“I think Lucas is right. I can think of half a dozen very powerful shifters in my army who aren’t in bond groups, and those are just the ones I know of. Remember, the call goes out across the shifter lands. You’ll see, everything will work out like it’s meant to.” My dad is quick to agree with his friend. “Now, you guys should head off to bed. You have your work cut out for you to get her up to speed with all her abilities. Hunter, talk to your mother, she may be able to find some books with more in-depth information about hydra shifters, not to mention the pegasus abilities. You’re going to need to know those too, so you can work with her on them.”
I don’t have the first clue about pegasus powers, so any help I can get will be appreciated. “Yeah, I’ll do that first thing tomorrow morning,” I tell him. With that, we all take our leave.
“Oh, and boys, find out where the hell my son is, and when you do, let him know I want to speak to him.” Lucas’s tone isdeadly. The man is usually so easygoing, but I would not like to be in Gryffin’s shoes right now.
“He’s following up on an anonymous tip about the shifter kids that are still missing. He promised to be back tomorrow. I’ll let him know you need to speak to him,” Liam says, flat-out lying to the king, and Brodie and I gape at him. It’s not like Liam to cover for one of us. He likes to stir shit up and is happy to watch the fallout.
“A tip?” Bryson scowls. “Why did I not know about this?”
“We think it’s a wild goose chase, which is why he went on his own. The village he’s going to sits at the base of the Aramis Rift. It’s unlikely to be true because it’s so inhospitable there, but we didn’t want to ignore it just in case.”
Well, he’s not lying about that. The village he is going to is exactly where Liam said, but the reason is wrong. It softens Lucas’s anger, though, so Gryff better kiss Liam’s ass when he finally returns.
“He better be. We’re having a formal dinner to introduce Colbie to the rest of shifter society tomorrow. It will be broadcast to all of them. It will look like sour grapes if the son of the former king is not in attendance, so make sure he’s there.” He growls the last bit, his tiger pushing forward.
We assure him we will before the three of us take our leave.
“Fuck, he better be back,” Liam growls as we head toward our suite, “or I’ll kick his ass myself.”
Chapter
Twenty-Six
Gryffin
The door to our apartment swings open, and I enter feeling dejected and resigned. I promised Gem if I didn’t have any success this time, I would give up. I was sure I would find something this time, but the village of Zalfari was weird. Most shifter cities and towns coexist peacefully. It doesn’t matter what your animal is, you’re judged on your individual strength, but in Zalfari, it seemed like what animal you are determines your social status. The head alpha was, ironically enough, a lion shifter name Leon. He was an aggressive asshole who made it clear he wasn’t happy I was there, but I could tell he wasn’t the most powerful shifter in the village, so how did he end up as the one in charge? He blocked me from questioning a lot of the residents, and I only got to speak to a few, all of which denied anyone with any bond marks that matched mine.
I wasted a whole day getting the runaround and eventually had to give up and return home. I wasn’t sad to see the back of that town. It was on the edge of the Aramis Rift, the inhospitable mountain range casting shadows over the snow-covered village.It’s the last inhabitable place before the mountain range and is made up of shifters who patrol the border and the tunnel through the mountains that leads to the vampire kingdom. Anyone who tries to get through the rift without using the tunnel never returns. Rumor has it the Aramis Rift is where feral shifters escape to if they want to avoid the death sentence that comes with being turned without help from a royal.
I toss my backpack down next to the couch and look around the obviously empty apartment. Where is everyone? It’s supposed to be our night off, so at least some of my bond should be here. I walk into my bedroom and find a note on my bed.
Shifter royal has appeared. We have reported to the palace as requested.
It’s Hunters writing. I drop the note, swearing as I hurry to grab my phone out of my bag. It’s on silent, and I find half a dozen missed calls and messages from my parents and various members of my bond group. The last message I received is from my sister.
Gretchin: Dude, you are in so much trouble. Dad is pissed!
I groan and grab my backpack, shoving my phone back in, and hurry out of the apartment. Once I leave the night watch building, I shift, pick up my backpack in my mouth, and run through the neutral zone. It’s late, but not late enough for curfew, so there are still a few people about who quickly get out of the way of the large, black and white tiger, so my journey to the shifter zone is quick.
Once I hit the forest, I pick up the pace, my paws easily eating up the distance as I weave my way toward the palace.The scents of the forest invade my nose as I breathe evenly, my tiger not getting tired despite the long distance it has already run today. I can feel small creatures around me, but I ignore the urge to investigate and focus on getting to the palace as swiftly as possible.
I cover the distance in half an hour and slow down and creep carefully into the grounds. I don’t set off any alarms because my form is keyed to the magic protecting it, but I also don’t want to run into any guards who might delay me further. I head toward the side entrance, but a sound in the stables has me slowing down, dropping my backpack, and creeping forward in a crouch.
I remember Archie was tempted out of the safety of the palace by the stable kittens, and I wonder if he hasn’t learned his lesson after what happened the first time. I love my nephew, but he can be a handful. I don’t bother shifting, instead moving quietly into the barn, my tiger stalking whoever is in here. If it’s just one of the stable hands, I’ll melt back into the darkness and continue my journey into the palace, but if it’s someone who shouldn’t be in here, then they are going to regret it.
I hear a whisper of a voice but can’t make out if it’s male or female. My whiskers twitch, and an intoxicating scent reaches my nose, making my mouth water. Holy crap, what is that? I want to bury my head in it and roll around until it covers my body. It smells like cupcakes and frosting.
I crawl a little farther, my tail twitching and my ears pricked for any hint of whoever it is. My claws almost ache with the need to grab hold and never let go. What the fuck is wrong with me? As I get closer, I reach out, trying to get a feel for the person who is tucked away in one of the empty stalls. They are definitely a shifter, but a low level one. Their power feels miniscule, and I can finally make out the voice of a woman. She’s giggling and talking nonsense, and when I peer through a crack where the door of the stable hinges to the wall, I see her surrounded bykittens. Some are snuggled in, cuddling with her, and others are leaping and playing around her.
My gaze rises to her face, and I’m stunned by how gorgeous she is. Lush, plump lips perfect for nibbling are turned up in a beautiful, serene smile. I can’t see the color of her eyes, but her long, dark lashes match the silky mane of jet black hair that flows around her shoulders as slick as a waterfall. She’s sitting cross-legged, and her long dress hides her bottom half, but the top half molds to her perfect curves like a lover’s hands. The scooped neckline gapes a little as she leans forward, and the tops of her round globes push forward, begging for me to run my tongue over them.
My tiger forces out a chuff, wiggles his ass, and crawls forward playfully, pushing past my control and taking the reins. I can’t do anything to stop him, and her sharp intake of breath lets me know she’s at least heard him.
“Archie, is that you? If your parents catch you out here, nothing is going to save you this time,” she calls out in warning instead of panicking and retreating, which would have triggered my tiger’s instinct to chase.
She knows my nephew? Maybe she is palace staff or even his nanny whom I have not met.
My tiger doesn’t stop. Her eyes widen when she sees him tummy crawl into view, and her mouth rounds in a perfect O that I can’t help but think would look good wrapped around my cock.
