed the room. I’d had enough for today. No more work.
The moment I opened my door, my five dominants were there, standing at attention. The sight of them always reminded me that Derek was absent. The pang in my heart was strong, but I never allowed it to linger long. I couldn’t dwell on his death, I had a war to prepare for, which was in part justice for Derek’s murder. He was a victim of the fae as much as the Red Queen. That was how I would honor them.
My guards followed me down the curving halls into the elevator, which took us up a few floors, and then out to a series of storage rooms. We walked in silence. They could tell I wasn’t in the mood for conversation. My focus was on the Red Queen, my aunt by blood, and the woman who I was starting to think I knew nothing about. The fae at the park had said to look to my queen for answers.
So that’s what I would do.
“Wait for me out here,” I said to the five dominants, before entering the large storage room. Normally, they’d check out a room like this, make sure no one was waiting to ambush me. But for some reason I felt the urge to explore in here alone and thankfully my people were learning to accept my commands. Not to mention things were always a little more relaxed within the royal estate; I was powerful enough to take on most attackers, the mecca at my call and all.
Flicking the light on and closing the door behind me, I surveyed the boxes. There must have been over a hundred in here, all neatly stacked and labeled. It would take me days to go through them all, time I did not have. I quickly read the labels, trying to see if anything jumped out at me. Clothes, shoes, files, jewelry, royal trinkets. As I walked closer to a stack of boxes I felt a small pull of mecca energy. It started like a tingling of awareness along my spine, strengthening the closer I got. Kade’s lesson came to me then: The mecca is conscious, a living breathing entity. If you can learn to listen, it can be used for your benefit.