The Queen’s Command

The world above ground had turned into hell.

As Dante and I raced up the crumbling stone stairs from the archives, the sound of gunfire echoed off the ruin walls.

Bang! Bang!

Then the growls. Deep, guttural sounds that rattled within my ribs.

The moment we were out of the East Wing and into daylight, the courtyard was turned from a deserted stretch to a battleground.

Dozens of wolves—wretched, dirty, and huge—were moving about in the courtyard. They weren't wearing pack colors. They were Rogues. But they moved with military precision. It was no random attack; it was a hit squad.

"To the SUV!" Dante yelled, grabbing my arm.

He raised his pistol and fired three shots. Three wolves went down mid-leap. Not even a blink. Like a machine: cold and efficient.

We ran towards the outpost entrance where the car was parked.

But it was too late.

A gargantuan gray wolf slammed against the side of the armored SUV. It flipped on its side, crushing the driver inside. Clouds of smoke were issuing from the wreck.

"Fucking hell!" cursed Dante. He yanked me behind a thick stone wall just as a hail of bullets chipped away pieces of rock just inches from my face.

"They're using guns?" I gasped, clutching the heavy pistol Dante had given me.

"Mercenaries," Dante growled, checking his magazine. He looked at me then, his golden eyes blazing, "This is Kael. The Red Tooth Alpha. He doesn't like my offer."

"Listen to me, Maya. We are cut off. My guards are pinned down on the perimeter. We are on our own."

"What do we do?"

"I'm going to shift," he explained. "I can't fight a pack in human form. When I shift, I will draw their fire. You run for the forest line. Hide in the trees."

"No!" I grabbed his arm. "If you shift, you're a bigger target. There are too many of them!"

"Damn it! Do as I say!" Dante shouted.

He didn't wait for me to argue. He stepped away from behind the wall.

Then he roared, a sound that shook the earth. His body began to convulse. Bones snapped and reformed within seconds. Black fur ripped through his skin.

In a blink, the man was gone. Standing there now was a monster.

Dante's wolf was fearsome. Midnight-black with a height of nearly five feet at the shoulder, his eyes were burning gold. He was double the size of the Rogue wolves.

Into the center of the courtyard, he pounced.

His violence was a blur. He passed through two Rogues with a single swipe of his claws; that was the third neck he bit into. He was invincible.

But there were too many of them.

"Kill the Beast!" a man yelled from the ridge-It was Alpha Kael, with a rifle in hand.

Six wolves circled Dante. All at once, they lunged at him: biting at his legs, his flanks. He dislodged a couple of them but more came.

I watched from behind the wall, my heart stopping.

He was fighting for me. He was taking the hits so I could run.

Run, my instinct screamed. Protect the baby.

I began to turn toward the forest. I took one step.

Then came a yelp.

I looked back.

A wolf had sunk its teeth into Dante's hind leg, hamstringing him. Dante stumbled. Another wolf leaped onto his back. Kael brought up his rifle, aiming for Dante's head.

"No!" I screamed.

I didn't run to the forest. I ran toward him.

I wasn't thinking. I wasn't plotting. I was just reacting.

I raised the gun Dante'd given me. I had never shot a gun before, but my new senses made everything slow down. I could see Kael on the ridge. I could see the heat rising from the barrel.

I aimed. I squeezed the trigger.

Crack.

The bullet missed Kael, hitting the rock right next to his face. He flinched and dropped his aim.

"Get the girl!" Kael shouted.

Three wolves broke away from the circle around Dante and turned toward me.

They were massive. Their teeth were stained with blood. They were looking at me as if up for a snack.

I took steps back; my boots slipped on the mud. I shot again, but my aim was still inaccurate. The gun clicked empty.

"Great," I whispered.

The wolf in front, the brown brute with a scarred ear, lunged towards me.

I went falling backward. I landed hard onto the stone floor. I raised my arms to cover my face, bracing myself for the teeth piercing into my throat.

But the bite never came.

A black blur smashed against the brown wolf.

Dante.

He managed to drag himself a little farther away from the others to save me. One fleeting motion, and he had pounced on the rogue, tearing away its throat.

