The Queen Is Dead (The Immortal Empire) (30 page)

That realisation made me pause, fingers already curled around the door knocker. What if he wasn’t alone? I was fully aware that he might have some of the pack there, since they’d been giving him so much grief, but what if he had a woman with him? In comedic romance movies this was the scene where the plucky female lead discovers her cad of a boyfriend is having it on with another woman and then goes home to eat her own weight in ice cream and not gain a bloody pound.

“Fucking ridiculous,” I muttered and gave the knocker a good hard tap.

When the door was yanked open, I had to take a second and reconsider my ridiculous pronouncement. The woman standing before me was about six feet tall, with long red hair and dark green eyes. She was a goddess and a full-blooded were. Perfect mate material. She and Vex would make gorgeous fat babies together.

She growled at me, full lips curling back in a snarl.

Instinct made me growl back. I held her gaze and refused to so much as blink. She was bigger than me, prettier than me, and quite possibly my superior when it came to sex–not like I had an abundance of experience in that quarter–but I’d rip out my own tongue before I’d let her dominate me. One of us was a bitch, and the other just a cute little puppy.

“
You
.” Her voice was low and rough. “You’re the cause of all of this.”

“All of what?” I demanded, still holding her gaze.

She jerked her head towards the inside of the house. I focused all my attention on my ears and listened. There was a fight going on. I could hear the sounds of fist against flesh, the growling of wolves. One wolf in particular.

My
wolf.

I took a step over the threshold. The female tried to block my way. “You’re not welcome—”

I jobbed her hard and fast in the throat, effectively shutting her up, and pushed past her. “Unless something has changed drastically, I’m fairly certain I’m welcome in Vex’s house.” Could something have happened that I didn’t know about? No. Vex wouldn’t throw me over, though he hadn’t said anyt’, I’m fhing about a fight either.

His second. That was the only explanation. His second had challenged him.

I ran towards the sounds of combat. I could run incredibly fast, but such speed created great momentum and I didn’t want to go tearing doors off hinges–not yet, at any rate–so I was slower than I wanted to be.

The house was grand, with highly polished panels of mellow wood and marble floors. I didn’t stop to appreciate it as my heart began to thud heavily in my chest. Concern for Vex dominated all thought.

My ears led me upstairs, to a room with large double doors–the sort that signified a ballroom. I slammed my palms against the solid wood panels and shoved, flinging them wide open.

All but two heads turned at my dramatic entrance, and those that didn’t belonged to the men fighting in the centre of the room. They were both caught in a half-transmuted state, a combination of man and wolf. One was Vex–I recognised him instantly, despite the feral change in his features and the abundance of fur. I’d seen his half state before, when Church had sent his minions to kill him.

I could only assume the other wolf was his second. I didn’t even know the man’s name. I didn’t need to–the bastard had Vex’s blood on his claws. My nerves began to tingle, gums aching. I wanted to dive into the fray and sink my own fangs into the other wolf’s flesh and rip it from his bones for daring to injure what was mine. It wasn’t necessary–Vex was beating the snot out of the whelp–but that didn’t change my instinct.

“Your Majesty?” The voice was low and soothing–obviously male and Scottish. I turned my head and found a young
man watching me with a friendly but wary expression. His eyes were an unbelievable royal blue. “I’m Argyle, the MacLaughlin’s secretary.”

“So?”

He tilted his head in that dog-like way I associated with every wolf and half-wolf I’d ever met. Assessing me, that was what he was doing. “I’m going to ask you not to intervene in the altercation between the alpha and his second. It’s a challenge of succession and cannot be stopped until a victor is declared.”

“Until one of them is dead, you mean,” I retorted with a snarl.

He nodded once. “Or till someone concedes.”

My gaze was on the fight. “How often does that happen?”

“Not very often. It’s about honour, you see.”

I got that. I understood it, but that didn’t change the fact that I was scared for Vex–not as wolf and alpha, but as the man I’d come to prefer above all others. I knew that very few, if any, could best him in a fight, but that didn’t stop me from fearing for his life. So I watched and held my breath.

