Chapter Forty-Five
Everyone froze. The entire room held their breath as heavy footsteps clipped through the crowd.
I felt both my wolves perk up as Rowan made it through the crowd of women.
I closed my eyes, reining in my anger and shifting my fangs away, doing my best to settle my insides before he came over to me.
“Hello, my king.” I turned and looked up at him.
His eyes zeroed onto the blood on my face and I watched his eyes flash to his wolf’s.
“Hello rabbit.” His words were a soft whisper that I barely caught. I felt heat crawl up my neck again. “Hello Alpha Amy.” This time, his words were loud enough for everyone to hear. “Do you mind explaining why you’re using your aura on the three in front of you?”
“My king!” Thinius cried out. “This bitch is-”
I growled, and a surprising amount of others did too.
“My king, if you would allow me to say something?” A woman called from the side of the room.
I turned to find the very first woman from earlier walking over.
Rowan looked at me, raising his eyebrow, and I gave a tiny nod.
He turned to the woman and nodded. “I came here to apply for,” she stumbled on her words.
“For the position of queen.” Rowan finished for her, and she smiled and nodded.
“Yes. As everyone else here did.” Rowan nodded. “I came here with very little hope, but Amy here, she is doing everything she could to let anyone apply.”
Rowan nodded. “Anyone is allowed to apply.” He looked at me in confusion. “I announced that anyone could apply.” I nodded and then pointed to Thinius.
“You did, my king. And Amy here had this table yesterday, but I missed it. So I tried to do it last night at home. I did the application that Amy has here but their page took me to another where they asked me more questions, and then rejected my application all together. I screenshotted it.” She handed her phone to the king and his growl shook the room.
“I’m sorry.” He read out loud. “But your application was denied as you do not have the qualifications to even be considered for the position. Are you fucking serious?” He whirled to face the trio on the ground. “On what fucking grounds do you have the authority to go against my words?”
“My king.-”
“Enough.” He handed back her phone and then turned to me. “What happened?”
“Rowan.” Nadine started, but his snarl stopped her.
“The three of you will shut the fuck up until I ask you a question.” Everyone in the room felt the command, and the trio were effectively muzzled.
“Now Amy, please explain how we got here.” I nodded.
And then briefly explained the entire interaction, but Rowan interrupted her. “You crushed Nina’s hand?”
“Yeah.” I cut a look at her. “It should be healed by now. But I will warn you right now, Nina. If you push me anymore. I’ll crush it and then hold it in place while you heal your hand becomes useless.
” Her whimper was answer enough. “Thinius then used his aura on this room, trying to get me to bend the knee, and close down the application table. He didn’t like that my applications were going to your email, so he couldn’t reject any of these women.
Nina even tried to stop me from applying myself.
” I watched his eyes darken. “Then I reminded Thinius that he swore an oath that he was ignoring and abusing his position in the council to threaten lower ranked wolves. Nadine here found it particularly funny that I said he wasn’t allowed to do this.
” I waved a hand at the trio. “So I released my aura, to hammer home they had no power here.”
“Amy.” I turned back to Toya, who had a wide smile on her face. “You forgot when Thinius called your mother a whore and said your father was lucky he was dead.” She offered that little tidbit, and I felt my fangs descend again, fur rippling down my arms.
“Oh yes, there is that.” I closed my eyes and pulled my power back in, inch by inch, then I waited for the trio to stand, still unable to speak.
I stalked closer. “There is the fact that this family thinks it smart to throw my father’s death in my face, over and over, and now to go as far as calling my innocent mother a whore.
” I snapped my fangs at them. Nix was holding on by the skin of her teeth.
She wanted to kill them. All three. She had put up with them long enough.
And this time, I agreed. I could feel Megan’s agreement, too.
“My patience is gone and my wolf is tired of pretending to be nice. The next time you bring my parents into this conversation, I will call for a Cath Báis.”
A gasp went through the room.
“A death battle?” Rowan raised his eyebrow, but I just nodded.
“This family has been pushing me since the beginning of the year. Nina has claimed to be the one that donated to everyone, using my money and my silence as a way to negotiate her work out of people.” There was another gasp, and I nodded.
“She has used my generosity to get the grades she has.” I lifted one finger, counting on my hands the bullshit they have done.
“She has tried to attack me when I was running, even though she knew who I was because she was trying to impress a wolf out in the woods.” Another finger.
“She has used her rank, her influence, and her status as apparently the next queen to lord over this fucking school and, to be frank, I’m over it.
” A few people clapped. “And then her sister and uncle come here to tell me that I have to fall in line with their bullshit power and influence. They have actively tried to get rid of unranked wolves, because to them, they are lesser than a ranked wolf. This entire family is corrupt and I’m fucking over it.
My father…” I pretended to get choked up and I saw Rowan’s lips twitch.
“My father raised me to be a wolf with a moral compass. He raised me to watch over my pack and wolves of lower rank. He taught me to stand up against people like these three, and I am over being the bigger person.”
“What do you mean?” I saw something flit across Rowan’s face, but I couldn’t decipher it.
“I mean, I am an extremely powerful Alpha that has bent over backwards to keep her wolf from striking out without a thought. Even though I am still fairly new to shifting, as I am still in my first year, and I have very little time to run and bond with her, I have not killed Nina. And believe you me, it has been a fucking challenge. But I’m done holding back from this family.
” I stalked back up to Nina, and I looked straight into her eyes.
“Nina, I’m going to tell this to you and I really need you to look me in the eye and see that I mean every fucking word.
” I waited until she nodded. “If you, your sister, your uncle, fuck, I don’t even care if it’s a distant cousin.
If any of you interfere with my life again.
If you or any of yours try to force me to do anything I don’t want to.
