All Chapters of Queen of the Ruined: A Villain's Rise: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

"Down!" Lancelot's roar shatters the midnight quiet a split second before the net drops from the trees.The heavy iron mesh, weighted with raw silver spikes and soaked in thick wolfsbane smoke, crashes onto the mud where I was standing a breath ago. The bitter, toxic fumes hit my lungs, instantly triggering a sharp spike of pregnancy nausea that makes my knees buckle. Five hunters in black leather armor spring from the dense brush, crossbows drawn and pointed straight at my midsection. They didn't target the patrol route by accident. Someone gave them our exact coordinates."Protect the womb!" the lead hunter screams, drawing a long, silver-tipped blade.Lancelot doesn't shift into his wolf. He moves like a shadow made of pure steel and murder. Before the crossbow trigger can click, he closes the distance, his massive hand clamping around the lead hunter's throat and ripping his vocal cords completely out. Blood sprays across the freezing mud as Lancelot spins, driving his broadsword

"Drink it, or you don't step outside the gates," Lancelot growls, holding out a wooden vial of thick, foul-smelling black liquid.I take the potion and swallow it in one gulp, wincing as the bitter potion burns down my throat. Within seconds, my skin turns cold, and the warm, sweet milk scent of my pregnancy vanishes entirely, replaced by the generic, flat odor of an unbonded human traveler. I adjust the heavy wool cloak around my body, ensuring the thick fabric completely hides the hard curve of my belly, and fasten a black leather mask over the lower half of my face."Stay in the shadows," Lancelot warns, his broad palm pressing firm against my waist as he leads me through the hidden tunnel beneath the fortress. "If anyone touches you, I bring this entire border town to ashes.""I am not going there to fight," I say, stepping out into the dark alley behind the border tavern. "I am going to watch her lie."The tavern is packed with high-ranking warriors, elders from neutral packs, an

"Stand up, Cecelia!" Lancelot commands from the high wall, his voice booming over the gravel.My knees buckle before I can take a single step. A wave of white-hot agony rips through my spine, violent and sickening, as if an iron hook is tearing through my chest to rip my heart out. My wolf shrieks inside my mind, thrashing against the raw, open wound of the rejected mate bond. For weeks, the rage kept the pain buried, but now it explodes at full strength, punishment from the Moon Goddess for denying my soulmate connection to Lancelot.My lungs seize up completely. I fall forward, convulsing against the cold ground as black spots dance across my vision.Lancelot leaps from the ten-foot stone ledge without hesitation. His heavy iron boots slam into the gravel, and he lunges across the distance, sweeping his massive arms under my knees and back a split second before my face smashes into the jagged rocks."I've got you," Lancelot growls, his own voice cracking with sudden, razor-sharp pai

"Stay close to my flank!" Lancelot roars, his heavy warblade unsheathed as six of his elite rogue guards surround my mount.We gallop through the blinding rain toward the ruins of the old border shrine, horses kicking up thick mud. The horrifying crunch from Esther's severed mind-link still echoes in my ears, making my heart slam against my ribs like a trapped bird. My unborn baby kicks violently against my abdomen, reacting to the raw surge of adrenaline coursing through my blood.We slide to a halt in the overgrown courtyard of the ancient stone temple. The wooden doors hang off their iron hinges, splintered and rotting."Form a defensive perimeter around the perimeter wall!" Lancelot commands his men, his golden eyes flashing with lethal intent. "No one enters or leaves without my permission."He dismounts in one fluid, powerful motion and reaches up to lift me down from my saddle. His large, warm hands grip my waist tightly, holding me against his broad chest for a second before s

"Hold her arms down!" a harsh, cold voice snaps through the pitch-black darkness of my bedchamber.I shoot upright on the bed, my heart hammering against my ribs so hard I can barely breathe. Heavy, brutal hands slam onto my shoulders, pinning my body flat against the mattress.The sickening, sweet stench of wolfsbane fumes and medical surgical alcohol fills my nose, making my stomach turn inside out with a violent surge of pregnancy nausea. I kick out wildly with my bare feet, my heel connecting hard with a man's jaw, but two more heavy bodies throw themselves over my legs."Careful with the blade!" another masked intruder hissed, pulling a long, gleaming silver scalpel and a set of curved iron obstetric clamps from a leather doctor's roll on my nightstand. "Peterson was clear! The mother can bleed out, but the womb must be cut open intact! We need the fetus whole!"Terror, cold and absolute, floods my blood. They aren't here to assassinate an Alpha's rival. They came with surgical t