He frowns, pursing his lips. “Shit, man. That’s a death sentence, you know that.”
I allow my head to hang so I can’t see the look of disappointment in his eyes. “I know.”
“Snap out of this. What the fuck is wrong with you? You’re one of the strongest shifters I know. Get your shit together and don’t let your animal rule you. Staying in bear form isn’t going to make it any better. You’ll become shift frozen.” He shoves me with his foot, and I sprawl on the ground, the rough surface stinging my naked body.
My own anger flares, and I scramble to my feet and glare at him, fisting my hands like I’m going to slug him.
“Don’t you fucking think I know that?” I shout at him, and his eyes glow with triumph.
“There he is, the Liam I know and love. None of this feeling sorry for himself crap.” He sounds smug. I drop my fists and assess myself, and he’s right. I do feel better. He got me out of my funk.
“Fuck, I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” I run a hand through my hair before dusting the dirt off my naked body. Nudity isn’t a big deal for shifters. Not everyone has clothes that are spelled to shift with them, so we learn to deal with it from a young age.
“I know how you feel. My wolf has been insisting the same thing. I wonder if we all feel naturally drawn to her because of her royal power,” he suggests as we start to walk back to the entrance of the cave.
“I don’t feel this way about Gryff’s parents,” I point out.
“No, but they still have that magnetic aura. I just don’t want to hump their legs like I do the new queen.” I chuckle at his admission and the thought of Brodie doing that to one of the queens. They would grab him by the ear and throw him into the palace pool.
“Come on, Bryson needs us. That will keep your mind off the pretty queen for at least a few hours.” He grimaces. “Well, it might not because we’re discussing her security, and we are helping her with shifting this afternoon. Are you going to be okay with that? Or do you want me to give your excuses? I’m sure I can come up with some plausible reason for you to disobey orders. It won’t be the first time.”
My bear roars inside me at the idea that we’ll miss out on helping her shift. I argue with him internally, and he settles at the threat of me not going to the practice. He decides to behave, and I breathe out a huge sigh of relief. “No, I’ll be fine. It seems we have come to an agreement,” I assure my bond mate. He stops at the edge of the falls and studies me carefully before nodding.
“Okay, but be careful. If you start to lose control, promise me you will leave. I don’t want to lose you because your bear made a stupid mistake.”
“I promise. Hell, I don’t even like the girl,” I lie, and I can tell by the look he gives me that he doesn’t believe me.
“Sure, buddy. Keep telling yourself that and someone might believe you.” He pats me on the shoulder. “I think Bryson is going to have to send us away once her mates show up. I’m not sure I could stop my wolf from tearing into any of them if I saw her with them,” he says quietly, like it’s not something he really wants to admit to, but I appreciate him sharing with me. It makes me feel less alone.
“At least Gem, Gryff, and Hunter aren’t going to be a problem,” I mutter. “They are always the perfect little soldiers anyway.”
I hear him scoff, and when I look at him, he’s rolling his eyes. “If you believe they are unaffected by the new queen, you aren’t looking closely enough. Didn’t you see how devastated Gryff was when she walked away from him last night? They also have history. He even has an endearment for her—cookie.”
I can’t stop my lips from turning up in a small smirk. “It suits her.” I frown. I don’t want to think about the queen. The damn woman is giving me more problems than any woman ever has. “Enough about her. She’s off-limits, and everyone should keep their distance. Bryson assigning our team to protect and help her with her shift is irresponsible. He should put someone else on it.”
“Don’t blame the man for your inability to control your animal. We are the top team for the job. The only other suitable team is Adam’s, and they are all mated. I’m not sure their mates would be happy with them spending so much time with the queen.”
“The fact that they are mated makes it better. None of them are going to be distracted or tempted by her.”
“Yeah, but then we don’t get to spend time with the pretty shifter, and I want to see what she can do with her animals. My wolf is dying for hers to come out and play.” He grins and shifts, putting a stop to the conversation before throwing himself into the pool of water and paddling under the falls.
I’m not sure his wolf is actually any better than my bear. I will have to keep a close eye on him as well as my own bear. This is going to be a fucking disaster. My anger rises again, as does the resentment I feel toward the new queen. I’m pissed off that I want her but can’t have her. I hate being denied the things I want, and I usually go out of my way to get them. This time, it just isn’t going to work out in my favor.
I shift into my bear, and he roars his own disappointment before following Brodie into the water. He’s a much better swimmer than Brodie’s wolf, able to hold his breath and swim under the rush of water. By the time we come up for air, we’ve passed him and almost come to the side of the pool. We climb out and shake off the excess water before Brodie joins us. He does the same, and then we make our way back to the palace, our animals easily keeping pace with one another. By the time we get back to the edge of the forest, my heart rate is up, and I’m feeling less hopeless about everything. I certainly have better control of my bear.
“You know, I bet Colbie’s hydra would love that pool. It’s deep enough for her to swim around in. We should take her there to shift one of these days,” he says as he pulls his clothes on.
I gather up the remains of my shredded clothes, knowing the queens will have my hide if I leave them behind, and the two of us walk toward the military barracks where we will find Bryson and the rest of our team.
“Stop, man. Let her mates do things like that for her. We are there for two reasons and two reasons only—protect her until they appear and help her get control of her shift. Romancing her is not one of those reasons.”
He huffs, frowning at me. “I wasn’t trying to romance her. I just thought it would be good if she could learn to control her body in water as well.”
I scoff. “You know that pool is a place where shifters go to fuck. That secluded area behind the falls always has aroused scents in it.”
“Not since you claimed it and chased everyone off. The only aroused scents are from you and your flavor of the month. You’re the only one fucking in that pool now, Liam,” he argues, and I can’t stop the smile from curving up my lips.
“You got that right. Chicks dig it. It’s romantic, guaranteed to get them to drop their panties, and those sheets and blankets are self-cleaning. I have a handy witch charm that does it, so they are always scent free, and it doesn’t piss off any of the women I take there. That’s also how I know that we shouldn’t be taking the queen there,” I finish with a scowl as we enter the barracks, and I grab a pair of shorts from the bin off to the side for any shifter who needs to cover themselves. I can’t really go into a meeting with the general with my cock hanging out, even if he has been like a father to me since I joined the same bond group as his son.
