The Orphaned Queen (By Brandi Ray) novel Chapter 13

I wake up from a nightmare. I vaguely remember the details. Rogues, witches, vampires, and what I assume are dark elves are attacking Odette and me. I sit up in the bed. And for a second, I almost panic before I realize where I am and that Odett is still asleep beside me. It’s so strange because the dream felt so real. I look over to the bedside table and find the small alarm clock. It’s 7:47 A.M. I decide to run Odett a warm bath before breakfast. Walking into the bathroom, I see a bottle of bubble bath sitting on the counter, so I pour a little in after starting the water. Once the tub is about halfway, I turn the water off and walk over to the bed to gently wake Odett.

“Come on, sweet love. It’s time to get up and start your day. I have a nice warm bubble bath ready for you.” I say to coax her out of the bed.

“Yes, ma’am.” She says in such a sweet little voice, and I can’t help but smile.

She spends about half an hour playing with the bubbles before I get her out. I brush her long curly brown hair and braid it in two French braids to keep it out of her face. By the time I’ve got her hair done and she’s dressed, the food is here, and Jess is waiting too.

“Hey Jess, I figured you would be with Beta Orian this morning,” I say as I walk over to the table where the food is. I pick Odett up and put her in the chair.

“Nope. Orian had work to do and had to talk to the King about a few things.” She says before giving me a sharp look and continuing. “And I needed to talk to you.”

“Oh, Okay,” I say as I start getting nervous. Does Jess want to reject the Kings beta, or has she finally decided she’s had enough of dealing with my problems? Maybe she is just sick of me. “What did you want to talk about?”

“You aren’t leaving us here! If you leave, we will follow you.” She declares, and I’m shocked. I thought she was asleep when Beta Orian and I talked last night. “Orian told me you wanted to leave without us.”

“It’s not that I want to leave ya’ll, but it’s too dangerous to bring yall along. And you are finally happy and have found your mate. I can’t take your happiness away from you! And Odett is in a stable and safe environment here with you.” I say as I cut up Odetts omelet for her and place her plate in front of her so she can start eating while making sure not to look up at Jess. She doesn’t need to see the pain I’m in thinking of my life without them.

“Then don’t leave.” She says, but I shake my head. I know she wouldn’t understand.

“Jess, I can’t. Dosha hasn’t returned since the rogue attack, and I still can’t use my magic. I have to find someone that can help me. And I won’t put ya’ll in danger more than I already have. I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if anything happened to either of you.” I protest while trying to keep my voice steady.

“You never put us in danger. You saved us both!” She said, slightly raising her voice.

“I got lucky that Dosha had enough strength. That’s all.” I say as I shake my head.

“Please don’t make me lose you too. I don’t think I could handle that.” She responds, her voice shaking while staring at the floor, making me want to wrap her in my arms and tell her I won’t leave. But I can’t stay here. I need to find a place where I belong. Somewhere I can help people. I need to find a purpose in my life.

“Let’s just eat before our food gets cold. We’ll talk about it more later.” I say, and she nods. We sit at the table with Odett and eat our breakfast in silence.

“The head witch was very understanding and agreed to send someone to assess the situation. She should be here in two days.” I say, and he seems relieved.

“Thank you, Alpha. I know you are weary of Rain, but she is important to Jessica.” He says, and I nod in understanding and appreciate him not outing my situation to the pack members waiting for us in my office as we walk in.

“Gentlemen, shall we get this meeting over with?” I say as they all stand and bow to me.

About ten minutes into the meeting, I started getting that same bad feeling again, but I can’t figure out where it was coming from. I can’t seem to concentrate on the meeting any longer.

“Zion, somethings wrong!” Ryker blurts out in a panic.

“What’s wrong? Has someone trespassed on our territory again?” I ask, ready for a fight.

“IT’S RAIN!” He says, and I instantly break out into cold sweets as I quickly pull up the security fed from her room. After it loads, I see Ashley walking into Rain’s bathroom, and I’m on my feet instantly while linking Orian and Sam to fill them in. Orian is right behind me as we run through the hall and up the stairs. We get to the room a split second before Sam and James. I quickly walk into the bathroom and explode in anger at what I see. Ashley is standing over the tub trying to drown my mate!!