If you come to me to mock or belittle me.
” I stepped, so I was in her face. “If you even come to me to tell me you won something, I’ll call for a Cath Báis.
” I watched fear enter her eyes. “I’m over you showing up at my home, my classes, my training sessions.
You have stalked me this entire year and I honestly have zero idea why, but I’m done being nice.
So I need you to really think about your next steps.
” I looked at Nadine and then at Thinius.
“Her life is in your hands, so choose wisely.” I turned away and Nadine snorted.
I whirled around. “You think I’m joking?
Do you think her life is a game?” I glanced at Rowan and his command lifted with a single word.
“Speak.”
Nadine took a step. “No. But my sister and I have been training since we were pups. We know how to fight.”
I nodded, and I tilted my hand. “And who taught you how to fight? Was it your uncle? Your father?”
“It was our father.” She smirked.
“Your father is what? Top fifty of fighters in the last battle. If I remember correctly, your father Tomen got rank forty eight. Am I right?”
Rowan stepped up next to me, crowding the family. “He actually was ranked fifty-seventh, but then miraculously, nine fighters were disqualified by the council.” He glared at Thinius.
“So not top fifty.” I turned to face her with my golden eyes. “My father was top five. My uncle was top ten.”
“She is being modest. Her father was second, losing only to me. And Ronnie was sixth in the entire world.”
I pointed to him and nodded. Then I leaned in to Nadine and let Nix come out enough that her voice was heard.
“My father and uncle beat your dad without even breaking a sweat. And the funniest part out of all of this? I was putting them on their backs when I was sixteen. Neither could fight me in hand to hand without doing damage, and that was before I started shifting.” I gave her a toothy smile.
She reeled back from my face and I saw fear enter her eyes.
“I would kill your sister within a minute, and that minute would be full of me shattering her body and toying with her just to get my point across.”
Nina stumbled back, and Nadine went with her. “My king.” She cried out. “Are you really going to allow her to threaten us in front of you?”
Rowan seemed to think about it for a moment. Then he shook his head and turned to me. I saw a flash of triumph on Nadine’s face. I lifted a brow and Rowan smiled. “Are you threatening them?”
“No, my king.” I grinned up at him. “I’m swearing an oath.
” Another gasp went through the room. “I, Amy Maclean, swear that if anyone from this family provokes me in any way going forward, I will call for a Cath Báis. I will refuse any and all reconciliation methods brought forth by the council. Any more provocation will end in death, either Nina’s or my own.
On this I swear.” I felt the world shift, the oath taking form.
“NO!” Nina dropped to her knees.
I drew in a breath of air, feeling lighter.
Nix settled, and Megan rubbed her side against the barrier and then Nix, calming us both.
Calm, sisters. Her voice was soft and comforting.
The angrier you are, the harder it is to control the flame that changes our scent. And my mate is too close to slip up.
Nix huffed and closed her eyes, calming herself. You’re right, I’m sorry. She shook her fur and then laid down. It’s been harder to control my anger since we woke. But I will do better until we are clear of this mess. Megan gave a tiny nod, then went back to the flame.
“My king.” Thinius stepped closer, and that agitated Nix, so I turned my back on the trio and went back to the table.
“Please continue.” I smiled at the girl, frozen, with a tablet in her hand. “Don’t let my drama hold up your chance.”
The girl looked startled, but she tried to hand me back my tablet. “I shouldn’t.”
“Why not?” She looked over my shoulder.
“You were more of a queen than I could ever be.” She took a step, but I grabbed her hand gently and pulled her back.
“Whoever is meant to be queen is up to the king, and the Goddess.” She tried to protest, but I held up my hand.
“My parents raised me to be who I am today. Everything you just saw was learned behaviour. The only thing I have over you is power and rank, but in the matters of love and leadership, I am no better or worse than you are.” I raised my voice, turning to look at the faces of the women in front of me.
“Please. I don’t want any of you here to decide that you are not worthy of being considered for the position of queen.
I am neither worse nor better than any of you.
And if the Goddess and the king select you to be queen, and you are just then, I will willingly follow you.
” I turned back to the woman. “So please. Don’t let any of this drama stop you from putting your hat in the ring.
You deserve to be considered just like everyone else here. ”
I watched her think over what I said. “Do you really think so?”
I smiled back at her. “Of course I do. I don’t know what you were watching, but I threatened to kill someone.
” More than a few of the women there laughed with me.
“That doesn’t really scream queen material.
” I could feel Rowan’s eyes on me, but I focused on the young woman.
I pressed the tablet into her hands. “What is the worst that can happen? You don’t get to be queen? ” I lifted a shoulder.
“I’ve been looking for my mate for a few years.” Her words were a whisper.
But I smiled and gave her a wink. “I think the Goddess has the perfect plan for you. You just have to be patient.” She smiled and then started filling out the application again.
“My king.” Thinius called again. But I kept my back turned. “Are you seriously going to let her do this?”
“Do what?” Rowan’s words held an edge, but Thinius was too stupid to catch it.
“This! All these women are skipping our application process!” His face grew ruddy with his anger. “She is essentially skipping the council completely. As if we are nothing!” He yelled, still working himself up. “I won’t stand for it. My family won’t stand for it. The council won’t stand for it.”
“Why does it matter?” Rowan crossed his arms.
“Because we already know who’s going to be the next queen!
And none of these low bred classless whores are who the council selected.
” Everyone turned, and the room grew silent.
I covered my face with my hand to stop the laughter.
He really is that fucking stupid. The silence grew.
You could hear a pin drop, and the words finally registered in everyone’s mind.
Nina and Nadine’s mouth dropped open, and I watched Thinius’s face drain of color.
Rowan stilled. “What did you just say?”