Brodie
Iam still completely reeling as I come to terms with everything that just happened. I can’t believe the little human, whom I admit to having a small crush on, is the next shifter queen. Is that the reason I’m attracted to her? Did my magic sense something in her that no one else, including herself, did?
Hunter and I hurry back through the palace, both of us lost in our thoughts. I feel a sense of wonder and excitement through our bond, but also a sense of disappointment.
“You know we won’t be selected as her mates, right? Our bond prevents it. In fact, as soon as she walked through those doors and the magic hit her, marks should have started showing up on shifters all over the zone. It’s only a matter of time before they begin to walk through the front door.” He growls that last bit, and I know he’s feeling exactly the same as me, because the whole time I was holding her, I was wishing she was mine, but I know she can’t be, and the disappointment I feel is visceral. Iwant to snatch her up and run away with her and keep her all to myself.
“Fuck, I know,” I snarl, unable to control my temper. I’m mad as hell that I’m going to have to watch Colbie while she is being courted by others. I’ve never resented being in a bond group before and actively looked forward to the day our mate was marked, but right now, I could burn it all to the ground. My wolf whimpers mournfully inside me and covers his eyes with his paws, sadness leaking from our soul.
“My dragon wants to set fire to any male who appears with bond marks. He’s actively plotting their deaths and is sure he can get Gem’s phoenix on board,” Hunter admits ruefully, rubbing the spot on his chest where his animal resides. “How are we going to protect her with our animals doing crazy shit?”
We reach the courtyard we arrived in, and both of us sort of just stand there for a moment, lost in our thoughts.
“I don’t know but we better get our shit together quickly, because I have a feeling this is not going to go as smoothly as we hoped.” There are alarm bells inside my head at the fact that we couldn’t feel an animal within the new queen. We should at least be able to sense it, but it’s almost like she was wearing the pendant again. She feels completely human. Did something go wrong with the magic?
If she doesn’t, there will be nothing to stop shifters from challenging her. There’s a law that says she has to be strong enough not to cower even to the most alpha shifters. Part of the ceremony calls for any shifter who wishes to challenge to step forward. No one ever has because they can always feel how powerful the king or queen is, but Colbie doesn’t feel like a shifter at all, and it won’t take long for that to spread through the shifter population.
Hunter shifts, and we make our way back to the neutral zone and the night watch headquarters. He lands on the reinforcedroof, and I climb down as he shifts back. Neither of us waste any time hurrying down to brief the commander on what happened.
Bryson is relieved that the new royal has appeared and commands our whole team to return to the palace. “Fuck, Gryff isn’t here,” I mutter to Hunter as we take our leave and head to our apartment to gather Liam and Gem.
“He’s just going to have to catch up. I’m sure Dad will let him know where we are once he returns.” I wince at the thought of being caught in the crossfire of Bryson’s anger, but Gryff brought it on himself. He can lie in the bed he made.
We find Gem and Liam watching television in our apartment. “Where’s the coffee? What took you so damn long?” Liam frowns at our empty hands. Heck, I’d completely forgotten that’s what we were doing. We worked late last night and all needed the caffeine hit this morning, even though we weren’t working again until this afternoon.
“The new shifter royal has made themselves known,” I announce, and that has both of them sitting up straight, paying attention.
“Holy crap, when? Where?” Gem demands at the same time Liam asks, “Who?”
“You aren’t going to believe this,” I tell them as Hunter goes into his room and starts packing a bag. We’ll be staying at the palace for the near future, so we’re going to need to take some of our things there. “Remember the pretty little baker?”
“No…” Gem whispers, understanding what I mean straight away, but Liam just screws up his face in confusion.
“What about her? What does she have to do with the new royal?”
I roll my eyes at our bear bond mate. God, sometimes he’s so dense. “Colbie is the next shifter queen. When we went in for coffee, Violet made her tell us. She needed an escort to the palace.”
Liam’s confusion disappears as his expression turns to a scowl. “You’re kidding.”
“Huh. Maybe that’s why my phoenix was so insistent we return to the bakery. He instinctively knew.”
I wouldn’t put it past him. Gem’s phoenix has magic on levels we can’t even begin to comprehend. It’s like he’s lived a thousand lives and just knows stuff.
“Fucking great, and now we have to make sure she doesn’t get herself killed between now and being crowned. Has there ever been a more pathetic human who was chosen? Jesus, what was Aramis thinking?” Liam puts his head in his hands and props his elbows on his knees, shaking his head.
“Dude, what the fuck?” I smack his shoulder. “What is your fucking problem with her?”
He stands up and presses his chest against mine, getting in my face. “You know this changes nothing. You can’t start anything with her, even if she’s a shifter now. She’s the queen and has chosen mates, and we are still waiting for ours. If I can’t fuck around with Gianna, then you assholes have to keep your fucking paws off the queen, which means we’ll protect her and nothing else.”
“Whoa, no one said anything about fucking the queen.” Gem places a hand on Liam’s chest and gives him a push. Liam snarls and spins, heading to his room to pack his own bag.
“Fuck, what an asshole,” I grumble.
“He isn’t wrong,” Gem murmurs quietly so Liam can’t hear him. Nobody needs him gloating.
I sigh heavily and rub my chest. My wolf’s whining and pacing is becoming painful. “I know. It’s going to be a fucking nightmare. Lucas told us we need to help her with her shift.”
Gem’s expression would be comical in its horror if it wasn’t so tragic. “He wants us to teach her how to shift? What the fuck is he thinking?”
