WE SPENT THE NIGHT in my little house in the forest and in the early hours of the morning shifted and returned to the castle. Words can’t describe how happy I was. We had two days to finalize a couple of things and then our bags were packed and it was time to go on our tour of the kingdom.I saw a lot of the world while I was a slave, but it didn’t mean I saw a lot of our kingdom. Travelling as the queen was the complete opposite of travelling as a slave, that much was sure. For starters, I wasn’t chained to the bottom of a boat! Lorenzo made sure to take me to all the sights. I was amazed by the beautiful architecture and how much different it could be from one place to the next.Some packs lived in very rural homes deep in forests while others lived right in the middle of human towns. The packs that still lived close to the forests were down to earth and although the packs that lived in human towns were also fairly down to earth, they were far more into modern technology. I loved se

“Okay, and exactly how are we going to draw this killer out when it’s an entire group of people who don’t agree with our new regulations?” I could smack the smug right off his damn face! I loved him dearly but sometimes he could really push my damn buttons!“I don’t know.” I shrugged and walked closer. “You are a big, strong male.” I traced my finger along the collar of his shirt and sighed. “You figure it out.” I smiled, but before I could make my escape, his hand slipped through my hair and his lips crashed down on mine. I loved kissing him. I loved doing all sorts of things with him, but I had a meeting with his mother about finding Lesley a husband and I couldn’t be late. As soon as we broke apart to catch our breath, I straightened up my clothes that my darling mate ruffled and left his office with my guards and ladies-in-waiting all following me.My meeting with the queen didn’t go entirely as planned when Lesley looked a little apprehensive about finding a mate. I got the disti

OVER THE NEXT TWO DAYS, I took the time to study everyone I came into contact with. Trying to figure out what I really knew about them was giving me a headache. I realized that I was the damn fake they were making me out to be!Since I moved to the castle, I haven’t taken the time to get to know people as I did when I was a slave. I was so wrapped up in my own things that I didn’t take the time to stop and really get to know the people around me. That had to change. Even if it didn’t change the situation. I needed to get to know the people around me.I knew enough about Lesley, but I hardly knew anything about my favourite guard or Leila. So, each chance I got I would talk to them. Tell them about my past … The parts that haven’t been made public yet, and let them tell me about their families. They were pretty easy to talk to and not defensive about the fact that I was prying into their personal lives. One of the younger guards became incredibly nervous when I asked him about his fami

Strange things he has done over the past couple of months start coming to mind. Things I saw that didn’t make sense at the time, but I didn’t pay much attention to them. Conversations he was having with people he shouldn’t have been talking to. My heart broke as I thought of the old queen and what this betrayal would mean for her.This time around, I knew that Lorenzo wasn’t going to save him. He couldn’t. I wondered for a moment if I shouldn’t perhaps leave. That way, Lorenzo wouldn’t have to choose, but then the old king would win. Lorenzo would become weak without me, and he would be able to take over. Besides, the old king would hunt me until he knew for sure I was dead. If I ran and stayed alive, I would always be a threat to him.No, I wasn’t going to be run out of the only place I could call home and I wasn’t going to leave the man I loved. I stopped pacing and looked at the door. I needed to know what the hell was going on. Lorenzo wasn’t saying anything in our link, but I kne

NEWS OF THE DEATH OF THE OLD KING spread like wildfire throughout the kingdom, and everyone wanted to attend the funeral. The old queen hadn’t come out of her room since the day he died and I was beginning to wonder if she would even make it to the funeral. She wasn’t eating or seeing any visitors. I had hoped that she would at least hear Lorenzo out, but she refused.I could understand where she was coming from. If someone had killed Lorenzo, I wouldn’t have spoken to them either! But Lorenzo was her son. Couldn’t she at least hear him out? Find out what happened. Find out why he killed his father … I tried to see her a couple of times to let her know how the funeral arrangements were going, but there was no sound from her room.I was beginning to think she wouldn’t come to the funeral, but when the crowd went silent, I could feel that she had arrived. She walked through the crowd slowly. It had been two days since we last saw her. She looked pale. Her eyes had dark circles around th