Plot Twist

Chapter 26

Chapter 25

"Panic causes tunnel vision. Calm acceptance of danger allows us to more easily assess the situation and see the options."

Simon Sinek

"I honestly don't think I have ever been more happy to be home than I am right now. I mean, don't get me wrong, my parents are going to ground me till I'm thirty, but at least I'm not worried about anybody killing me," Zack rambled as we walked.

Our plane had just landed in the airport, and our little ragtag group was making our way towards the gate. Being stuck on a plane with Ryder and Courtney was, surprisingly, not as terrible as I thought it would be. Werewolf-Barbie spent most of the time napping, and Ryder kept trying to "connect" with Skylar mentally through their mate bond. I'm not entirely sure how he was "connecting" with fake-twin but I do know that he was too focused on his task to annoy me.

Unfortunately, he wasn't able to contact Skylar, but he did manage to look really constipated while he tried.

"You know what I'm going to do when I get home?" Courtney asked, and when nobody replied, she still continued, "I'm going to a party. One where I can go to get laid. It's been so long since I've had a good fuck."

"That sounds like fun," Jackson's tone was sarcastic, "Except, oh, wait--you can't. You know why? Because the only reason you're here right now and not still in England is to help us find our sister. So, I'm afraid that all the parties and fucking is going to have to wait until after my sister is safe and sound."

"You're no fun," Courtney pouted, "Although, who says that the fucking has to wait? I'm sure I could show you a good time." As if her request wasn't obvious enough, she trailed one of her fake, hot pink nails down Jackson's arm.

"No," Jackson shook her off, "You're not my type."

"Yeah, right," Courtney scoffed, "Sweetie, I'm everyone's type."

Unless you're packing about nine inches, I really don't think you are.

Fortunately, we had reached the gate at this point, and we didn't have to listen to anymore of Courtney's embarrassing flirting. It wasn't hard to spot the three bodyguards that Mason had assigned to protect me--mainly because they all stuck out like sore thumbs. Among the crowd of eager families waiting to greet their loved ones stood three imposing figures dressed in black suits. Two were tall, broad-shouldered men and one smaller, muscular woman. As if they didn't look intimidating enough, all three covered their eyes with black shades.

Geez, these people look like they just walked right off the set of Men in Black.

As we neared, the guards seemed to recognize me, and one of the men rushed forward to help me with my bags. "Welcome back, Your Highness," he greeted me, "I'm Agent Peters, that's Garcia and Smith." Leaving behind Jackson and the others, Peters ushered me toward the other guards.

It was one thing to be treated like royalty while I was staying in a castle, but it was kind of weird to be treated like the Queen of England back home. Maybe it was because my new status hadn't completely sunk in yet--I still felt like the underachieving teenager with a knack for ending up in alternate dimensions.

And I still was the underachieving teenager with a knack for ending up in alternate dimensions.

Let's not also forget that most of my time as 'Queen' has been spent doing non-Queen things.

Like going off to find my kidnapped sister.

Every time I thought about Skylar, the more my stomach twisted. I kept trying to tell myself that she wasn't locked in a dungeon somewhere, getting tortured--but I didn't know that. Nobody knew what Skylar was experiencing except Skylar, and apparently, sometimes Ryder.