It wasn’t a long wait. Vex lifted his head and sniffed the air. His head turned and I got a good look at his golden eyes, shaggy cheeks and elongated fangs. He looked like something out of an American horror film, but I thought he was bloody marvellous. His gaze met mine–just for a split second–and then he turned, lunged and grabbed his opponent by the throat with his teeth.

The other wolf was a ginger, and big–almost as big as Vex. But he froze as those huge jaws clamped down on his neck. His big hands pressed against Vex’s shoulders, but not with much force. The gold began to fade from his eyes, returning
them to a bright green that was filled with fear and resignation. He grunted when Vex bit, and a trickle of a e gold begblood ran down his shoulder from where my wolf had hold. I waited. The entire gathering waited, our collective breath held, our bodies statue-still.

And then Vex opened his mouth and stepped back, leaving the other man wounded and bleeding, but alive. The ginger was already back to human form, and Vex returned a few moments later, swiping the back of his hand across his mouth. It came away bloody.

The onlookers were still silent, exchanging stunned glances. I had the feeling that it wasn’t because both men were impressive when naked, but because Vex had not killed his opponent.

“Fitz Sheridan,” he said, his voice rough. “You are hereby banished from the pack. You will leave England, leave Scotland, and never return on penalty of death. Do you ken?”

Sheridan did not look particularly happy with his judgement. I reckoned there was more honour in death than in banishment. Gold flashed in his eyes and he bared his teeth with a saliva-dripping snarl.

A growl ripped from my throat as I pushed forward. Every head–including Sheridan’s–turned towards me as my goblin fought for release. Strong hands caught at me. Not Vex, but Argyle, the secretary. Strong for a halvie. But it wasn’t his strength that stopped me, it was those unnerving eyes. Seriously, did the kid have some sort of magic? His gaze calmed my aggression.

“Ma’am, are we to take from your reaction that you would fight for our alpha?”

I glanced at Vex. He was wearing that slightly amused
expression I recognised as one reserved just for me, only this time there was a hint of smugness to it, as though I’d pleased him greatly.

“Yes,” I replied. “I would fight to my own death for him.” Fang me, why not just admit that I was arse over tea kettle in love with the furry bastard while I was at it?

Now Argyle looked triumphant as well. Excited chatter filled the room, but I couldn’t make out the words. Even Sheridan looked pleased–odd for a banished loser.

Sheridan bowed from the waist to Vex. “I accept my punishment, my lord.” He was led by two halvies from the blood-splattered circle carved into the floor.

Vex came towards me, all blood and muscle. His hair was a mess of thick, damp waves. The wounds on his chest were nasty but not terribly deep. They’d already stopped bleeding, and once tended to would heal quickly.

“You have impeccable timing, sweetheart,” he said in greeting, shrugging into the dressing gown Argyle held for him.

“Do I?” I glanced around, noting all the blatant stares focused on us, the foolish grins. “What the ruddy hell did I just do?”

“Come. I’ll tell you.” Then to the rest of the room, “Off with the lot of you. Show’s over.”

“Will you have need of me, sir?” Argyle enquired, hands behind his straight back.

“No, lad. Go out with the others and have a pint. I’ll see you on the morrow.” When Vex was in his role as alpha, or with his pack, he spoke differently than he did when it was just the two of us. Neither seemed less honest than the other, but I found it interesting all the same.

“Good night, my lord.” Argyle bowed. “And my lady.” The cheeky halvie winked at me before following us out of the room.

Vex led me down the wide, tall corridor to his bedroom. I’d seen it before, but the dark and ivory decor of it always impressed me uimp.

“Dish,” I commanded as soon as the door had closed.

Vex grabbed me by the shoulders and kissed me hard. “You are the most brilliant woman in the world.”

I grinned, the bitterness of visiting my father wiped clean. I didn’t even care that I could taste Sheridan’s blood on his tongue. “If you say so, I won’t argue. But what did I do to deserve such a title?”

