Forbidden Queen

Katy

We are all packed and ready to go by 5:30 the next morning. Only Emma, Katy, Euan, Alex’s grandfather and Miss Graham are there to see us off.

We will be travelling in armoured vehicles provided by the Royal Pack. They aren’t the quickest, and because we are using them our journey will take several weeks, but the armour will give us better protection if Lucius tries to launch an attack.

There will be no hiding our convoy. A hundred and twenty wolves will be squeezed into fifteen vehicles.

The vehicle Alex and I will be travelling in will be placed in the centre of the convoy. Joseph has assigned two of his fiercest wolves to be my bodyguards. They will be travelling in our vehicle along with Joseph and Daniel.

Joseph is going to use the time while we are travelling to teach me more about the royal pack. There is so much to learn, and I need to be as prepared as I possibly can be before we arrive. We are also going to squeeze in training sessions before we start travelling in the morning, and in the evening while the rest of the wolves set up camp for the night.

It will be tiring but I want to cram in as much training as I can. Alex and Joseph are determined to keep me safe, but I want to be able to protect myself. When we do face Lucius, I want to be able to fight alongside them. I have a long way to go before I can compete with warriors, who have been training all their life, but I am determined to do it.

I want revenge, for the murder of my real family, the mother, father and siblings that I never got to know, but also for my adopted parents who gave me so much love and didn’t deserve to be killed by Lucius’ rogues.

Once all our gear has been loaded into the vehicles, I proceed to give Lily a big hug, and say goodbye to everyone.

“We will see you soon” Alex says. “In the meantime, take good care of my pack.”

Alex’s grandfather replies for them all “We will do. You need to forget about our pack now. We will take good care of everyone here; you need to concentrate on safely escorting our queen to the Royal Pack.”

“I will do” Alex tells him.

Alex

We have finally started our journey, and I am nervous. This is Lucius’ best opportunity to kidnap Katy or worse. Joseph and I have been planning this for weeks, we are determined to keep her safe.

There is still so much that could go wrong though. Lucius is not a wolf to be underestimated.

Sitting here next to my mate, I just want to hold her close, enjoy the scent of her, her touch, this is the most time we have spent awake together in weeks. As much as I want to relax and revel in being this close to her I can’t I need to remain alert.

Katy

While I rest in Alex’s arms, Joseph is continuing my education on the Royal Pack. We have been travelling for four hours and so far, everything has been quiet. We have encountered a few cars on the road, which have stopped to watch the convoy pass, but so far there has been nothing to suggest that Lucius forces are close by and ready to attack.

I have asked Joseph to tell me more about the ordinary wolves who live in the kingdom. I now know about the senior wolves who will serve on my council and the Royal Betas but I know next to nothing about my people.

“Due to the war we have a large number of warriors in the pack. Over four hundred. They receive combat training every day. They are mostly battle hardened. Even though the war has officially been over for years, the fighting has never really stopped.

Lucius’ wolves carry out raids and acts of sabotage against us and the packs we have alliances with. None of these raids are serious enough to provoke a second war but we have to defend ourselves. We retaliate after each attack. Alex, when he trained with us, went on several of our raiding parties into Black Moon Pack territory.”

“And the rest” I ask.

“Well as I mentioned to you before, outside of the capital, where you will reside in the royal palace, the kingdom has been split into four administrative territories. In the northern territory, the land is mostly covered in forest and the wolves there are hunters, they catch most of the meat that is eaten by the rest of the pack.

The eastern territory is the richest area, which specialises in trade and manufacturing. They produce a lot of the products which we use, and most of the trade with other packs is conducted through them.

In the western territory most of the wolves’ work in farming. They grow most of the food that is consumed within the kingdom.

The southern territory is also mostly farmland, but their wolves are fierce warriors. This is where we recruit most of the wolves for the royal guard.

“The capital itself is not part of any territory. It is governed on your behalf by your chancellor. It is home to the wolves who work in the Royal Household; maintain relationships with other packs and uphold werewolf law. We also have wolves working in education and training, managing the kingdoms finances and human businesses. There is also a hospital that treats injured wolves.

When we arrive, I will arrange for you to spend time with each of the administrative areas so that you can learn more about how they operate.”

“And is there a hierarchy” I ask? I want to know how Omegas are treated, how Emma will be treated.

“It isn’t the same as your old pack. Omegas are not forced to be servants. Many of them are servants by choice, but they also get involved with education and healing. We don’t class submissive wolves as second class, there are many places where their talents can be used” he tells me.

“Good” I say. Relieved that Omegas have opportunities in the pack.

“We will stop for the night at a spot my scouts have chosen as safe. While the warriors set up the camp we will train.”

“Train, are you sure that this is the best time to train?” Alex asks him. “Katy will be tired from our journey wouldn’t it be better to wait until tomorrow morning when she is more refreshed?”

“No. Not for this training. When Lucius attacks he isn’t going to choose a time when Katy rested. It could be in the middle of the night when she is asleep, it could be at the end of the day when she is tired, like today.”

He turns to address me. “You need to be able to react in any situation. I will train you so that you can take down your enemies no matter how tired you feel when they attack.

Tomorrow morning, we will train again, and then I will give you the same training that I provide to my warriors, but tonight will be about survival.”

“OK” I agree. I am tired but I want to be able to defend myself. I don’t want to rely on others to keep me safe.

Alex squeezes my arm. “I will manage the set-up of the camp while you both train” he tells Joseph and me. He opposed my training initially, but he has been nothing but supportive since.