Ivan's Queen

I hum sleepily at the feel of feather-light kisses being pressed across my skin. Sighing blissfully, I become aware of the weight above mine and open my eyes to see Ivan gazing down at me. A handsome smile pulls at the corners of his lips and he leans down to kiss my nose. Chuckling, I wrap my arms around his neck and play with the end of his strands. He closes his eyes just as a husky groan escapes his lips. Nestling his nose into the crook of my neck he inhales deeply while playing with a lock of my hair.

And then his hands start wandering.

I feel them trail downwards and realize that in the middle of the night my shirt had ridden up to reveal my stomach and thighs. He moves to hover above me and the blanket slips off his body. I bite my lip as desire floods me at the sight of his tanned skin and defined muscles. Running my fingertips across his torso I watch him shiver slightly before grabbing one hand and brushing his lips to my knuckles sweetly.

He peppers kisses in a line from beneath my breasts to the top of my underwear which has me squirming underneath him in anticipation. I tangle my hands in his hair as he peels the material off my legs. However, he’s just about to dip down when the door bursts open. In an instant, the blankets are above us and Ivan turns around to release a deafening growl that shakes the foundations of the inn.

“Fuck off, Benno!” He roars and I find myself chuckling yet blushing in embarrassment.

The door slams shut immediately before Ivan gets out of the bed and throws on his shorts. His body trembles in anger and I can see that his beasts are dangerously close to the surface. Sitting up, I catch his wrist and pull him down to press my lips to his. With a pleased growl he takes me into his arms and dominates the kiss hungrily.

Then he marches towards the door and steps outside. Laughing over what had just transpired I leave the warmth of the bed and head into the bathroom to get ready for the day. After I’ve freshened up, I decide to wear a rust colored jumper and tuck it into my black skirt which has gold buttons down the front. I pair it with my combat boots before swinging my bag over my shoulder. By the time I leave the bathroom Ivan returns but his expression remains as pissed off as ever.

“From now on Benno is in the back with the rest of the guards. No arguments!” He snarls before marching into the bathroom with his clothes.

“What did he say?” I chuckle as I pack up our things.

“That the car is here and we leave in ten. Couldn’t he have mind linked me?!” He snaps as he brushes his teeth and changes. “Ruined my fucking morning!”

I frown at the turmoil and fear that slips through our bond. Standing, I stop him as he tries to take the bags from me and pull him into a tight embrace instead. It’s like the tension leaves his body all at once and he sags against me. He wraps his arms around me and we just stand there for a moment.

“What else did he say?” I ask although I have a feeling about what could’ve gotten him so upset.

“Nothing –”

“He didn’t burst into our room as if someone lit a fire under his ass for nothing, Ivan.” I deadpan as I pull away. “Another letter?”

He sighs heavily before nodding. “Another one just addressed to you. There’s more letters threatening you now than they are me and I’m fucking terrified, Amelia.”

I feel fear course through me before I chase away the emotion. I need to be strong for Ivan and causing him more distress won’t help our situation. “Well, we’re going to ask Asher if he’ll help us in this so that will strengthen our numbers. And now that the tour has ended I have no plans to leave our home after we return. Whoever this is will have to enter the castle to get to me and I know you won’t let that happen.”

He nods with a harsh swallow before chuckling breathlessly. “Goddess, you always know the right things to say.”

“You protect me from the world and I protect you from yourself, remember?” I smile up at him reassuringly.

“That’s right.” He whispers as he caresses my cheek.

But a sudden yet timid knock on the door makes his smile drop instantly. He glares murderously in that direction and I can only assume that Benno is behind it. I bite my lip to stifle a laugh and follow Ivan outside as two guards enter the room to grab our bags. The second Benno sees him he turns and disappears. Grinning in amusement I take Ivan’s outstretched hand as he pulls me downstairs and outside after we thank the inn keeper.

We get into the car and are on the main road in a matter of minutes. The village scenery eventually leaves us behind as we travel into the countryside. It’s going to take us about an hour and a half to get to where we need to be. While we travel, Ivan works away on his laptop while I use the time to finish a book I had bought from the market a few days ago.