But he was hurt. And badly bleeding from one of his rear legs. He limped towards me, panting with blood trickling from his muzzle. He snapped at the remaining wolves, daring them to step any closer.

They circled us. Ten of them.

We were trapped.

Looking over the top of me, Dante had the saddest kind of golden wolf eyes. He nudged my hand with his wet nose.

I'm sorry, his eyes seemed to say. I failed.

He turned to face the circle, ready for death.

Something inside me snapped.

I looked at the wolves surrounding us. I looked at the ruins of my home. I looked at the man who was willing to bleed for me.

And then I felt it. The force I had felt in the archives. The force that had opened the iron door.

It rose from my gut-hot, white, and ancient. No longer was it the poison. It was the Queen.

I stood up.

No fear. Cold, righteous anger filled the space my fear had vacated.

The wolves were growling, getting ready to pounce.

"Dante," I said, calm. "Down."

Dante's wolf ears pricked up. He stared at me, perplexed.

I stepped in front of him, interposing myself between the King and the pack.

The lead rogue laughed, a barking, human sound. "Look at the little human. She thinks she can—

"KNEEL."

It was not my throat that had said it. It was the earth. It was the sky. The voice was layered with power, vibrating with a frequency that splintered glass.

The Alpha Command. But it was not just an Alpha's voice. It was the Royal Voice.

The effect was instantaneous.

The lead rogue froze in mid-step, eyes opening wide in terror, legs giving way against his own will, crashing into the mud while whimpering.

The other wolves whimpered. The command shoved down upon them. Their instincts screamed at them to submit, and they could not fight it-it was in their blood to obey a Royal.

Dante collapsed. Even he could not withstand the command. His gigantic black wolf legs bucked under him, and he went down upon his belly, head lowered to the ground, his shock and wonder mirrored in his wide-open golden eyes gazing up at me.

I stood there, panting. My skin started glowing. I could feel the violet light that poured out of my eyes, illuminating the dark ruins.

"Leave," I commanded. My voice was normal now, but the echo of power still hung in the air. "Leave this place, or I will bury you in it."

The insufferable weight lifted.

The rogues, without any hesitation, pushed themselves to their feet, tails tucked between their legs, and fled. They ran like puppies scolded by a master. Even Kael from the ridge dropped his rifle and made a run for the trees.

The silence draped over the ruins.

I stood in the middle of the courtyard all alone. My hands were shaking. The glow from my skin was slowly fading away. The high had left me dizzy and nauseous.

I wavered.

"Maya?"

Dante had shifted back. He was naked, dripping blood and mud as he limped toward me, ignoring his own injuries.

He stopped two feet away. He didn't touch me. He looked at me as if I were a stranger, a goddess.

"What..." he whispered, voice hoarse. "What was that?"

I glanced at him. I couldn't lie anymore. The papers were in my pocket. The glow was in my eyes. The Command had knelt a king.

"I told you," I whispered, my vision blurring. "I am the reason this place burned."

My legs buckled.

Dante caught me, falling into the mud on his knees, cradling me against him.

"You used the Voice," he said, his face frozen in shock. "You commanded them. You commanded me."

He stared into my eyes. The violet was fading, but now it was unmistakable.

"Princess," he said under his breath, as if praying.

"Don't," I whimpered weakly, clinging to his shoulders. "Don't tell the Council. Please. They'll kill the baby."

Dante froze.

His hand found its way to my stomach. He laid his palm against my flat belly.

He closed his eyes. Breathe in deep.

Now that the adrenaline was gone... once the vanilla perfume had been washed away by the rain... he could smell it.

The second heartbeat.

His eyes burst open. Gold met violet.

"A baby?" he said.

I nodded, tears flowing down my face. "Yours."

Dante stared into my eyes. Looked at my stomach. Then looked to the ruins all around.

The ruthlessness returned to his eyes. Only this time it was aimed not at me.

"No," Dante said with determination. "They will not kill the baby."

He scooped me up and stood on the injured leg without so much as a flinch.

"Because if anyone touches my Queen or my Heir," Dante swore darkly and dangerously, "I will burn the whole world down."

He strode into the woods, carrying me away from the ruins of the past and into a future now very, very complicated.

The secret was out.

The King knew.

And the war just began.