Queen of Death

Solana

Mia is the first to disregard the Queen’s orders to stay put, but given the circumstances I’m sure my mom will let it slide. She rushes from her spot on the couch over to Hunter and embraces her son like he’s returned from the dead.

Which I guess in some ways, to her, he has.

I feel Dean pushing out comfort to the room, especially Tate. Seeing the love Hunter’s mom has for him even after all these years apart has Tate shifting his weight uncomfortably from side to side. When I reach my hand back for his, he grabs it and accepts a reassuring squeeze.

My mom does an acceptable job schooling her emotions. I know that there’s probably so much that she wants to say right now. Why didn’t you tell me? I can’t believe you lied to us. How could you forgive him?

I wouldn’t blame her for any of those thoughts. They’re the same ones that kept me up at night.

Recognizing that now is not the time for a heart to heart she keeps things strictly business. “Why are you bringing this to our attention now?” Her tone is calm and approachable.

“The meat of it is that we suspect Elena is the one who put the bounty out on Solana,” Ace responds.

“Hence why we needed confidentiality for this meeting,” I add.

“Not too long ago it was Alec you suspected. What changed?” My mom asks diplomatically.

“Alec has not been exculpated of wrongdoing. We went to the facility that’s listed under his name, but we quickly learned that someone tipped them off that we’d be there. There are a few hundred dozen data points that implicate Elena and Alec in a large-scale trafficking operation and they are the only common denominators,” Ace’s frustration festers throughout his explanation. “Elena has every motive imaginable to want to cause pain and suffering to Solana.”

Everyone’s eyes point to the floor. After what they’ve just heard me admit to, they can’t deny that Ace has a point. Elena’s involvement in this organization is clear, but her motivation to hurt me is what makes the bounty, the poisoning, and the ambush at the facility seem like more than just a couple of coincidences.

My dad Varian rests a firm hand on my mother’s shoulder. “Why don’t we call it there for tonight, Love? We can reconvene tomorrow or another day. Get all the data and all the fine details. I think we need to focus on our families tonight.” His voice softens ever so slightly at the end, a mixture of grief, guilt, and rage.

“I agree,” she places her hand over his on her shoulder. “Runidar and Mia this room is yours, we’ll step out to give you some privacy.”

The guys all look at one another immediately, checking in with one another on whether this is a good idea or not. Ace nods his permission and Hunter nods his reassurance to the others that he’ll be okay without us for a few minutes.

Dean, Eli, and Tate saunter off with Cole and Griffin to get a drink. Ace and I hang by the door as Ember, Xander, and my parents exit last.

“You have your mother’s unbreakable spirit,” Ember hugs me tightly to her. “And her insufferable way of keeping everything to yourself!”

I smile to myself in her embrace, “but yet you kept my secret.”

“And yet I kept your secret,” she echoes as she pulls away from me and settles back by Xander’s side.

“You and I are going to discuss this,” my mother threatens Ember. Then she looks at me and sighs, “oh, Sunflower.”

She disappears into the shadows without another word.

“She’s not mad at you, Solana.” My father Ro reassures me. “Your mom favors action. Right now she desperately wants to make everything better for you. We all do. Go find her, I think it’ll do you both good.”

My dads hug me awkwardly for the first time in my life. It’s filled with the same love and warmth, but it’s like they don’t know how to hold me anymore. Like suddenly I’m fragile. Damaged goods.

In contrast, Ace is itching to hold me. I can feel his desperation through our bond. It’s killing him not to reach out and touch me. As soon as my fathers’ backs are turned he sweeps me up and kisses me hard on the mouth. He walks me backwards to the couches against the far wall, the ones most hidden and secluded.

My knees buckle when they hit the back of the couch and he guides me down so that I’m laying on the couch with him hovering over me. “I’m so proud of you, Princess. You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met.” He whispers kisses along my collarbone, his left hand seeking a handful of my breasts.

“He’s right, you know.” My mother drops the shadows that hid her. She’s sitting on the opposite side of the L shaped sofa with an amused grin on her face.

Ace is upright in a heartbeat, ever the image of calm and control, while I awkwardly pull at the hem of my dress and run my fingers through my hair so I don’t look as frazzled as I feel.

“Find me whenever you’re ready to go home,” he says simply and then takes me by surprise when he kisses me again before shooting my mother a wink and walking away.

I look back and forth between my mom and his retreating back, too stunned to form coherent thoughts. So without a trace of eloquence I mumble out, “Ace is my mate.”

My mom laughs lightly, gesturing for me to sit beside her. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

“Wait, what? How did you know?”

“Solana, please. I recognize the symptoms.” She says as if she’s insulted that I’d even have to ask.

I take a seat next to her on the couch with my legs crossed and feet tucked underneath me. “I’m still in love with Hunter.” I barely whisper the words.

She gives me another little laugh and says, “I already knew that, too. Don’t look so surprised, Sunflower. He’s always had your heart.” She gives me a mournful half-smile.

I stare at the floor for so long I swear it starts to spin. But the words of my heart are on the tip of my tongue and who better to confide in than my mom? If anyone could understand what I’m feeling it would be her.

“What if,” I say hesitantly. “What if I told you I might be in love with…all of them?”

