Mated (The Queen's War #1)

Chapter 24

After dressing and leaving their rooms, Lucan began to lead Perci towards the lounge she had dubbed the 'war room' where upon entry Abaddon, Zagan, Lillith and Valefar enveloped him in strong embraces. Perci stepped back to give them some room and received her own soft hug from Abaddon. They shared a silent look of appreciation and herded everyone to the table.

"Congratulations." He grinned knowingly at them both and a round of congratulatory noises followed. Perci tried to disappear into Lucan's shirt with embarrassment, but thankfully Abaddon took pity on her and moved the conversation on to more pressing matters.

"So what have I missed?" Lucan asked.

Abaddon quickly took charge and gave his King a rundown of the events since his feralism. Every now and again he cast a proud look at Perci, who in turn blushed and continued eating from the tray of small lunch bites that had been brought in. Once all his Commanders had brought him up to speed, Lucan sat back and processed all the information.

"We should go to the labs." He finally said.

"Why?" Abaddon asked.

"To see whether the Angelspear still has an effect on me."

"Absolutely not!" Perci stood, appalled. "The serum didn't make you immune to feralism."

"There's a question I want answered." He stated, standing himself.

Perci and Abaddon rushed after Lucan as he strode through the room and out the doors. They shared worried looks as he erupted into his demon form and took flight without a backward glance.

"Lucan!" Perci yelled, but he didn't turn back. "Abaddon, quickly, follow him."

"He obviously doesn't want us there when he does whatever it is he's going to do." Abaddon countered, but transformed and spread his leathery wings all the same.

"I don't care! We don't know what a second dose of that Angelspear will do to him with the serum in his body. Please." She pleaded.

"Fine." He grumbled and yelled at a nearby Gargoyle demon to come over. "Carry your Queen to Taran's labs." Perci took a step back from the demon instinctively and opened her mouth to protest but Abaddon cut her off. "I don't have the wing strength to carry you myself or I would. I'll be flying right behind you."

"Okay." She gulped and stepped up to the Gargoyle who looked like he had just swallowed a lemon. She could imagine just how daunting carrying his Queen and taking ownership of her safety was for him.

Once she was comfortably in the demon's arms he took off with powerful wingbeats that weren't nearly as graceful as Lucans. She was glad to say that they reached the labs mere moments after Lucan, but just missed him as he walked purposely through the doors. Perci barely managed to race in after him and slide in front of the Angelspear, which caused her stubborn mate to frown and try to move around her.

"Perci. Move."

"Can you promise me that you won't go feral again?" She didn't wait for a reply. "No, you can't."

"I won't turn feral, there's a theory I need to confirm and the only way to do that is to touch it."

"You can't know that!" Perci cast eyes at Taran who was watching their conversation with wide eyes. "You agree with me, don't you?"

"I don't think it's my place to say." He mumbled, cowering under the harsh stare Lucan was shooting him.

"Lucan, for fuck's sake." She exclaimed as he lifted her up under her arms and gently tossed her to Abaddon who caught her and held her still. "Get the serum ready, now." She spat at Taran who frantically did as he was told.