“You allowed me to keep from killing one of my oldest friends.”

“The guy who was trying to eviscerate you? No offence, love, but you need better friends.”

“Bah. Sheridan’s just a stubborn arse who doesn’t know when to stop. Hardly an offence worth dying for.”

“But you would have had to kill him had I not arrived?”

He
grinned and ran his hands down my arms. Good thing I was wearing black, because I could smell blood–his and Sheridan’s–on my shirt. “That’s right. As soon as I saw you, I knew I wouldn’t have to take his life. You jumped to my defence, brave and hatters that you are, and crafty Argyle knew exactly what to do.”

“Which was?”

“Ask you if you’d fight for me.”

The whole thing still didn’t make any sense. “And I said yes…”

Some of the amusement left his face. “You had no idea what you were doing, did you?”

“I believe I already said as much. No, no bloody idea.”

He ran a hand through the mess of his hair. “You didn’t mean it, then?”

Now he looked like I had just killed his puppy. “Albert’s fangs, Vex, what the hell happened?”

His shoulders slumped in a manner I didn’t like–he was hurt. “You declared yourself my mate.”

So, apparently saying I’d die for Vex was not only the were-wolf version of “I do”, but also had been taken by those present to mean that the pack now had an official alliance with the goblins.

Fuck.

“I know this means a lot to the pack,” I told Vex after he explained, “but I can’t just hand over my goblins like that. I need to discuss it with them first. There are some who aren’t crazy to have a queen, and I don’t want to give them more reason to eat my liver.”

Vex turned to face me, an astonished look on his gorgeous and still bloodstained face. “An alliance with the goblins would be politically advantageous, but when you said you would fight to the death for me, politics was the last thing on my mind.”

My heart gave a little thump. Pathetic creature. “Oh.” I had been given lessons in deportment, manners, dancing and all things aristocratic. I always knew what fork to use–hell, I even knew the language of the fan, though I’d forgotten most of it. But I had absolutely no idea what to do at that moment.

Fortunately for me, Vex knew exactly what to do. He looked me right in the eye and said, are.

Never mind a thump, my bloody heart stopped completely. And then, like a proper idiot, I burst into tears. My shoulders shook, my throat tightened and my nose clogged. I couldn’t even see through the stinging wet.

Vex’s arms closed around me, pulling me against his chest. He felt like safety and comfort–and it only made the tears come all the harder. “Shh, sweetheart. It’s all right.”

“It’s not you,” I managed to wail.

“I know it’s not.” He stroked my hair. “You go ahead and cry it out, and then we’ll talk about it.”

I carried on for a few moments before managing to get a hold of myself. Pulling myself together required pulling free of his embrace. I wiped at my eyes with the handkerchief he offered and then blew my nose. I didn’t give the sodden linen back to him, but kept it balled up in my fist just in case I needed it again.

“Sorry ‘bout that,” I mumbled, as I sat down on the edge of the bed.

The mattress dipped as Vex sat down beside me. “What happened?”

What hadn’t? It felt like days ago that I’d gone to see Ainsley rather than just a few hours. I told him about that visit, the goblin den and the altercation with my father.

“I’m sorry I punched your friend,” I finished with a sigh. “She was only doing her job.”

Vex’s fingers curved over the top of my thigh, warm through my bloomers. “She shouldn’t have denied you entrance to my home. You’ve had a rough night, haven’t you?”

I nodded. My head had that foggy, heavy feeling that often followed a good bawling. “A rough few days.”

“Rough few months.” The hand on my leg squeezed. “What can I do?”

Tears threatened again, but I pushed them back, opting to lean into his shoulder instead. “Just do what you have been–be you.” It wasn’t as though he could fix any of this. I wasn’t certain
I
could fix any of it either. Knowing the truth didn’t help. So what if I knew what had happened to Dede’s baby? It wasn’t as though Ainsley’s confession could bring her back or change the fact that my father was a knob.