She lets the words settle around us, smiling at me thoughtfully. I can see her trying to figure out how to respond. Like in her mind she’s writing down an idea and then crumpling up the paper into a ball, tossing it over her shoulder, and writing down a new one. Rinse and repeat.

“You know I didn’t grow up around wolves. I wasn’t raised waiting for ‘the one.’ I thank Fate everyday for bringing me to your dads, but before they came along I did love another. I still do.” She smiles shyly to herself.

“You, however, were not only raised in a blended, hybrid world, you are a hybrid by nature. Who’s to say your relationship can’t be a hybrid, a combination of the bond your wolf has with her mate and the spark you feel with Hunter?

“Fate brought you and Ace together. But she brought you and Hunter together just the same. And by extension she brought you to the rest of their pack. Fate doesn’t bind us, she simply brings us together. It’s our hearts that ultimately decide who we love.”

— — —

Eli

I’m happy for Hunter. I really am. It must feel good to be redeemed and have his old life open back up for him. Whereas I want nothing to do with my past, Hunter seems to have won it all. He’s got his family back, his friends…his girl.

But she’s not just his girl, she’s Ace’s mate. And she has Dean and Tate by the balls, they’re so smitten with her. I don’t blame them, I would be too. Every time I feel like I want to give in and approach her, something stops me and I freeze a little more, both figuratively and literally.

“Hey, man,” Ace walks over to where I’m standing, leaning against the railing that overlooks the entire club. “I can’t tell if you need a drink or if you’ve had too many.”

He hands me a beer and I raise my glass to thank him for it before downing half of it in one gulp. “The meeting went well. I’m happy for Hunter.”

Ace leans against the railing mirroring my stance. “Is that what’s leaving the permafrost under your feet? You’re thinking about how happy you are for Hunter?”

I look away and scoff. I should have known he’d know. He’s my Alpha. Whether it’s the alcohol or the ice burning through my veins I decide I can’t keep living like this anymore. I have to know if Sol is going to be a part of our lives for the long haul. “Are you in love with Solana?”

Surprise catches his features, but like the fleeting light around the room it passes in an instant. “Yes.” He says without hesitation.

“Even though she deceived us? Even though she loves Hunter and has her whole life? That doesn’t bother you?”

Ace buries his grin behind a sip of his drink. “I know this isn’t the answer you want to hear but no, that doesn’t bother me. At least, not anymore and not for the reasons you’re hoping for.”

“I’m just trying to understand…”

“What’s really on your mind, Eli? Be straight with me.”

My head hangs limply between my arms, my chest expanding wide with a heavy sigh. “My mate fell in love with someone else before I even met her. And then I met Sol, who fell in love before she met you. But here she is having her cake and eating it too. What’s wrong with me? Unloved by my own mate, then the first girl to ever make me feel something since then has been lying to us about who she is and I never sensed anything off.”

He looks out over the club deep in thought. That’s something I’ve always appreciated about him. When he answers a question he doesn’t just jump into it, he really stops to think so you know his response is tailored to you and not some platitude he can easily spew off and be done with you.

“I overheard Solana’s mom saying something interesting earlier. She said that Fate will only bring you together, but it’s not what binds you. That’s a matter of the heart.

“Hunter couldn’t give his heart to his mate because he was already bound to Sol. And Fate, for whatever reason, has led both of them here.

“Maybe it wasn’t an accident that your mate was with someone else, maybe that was Fate pushing you along your path to us. But like she said, only your heart can choose who to bond with.”

My eyes scan the crowd as I process what he said. “And what of her lying to us?”

He looks at me askance, “that’s nothing but an excuse to hide behind. I don’t fault her for protecting her secrets. And neither should you.” His tone at the end deepened dangerously close to a command.

“I can understand loving someone who’s not your mate, and I can understand choosing either to fight for them or let them go. But I don’t understand how you stomach knowing she’s with us, watching her with us.”

Ace smiles impishly and shrugs, “everyone’s got their kink.”

I think my jaw hits the floor, and judging by Ace’s boisterous laughter that’s exactly what must have happened.

“I don’t know what to say, Eli. I feel drawn to her, but it’s more than just a matebond. And seeing her breathe life back into Hunter and Tate and Dean…I love her for it.”

There’s no deception in his voice. He’s telling the truth. Everything he’s said so far is swirling in my mind and I’m working overtime to find purchase on sense of it all. As I’m wrangling my thoughts into submission something on the dance floor catches my eye. It’s hard to see but I’m sure those are Solana’s blazing green eyes looking up at us.

And some handsy asshole pushing up behind her.

“I think Sol found herself some unwelcome attention. You gunna break his hands or burn them?” I ask innocently, my eyes trained on Solana and the guy trying to get his hands on her. She distances herself by moving so that it looks like she’s just dancing. But the guy doesn’t take the hint and he keeps pursuing her.

Ace calmly finishes the rest of his beer, “I’m not going to do anything. The question is what are you going to do about it?”

He looks at me with challenge glinting in his eyes, daring me to free fall out of my comfort zone and commit one way or another.

I knock back the rest of my beer and without another moment’s hesitation I take off down the stairs towards Sol.