RYKER’S POV
Cami imed to be better the next morning and in all honesty, I wanted to keep her locked up in the
room where I was sure she could be protected but even I knew that was impossible. She was the
Queen and it didn’t matter what was happening in her personal life, she had to show up. I hated it and I
wouldn’t have minded da mning the consequences but she wanted to prove something, she wanted to
show that she was good, she told me point nk that she didn’t need my permission and was returning
to work whether I liked it or not. There wasn’t much I could do in regards to that so I let it slide.
It didn’t mean I didn’t keep a close eye on her though. I had Kevin keeping watch over her and
reporting back to me. He did it discreetly because I knew that if she was aware, she would be nothing
short of pissed. If I had my way, I would have trailed her myself but I had something else I wanted to do
that she didn’t need to find out about.
“I was expecting to see your mate here and not you,” L began when I walked into her room. “What
can I help you with, your majesty?”
“You have seen the future, yes?” I asked and she nodded. “I know that you cannot tell me what the
future entails but can you tell me how to ensure that it ends in a good way for everyone involved.”
“You know as well as I do that isn’t possible,” her voice was soft and soothing. I wondered how many
years it took her to learn to speak to people like that. She must have found that people didn’t take to
hearing their future and developed the calm persona as a wall to hide behind. “I am not allowed to
interfere in the affairs of humans. I have already risked so much bying here and I know that I will
be punished for itter.”
it De
because you are
“Then why did you?” I shot back and she went silent. “if you are risking your life and potential
punishment, why did you do it? Surely
fond of us. Was there something you saw that made youe?”
She looked away and that was enough of an admission of guilt for me. I pushed off the door that I was
leaning against and walked over to her. She tried to avoid my gaze but she was squirming, I had her
exactly where I wanted her and she didn’t even know. I sat in the spare chair next to her making sure
she felt the entire weight of my presence. L was powerful but she was still a person, she had been
was
isted for so long and I knew without a doubt that I was making her ufortable but it was a
necessary evil.
III
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“Tell me, L.” I probed. “What was so important?”
“The goddess asked me to,” she blurted out before pping her hands over her mouth and muttering to
herself about speaking too much. She looked frustrated but I couldn’t focus on her, I was more
intrigued by her words.
“What do you mean the goddess asked you to? How did she do that? Did she appear to you?”
“Please, your majesty, I have already said too much.”
“This doesn’t concern our future, it concerns the past which has already happened,” it was a loophole
and she knew it. There was nothing prohibiting her from talking to me about it now. “You should suffer
no punishment if you tell us considering it has alreadye and gone.”
She sighed when she realized I had her hands bound behind her back. “She appeared to me in a
vision. She said that the queen would be in danger soon and I needed to leave immediately if I was to
save her. I left two days before I arrived.”
“She told you about it before it happened,” I deduced and she nodded. “Why would she do that?
Wouldn’t she have stood to gain more if she had just let her go?”
The words burned my throat like acid but I needed to know. I needed to understand what I was dealing
with if I was going to stand any chance of getting out of it alive. L shrugged in response to my
question. She seemed uneasy and if I were a better person, I would have let her go and stopped with
my questions but I was willing to make her as ufortable as possible as long as it meant that my
family would be safe. Nothing else mattered to me besides them as terrible as that sounded.
“I don’t know,” she said finally. “I don’t ask questions. I am simply a se rvant, I am a tool. If the goddess
says to go then I leave, if she asks to jump then I ask how high, please do not ask questions I do not
have the answer to, you will only make this hard for me.”
It took me a second to realize that she wasn’t frustrated or ufortable, she was scared. Her entire
body shook as fear coursed through it and I could practically taste the tanginess of it in the air. She
couldn’t meet my eye and she kept looking around as if she expected something to fly out and hurt her.
I couldn’t help but wonder who or what terrified her so much. I ced a hand on her shoulder and she
let out a loud shriek and jumped further solidifying my thoughts. She cleared her throat and attempted
to straighten her dress but I had already seen enough.
