The Queen's Slave (Book 1)

Seventeen: The Hunt

"But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light."

-Mark 13:24

I never thought I would feel the cold forest soil underneath my feet again. I never thought I'd hear the birds whistle or the great trees crack and moan as they stretched out their boughs to greet my fur. Feeling it now, was just like feeling it the first time.

When my mother would talk about me as a baby, more-often than not, I was a wolf pup instead of a human baby. It exasperated her. Especially in the moments of my toddler years when she'd draw me a bath and right in the middle of it I'd shift. For as long as I can remember, I'd always been a wolf. I wasn't human or wolf, but a perfect mixture.

Although, in many more ways I was more wolf than human. The wolves in my family dated back a thousand years, but when the vampires surfaced shortly after, our wolves diminished, settling within our human skin until there was only human left. The last thirty generations of our family held no wolf traits at all, until my mother gave birth to a baby girl with sky blue eyes. I wasn't entirely sure why I was the way I was, or how I even came to be in the first place.

I knew one thing for sure, I was the mate to the queen, whether this was a blessing or curse was solely up to me.

"Halt!" Elizabeth's cry of command had my paws skidding to a stop across the stone, my leg muscles were bunched in preparation to leap across the wide space that spanned a hundred foot drop. We had been steadily climbing the mountain for close to three days now, but the scent of Raror was fading. I never left my wolf form, much to Elizabeth's irritation. As for the guards, my wolf's head nearly reached their chests, therefore they gave me a wide birth.

I paused, lifting my head and swiveling my ears in her direction. My bright yellow clashed with her gold, and almost immediately the bond sprung to life between us, causing a deep rumble to gather in my chest as a breeze lightly swept through my fur. Her guards had stopped as well, and were gathered around her from where she sat perched on Mercury. We'd taken about thirty with us, taking no chances. Raror was now the enemy.

"The horses cannot cross that ravine, and it is getting dark. Let's settle down for the night." At her words, the guards began to unpack, readying camp for the night. Frustration boiled in my chest, escaping in a low growl. I would have to shift to tell her that the scent was fading, but I had no desire to be in my vulnerable human body right then. Then again, whenever did I truly get what I wanted?

I refused to make any sound as my body reshaped it's new form, although every time I wanted to scream into the damp ground. It was agonizing to split every hair, bone and molecule, apart. Especially after spending so much time in this form. My wolf didn't want to relinquish control. But finally, I was me again. Flashes of black and white, along with a soft whisper of wind we're all that was left of me when I forced my new body off the ground. The cold air against my bare skin was startling. Nonetheless, I didn't cower under the guard's interested gazes. Nudity didn't really bother me, this body did.

My voice was still guttural when I spoke. "The scent is fading. If I stop now or it rains, it could fade altogether. We cannot let him get away." Pain flashed through my mind as flashes of that night continued to haunt me. I feared that I would never escape the torture of feeling his skin against mine. The wolf in me snarled, angry that we'd been so vulnerable.