The Wolf Queen (The Queen's Slave, Book 2)

Forty One: The Bargainer

"Make one move towards her and the only message you'll be sending back to your ruler is my foot up your ass." The man, who I've affectionately named "dickweed," snapped his head around at the sound of my voice, still hoarse from disuse.

"Watch your mouth slave." He sneered, mistaking the red color of my cloak for that of a palace slave. Oh the irony. A thrill went down my spine as rage turned his face an unhealthy shade of purple, time slowing down when his hand flashed out, intending to strike me. At the back of my mind I could feel Kore, her soul burning with cold fury.

"Make him pay." She purred, and so I did.

I caught his arm easily, twisting the limb behind his back, crushing the bones in his wrist. Gone was the girl who let everyone walk all over her, gone was the woman who was ashamed of her scars. I had faced death and returned from the aether, and nothing would keep me from redemption, certainly not this sniveling mess of a man before me. I reveled in the sound of his screams and met the eyes of the crowd, allowing a toothy smile to fill my face as the pack came forward, forming a half circle around me. The vampire whimpered pathetically as I lowered him face down into the dirt, motioning for Emilee to come forward. Her white fur was a beacon in the beige landscape, her green eyes flashing, canines dripping saliva.

"Hold him." I loudly instructed and whispers broke out among the crowd as they finally recognized us for who we were.

"The wolf queen."

"I thought she was dead?"

A human to my right caught my attention as he breathed out the words in awe, his cheeks paling when he caught me looking. I looked away and caught the gaze of the crowd, my voice sharpening into a guttural warning. Elizabeth stepped up beside me and a whole new wave of whispers broke out as the crowd no doubt recognized her for who she used to be.

"I suggest you cooperate with us or this will not bode well for your survival." I knew I was taking a big risk with such a threat, and it was not at all empty, but I had no time for such trivial drama. Not when war was brewing at our fingertips. "I believe your leader owes us her presence," I stepped on the man's broken wrist and he screamed, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Or does she usually hide behind the spines of weak men?"

"I owe you nothing, girl."

Emilee growled and the crowd parted as a slender woman walked through, the sun flashing across her stunningly complexion. The first thing that drew me to her was her eyes, exotically slanted and so deep a green, they reminded me of home, a cruel splash of forestry in this otherwise bleak landscape. That feeling abided however as ice crept into her gaze, her lips pulling back to reveal sharp incisors. Her gaze scanned our group from head to toe, a sneer curling her lip when she landed on Camille, spitting a cacophony of what I was sure to be very nasty words at the redhead.

Undeterred, Camille smiled condescendingly and batted her eyelashes, her answering French immaculate and she didn't miss a beat as she retorted back at the woman.

The man at my feet whimpered and I kicked him, irritated at his pathetic sounds. "Shut up. Your arm will heal in a few hours."

"What am I missing?" I whispered and leaned into Elizabeth. She looked down at me, her full lips spreading into a cheeky grin that sparkled through her honey colored gaze.