My friend Shay wants you guys to know that she is the queen and that you're her "fuckin' peasants."

Chapter Thirty Five

When Nolan told me he'd gotten the uniform from a female, I'd just assumed I'd be able to fit into it. But I didn't think she'd be the size of a grizzly bear or built like one either.

"Why the hell is it so huge?" I snapped at Nolan who was watching with glittering eyes as I struggled.

"Quit whining, darling. Would you rather walk around on the collar and leash? I'm sure you and I could conjure up some fun with that," he suggested with his sly grin. It only made me hope that I accidentally choked him with the collar.

"Funny, Nolan. You know we could get caught and killed, then what?" I asked and he frowned, walking over to me.

"Flower, it was a joke. You simply say it's a temporary one until yours has arrived. It's what they've done for several guards," he explained slowly, reaching up and rubbing his thumb along my jaw. I closed my eyes and took deep breaths to attempt at calming myself down.

After my conversation with Kendall this morning, I was slightly more anxious than I would usually be. He'd surprised me with breakfast in bed before telling me about several Kings who would be stopping by next week with their daughters-or potential wives, as Kendall said.

He'd then asked me how I wanted him to deal with it. I'd been surprised that he'd even asked for my opinion but hadn't argued. In fact, I'd been a bitch without hesitation and told him to do "whatever the hell he wanted" before storming out, which seemed to be the only thing I was good at these days.

I'd regretted it the second the door slammed shut, but I couldn't bring myself to go back and apologize. Pride was a hard thing to overcome, and I was just another one of its millions of victims. But ever since, I'd felt guilty and was beyond distracted.

"Flower?"

I opened my eyes, meeting the amber ones that were staring directly at me. I gave him a reassuring smile before patting his hand and pulling away. Nolan could be a bit overprotective when my mood shifted, and now wasn't the time for that.

"I'll be fine as long as this uniform doesn't snag onto something," I said but heard his feet shuffling towards me.

"It's exactly like the time we flew out of the country and posed as a King and his Queen who were visiting from far away," he murmured with a smile, and I found myself smiling too.

It had been right before Nolan and I had broken up. You have to keep in mind: the small island we'd visited was secluded from everyone and had no idea we were lying. To them, we were dressed like a King and Queen, claimed to be one, so we were one. They were absolutely ecstatic by our arrival.

We'd stayed in a stunning hotel where we'd been given the exclusive honeymoon suite and everything was completely free. They'd even ended up redecorating the hotel, placing vases of Amaryllises around each corner and building a new set of suites to name after "King Nolan." But the wonderful place had also been part of the reason we'd split up.

"So instead of a King and Queen, we're a guard and her mutt," I said, and Nolan flashed me a grin.

"Exactly, darling. Perhaps we can return here after and reenact some of those scenes in the hotel?" Nolan asked with a raised eyebrow. I laughed in return, some of my jitters disappearing.

"Not a chance, Nolan. Now go into the bathroom and shift so we can try this collar out," I said with my own grin, wiggling the collar that Nolan bared his teeth at.

He grumbled but made his way to the bathroom. I put the pair of keys in one of the numerous pockets. By the time I figured out how the headwear was supposed to go on, which took a lot of cursing from me, I could hear the bathroom door swinging open.

What I expected to see was Nolan's wolf walking out. What I didn't expect was Nolan standing there, leaning against the door frame with his infamous smirk. I also didn't expect him to be stark naked and proudly flaunting it all to me.

"I swear, Nolan!" I snapped, quickly slapping a hand over my eyes and whirling away. Nolan didn't seem to understand what rejection meant. But then again, with a body like his, I don't think I would've either.

I could hear his laughter before he said, "Don't play innocent, darling. You and I both know you're quite familiar with my body."

"Shut up and shift," I muttered, gritting my teeth. Nolan was going to say things like this around the wrong person and get his ass kicked.

After a few seconds, I felt his rough fur rubbing against my leg. I opened my eyes and knelt down, running my fingers through his thick, dark coat. I was still stunned a little by the size of Nolan's wolf.

Shifting hadn't been allowed back home, so I'd never seen Nolan's wolf in all the years that I'd known him. It's why I hadn't recognized him when we'd first bumped into one another.

"If I end up forgetting you, remember your glory moment just now," I said as I used the key on the collar, hearing it unclick and open.

Nolan gave a low growl in warning, which I chose to ignore with a simple roll of my eyes. He may scare others into obedience, but I happened to know better.

I carefully put the collar around his neck with a gleeful smile, and Nolan's eyes were slits the whole time. When it finally clicked into place, the collar was like a second skin. What was worse was that it appeared to have been made that way.

