Page 83 of Royal Bite
“No, Your Grace. We didn’t want to chance someone seeing him come to us. We meet him aboveground in person where the information is exchanged,” Nezera shared. She glanced out the window. “We are almost there. Once we arrive, we can send a message to arrange a meeting with him.”
“Yes, I want to speak with him.” Hegna settled back. The use of compulsion would be useless on a lycan. Most of them were strong enough to push back against the powers of the vampire, but none could prevent the stories that were hidden deep inside their blood. One bite, and Hegna would be able to see what he’d seen.
Then she’d be able to see if this lycan was telling the truth. She had a hard time trusting anyone and hoped that this leniency wasn’t offered due to a lie. If that was the case, he would pay with his life.
“What the hell is that?” the warrior driving their vehicle muttered.
The SUV in front of them slowed to a halt. The hairs on the back of Hegna’s neck rose. She pushed her cloak aside and rested a hand on the hilt of her dagger.
They were paused on a long road with rocky, snow-covered hills on either side of them. Hegna scanned the area and cursed. Her gut was screaming for them to get out and defend themselves. This time, she wouldn’t have to worry about her mate in the car.
“It’s a trap,” Hegna growled. The moment she’d uttered the words, dark imposing figures leaped from the hills and slid down toward them. “Lycans.”
Hegna pushed open the door and threw her cloak inside. She withdrew her duel swords and spun around on her heel. She scanned the area and saw her warriors were ready for battle.
“For the crown!” Hegna hollered, holding a dagger in the air.
“The crown!” her warriors cried out, racing off to meet the lycans.
She took off running toward the slope without a doubt that they would be victorious. As a welcome to Sanlow, Hegna would present the alpha with each one of her lycan warriors’ heads.
A feeling of dread filled Stormey. It had been with her since the moment Hegna had left. From the information shared with her, there had been a human town that had been attacked and taken hostage. Stormey couldn’t believe an entire town had been forcibly turned into lycans.
Those poor people.
Her heart went out to the families and friends of the humans who were either now lycans or had died from the change. Hegna was the defender of their territory, and they were under attack. Stormey understood being the mate of the warden would be nerve-racking. She believed and prayed to every god she could think of for Hegna to make it back to her safely.
But what did provide her comfort was sleeping in Hegna’s private quarters. It was now officially theirs. The bed had felt so empty without Hegna. Stormey inhaled and drew up to her full height.
She was currently at the orphanage with Emily. They were visiting with the architect who would be in charge of renovations. She had been excited they were able to come midday to visit the orphanage for the meeting. The day was gloomy, and the sky was gray and filled with plenty of clouds.
“We will definitely need to bring in an engineer to make sure the structures in some of these rooms are sound,” Zach Singleton said. He pointed to the ceiling of the room they were standing in. “We want to make sure that if we were to knock certain walls down that the floor above us doesn’t collapse.”
Emily and Stormey shared a look.
“Are they safe living here?” Stormey asked. What he was recommending sounded scary. There was a potential for the ceilings to fall down. Someone could get seriously injured.
“Oh, no. Everyone is fine here. I’m just saying when we start tearing down walls, we want to make sure that the structure won’t be affected by removing the wall,” Zach clarified. He held his clipboard to his chest.
Stormey believed him. He had been recommended by Hegna. His father and grandfather had worked on Hegna’s castle with restorations over the years. If he was trusted enough to work on the royal property, then he could be trusted with the orphanage.
“That sounds good. You were worrying me for a moment.” Emily chuckled.
They exited the room and strolled down the hall. Sounds of giggles echoed through the air. Stormey smiled softly to herself. She hadn’t seen Maisie since they’d arrived and she was anxious to see the little tyke. There was something about that girl that just touched her heart and soul.
“Let’s go over the plans I have designed. I had picked up the original blueprints to review them and the past renovations,” he said. He nervously glanced over Stormey’s shoulder at Desmond who was with her.
The guard had yet to say two words but had remained at Stormey’s side the entire time they had toured the orphanage.
They walked into a room off the kitchen where a table and a few chairs sat. Emily retrieved them some tea and snacks while they pored over the designs Zach offered them. Stormey grew excited looking at what was planned for the older mansion. Once they were done with it, it would truly be a home for the children until they could find families to take them in.
“What about the playground?” Stormey asked. This was an important part of the renovation they couldn’t forget.
“Ah, yes. We certainly wouldn’t want to miss out on something like that.” Zach laughed. He pulled out another paper and rolled it out on the table before them.
Desmond suddenly spun around and held a hand to his ear. Someone must be speaking with him through his communicator. His voice was low while he walked over to the doorway.
Stormey turned back to the table, and Zach explained the children would not only get a playground but a basketball court and a pool.
