Page 26 of Queen
She was growing increasingly desperate, and even those who seemed to have been on her side in the beginning were watching her uneasily.
Axel could sense the shift in the air the second before the jaguar shifted, and Natalia took off with a roar, barreling through the crowd blocking her exit.
One of the guards fired his stun gun at the fleeing queen, and Natalia hit the ground with a cry of rage. Axel watched as she was surrounded, thrashing and clawing in vain as they subdued her and eventually tranquilized her.
Damn, that was satisfying.
Axel was still on edge as a few guards came over to them, but rather than approach Ella, they turned their focus on Bishop.
"Bishop Meyer, by authority of the colony, you're under arrest."
"No," Ella cried, putting herself between them before Axel could stop her. "You can't do this. I forbid it."
The guards seemed to hesitate at the order of the young queen who'd been Empress for only a matter of hours. Before they could come to a decision, Bishop gently moved her aside and stepped forward, offering his hands to the guards. "It's all right. I’m turning myself in willingly."
The guards didn't seem to know what to do for a second, but eventually, they cuffed Bishop’s hands behind his back, and he made no attempt to resist.
"Bishop," Ella pleaded, tears streaming down her cheeks. "You don't have to do this."
"Yes, I do," he said quietly. "I made my choice knowing what the consequences would be." He paused, something resembling human emotion crossing his features for a second. He turned to Axel and Sterling, his voice hoarse as he said, "Take care of her."
"You don’t have to tell me that," Axel muttered bitterly, putting a hand on Ella's shoulder so he could hold her back if she tried to go after Bishop again. The guards started leading him away, and Ella cried out as soon as Bishop turned his back.
"No," she sobbed desperately. Axel caught her in his arms, and he felt her claws on his forearms, partially shifted. Her eyes were wild and feral as she looked up at him, and for a moment, he thought she was going to shift again. Instead, she collapsed against his chest and broke down.
Axel held her in silence, trying to figure out the right words to comfort her. He couldn't find any.
"It's alright," Sterling said in a low tone. "Get her home. I’ll handle the questions."
Axel nodded, lifting Ella into his arms. She was too upset to put up any resistance, but he was sure that would change come morning.
Chapter 15
Ella
The month after Ella's coronation felt more like a year. She knew that had something to do with the fact that she and her toms had been inundated with papers to sign, meetings to attend, and all the other aspects of a hasty shift in power. It was also because in that month, her every attempt to so much as visit Bishop had fallen flat.
Ella had always imagined that being Empress would mean she could do whatever she wanted. She had barely started her new job, and had already realized that was an absolute lie. If anything, there were far more restrictions on the monarchy, who existed under a constant microscope.
At least she had a valid excuse for spending so much time with Sterling. He had become her officially appointed advisor, and was half the reason she was able to stay sane through it all. Axel had been just as supportive, and although he had spent his entire life acting like colony meetings were the bane of his existence, Ella realized he had been paying attention after all. He took to his new duties with ease and patiently filled in the gaps of Ella's knowledge when it was needed.
She still felt like it was a joke that she had been chosen for the job, especially now that everyone knew what she was, but at least she no longer had to worry about living up to her predecessor. With her toms at her side, she actually felt like she stood a chance at doing a halfway decent job, gossip aside.
Of course, as long as she was missing the man who'd placed her second mating mark, there was always going to be something off.
Ella understood the arguments the guys had made against her going to visit Bishop. It didn't change the way her heart felt. She was every bit as furious at Bishop as they were, if not more so. She was the one he had betrayed so brutally and intimately. She hated him… But she loved him, too. Those feelings had managed to exist alongside each other in her love for Axel for years, and maybe it was an old habit, but she couldn't bring herself to give up on Bishop.
Between the doctor’s appointments and her official duties, Ella had little time to conduct any research of her own, but that afternoon, she had a rare moment alone. Sterling was working, and Axel was filling in for her at a meeting so she could study. In addition to everything else, she had been given her coursework to finish remotely, considering the unique demands of her position. She felt guilty for exploiting the opportunity to look into colony law rather than the history she was supposed to be researching.
Usually, when she had a question about the limits of her responsibilities and privileges as Empress, she went to Sterling--but considering the nature of her question, that wasn't an option.
Ella had spent the last few hours poring over the legal books she had procured from the colony archives. It wasn't exactly an official loan, but if she got caught, there were worse skeletons in her closet.
When the front door opened even though nobody was supposed to be home for another two hours at least, Ella felt like a teenager scrambling to hide contraband possessions. Before she could do a remotely sufficient job of it, Sterling appeared in the kitchen doorway, and his look told her he knew something was up.
"Sterling," Ella cried, walking over to slip her arms around his neck. "I didn't think you'd be here until six."
"Neither did I," he said, glancing over at the table. She stood on her toes to kiss him in a desperate bid for distraction. It seemed to be working, and he took her into his arms, deepening the kiss. When he finally pulled away, Ella was breathless. The look in his gaze made her even more so. "The Dean canceled our meeting, so here I am. I thought you could use some help studying."
