A Queen Among Darkness: Chapter Forty-Nine - Valeria

A Queen Among Darkness: Chapter Forty-Nine - Valeria
Stepping through the portal I find myself in the middle of a forest, but the temperature is surprisingly warm and even past the canopy of the trees I can tell the sun is beating down. I see a tree next to the portal and pull out one of my throwing knives and carve an X into the tree, so I know where to return to. If I return that is.

I slip the knife back into its holster and begin walking through the forest, not having a clue where I’m going but one thing I know for certain is these wolves will find me before I find them. A disadvantage of hunting supernatural beings is they have better senses than you do. I take another step and wince feeling an ache in my ribs. That fight with Mateo did a number on me, and as satisfying as it was to get some of this anger out, I should have just shot him and saved myself the time and energy. Worse than the aches from our fight is the unbearable pain in my chest that has been festering since Isolde rejected me. I feel completely drained, like someone sucked the life out of me, which in a way is exactly what happened and as much as I would love to crawl in a ball and just let the pain take over, I can’t do that. Not when Izzy’s life is on the line.

I’m pulled from my thoughts when I hear the snapping of twigs in multiple directions, and I know they’ve found me. I halt in my tracks and raise my arms in surrender.

“As cliché as this sounds, I come in peace,” I say calmly.

As I stand patiently, a man walks out from behind a tree adjusting a pair of shorts around his hips. He’s 5’9” with short, cropped brown hair, glowing skin, blue eyes and an impressive six-pack. He actually has a very friendly face… Wow, I have never thought that when standing face to face with a mutolupus before. I usually would just sneer, fight and make snide remarks in my head or out loud, but since Izzy has opened my eyes I can see them as real people, and I can’t believe I wasn’t able to before. This guy actually seems nice… I really am a fucking monster. Well, that monster is needed right now, so whatever.

“Never heard a venatrix offer peace before,” he says curiously as he looks me over. His brows dip into a frown as he takes in the swelling and bruising appearing on my face.

“What makes you so sure I’m a venatrix?” I ask as I notice four large four-foot wolves surrounding me.

“Am I wrong?” He calmly asks.

“Nope, you’re right on the money, but to be fair, I’m retired.”

He glances at the weapons holstered to my thighs and quirks his eyebrow, “That doesn’t look retired.”

“Those aren’t for you. Look, I’m running out of time, and I need to speak to your Alpha about someone who I’ve been told resides in your pack. You can take my weapons, you can handcuff me if it makes you feel better, whatever you need, but this is an emergency and I need your help,” I plead with unveiled desperation. I told Alaric I would beg, and I meant it. Izzy has been falling on swords her whole life, now it’s my turn to do it for her.

The man before me goes silent as his eyes glaze over lazily, which from my experience means he’s contacting someone. A moment later his eyes return to normal, and he focuses on me, “Our Alpha has agreed to speak with you. I’ll escort you to her office.”

Her? Did he say her? I didn’t know there were any female Alphas in North America. I know of some in Norway and Sweden and places like that, but not in North America, and especially not the in the United States, land of the free, home of the woman haters. Suddenly my chances of being listened to just went up.

The man in front of me turns on his heel and begins walking, and I quickly follow behind him while the wolves follow behind us.

“You’re not going to confiscate my weapons?” I ask in surprise.

“From the smell of them, those things would be more useful against a makkari,” he points out. That’s one hell of a nose.

“Unless I shot you in the head or heart,” I say.

“True, but even if you fired off every round in those guns, by the time you were done you’d be in enemy territory surrounded by wolves who would all want your blood. If you came here beaten and seeking help, which I believe you did, I doubt you’d do something that stupid,” he points out.

“You’re very observant,” I comment.

“Thank you,” he smiles cheerfully.

“Anyone ever tell you; you look like Taron Edgerton?” I ask as we continue to walk.

He chuckles, “All the time. I’m pretty used to it. I’m Beta Eric,” he smiles offering me his hand. Okay, so I’m not used to wolves being this friendly, but I guess I can’t expect them to be friendly when I’m firing shots at them.

I shake his hand, “Valeria, and thank you for hearing me out.”

“I get the feeling you wouldn’t be here if you weren’t desperate, and you made our Alpha curious, so…” he shrugs.

“I am desperate. But even if I weren’t, I wouldn’t hurt you,” I say sincerely.

“Can I ask why?”

“Someone opened my eyes to see you’re not the monsters I was made to think you were,” I say sadly, remembering everything Izzy has been teaching me. I’d give anything to hear her voice right now. To hear one of her captivating stories of the supernatural world. She always made them sound even more magical than they already were. What if I never get to hear them again?

“Are you okay?” I hear him ask in concern.

It’s not till I hear his voice that I realise tears are falling from my eyes and I’m clutching my chest painfully. Stupid fucking rejection. I take a breath and shake it off and wipe away my tears.

“It’s been a shitty day.”

He continues to look at me with concern but doesn’t press the issue, thankfully.

We pass the tree line and I now notice the massive training field filled with people doing what the field was designed for; training. There are wolves sparring, people sparring, and then people sparring with wolves. That doesn't shock me though. What shocks me is they're not the only creatures sparring. There is a hell of a lot of nagata sparring as well. You don't see this every day. Eric’s right. Even if I emptied all my clips, I’d never make it out alive.

I’m escorted past the field where I get a few hairy eyeballs thrown my way. Some just looking on curiously, but others looking ready to chew me up and spit me out. I might have killed relatives of theirs for all I know, so it’s not like I don’t have this coming. But I can handle it. I’d walk through fire for Izzy, but this is the next best thing.

Eric leads me to a large four-story mansion. It’s very beautiful. Old but well-maintained. Though some elements of the structure seem newer than others, so you can tell it’s been updated over the years. We get to the backdoor and I turn just as the four wolves come to a halt.

“I can take her from here, you can return to your posts,” Eric instructs. Each wolf nods their giant head and runs back to the forest in a blur. Sometimes I forget how fast they are. For the first time, I realise how incredible that is.

We step through a large open glass sliding door and make our way through the house. It’s absolutely stunning in here, and the whole place smells like food. My stomach snarls in response and I realise I haven’t eaten today. I walk past more onlookers, who are all whispering to each other as they stare right at me. I assume this is what school felt like, but I wouldn’t know since I was home schooled.

We make our way up several flights of stairs until we get to a door on the fourth floor. Eric presses a button on the side of the door and a moment later the door clicks open. How modern. We step into a quaint little office of rich browns and creams. It feels so cosy and inviting. More like a study than an office. I look past Eric to see a 5’8” blonde woman standing behind the desk exuding elegance and authority. Her hair is in a fishtail braid that comes over her shoulder and she’s wearing black leggings, a black sports bra, and a green sports jacket over the top but left open. She also has intense turquoise blue eyes. There’s also a guy standing beside her, who is 6’1” with olive skin, a bushy beard and brown hair up in a bun. He’s wearing navy blue business slacks and a pale blue business shirt with sleeves rolled up that are exposing parts of a very impressive tattoo. It almost looks like the colours are shifting in the light. Even fully clothed I can tell he is just a walking sculpture.