Tracked: A Valkyrie Saga Book 2

Chapter 9 - Honaray Clan Member

I wasn't making this decision lightly, but Ray deserved to know all of her options. She may initially be angry that I took this step but I was confident that in time, Ray would understand that I was acting in her best interest. At least that is what I kept reminding myself as my call was transferred for the fourth time. I was trying to talk directly to Queen Anne Deveroe, but as the sovereign ruler of the Americas Northeast Kingdom, she didn't generally take phone calls from small clan leaders such as myself. After another fifteen minutes on hold a gruff voice barked into the phone, "this is Prince Darron Deveroe. I am told you have important information that you wish to share with the Queen, but I can promise that this call isn't getting transferred any higher than me. Tell me this vital information and I will decide what to do with it."

Prince Darron was the Queen's eldest son and was in charge of the general security of the Kingdom. A sort of counterpart to Hernan Collins and a perfect person to relay the fact that I had just discovered the existence of my niece who is unattached to any powerful clans and was blessed with five Gifts.

--Sean Olsen

Logan positioned himself so that he would be leaning against Lawerance with one arm wrapped around his shoulders and I chuckled as I pushed us free of the void. The younger werewolf nearly jumped out of his skin when Logan simply appeared next to him.

"What the fuck, Logan!" Lawerance yelled and Logan started laughing so hard that he had to bend over and brace himself on his knees.

"Oh, little Val! That is the coolest Gift ever. I could pull the greatest pranks ever if I had you as a sidekick," Logan said, though his voice was still heavily laced with laughter.

I was quietly laughing too when a disgusted, sarcastic voice filled with judgment called, "Jesus Ray. First, you hang out with humans, then two gifters, and now werewolves. I was hoping that you were better than this."

Regina's words effectively silenced all of the laughter in the air and I scanned the faces around me to see that she had offended nearly everyone in earshot. It was equally clear that not a single one of them was going to call her on it. Blake and Max's obvious shame was the last straw and I physically felt my temper snap.

I turned to face the entitled brat and said in a heated voice, "Regina, you are the crown princess of the entire West Coast of the United States of America. One day, you are not just going to be the queen of the Valkyries but also the ruler of every supernatural person in this territory. The Shifters are a large part of that community, so I would suggest that you rip that stick out of your ass, and start at least communicating with them. The only way you will be an effective leader is if you cultivate some sort of relationship with these people. Disrespecting them like you just did is not the right way to build rapport and respect."

The atmosphere was equally silent and tense after my little rant as Regina's pretty delicate face started to turn red in anger. "You cannot speak to me in such a way! My mother will hear of this," Regina called only deepening my exasperation with the silly girl.

"Good," I responded. "From what I can tell, your mother could use the same advice."

That might have been a step too far because Regina wasn't the only one to gasp in surprise as my rash words fell from my mouth. After the initial shock passed, Regina tipped her nose in the air and stomped away towards her hundred thousand dollar sports car. Austin, Nui, and the royal guards were quick to follow her lead. Felix gave me a sympathetic look before hurrying after them just like I had predicted he would. I was surprised that Jonas didn't follow. Instead, he actually seemed to be taking small steps that were bringing him closer to me.