Chapter 69: 69. Meeting The Lycan Queen II

Maisie

There were two Lycan males dressed in black suits in Head Mistress Atlas’s office.

Actually, upon second look, I thought they might be hybrids. They stood erect, sunglasses seated on the crook of their noses, comms attached to their ears.

More importantly, I noticed the emblem coiling behind their ears. A sigil that had the same intricate crest that was attached to Greymoor’s crest. The same sigil that had been at the bottom of the envelope I received yesterday morning.

The Queen’s sigil.

They were the Queen’s guards.

Warning bells went off in my head again and I didn’t take another step into Atlas’s office, choosing instead to remain at the threshold.

Something niggled at the base of my subconscious. Something thrashed in my mind and told me to get the hell out of there. I didn’t know what it was, but I began to take a step back when I slammed into something hard.

I glanced back. It was the second hybrid Lycan. He’d somehow moved from inside the office to block off the entrance.

He had hair as dark as night and when he smiled, it was anything but friendly. "Do step inside, Ms. Adams, and relax. You have nothing to fear. The Prince has sent us to fetch you, is all. Your ride should be arriving in about..." He checked his watch. "Three minutes."

My mind blanks. "The Prince? Soren? But why?"

I couldn’t see the male’s eyes, but I imagined if I could, he might have been blinking down at me. "For your presentation to the Queen, of course. It is her Majesty’s wish to see you before the wedding commences and you must be prepared for her reception."

He’s lying, a voice popped into my head from nowhere. It was that dark, female voice that often came and went whenever she so wished to. Do not go with them.

"I want to speak to Soren. Directly," I said.

Atlas had an incredulous look on her face. "And who are you to be so insolent to demand communication from the Prince?" She had extreme stress lines on her forehead as she looked at the guards and flushed. "My apologies. Adams has the particular habit of running her mouth when you least expect it."

Her eyes returned to me. "Do not give the guards any trouble and sit until your ride comes. I have nearly a thousand other students to attend to—"

"I won’t go anywhere until I speak to Soren," I said, voice hard and steady, even if I felt anything but.

"You cannot refuse the Queen’s summons," the other guard said, canting his head to the side in the most eerie motion. "If you will not come willingly, we have been given orders to bring you in chains if we must."

My body jerked at the danger in his voice and I began backing away from both men, even if there was nowhere to go. "You have been given orders to abduct me?"

Atlas looked disturbed. I could see her trying to place why I was important and why they would need to go through the trouble of trying to abduct me and her mind coming out blank.

She stood, raising her hands in a placating manner as she laughed nervously. "That is... well... I’m sure she will come with you. There is no need for—"

A whirring sound filled the air outside and we collectively glanced out the window to find a freaking helicopter lowering slowly onto the rooftop of the school.

The hybrid behind me tapped the comm against his ear then. "Sure. Package incoming."

Package?!

And then, the hybrid lunged for me.

I hadn’t expected it and when his fingers closed over my arm, panic took over and I was swinging wildly, screaming at the top of my lungs.

A ruckus ensued as they tried to take me. Atlas shrieked and ducked underneath her desk as I began thrashing violently against the men who were uncaring of the fact that I didn’t, in fact, want to go with them, taking things down with me.

Files. Papers. Glass. Furniture. Books.

I was sure after this, Atlas would be more than glad never to see me at her school again.

Managing to slip out of the grasp of the dark haired hybrid, I angled for the now free exit out of Atlas’s office.

Surely, I would be safer out in the open. And they wouldn’t try to abduct me in front of so many witnesses.

I had just made it to the door when a sharp prick pierced the back of my neck.

I gasped, more from surprise than pain. My hand flew up instinctively, fingers brushing the tiny sting just below my hairline. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

I turned around slowly.

The dark haired hybrid stood right behind me, a syringe clutched in his massive hand.

"What... did you do to me?" My voice already sounded wrong. Thick, slow, slurred like I’d guzzled an entire bottle of sedatives.

"An alternative, in case you put up a fight," he answered, tucking the syringe back into his pocket. "We had hoped it wouldn’t come to this. It’ll wear off in an hour, just enough time to reach our destination."

My legs buckled without warning.

I tried to catch myself, but my arms wouldn’t obey. The world tilted violently as I crumpled. Strong arms caught me before I hit the ground, lifting me like I weighed nothing.

"No..." The word came out weak, barely audible.

My body felt distant. Like it belonged to someone else. I could still feel the heat of the other hybrid’s chest against my side, the way my head lolled uselessly against his shoulder, but I couldn’t make anything respond.

My mind was floating away from my body.

I tried to lift my hand. Nothing happened.

I tried to speak again. Only a broken, slurred whimper escaped. "Soren... didn’t... send... you... did he?"

The dark haired hybrid spoke again. "Her Majesty is very eager to meet you, Ms. Adams."

I felt the heat of the morning sun kiss my face as they brought me out to the roof.

The world blurred at the edges. Colors smeared. Sounds stretched.

I was dimly aware of being lifted higher, the roar of the helicopter growing deafening as we approached. Someone strapped me into a seat. Cold metal against my skin. The strap tightening across my chest.

My head fell forward. I couldn’t lift it.

The last thought I had before everything went black was that I really should’ve just left Ashbourne when I got the chance to.