“Well, we will make sure there are plenty of snacks for you this morning,” Evie tells me as Brodie approaches, carrying a plate full of food.
“Here, I told Violet I would look after you,” he says, smiling at me, but then he freezes, and he leans in a little like he’s sniffing me. “Why do you smell like…”
Gem interrupts him. “Tiger. Apparently our little queen needed some fresh air and found herself in the stables last night.” He already scolded me for wandering around without an escort. I argued that I wasn’t a child who needed permission, and he said it was for my safety. I couldn’t really protest after that. I mean, it’s not like I could defend myself against a shifter if they wanted to attack, and I don’t know if I can shift on command or even how to fight if I could. “A tiger approached her when she was cuddling with the kittens.”
There are a couple of exclamations of surprise.
“Oh really?” Brodie turns his attention away from me and toward another man who is standing at the buffet with the others. I frown, watching Hunter lean in and smell the man. What is it with shifters and smelling people? “Did he shift and introduce himself?” I turn my attention back to the people around the table.
“No, he didn’t, but I wasn’t scared of him. He was adorable actually. He wanted belly rubs and then went to sleep with his head in my lap.” As I tell them this, I remember something Violet said to me, and I gasp, clasping the pendant in my hands to steady myself.
“Oh my god. I just remembered Violet told me I shouldn’t touch shifters like that. Fuck, I hope I didn’t offend him. I was wondering if maybe he was one of my mates.” I look hopefully at the queens. Surely it’s not so bad that I acted familiarly with him if he is, but Mia winces.
“I’m sorry, Colbie. If he is, then he hasn’t presented himself at the front,” she says, but she looks guilty.
“Oh.” I pick up my fork and stab it into a sausage before biting it in half. The men at the table wince, and Gracelin giggles, I should care, but my creature is starving, and being ladylike isn’t cutting it at the moment. “Maybe the magic really did go wrong.” I can’t help but sound disappointed. I’m failing at this queen thing. I have three different animal forms inside me, but no mates. My mom was right, I am useless.
“I love having my tummy rubbed,” Archie announces, oblivious of the weird tension at the table.
“Me too, buddy,” Brodie mutters before returning to the buffet and having a quiet argument with the rest of his bond group, including the only man I haven’t met yet. I’m assuming that’s Gryffin, the king’s son.
“Yes, well, eat up, Colbie, we have a lot to do. I am sure mates will present themselves soon enough. Maybe the goddess is waiting for you to get a handle on your shift first,” Lucas suggests thoughtfully, his lips turning up in a smile. “Yes, I bet that’s the reason why. She never gives you more than you can handle.” He sounds pleased with his reasoning, and I grab hold of that tightly, because if I don’t, it means accepting the fact that I really am a bit of a dud.
The conversation turns to tonight’s dinner as the rest of the men join us at the table. Violet looks between the seat next to me and the one close to Talon and Ember, and I discreetly nod her in that direction. She smiles and gives me a nod back beforejoining them, and I’m distracted when I get an elbow in the side as Archie climbs into the seat beside me.
“Good morning, Colbie.” He wraps his arms around my neck and gives me a sticky kiss. He smells like maple syrup, and I’m guessing he ate pancakes this morning.
“Morning, my little man,” I reply, giving him a kiss on the cheek in return. He beams and settles next to me, chatting happily.
“Watching you shift yesterday was so cool,” he says. “If I had six heads, I could eat everything I want and not get sick,” he says, rubbing at his round little tummy, which is looking a lot better than when I originally saw him.
Violet told me that shifters, especially the young ones, use a lot of calories shifting, so it’s important to eat a lot to fuel your magic and body.
“What animal has six heads?” an unfamiliar voice asks, taking a seat in the chair between Lucas and me.
I turn to see a pair of familiar ocean blue eyes staring quizzically at me. “Do I know you? I feel like I’ve met you before.”
Liam mutters something, but an elbow from Brodie causes him to scoff and splutter. “Oh, Gryffin, you haven’t met our new queen yet, have you?” Lucas says, and I can hear a slight hint of annoyance in his tone.
“Actually, Gryffin met Colbie many years ago.” Gretchin snickers. “She had a superpower even back then. Her tears had the ability to have Gryffin at her beck and call.”
His eyes widen, and the confusion in his eyes fades. “Cookie?” he asks, and I frown.
“What Gretchin forgot to tell you yesterday is that we used to call you cupcake back then, but Gryff called you cookie.” Gracelin grins cheekily.
“Because of all the treats you used to bake us,” he says, not taking his eyes off me.
“And because she smells like cupcakes,” Gretchin adds.
“Yes, she does,” Gryffin agrees slowly. “It’s nice to see you again.” His face lights up in a grin that has flashes of memories flying through my brain of him and me hiding from the girls and jumping out and scaring them, him allowing me to paint his nails when Mom wouldn’t let me paint my own while his sisters were doing it, and us all playing dress up with him being a knight to my princess while the sisters were the evil witches. They really enjoyed playing the evil witches, but he protected me from all their schemes. I didn’t know back then he was a prince.
I hadn’t realized how much time the queens had spent at Mom’s studio. She must have been dressing them exclusively for a while. I wonder what happened, or if they have been going all this time and I just didn’t know. It’s unlike my mom not to brag about that sort of thing though.
“Sir Gryffin.” The name slips out before I can stop it, and the table dissolves into laughter.
“Uncle Gwiff, Colbie is my girlfriend, and I’m going to be her sidepiece because the goddess has given her mates already.”
The rest of the table has already heard all of this, but Gryffin chokes on his sip of coffee at his nephew’s announcement. “Sounds like solid goals. I fully support it,” he tells Archie seriously, and his nephew beams at him. I feel my cheeks flush pink. Gryffin grew up well. He was a good-looking kid, but he’s over-the-top handsome now, just like the rest of his group. His silvery, shoulder-length hair has a few artful streaks of black through it, and he has a striking jawline and chiseled cheekbones with full lips. There isn’t an ugly one amongst his bond group. In fact, everyone assembled at the table is gorgeous.