Sometime later, I look up when the driver slows to a stop at the side of a road. We’re at a dead end with nothing but a dark and uninviting forest waiting for us ahead. Ivan opens my door and helps me out before we start walking into the woods. As we pass the treeline, I feel a suffocating pressure on my chest and struggle to breathe easily. However, it only lasts a minute. I glance up at Ivan in confusion before realizing that the forest was just a glamour to hide one of the portals in this region.

“Watch.” He smirks before tugging on my hand to pull me over the grassy hill.

My jaw drops in surprise when I catch sight of the numerous species making their way through a shimmering oval. I marvel in amazement as I notice the picture in the portal change every time a person uses it. However, my eyes narrow in confusion on a large group of people who tower above everyone else. They wear mostly armor and handmade jewelry which consist of bones.

“Those are orcs and behind them are –” Ivan explains as he helps me down the sharp descent.

“Warlocks?” I mumble curiously before my eyes meet his proud ones.

“Yes, they tap into their powers and use abilities that are called invocations. They can also blast magical energy at their targets when in battle.” He explains while draping an arm around my shoulders. “You’ve been reading?”

I shrug before nodding. “I found the library when I first arrived at the kingdom and decided to learn more about the supernatural world.”

I look up at him when he doesn’t respond but am mindful of where I’m stepping at the same time as we walk towards the portal. Nudging him with my elbow I finally catch his attention and he turns to me with curious eyes.

“Have you traveled to any other country besides The Netherlands and the States?” He asks and the random question surprises me.

“No, I would love to though. I wanted to take a year out before joining college to travel as much of the world as possible.” I sigh wistfully with my gaze focused straight ahead. “What about you?”

“Just Russia and Berlin.” He replies with a shake of his head. “I wanted to travel too and maybe go to college somewhere outside of America but then I shifted.”

He rolls his eyes and huffs jokingly which makes me giggle and wrap my arm around his waist. “You don’t like being a hybrid and ruling a kingdom?”

“It’s okay but dad hated ruling so the second Ayla and I shifted he was itching to pass it on to us and be done with it all. We had our own dreams too but we had to understand what was required of us. We aren’t normal kids, we are heirs to the throne. One of us had to take responsibility.” He sighs with a faraway look in his eyes.

“Why did he hate it? Couldn’t he have waited a while before passing it over to you?” I frown up at him in confusion. I had never heard this story but then again, uncle Romanov never talks about that time of his life.

“Remember when I told you that dad can’t control his vampire as easily as I can?” He continues when I nod. “Well, a long time ago his vampire took full control when he found out that my grandparents were murdered by one of the clans. His werewolf and human sides were completely blocked. He ended up ruling the Vampire Kingdom and seeking revenge on the families involved in the murder. He caused so much destruction and chaos that when dad was finally given control he was horrified to see what he had done. Dad then found the lost heir to the throne and relinquished all rights to Julius who was Asher’s father. He ended up in Russia where he found his siblings, trained and eventually took over the Lycan Kingdom and The Renascence Pack in the USA.”

“But, why did he not live in the Lycan Kingdom?”

“I guess being in a castle and ruling a kingdom reminded him of his past. When our beasts take over we don’t forget what they do. It’s like we’re sitting in the back of their minds and watching everything. Dad would only visit when there was something important to do and other than that he would handle everything from the pack at home.” He explains as his hand slips from my shoulder to rest on my hip. “Mom didn’t even know about the kingdom.”

“What?!” I exclaim as I stare at him with wide eyes.

He chuckles and a humorous glint shines bright in his eyes. “Since dad hated it so much he never wanted to spend more time than necessary at the castle. But mom found out that he was going to be gone for more than a month and demanded he take her with him. When dad told her where they were going she was furious.”

“Oh my God!” I laugh as I imagine how that must have went. “But what about Ayla? Did she not want to rule?”

“She was considering it but her vampire is more dominant like dad’s so she was very hesitant and scared. But then she found Asher before we reached a decision on who would be taking over the throne and the rest is history.”

