"I command you in the name of the Queen to let me in." Jessica declared, hands planted firmly on her hips like she was ready to fight the entire border patrol single-handedly.

The four gammas standing in front of her scowled even harder. Their massive arms were crossed, eyes narrowed, looking like they were one wrong word away from tossing her back across the border like a stray cat.

The only reason Jessica still had her head attached to her shoulders was the part where she had mentioned the Queen. That had bought her approximately five minutes of not being physically removed from the border, and she could feel that grace period running out.

She had made a decision last night, after Kira’s phone call, after hearing everything that had happened, seeing Derek and Ruby, the staircase push, the hospital, all of it, and the decision had been simple. She was going to Dravengard. Full stop.

No further discussion required.

The fact that werewolves on Lycan territory was the supernatural equivalent of walking into a lion’s den wearing a meat suit had occurred to her.

She had considered it for approximately forty-five seconds and then decided to go anyway.

Ginger, her wolf, had been absolutely useless in the decision-making process because Ginger had her own reasons for wanting to go to Dravengard that had nothing to do with Kira and everything to do with a certain infuriating blonde Lycan who had kissed the back of another girl’s hand at a fundraiser.

Jessica was furious at Kai. Ginger was decidedly not furious. Ginger was practically vibrating with joy.

She had planned this perfectly in her head. Arrive at the border, call Kira, get waved through, simple.

What she had not planned for was Kira’s phone going unanswered, which left her standing at the official border of Dravengard with four gammas who looked like they bench-pressed small cars for fun and absolutely no backup plan.

She tried again.

"Okay. My name is Jessica Ashfang." She spoke slowly and clearly, the way you spoke to someone you suspected might not be listening.

"Kira Wolfe, née Thornclaw, is my best friend. She was involved in an accident and I need to see her. That is my entire reason for being here. I am not a threat. I am five foot four and I left my weapons at home."

"Young lady," one of the gammas said, in the tone of a man who doesn’t tolerate nonsense, "I would strongly advise you to turn around and walk away while you still can."

Jessica stared at him. "Did you just call me young lady?"

He stared back.

She pulled out her phone. "Fine. Fine. I have photographic evidence."

She swiped to her camera roll, found a photo, and held the screen up.

It was the photo of her and Kira at university, arms around each other, matching grins. "That is me. That is the Queen. We are friends. Real, actual, have-each-other’s-embarrassing-photos friends." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

The gammas looked at the photo. Then at Jessica, but still made no move to budge.

"You still don’t believe me? Come on, guys. I don’t even look like a threat. I cry during romantic comedies. Just mind-link the king or someone. Please?"

Silence.

"I know I don’t look like someone who would be friends with a queen," Jessica continued, because she had never in her life been able to stop talking when silence would have served her better.

"I don’t have the regal thing going on, I accept that. But Kira doesn’t discriminate. That is literally one of her best qualities. She will be friends with anyone."

She paused. "That is not the point. The point is that I know her. Properly know her. Her favourite colour is teal green. Her favourite food is spicy noodles, specifically the ones from a stall at The Central market. She keeps a scoreboard of wins against people she argues with..."

She was running now, the words coming out faster than she could properly organise them. "She has a scar on her left knee from when she fell off a wall she had absolutely no business climbing in the first place. She—"

The sound of a car coming behind her made her stop.

The gammas straightened instantly, hands moving, and the barrier began to lift. Jessica turned, assuming the car would drive through and leave her standing there in her ongoing humiliation.

But to her surprise, the car didn’t drive through, it stopped.

Ginger went completely haywire.

The howling started somewhere in Jessica’s chest and radiated outward in waves that she had no control over whatsoever, her wolf spinning in frantic, joyful circles and chanting one word over and over like a song she already knew every word to.

Mate. Mate. Mate. Mate.

The driver’s door opened.

Everything slowed down.

Jessica was aware, distantly, that this was not actually happening in slow motion, that time was continuing at its normal speed, but her brain had apparently decided to process this particular moment at reduced capacity.

She watched Kai unfold himself from the car, one hand going up and running through his hair, and the rest of her higher functions quietly went on leave.

He was wearing a casual black t-shirt that stretched across his broad shoulders, black ripped jeans, and sunglasses that gave him that dangerous, bad-boy edge.

He looked effortlessly, infuriatingly, unreasonably good, like he’d just rolled out of bed and still managed to look perfect.

Jessica stood there, frozen, not realising her mouth had fallen slightly open. A tiny bit of drool might have escaped. She wasn’t sure. Her brain had officially stopped working.

Kai pulled off his sunglasses, as he approached her, revealing those bright blue eyes.

Jessica’s cheeks burned bright red. She quickly looked away, mortified, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. Her wolf was still howling happily inside her head while her human side wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

Kai’s lips curled into that familiar cocky smirk as he took her in.

"Don’t worry," he said, sliding his sunglasses into his collar. His eyes were dancing with amusement. "I know I have that effect on people."

Then, he winked at her.