Page 11 of The Queen

When I heard voices approaching, I considered hiding in a closet, but my camouflage needed testing. I might as well get it over with.

I tugged my hood forward and lowered my gaze to the floor as I continued walking. The sound of conversation grew closer and then moved past without any pause or hesitation. It was working. I’d done it. Two alphas down, the rest of the floor to go.

Rows of numbered apartments lined the hallways, much like the level above, interspersed with open common spaces. Most of the seating areas were empty, and I continued through the passageways unnoticed. The primary layout of the corridors was the same as my floor, but if I wasn’t used to traversing the winding, unremarkable halls of the Hive, it would’ve been easy to get lost.

The closer to the Pit I came, the more traffic there was, but no one paid me any attention. Scents swirled thick in the air, tickling the back of my throat. Nothing smelled familiar or appealing, so I carried on around the central chasm, careful to stay out of everyone’s path.

There was a pattern to the movement of alphas on this level. They all seemed to be going to, or coming from, the corridor across the way. This was a bad idea, but if Ghost was anywhere, it would probably be there.

Skirting the wall and staying out from underfoot, I slipped into the passageway, only to see a giant dining hall open up in front of me, packed to the rafters with alphas. Without fail, my eyes found Lex and Shadow sitting at a table on the far side of the room, just starting on full plates of food and holding the attention of everyone around them.

They were in their element, yet neither seemed thrilled about that treatment based on the looks on their faces. Shadow’s glittering black gaze rose from his plate and pinned me in place. My heart leapt like a startled bird and took flight behind my ribcage. Oh Stars, if he caught me down here, I was going to be in trouble. Like the not sitting down for a week kind of trouble. Maybe I should wait, just to make sure he did notice me. The wild thumping in my chest was joined by the warm flutter of butterflies somewhat lower. That wasn’t what I’d come for, though.

I hid deeper in my hood and hurried back the way I came, hoping Shadow’s attention was drawn in my direction by something else, and he hadn’t actually noticed me. I didn’t slow down until I was on the opposite side of the Pit with plenty of options for escape if he tried to follow.

Ghost wasn’t with my other alphas, but he was the one I was looking for, and I was running out of time. There was nothing for it. I was going to have to take a gamble.

An older alpha was making his way toward the mess hall alone. He seemed like a good option, so when he got close enough, I called out to him. “Excuse me, have you seen Gh—Axion? I have, uhh.” Keep it together, Saphyra. “I have an urgent message for him.”

I stumbled over his real name, but no one would know who Ghost was. I just hoped this alpha didn’t ask too many questions.

The scent of old boots hit me as he paused and his eyes raked over my oversized jacket. A knowing grin pulled at his lips. “I see. And what sort of message would it be that can’t be sent by way of a communicator?” he asked, his lecherous smile growing wider.

I had a feeling he knew something was off. I needed to hurry this along before he figured out my ruse. “He didn’t answer his communicator. It’s urgent. For the queen,” I replied, hoping that I hadn’t made it worse.

His crinkled eyes went wide, and his whole demeanor changed. He stood up straighter, and the leering expression vanished. “Oh! You shoulda said so in the first place. It’s mealtime, but it looks like you’ve just come from the mess. He’s probably in his quarters tinkerin’ with his technology if he wasn’t eatin’.”

“I apologize, but I’m newly assigned. Could you point me to where that would be?” I had no idea how often people were reassigned or if room numbers were common knowledge. I hoped that the recent changes in staff that my arrival had caused would make this seem less suspicious.

Did his eyes narrow, or was it my paranoia?

“Last apartment on the left, down the northwest corridor,” he said, and waited expectantly.

I had no idea what he was waiting for, so I mumbled, “Thank you,” and bobbed a quick curtsy like I had seen my maids do.

Having no interest in sticking around to see if he bought it, I turned and scurried away. When I threw a look over my shoulder, the older alpha was still standing where I’d left him, watching me go. I darted into the hall he’d indicated and hurried down the passageway.

By the time I made it to the end of the hall, I was panting. The corridors were long, and my cardio could use work, so I took a moment to catch my breath and make myself more presentable. Or as presentable as I was going to be after rushing all the way to the far reaches of the city.

I debated knocking, but decided it would be more fun to surprise him, so I punched in Violet’s code, gambling that it would work on the residences. The indicator light blinked green, and the lock disengaged. I almost couldn’t believe that had worked. The latch turned easily under my hand, and I pulled the door open.

The scent of sea breeze washed over me, distracting me, and my body tingled as I filled my lungs. Stars, I loved that smell. Shaking off the effect, I dragged my focus back to the task at hand. The cabin was well lit with overhead lights, but the first thing that caught my attention was the far wall. It was completely covered with screens. Lines of white and green code scrolled across banks of dark monitors, and tiny lights blinked from racks of servers all arranged in rows inside locked cages.

The next thing I saw was a massive bed piled with thick furs and the pale creamy shoulder of a naked woman frantically dragging blankets over herself. A pair of fright-filled brown eyes peered out from the edge of the blanket, soon followed by cold blue eyes rimmed with long feminine lashes. Those were not the blue eyes I was looking for.“Oh, I’m terribly sorry. I must have the wrong room,” I said, sputtering as I scrambled back out of the door. Those eyes, though, I recognized those eyes, and it made me pause. “Hazel? Aster? Is that you?”

Securly tucked beneath the fur coverlet, Hazel’s head poked over the edge. “Yes, Your Majesty. We’re here.”

Aster’s eyes narrowed, but didn’t reply. She didn’t need to say anything. I could see easily enough who it was. It was curious that two maids were naked in a bed in the military quarters, though.

As if my confusion summoned the answer from the stars, a door I hadn’t noticed swung open and out stepped the alpha I’d been looking for. Droplets of water slid down his bare chest, disappearing beneath the length of terry cloth wrapped low around his hips.

His brilliant smile and cheerful words pierced through my confused haze. “Hey, princess. You aren’t supposed to be out of your room. What are you doing all the way down here?”

Immediately, I understood what was happening and bile rose in my throat. There were two naked women in his bed and he was fresh from the shower. What else could it be?

With nausea roiling in my stomach, I kept my shaking voice as steady as possible. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.” My lungs seized, I could barely catch my breath. What was going on? How could this be happening?I had to go. I couldn’t let them see how much this shattered me. It was none of my business. I’d just arrived, and they had a whole life of history here. Unshed tears burned my eyes as I backed up and swung the door shut.

In my haste to escape, I wasn’t looking where I was going. When I spun around to run, I slammed face first into a solid wall. No, not a wall. A low growl and the scent of campfires and night sky crashed over me, soothing and frightening all at once. My gaze tracked up the black clad chest, muscular neck and sharp, stubble covered jaw, into the dark abyss of Shadow’s eyes.

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