I remember my conversation with Ayla before she left when she told me about Asher and their story. I’m excited to see the Antonov’s again since we met very briefly at the wedding.

Ivan and I finally reach the portal and his hand tightens around mine. Smiling up at him, I wait for him to think of the place we need to go and watch as the image changes. It’s a little distorted because of the shimmering but from what I can see it’s quite dark. Maybe it’s night time there? I wonder to myself.

We step across and my jaw drops at the sight before me. I only have one word to describe it all, dark. There is no light and it’s quite cold. The clouds are a stormy grey as they drift across the sky. Because of the scenery I expected everything to have a gloomy feel but no, this realm has a dangerous vibe to it.

“Come, let’s get inside.” Ivan snaps me out of my trance as he guides me to a waiting car that I hadn’t noticed.

“Why is everything so…”

Ivan looks at me with understanding as I pull my seat belt on. “There’s no sun. It burns the skin of vampires, remember?”

“But…how is this possible?”

“A group of powerful, elder witches were tasked with creating our realms. I guess it made sense to exclude the sun here.” He shrugs before placing a hand over my thigh. “Ayla has grown to tolerate it but she still has moments where she can’t handle it and travels to our kingdom or back home.”

I shudder at the warmth emitting from his skin as crazy tingles spread across my thigh which makes me bite my lip so that I don’t moan embarrassingly loud. He turns to look at me in question and those forest green eyes that I love so much twinkle with mischievousness. I watch as a devilish smile spreads across his kissable lips and glare at him when his hand travels higher and higher.

“Are you feeling okay, little mate?” He asks through our mind link before gripping my leg tighter when I try and wrench his hand off me.

“Stop it!”

“Stop what?” He questions innocently while trailing his index finger across the inside of my thigh.

Why did I ever think wearing a skirt was a good idea? I think to myself before gasping in shock when his finger tugs on the waistband of my panties. I swat his arm with wide eyes when he tries to uncover my weeping core. Punching his arm and whispering for him to behave I look up to meet the driver’s gaze in the rear-view mirror. Blushing fiercely in embarrassment I scoot to the other side and cover my face with my hands. The driver must have guessed what was going on, I wonder to myself. How mortifying!

A possessive growl echoes in the car as Ivan pulls me back into his arms. The driver’s eyes are now fixated on the road and I notice the beads of sweat building across his brow as Ivan’s furious expression and red eyes reflect in the mirror.

“Your fault.” I huff as I elbow him to try and escape his grasp but it only makes him hold me tighter in response.

“I can’t have a little fun with my mate?” He deadpans while staring at me intensely.

“We’re in a car! You are ridiculous!” I all but shout into the mind link and my cheeks resemble the shade of a fire truck when he only grins boyishly in return.

“I love you, sunshine.” He coos mockingly which makes me struggle even harder to get off his lap.

“Yeah? Well, I’m not your biggest fan right now.” I mutter in defeat before crossing my arms.

“Wait until we get back home, you’ll fucking adore me.” He bites his lip as his dark eyes roam over my body. The hint of golden lust makes me gulp and my body trembles in desire.

“You’re on the couch!” I poke his chest with a deep frown. “He could probably guess what you were doing! It was embarrassing, Ivan!”

He matches my glare and rests his forehead against mine. “Just for that little threat, I’m going to punish you so bad you won’t be able to walk for a week.”

“You’re crazy.” I whisper aloud but my eyes flutter shut when he brushes his lips against mine.

“Only about you.” He winks before pulling away. “Come on, we’ve arrived.”

I grumble under my breath as I hop out of the car, allowing him to take my hand and intertwine it with his. The castle stands tall before us with steps leading up to the main entrance. The building is made entirely out of stone with evident Romanian influences in its architecture. Tall towers stand proudly and are coated in black at the very top. Evergreen trees surround the castle but the gardens lined with stone walls are plain with no growing flowers or plants. Guards in black gear are also stationed all around to protect the occupants from any ambushes.

Two guards salute us in greeting but as soon as the doors open we hear a masculine voice roar Ayla’s name in pure fury.