Page 6 of Midnight Deception

“Her Majesty, Queen Iris, Queen of Witches,” Luna introduces, her voice louder than what should be possible, either by magic or the acoustics of the room. She then turns towards me, and my breath catches in my throat. “Laelia of the werewolves.”

There’s a hissing sound around the room, and I feel the atmosphere turn dangerous as the static of magic sizzles in the air. I should have expected it, since our kind are mortal enemies, yet the way Luna spoke to me as though she didn’t care what I was made a tiny part of me hope this reception would be warmer.

That was a big mistake, one I won’t be making again, primarily because I’ll be dead. I’m going to die here. They stole me away just to kill me because I dare have their power. There’s something strangely apt about this, almost mirroring the night I was introduced to the council of wolves. They also wanted me dead because I wasn’t enough werewolf for them, and now here I am, amongst the witches, withtoo muchwolf blood.

“Bow,” a voice hisses in my ear, which I immediately identify as belonging to Atlas, Luna’s cousin. I’ve still not seen the male, but the feeling of his hatred is one I can’t forget. Stiffening, I grit my teeth against the disgust in his voice, wanting to turn around and growl in his face for daring to get so close to me.

However, in a room full of witches who seem to hate me, I know I can’t risk it. Taking a deep breath, I force my face into a neutral expression and drop into a short bow. When I stand, the queen is watching me with a mixture of approval and interest, like I’m a shiny new toy for her to play with.

“So,” she purrs, tapping her long nails on the edge of the throne, the noise making me twitch, “you’re the little wolf we’ve been searching for.” She looks me up and down, and I get the distinct impression that she was expecting someone different, and she’s disappointed with what she finds. “You’ve been a difficult one to track down,” she continues. “I have the best trackers in the witching world, yet you still evaded us.”

Although she chides me lightly, she smiles to take the worst of the sting from her words. At least, that’s what I’m sure she wants everyone to think. It might have worked on me, too, if a warning tingle didn’t make its way down the length of my spine from the goddess. I’d be a fool to ignore it, and I look past the regal, put-together façade the queen wears and see the seething frustration she’s attempting to hide.

Be careful, daughter, the goddess whispers in my mind, and I remember what Kato told me about telling the truth. Perhaps it was more than just him ordering me to tell the truth, but a warning.

Keeping all of this in mind, I let my lips quirk up into a small smile that I don’t feel and clasp my hands in front of me. “I would apologise, Your Majesty, but I knew nothing of this until recently. I didn’t even know witches existed.”

There’s a stunned silence, and even the queen seems taken aback. Without a word, she glances over her shoulder to a dark-haired male I’d not noticed until now, who nods his head slowly.

“She speaks the truth.”

I shudder at the sound of his voice, quiet and croaky, like he’s been swallowing acid and each word is painful. Examining him for a moment, I quickly look away when his solid black eyes meet mine, sending a shock through me so violently I almost flinch away.

The queen nods and returns her attention to me, apparently satisfied. The male must be able to read truths and tell the queen when someone is lying. Kano’s warning makes more sense now. I hadn’t intended on lying, but now that I know any mistruth will be discovered, it puts me even further on edge. That feeling isn’t helped by the fact that she’s watching me like I’m a strange new discovery and she can’t decide if she’s amused or gobsmacked.

A low murmur of whispers from the gathered witches seems to rouse her from her thoughts, and she quickly pulls herself together. Sitting forward, she pins me with a stare of disbelief. “Your people have kept you in the dark all this time?”

The judgement in her voice has my hackles rising. Sure, my family was wrong to do what they did, but I understand their motives. The queen doesn’t know them or me, so how dare she judge them when they’ve done more for me than anyone else ever has?

“Yes.” My voice is clipped as I bristle with indignation. “My family was trying to protect me.”

“Your family?” The queen raises a brow and lets out a laugh of disbelief. “None of thosemuttswere your family.” Her face twists as she speaks, letting her true feelings show. Seeming to realise that her composure has slipped and she’s being watched, she takes a deep breath and sits up straight. “No, you have the blood of a great and powerful family of witches. The fact that you’ve been living in a forest for the last twenty-one years with no idea who you really are… It’s barbaric.”

Barbaric, that’s what she thinks of my past. My life in the forest was simple, but it was happy. I was loved unconditionally, and despite my differences, I was accepted. No matter how I explain it, she’s never going to accept that a life where I had no knowledge of my heritage was a happy one, but I can’t let this lie.

“I was abandoned.” Putting emphasis on the last word to make sure she understands, I shake my head, my entire body feeling stiff as my frustration turns to anger. Narrowing my eyes, I focus solely on her, briefly forgetting about our audience. “My birth mother didn’t want me, so my adoptive father, mytruefather, took me in and raised me as his own.” Pressing my hands to my chest, I attempt to hold back the longing and grief I feel at being separated from those I love. “Yes, they should have told me the truth of what I was, but my pack has only ever loved me and looked out for me. Sharing blood with someone doesn’t make them family.”

Kano makes a slight noise behind me, and I can’t decide if he doesn’t agree with my last statement or is surprised by my gall at speaking to his queen that way. I don’t look back to take in his expression though, keeping my eyes locked on the queen.

“You have to earn that title,” I continue, surprised by the strength and clarity in my voice, “and the woman who abandoned me certainly didn’t.”

Her arms fall limply to her sides, and the fight seems to drain from the queen. A vacant expression twists her face with grief, her silver eyes distant as she gets lost in the past. It doesn’t last long, and when she returns to herself and meets my gaze, she seems different.

“That’s not true.” Her voice cracks, and she takes a deep breath before speaking again. “Your birth mother wanted you badly enough to die so you might live.”

ChapterThree

Her comment hits me like a ton of bricks. Taking a step backwards, I only stop when a gentle hand lands in the small of my back—Kano. It stops me from retreating any farther, and to anyone looking on, they might think that’s exactly what he was doing. However, I think the gesture was offered in support, and strangely, it helps ground me.

“She’s dead?”

I might not have known her, and I didn’t need her, but I had wondered if I might see her here, and if I did, I had several questions I wanted to ask. That will never happen now. Honestly, I’m surprised at how hard this news has hit me. I might not have cared if I never met her, and I fully believed that when I was living with my family, but actually hearing that she’s dead… It would explain why she never came for me. I have so many questions. When did she die? Why did she die? What was she protecting me from?

The queen seems to mourn her, which might mean that she knew my mother personally. Can she give me these answers?

Her expression softens slightly at my shock, and a tiny smile pulls at her lips. “Yes. Your mother was my closest friend,” she explains, her gaze slipping down as she gets lost in a memory. Letting out a quiet, shaky sigh, she lifts her head again, and her eyes are hard once more. “However, then she did the unthinkable and had a relationship with a wolf—resulting in you.”

The shifts in her moods are giving me whiplash. One moment she’s regal and calm, then she’s frustrated and grieving before going back to being cold and in control.

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