"You only have to wear it for a little while," I said reassuringly to Nolan, who was shaking his head in an attempt to get comfortable with the new item.

I stood up after placing the keys back into a pocket, the thick leash in hand. "Alright, let's go," I said, taking a deep breath before Nolan and I walked out, not as ourselves, but as an expressionless guard and her large guard dog who was under tight control by the shortened leash.

When we were in the halls, it felt like every eye was on us in collective suspicion. I felt the desire to stare back and challenge them but ended up reluctantly resisting. That would probably raise actual suspicion, which was something we definitely didn't need.

As we roamed the halls, I did notice the small and subtle nods of respect I got from other guards. I would return them, surprised more people didn't see the acts. But then again, no one paid attention to them.

Walking at the same pace as the other guards, we got there a little later than I would've preferred. But just as I turned the corner, I caught the back of a guard entering the Indoor Stable. I yanked a startled Nolan back because that wasn't all I saw.

Nolan huffed and tugged me around the corner and towards Kendall despite my low hissing at him. I'd carelessly forgotten how often Lance used to be around Kendall. So now, my heart was thudding at ten times the normal rate, and I was starting to sweat in the uniform that felt like it was roasting me slowly but surely.

Nolan, however, was doing perfectly fine. His heartbeat was as steady as his walk. The damn bastard had spent so much time lying that this was nothing to him. In Nolan's eyes, this was just another day.

We reached the door where two guards stood close by and the others were only a little ways away. Kendall was off to the side a bit and didn't look too friendly. When he caught me looking, his cold eyes turned on me.

"Go in there and tell Officer O'Conner to hurry up. I have many things to do and waiting on him is not one," Kendall ordered, and for once, I was glad to obey. I was willing to do whatever to get away from him.

Before we entered the room, Nolan bared his teeth at Kendall, and I happened to know it was a display of dominance and possession towards me. Kendall's eyes flickered, but before he could say anything, I jerked Nolan by the chain and into the room.

I thought the wailing of the werewolves during my stay with John was bad, but I didn't think it could quite compare to the silence piercing through the Indoor Stable.

Silence was a funny thing. A lot of us prayed for it, even if it was just for a moment of Silence's time. Some of us were even willing to slaughter just to find it. But the Silence that thrummed through here in tangible, transverse-like waves was anything but peaceful.

The wails of the werewolves had, at the least, shown that they were mourning, desperate to gain back the freedom they had clearly lost. It showed that they were still fighting for the right side and that their minds were partially intact. Here, it wasn't that simple.

Here, it wasn't near as easy to differentiate between the sane and the not-so-sane. They were both silent, one in fear and the other in loyal obedience. I could only hope there were more of the former than the latter.

I saw Lance locking the cell for his werewolf, completely distracted. I quickly knelt down, took out the keys, and unlocked the collar around Nolan's neck. By the time Lance turned around, it was too late.

Nolan had shifted and quickly sprinted towards him. With ease, Nolan's arm slid around Lance's neck and constricted like a python. Lance may have special skills, but they couldn't prepare him for the unexpected strength of a werewolf. Within a minute, Lance was out.

"We need to block the door, darling, before the Gordon boy realizes what's going on," Nolan murmured as he was getting dressed. I could hear the jingling of keys and turned to see him grinning, key in hand, and Lance facedown on the floor in only a pair of underwear.

"Lock him up before letting out the wolves. Otherwise, they'll tear him apart. I'm going to look for something," I said and left Nolan to deal with the wolves as I searched around.

The place was clean of pretty much anything. The best I could find were stacks of what appeared to be replacement doors for the cells. Each was sturdy and large enough that it would take more than one human to move.

I decided the best tactic was to start stacking them in front of the door, bringing them over one by one. So that's what I did, moving as quickly as I possibly could with the doors. It was a little before halfway that I could hear the werewolves' excitement.

"Shut them up!" I snapped towards Nolan at the sound of yet another chorus of howls from the wolves.

"Relax, darling; the room's soundproof. We need to move faster. We're already completely away from the plan," Nolan replied before snarling loudly at the wolves who quieted, submitting to him.

"Maybe you should lift these doors yourself," I muttered to Nolan, who just grinned at me before unlocking the next cell.

We worked in sync like that, the werewolves vocally displaying their happiness at a chaotic level. Some were kept in the cells because the second Nolan opened the door, they would jump out and attack him. They were the broken werewolves, only loyal to their guard and too far gone for us to help.

Just as I was finishing with the stack of doors, the door to the room opened. I froze for a moment even though I was unable to see the other person due to the doors between us. They were quiet for the slightest second before the yelling started.

"Go around, now! We're under attack! Kill them on sight without hesitation!"