“Huh, she’s about the size of a horse now. That was a good idea, Hunter,” Gryffin says as the others join us. Each of the heads turn their attention to one of the guys, all trying to grab some affection. They willingly give them the love they crave, and soon, all eight of them are purring weirdly.
“Come on, we have just enough time to get back to the palace before dark. Do you want to run back like this, Colbie? Or do you want Hunter to give you a lift again? You must be exhausted. Shifting takes a lot out of you when you aren’t used to it,” Micah asks. “There’s a shirt in the box I can grab for you so you won’t be naked if you want to shift back.”
A trill of acceptance comes from one of the heads. Micah moves to the chest, pulling out the item of clothing as I feel another rush of magic, and I’m on two feet again. I stumble, but Liam jumps forward, wrapping his arm around my waist to steady me.
“Easy,” he cautions. “It’s disorienting the first couple of times.” I’m suddenly aware I’m naked in front of all of them, but Micah is quick to hand Liam the shirt, and he helps me into it. It must belong to a male, because it’s so long it just about sits at my knees.
“How are you feeling?” Gem asks, a frown of concern marring his brow.
I take stock of my body, and a wave of exhaustion washes over me.
“Tired and hungry,” I tell him, and he nods.
“That’s normal. Come on, let’s get you something to eat, and hopefully there are no events planned for the night and we don’t get ambushed by the council at dinner.”
“She’s the queen, so even if they are, she can tell everyone to fuck off,” Brodie says, crossing his arms, and then a smile lights his face. “Double or nothing. First person back to the palace gets to spend the next two nights in Colbie’s bed.” He turns and starts running, and I watch in awe as he shifts on the fly. One moment he’s a man, and the next, he’s a black and gray wolf who quickly disappears into the forest. The guys exchange a glance, and Liam and Gryffin do the same thing, their tiger and bear following quickly after Brodie.
Gem rolls his eyes, but in a flash of fire, he shoots into the air.
“Cheating assholes,” Hunter grumbles before stepping back and shifting. All of them have completely shredded the shorts they were wearing, and Micah and I gather the bits up, tossing them into the chest by the large tree. We scramble up Hunter’s side and onto his back, and with a flap of his wings, we are airborne.
ChapterSixteen
Earlier in the day
King Lucas
After lunch, my wives decide they need to make some changes to Colbie’s suite. If she is going to have eight mates, then she’s going to need more space, so they hurry off to make arrangements. Hopefully the magic took care of that too, but Colbie didn’t mention anything earlier, so they want to check.
I don’t want anything to do with that, so I head toward my office, or I guess Colbie’s office, to clear out my personal items and transfer them to a new office. My family will move into the other wing of the castle once the councilors get their notice to vacate. I can’t say I’m going to be sad to see them go. Most of them have been a thorn in my side since I first received the mark, constantly shooting down my ideas of making shifter society more inclusive.
I haven’t been as successful as I would have liked, and I’m hoping Colbie’s suggestion to add a member of each race to the council will go far in bridging that gap. The equines made their home in a settlement on the far edges of the shifter kingdom in the hopes they would be left alone. I’m not sure how successful they were. It isn’t right, they should be welcome wherever they want to live and not have to uproot their lives and make new ones because of some antiquated ideas about prey versus predator animals. The equines are just as fierce, even if they don’t have claws or fangs.
My office smells like leather and ink as I take a seat in the large leather chair behind my desk. I sigh, rubbing a hand across my face. I’m tired, and I am not sad about stepping aside. There was so much I wanted to do during my rule, and the council blocked me at every turn. I’m happy to see the back of it, but I’m also happy to be able to support Colbie with her reign. Maybe with Mia, Sable, and me replacing the current council, we will be able to push for the initiatives I wanted, but was constantly blocked from doing. If only we had known how restrictive they would be when I first started my reign.
Standing up, I go over to a cabinet, pull out a crystal decanter, and pour myself a glass of whiskey, adding a couple of ice cubes from the machine next to it. Our staff keeps my office well stocked, knowing I regularly need a drink after dealing with the council, and I’m just taking a sip when my office door flies open.
“What is the meaning of this?” Vallen Tideman waves a piece of paper wildly in the air. His eyes blaze with fury, and I see fur ripple across his arms like he’s trying to control his shift.
“Come in, Vallen,” I invite dryly, gesturing to the chair in front of me. “Would you like a drink?” I hold up my glass of whiskey, though I’d rather spit in it than offer him any, but I need to keep the peace for now.
“No, I don’t want a drink,” he snarls as he stalks farther into the room, still grasping the piece of paper in his hand like it’s going to stab him. “I want to know what the fuck this is!”
He slams it down on the desk, and I sigh before moving over to look down at it, taking a sip of my whiskey as I do. The smoky warmth soothes my body slightly as I look over the information. My eyebrows jump when I read what’s on it. It’s a copy of the missive Gracelin sent out to the mer, equine, and fairy communities, inviting them to submit representatives for the council positions.
“How did you get your hands on this?” I ask him suspiciously. This information hasn’t been made public yet, nor has the council been advised of the queen’s decision. She was going to tell them at the same time she relieved them of their positions. We obviously have a loose-lipped employee, or he’s paying someone to funnel him information—probably the latter, if I’m honest. I’m not surprised.
“It doesn’t matter. I will not work on a council with inferior shifters on it,” he declares righteously.
“I don’t think that is really going to matter,” I reply vaguely, moving around to my seat and sitting down. He doesn’t know he’s being replaced yet.
“The council has always had six members. Expanding it goes against tradition,” he argues, slamming his hands down on the desk and staring down at me like he’s trying to intimidate me. It doesn’t work. I may have lost some of the magic that made me a ruler, but I am still more powerful than this slug of a man.
I raise an eyebrow and take another sip of my whiskey, refusing to be cowed. “There are no rules governing the number of council members. That is a decision for the crowned ruler.”
He sneers. “The crowned ruler? Have the queen’s mates shown up yet? She can’t and will not be crowned until those mates appear. That is very clear in the rules.”
I place my glass down on the desk, holding his gaze. “It doesn’t matter if she has been crowned yet or not. She wears the marks, so she is the queen, and as such, she decides on the members of her council. If she wants to add new ones or replace current ones, that is completely up to her.”
