Ivan's Queen

Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three - Stray

2 a.m. on 20th December.

Ivan Romanov's P.O.V.

I stare out of the window at the scenery as we drive up the winding roads. It's the middle of the night and we're about halfway there. To get to the eastern region we must take a mountainous route which has many twists and turns with barely any protection from falling off the edge. I make a mental note at doing a check up on all dangerous routes of the kingdom and making them safe for travel.

It's been peaceful so far but I gave up on trying to sleep an hour ago. Maksim and Konstantin are on edge for leaving Amelia behind and their emotions double all of mine. I reassure myself that leaving her at home is a smart decision. It's heavily guarded and Ira is sitting underneath our bedroom's balcony so that nobody can attempt to get in through there either. Nothing will happen to her that I'm sure of.

But Liev played his cards right and underestimating that nothing will happen to me was my biggest mistake.

As we're on a bend and dangerously close to the edge I hear the sudden roar of an engine and frown before perking up in my seat. My eyes widen in alarm when I see a large truck barreling towards us. Another set of headlights reflect in the rear-view mirror which makes me turn. I see a larger truck and SUV behind it driving towards us at full speed which makes me growl in anger. Liev! I think to myself. All this time I thought he was going to hurt Amelia!

I snarl loudly when both the vehicles force the cars containing my warriors and guards off the edge before slamming into mine. The driver loses control instantly as we spin and skid to a screeching halt. The snow ends up covering our windows and we can barely make out the headlights around us.

Panting, I freeze when I realize that the front of the car is facing towards the mountain's edge. Cursing, I'm about to open the door when the SUV rams into the boot and pushes the car over. I'm thrown out of the windshield as the front of the car slams straight into the rock and the sound of glass shattering rings in my ears.

I try to grip onto a ledge but fail as my body keeps tumbling downwards. Jagged edges pierce my skin and I cry out in pain. Maksim and Konstantin immediately take over and help me to grasp onto another ledge but my hands slip because of the snow and I fall further down. My shirt rides up and the rough edges of stone and hardened dirt scratch my skin mercilessly.

My beasts howl in distress and anger as they try and grip onto something but it's no use. Until my torso smacks hard against a long ledge. Crying out in relief I dig my claws into the hard earth and pull myself up slightly so I don't slip off due to the ice. A pained growl escapes my lips as I hold on and my breath is visible before me as I pant harshly.

However, something moves above which captures my attention. I look up to where the car had tipped from and recognize Liev immediately. He smirks darkly as he watches me struggle to hold on before pulling something out of his coat pocket. Dread fills me and instinctively, I scramble to pull myself up and out of the way. Unfortunately, it's too late.

I hear the gunshot, loud and echoing in the quiet mountainous area before I feel the bullet lodge into my side. Snarling in pain, I hear Maksim and Konstantin roar furiously in my mind as we try and hide from the bullets. The people who were in the trucks and SUV are also firing at me. A loud grunt escapes me when another bullet hits my right arm which makes my hand slip from the ledge.

The instant pain that takes over my entire body tells me that the bullets are laced with Wolfsbane. That bastard truly wanted no chance of me surviving. I hear Konstantin howl in pain first but then, Maksim cries out. It's then that I realize that there's silver in them too. Whatever hope I had of at least one beast being able to help me is now gone. I'm on my own and by the looks of it I don't have much time.