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But then, maybe it is.
Maybe this is the new me, the me who refuses to beg and grovel for kindness and mercy, the me who demands what is hers and isn’t afraid to take it.
By force, if necessary.
“And how are you going to manage that?” my reflection asks. “A queen can rule without a king, but she can’t win the game. You need him, Willow. At least in the beginning.” Her lips curve. “Once you’ve united the packs… Well, then you can decide whether he’s worth the trouble of keeping around long term.”
I snort. “Me? I just want to live my life without being afraid some Alpha-hole is going to kill me or torture me or hurt my family. I just want the jerks in charge to at least pretend they care about the welfare of their people. That’s it. I have no desire to rule anything.”
She lifts a bare shoulder and lets it fall. “All right, then you can let the king call the shots. He can decide what’s right and wrong, what’s fair and what’s foul, who will receive mercy and who will live in the deep, dark shadows of fear.”
I shiver, the memory of the man who attacked me rising inside me so swiftly I swear I can feel his fingers wrapping around my throat and beginning to squeeze.
“No,” I choke out. “I don’t want to be his queen. I don’t want anything to do with Maxim Thorn.”
“Who said your king’s name was Maxim?”
I blink. No one said it, I just…know. Deep down, I know that Maxim is meant to be mine in a way I knew Pax wasn’t.
But I don’t want to admit that to my reflection or anyone else. I don’t want to be Maxim’s mate or Pax’s mate or tied to any other Alpha bully who will treat me like a tool or a toy or anything other than a soul worthy of dignity and respect.
“I don’t want a king,” I insist again. “I’m just fine on my own.”
“None of us can make it on our own, Willow. No matter how hard we try. Wolves who travel alone get hacked to pieces by wicked woodsmen.” Her smile falls away with a suddenness that makes me flinch. A moment later, she glances furtively over her shoulder, before leaning in to whisper urgently, “Beware the woods and the prophecy. It isn’t too late to keep this from happening.”
“To keep what from happening?” I ask. “What prophecy, what—” My words end in a startled cry as a man’s giant hand wraps around her neck from behind, summoning a strangled gurgle from her throat.
“Run, Willow. Talk to Pax,” she gasps. “Pax knows the truth.”
Before I can ask her if she’s out of her mind—or demand that the disembodied hand behind her let go of her, me, whoever she is—the woman in the red dress is wrenched away from the window.
Behind her, the scene changes to reveal a ballroom filled with people in gorgeous formal clothing, wearing masks shaped like wolves, big cats, bears, and other shifter creatures. As the man with his hand around the woman’s throat drags her through the crowd, the other partygoers part for them, oohing and ahhing as they point at the woman in red’s swollen belly.
She’s pregnant.
I’m pregnant, and I instinctively know that’s very bad news.
I can’t have a baby yet, especially not with a man who drags me around by the neck. It’s not safe. I have to ensure the right people are in power and my little one will never know violence and fear the way I have.
I have to make the world safe for that baby.
For myself.
So…maybe I will have to rule, after all.
I wake to see the moon still hovering over the city skyline. I’m covered in sweat from the dream, but my cheeks are dry and tear-free.
I’m not afraid anymore.
And I know what I have to do.
Chapter Four
Maxim
On the fifty-first floor, Cameron guides me back to the artifacts room, where the team investigating the theft is finishing up their work. As my father predicted, the Alpha bands and the spirit sharing cup are missing.
But there’s something else gone, too…