=
Compter 373
“Who hurt you?” I asked but she stayed silent. “Was it the goddess?”
“She is my sovereign ruler and leader, everything she does, she does it for my well being and the
betterment of the wolves. She leads with love and loyalty and. warmth in her heart.”
It sounded like she was repeating a phrase she had heard over and over again. I noticed that she was
also picking at her nails. I wanted to reach out tofort her but somehow I knew that I was only going
to make things worse, the only thing I could do for her was to give her space which was what I did. I
cleared my throat and stood to my feet, she took a step back as if wary of me touching her.
“Thank you for all your help,” I said in a softer tone than I normally would have used. “Please enjoy the
rest of your day.”
I could feel her eyes on me as I walked out of the room. Even after shutting the door, I could feel the
weight of her gaze on my shoulder. There was more to the story, more that she wasn’t saying. There
was something or someone that had her turning into a terrified child and I wanted to know who it was, I
wanted to know how big of a threat this person was.
A part of me thought it was the goddess but there was no way for me to prove it, there was no way for
me to know and these were not the kinds of usations one went around throwing without proof. The
goddess was known to be the symbol of kindness and love but legend also told of her exceptional
cruelty when wronged. I forced all thoughts of it out of my mind, it wasn’t my problem. I had more
important things to worry about.
I checked on Cami first and once I was sure that she was happily working away. I made my way back
to my of work to attend to that I had
office. I had a sh it ton
put aside because of what happened to Cami and Riley. I didn’t realize how much work it was until I
started sorting through all the files and the people I had to meet
with.
I was going through it when I heard a soft knock on my door and it opened to reveal Riley. She was
much better now, her skin waspletely clear although she still had the asional dizzy spell and
she couldn’t do as much as she used to. She spent most of her time inside because the sun was too
harsh on her skin.
“Am I interrupting?” she asked but I immediately shook my head and ushered her inside. “I know we
haven’t spoken about this yet but did you tell Damien that I was back? Does he know that I was sick?”
“I didn’t tell him anything,” I answered slowly wondering where she was going with
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it. I couldn’t imagine her wanting him to know especially after what happened since she left and I
figured if he wanted to know, he would have sent a messenger to ask me.
“I was just wondering why he hadn’t sent me any more letters.”
“Any inore?” I asked and her cheeks heated. “Riley, what did you do?”
“He started sending me letters a few weeks after I left. He somehow knew where I was and although I
never responded, I never stopped. I responded two weeks ago and told him to stop because I was
leaving and going somewhere else. I guess I wanted to see if he would find me.”
I let out an exasperated sigh. “What are you doing, Riley? I thought you wanted space from him? You
don’t get space by keeping and responding to his letters. You are either all in or all out, if you keep
doing this then you’re going to get hurt:.”
“I know,” she crossed her arms over her chest in defiance. “I didn’te here for a lecture from you, I
just came to ask a question but forget I even said anything.”
She stormed off and I tried to call her back but she had enough of me. She pulled the door open only to
reveal a guard standing there. He looked confused especially when she groaned very loud and
stomped off. He shot me an inquisitive look, silently asking if he should go after her but I shook my
head. Riley always threw tantrums, it was only a matter of time before she realized that I was only
helping her.
“What do you need?” I asked the guard and he cleared his throat.
“There is mail for you, your majesty,” he said and my brows rose. How ironic it was that we were just
talking about messages and I got mail. I took it from him and thanked him, immediately going through
the stack.
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Most were the usual, mails from nearby packs, announcements from the heads of the towns but there
was one that stood out and caught my eye. There was an unfamiliar seal on it, I had never seen it
before. I wasted no time in tearing open the envelope.
Once I read the contents, I cursed and rushed to my feet after the guard. I found him turning the
hallway and I grabbed him by the cor of his shirt.
“Tell me where you got this.”