Page 58 of Royal Bite
The older woman’s body shook with sobs.
Hegna glanced over at Stormey in alarm. Stormey was sure Hegna wasn’t used to being hugged by strangers. Stormey wiped her cheeks and smiled, giving her a nod.
“I’m so shocked and thankful.” Emily drew away with a laugh. She came over and hugged Stormey, too.
Stormey returned the tight embrace before releasing the woman.
“Someone will be in touch to get the process started,” Hegna said. She tugged Stormey to her side and took her hand again. She glanced down at Stormey with a small smile on her lips. “Stormey, I’m sure, will want to work closely with you on the project.”
“My intention when coming here was to find out how I can volunteer and to see what else I could help with,” Stormey admitted with a laugh. She leaned against Hegna and was confident the walls Hegna had constructed now had a large crack in them. She was breaking down.
“Miss Emily, this mean lady is on all of the channels,” Maisie cried out.
Hegna stiffened beside her. She released Stormey’s hand and strode over to the television.
“Excuse me, little Maisie. Go over there with Miss Emily, please,” Hegna said. All traces of the light-hearted vampire princess were gone. Now stood the warrior, staring at the television.
Maisie didn’t hesitate and did as she’d said.
“What is going on?” Stormey asked. She moved beside Hegna who fiddled with the television to increase the volume. Stormey stared at the woman on the screen who looked vaguely familiar. “Is that—”
“The lycan alpha,” Hegna growled.
“People of the North American continent. It is I, Azura Michaels.” The lycan alpha stared menacingly into the camera. Her amber eyes glowed, and large fangs were noticeable from under her top lip. She appeared frantic and crazed with her hair wild. “If you don’t know who I am, let me introduce myself. I am the alpha of the lycan nation, or you may be more familiar with the term, wolf shifters. And no, this is not a joke. We do exist.”
“Cezar, is this real?” Hegna snapped.
“We are verifying it now,” Cezar responded.
Stormey’s eyes were glued to the television. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She knew Hegna and her family were about to go to war with these beasts, but seeing the enemy’s face made it all too real for Stormey.
She was terrified at the thought of Hegna going off to fight in a war. Was this how her mother had felt when her father had been drafted to fight? Stormey and Hegna’s relationship was only in the budding stage. She didn’t want to risk losing her vampire when they had only just found each other.
“I’m sure you are wondering where we have been hiding. But first I’m going to share a history lesson of my race,” Azura continued. She sat up tall in the chair she was seated in. The background was blurry as if they were using some form a technology to hide what was behind her. “Hundreds of years ago, my people were peaceful but lived as slaves to your masters, the vampires. These vampires who rule your world are not to be trusted. We had to fight for our freedom and the right to exist.”
“Cesar,” Hegna growled.
Her blue eyes flashed with a burning rage that sent a shiver of apprehension through Stormey.
“Princess. We’ve confirmed this broadcast is live. They’re overriding the satellites, and we can’t pinpoint where they are.” Cesar held a hand up to his ear, listening to whoever was speaking to him through his mini communicator.
“Our fight for freedom led to the vampires declaring war on all lycans. They began annihilating our people with a vengeance. They came close to wiping an entire race from the face of this earth. But no more. My people will rise, and that will be because of you. We will defeat the vampires, and then all humankind will become lycans.”
Stormey froze with a sick feeling appearing in her stomach. The television went dark before it switched to a cartoon show.
“Princess.” Maisie broke free from Emily and ran to her.
Stormey wrapped an arm around her while the girl buried her face against Stormey’s leg.
“Don’t worry, little one,” Stormey said. Her eyes met Hegna’s as she rubbed Maisie’s back. “Princess Hegna won’t let that bad woman anywhere near any of you.”
“Promise?” Maisie lifted her face and stared at Hegna.
The princess came to kneel in front of Maisie and placed a fist over her heart. “I give you my word as your warden, and as heir to the throne, no one will touch you,” she swore.
Maisie studied Hegna, jerking her tiny head into a nod.
Hegna stood and met Stormey’s eyes before moving over to the doorway. “It’s time to go.”
