"Let me go!"
"Try and make us, pathetic little bitch!"
"You will regret this. I am from silvergate, my alpha will… argh!"
Athena cried out as the stinging slap snapped her head sideways.
"Think you're all that, little miss mate?" the burly one who had first tripped her sneered.
"Well, since you think you're so special, we've got a special task for you," another said as he brought out a Polaroid camera.
The other two pinned her to the ground as she struggled, bruising her skin against the hard forest floor.
Tears of frustration leaked out of Athena's eyes as she twisted, bucked, and turned. One of her feet slipped out of their hands and she immediately kicked the shin of the closest one.
"Shit!" he yelled as he reflexively danced back.
It was all the opportunity she needed. She twisted and kicked the second one in the groin.
He dropped her other leg and she scrambled up, yelling, "Somebody, help!"
"Get her!" the one with the camera shouted as Athena put all her might into running.
She barely saw the sudden movement in front of her before she was tackled to the ground.
What the…
"Going somewhere?!" the newcomer sneered in her face.
She instantly recognised him. His name immediately registered in her brain and a brief relief shuddered through her body, before she remembered.
He had tackled her to the ground. He's part of this?
Her question was immediately answered as she tried to get away from him, but he grabbed her. Then he rolled and pinned her to the ground.
The disgusting sneer was still on his face as he looked at her heaving chest.
One of the men she had kicked held her legs down while the other held her arms.
The bastard with the camera trained it on her again.
Athena refused to let her fear show, even as his intent darkened in his eyes.
"You wouldn't dare. He would kill you for this," she said, with hate burning in her eyes.
"Is that so?" he said, as if enjoying a secret. "Well…"
He grabbed her gown and tore it.
"Get off me!"
Athena jerked upward in what used to be her parents' bedroom.
Heart thumping, the scent of the shrubs, and that of the bastard who had pinned her, followed her out of the dream.
Her mouth was dry and icy chills were all over her body.
She sighed and leaned back against the headboard before closing her eyes again.
Which proved to be a mistake, as the images from her dream jumped gleefully into her mind's eye.
She checked the alarm clock. It was still 4:09 a.m.
Abandoning sleep, she tightened the belt of her purple silk robe, wore her fuzzy slippers, and went to throw back the curtains.
"Why now?" she thought vaguely, as the waning stars winked at her beneath the cloak of the moon.
"Maybe because you are going back," Morrigan stirred. "I can't wait to tear them apart," she said matter-of-factly.
Athena let out a humourless chuckle as she tilted her head against the cool window.
"We are not tearing anyone apart. Not after I declare a reign of peace."
"Will you let them get away with it, then? They will be part of your pack."
"Well, I don't think the others are from there. Just him," Athena mumbled thoughtfully, thinking back to that horrible night in the woods. She tamped down the instant fury that wanted to overwhelm her and tried to think objectively.
That day, he had been hidden, while he gave the job to the three she didn't know. Thinking back now, she was almost sure he might not have shown his damn face if she hadn't run that way.
"He deserves death for what he did to you," Morrigan insisted.
"Death is too kind for his type," Athena agreed, then sighed. "But there are orders to things. If he dares to go back after what he did, the Alpha will handle him."
"You think they would believe you?" Morrigan asked.
"The Alpha is a just man," she answered, not wanting to think of the other person whom she was not so sure of. "Besides, I am no longer that helpless girl they all knew."
"More reason to kill him," Morrigan tried one more time.
Earning a smile from Athena.
************
At the Silvergate Boundary
Four matte-black Lexus LXs glided to a commanding stop just before the Silvergate border. Their engines purred low, then faded into silence like trained beasts coming to heel.
Soldiers dressed in deep green and honey-striped uniforms, the Queen's silver crest embroidered on their sleeves, sprang from three of the vehicles and lined up crisply on either side.
General Spears got down from the first one and opened the back door.
Queen Athena stepped down in a simple, unadorned, knee-length green flared gown with puffed arms.
Simple, heart-shaped silver earrings were the only accessories she wore, with white loafers, gotten for a few dollars at a corner store.
Her gorgeous red hair swished behind her as she looked around the boundary with a smile on her face.
"Silvergate, here I come."
"Your Majesty, why did you ask us to stop here?" General Spears asked.
"Thank you, Lorraine. I will be taking the rest of the journey on foot."
Surprise registered on the general's face before she schooled her expression again.
"Your Majesty, I am sorry for my insubordination, but I was confused when you said you wanted this simple dress. I mean…you are the Queen. And now you want to walk on foot to your mate's pack?"
Athena tamped down her irritation and smiled.
"Yes, Lorraine. I would like to go back alone and on foot. This pack has a certain impression of me, and I won't want to intimidate anyone by going with all these suddenly. I want you to stay here and wait for High General Conrad. I believe by the time he gets here, I will have explained everything I need to. You can come along then."
Worry swam in the general's eyes as she bowed slightly and said,
"At least let me send a few soldiers with you, Your Majesty. Gaius…"
"…has nothing on me, and you know it," Athena said firmly.
"Yes, Your Majesty," General Spears said, and moved from Athena's path.
She and all the soldiers bowed as the Queen started to leave.
Athena touched Lorraine's shoulder as she passed.
Of course, she knew what the general was worried about.
Though she had her wolf now, and had not hesitated to let her loose on their enemies; Lorraine knew she wouldn't let her out in the pack.
Morrigan's power was too volatile, and once the haze was on her, her wolf could wipe out even the people she was supposed to protect.
Athena was not about to let that happen. And Lorraine knew that.
Unease grew in Lorraine as she watched the Queen disappear around the bend in the path that led to the pack.
Her hand flexed lightly against her weapon holster.
"I have a bad feeling about this," she grimaced.