Page 2 of The Queen

“Maybe eventually, but you’ve only been here a week. It would be better to follow your people’s customs and set a good example for now, before you turn their lives upside down.”

As much as I hated it, and did not want to admit it, he was right. It was already a huge transition, going from the Regent to a queen. They trusted the Regent because my mother and father had, but to them, I was just a child. Even at eighteen.

I wiggled my way on to his lap, despite his earlier dismissal, and tugged the lapel of his shirt open to see the green-gold crescent of his mate mark. It was beautiful in the natural light, and I wanted nothing more than to press a kiss to it, but I held myself back. Seeing it shimmering in the suns’ glow only intensified my desire to complete the half-formed mate bond. My desperation dragged the unbidden question from my lips. “When will you bond me? Then you can stay in my room.”

“When you’re ready. When we are ready.“ His arms circled my waist, securing me in place.

“Grey, I am ready.” I faked a pout.

“I’m sure you think so, but it’s not time. If you keep trying to manipulate me with your wiles, I’ll tell Valyx, and you won’t be able to sit for a week.”

Images of my dark, broody alpha spanking me filled my imagination and heat rushed to my cheeks. I squeezed my thighs together, struggling to ease the longing there. Maybe if I was bad enough, I could earn some discipline. But no, they would see through that. I’d tried something similar yesterday, and all it had gotten me was cool politeness.

Grey caught my chin and angled my lips to his, kissing me gently. “I know what you’re thinking, and it won’t work. Behave, and I’ll see about getting you the attention you need.”

“Fine, but it’s very difficult being away from you.” I licked the seam of his mouth, teasing him to deepen the kiss, but he shifted away.

“I’m not immune to you, little one, but I’m not an alpha driven by instinct alone. If I must resist you, I will.” He softened his words by pressing his lips below my ear, but the whispered words that followed cooled my ardor. “I did as we discussed. I’ve gone to the lower levels, and it’s worse there. Food is in short supply, clothes are tattered, there’s very little water. The others are trying to protect you, but you will need to know everything eventually. I warned you this would not be paradise.”

I nestled my head on his shoulder and his arms curled around me. “I thought it might be something like that. What can I do? Why are these things being kept from me?”

“I don’t know, but first you need to eat breakfast. Then we’ll go to the meeting with the Regent. Then we’ll take every day one step at a time,” Grey said as he popped a square of cheese into his mouth.

He offered me a grape, and I nibbled it from his fingers. He was right. I needed to be at my best to tackle the problems of these people. My people.

Chapter Two

Saphyra

After we’d satisfied our hunger, I left a note for Hazel to please make good use of our leftovers, of which there were plenty. I hated to think that it might go to waste when there was already a shortage. My chest tightened, thinking about people going without meals while we ate our fill.

Grey and I headed into the metal-walled corridor. The sound of our boot-steps on the steel floor brought back unpleasant memories of the Hive, but I did my best to ignore the unsettling thoughts. My hand found Grey’s and slipped into it for comfort as we exited the wing where my rooms were, and entered the area known as The Pit.

Hollow echoes drifted up hundreds of feet from deep within the chasm-like atrium. Even with rays from the suns filtering down from a massive skylight above, I couldn’t see the bottom of the chasm beyond the railing. This was the center of Verden’s underground capital. Every layer of the bustling city branched off of the wide, airy shaft.

From the royal wing, we followed the walkway overlooking the fathomless Pit to the corridor that led to the administration ward where the Regent’s office was located.

The normally spacious room looked smaller when packed full of alphas, and the air was thick and claustrophobic with all the testosterone when we walked in.

They were all there, my saviors.

Shadow, mister tall, dark and broody, stood as far away from the door as he could get. His pitch-black eyes drew me in as soon as I walked into the room, and he held me immobile with his half-lidded gaze. My pulse raced with excitement at the gravity of his presence. He’d been so busy the past few days, I hadn’t seen him as much as I would have liked. I pushed down the instinct to rush into his arms. I wondered if this distance was intentional, and it worried me. Maybe something had changed.

I tore my attention away from Shadow and found Ghost, with his silvery white hair spiked back from his pale blue eyes, sprawled casually on a chair, despite the formality of the setting. His carefree smile didn’t hold its usual glimmer, putting me even more on edge.

Lex stood rigid near the large wooden desk. When my eyes met his serious, hazel-green gaze, he bowed with reverence. My thoughts clung to Lex like a drowning person might cling to a floatation device. He was the only one of my alphas that looked like he might tell me what was going on, but before I had a chance to ask, his warm baritone cut off my unspoken words. “Good morning, Your Majesty.”

The other two alphas murmured similar greetings, but I waved them off. “Please, don’t. After everything we’ve been through together, can we not set aside formality?”

The room was charged with emotion, and the tension made me even more nervous. I stepped closer to Grey, taking solace from his quiet calmness.

The door closed behind us, and I whipped around, startled, only to find a cheerfully grinning Titus standing there. His jovial looks belied his actual power as the Regent. He’d been the one in charge of managing Verden’s politics since Altaira had torn my world apart. The vast burden of responsibility hadn’t dampened his spirit at all.

“Oh, but there is reason for formality, Your Majesty. You see, it sets our people’s minds at ease. They are used to a certain order of things and become unsettled when that order is disturbed. There is already so much uncertainty and they appreciate the structure.”

“Structure or no, I would prefer less formality when we’re in private, at least.” My voice wavered with anxiety, but this was what I wanted. I needed to stand up for it.

“Of course, my dear,” Titus said as he walked past his son. Lex was strikingly similar to his father, just a younger version, with more gold in his green eyes and no gray in his blond hair. When they were next to each other, it was easy to see the resemblance.

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