“Pfft, it won’t last. That child could get into trouble in his sleep.”
“So the Tidemans have at least a five hour start on us. Hell, they could be in another kingdom by now.” Hunter brings the conversation back on track.
“But why take the book? It doesn’t make sense,” Evie says, and I know it’s time to share what the goddess told me.
“Because if they can stop me from being crowned and get the power to accept someone else, then they can make as many shifters as they like and fix all the ferals they’ve already created.”
“What do you mean, fix the ferals?” Lucas snaps, and I sigh.
“I had another enlightening conversation with the goddess,” I reply, then I proceed to tell them everything she said.
ChapterNineteen
Colbie
“Are you telling me we could have been healing the ferals all along instead of killing them?” Evie’s eyes brim with tears, and she sounds heartbroken.
“Yes, but to be honest, I understand why they chose to punish anyone flaunting their rules. The shifter population would have been overrun, humans definitely would have been outnumbered, and there would have been no stop to the war,” I point out.
“But they are going to give all humans the option to change now,” she argues. “Why not before?”
I shrug. “I don’t know what their reasoning is, but I have a feeling the humans are being punished. They will all be under the rule of the shifters from what I understand. They will not have their own government, the neutral zone will be dissolved, and all citizens of Aramis will cohabitate. I think they are hoping the majority of them will change, and the ones who don’t will eventually die out.”
“And you are going to be the queen of everyone?” Gryffin asks, and I grimace.
“Yes, until I either choose to step down or die, and any heir I have takes over, but if I am queen of them all, then that will make you kings of them all.”
“No wonder the goddess gave you eight mates. I can’t imagine this is going to go smoothly with shifters or humans,” Lucas says dryly.
“Doubtful. I’m sure there will be some pushback. First, though, I need to be crowned, or all of this will be for nothing. We have two factions gunning for us at this stage, and I would like to make sure we put a kink in their plans by finding my final mates and getting those crowns on our heads. At least that way, I’ll control the power,” I tell them, even though I’m plagued with doubts. This is what the goddess wanted, though, and who am I to go against divine authority?
“How are you going to make so many humans into shifters? You can’t bite all of them,” Brodie growls possessively.
“The book is the key, so we need to get that back. I don’t need to bite them if we have it. We will allow anyone who wishes to be a certain animal to petition a shifter of that species and be bitten if they want. I will not force anyone to bite. If not, they can take their chances with the royal magic and get what they are given.”
“I’ll make sure our armies are ready for any fallout,” Bryson assures me.
“And I will start work on an updated manual for all new shifters,” Sable suggests. “We will probably need to have mandatory shifting classes so the new shifters can learn our culture. Otherwise, we may have more problems than we care to deal with if dominance fights become an issue because a new shifter doesn’t know the rules.”
“Yes, we always make any human mates we change learn all of those things. This can be an extension of that. I’ll help you with the program,” Layla offers, and Sable quickly accepts.
“Then you need to focus on getting to your other mates. Head into the human zone tonight. We haven’t had a chance to reach out to the humans yet, but their government would want a meeting with the new queen, and we don’t have time to waste. In fact, we don’t know if you would be safe. This conspiracy could go as far as the ones who are in charge. It’s better to sneak in and ask forgiveness than ask permission and end up dead,” Lucas advises.
“And you need to seal those other mating bonds as soon as you can.” Gracelin smirks at me, and Adam snickers like a tween boy.
“Enough,” Gryffin snaps at his sister. “Leave Colbie alone. Teasing her isn’t going to make it any easier.”
“No, but challenge day is in less than two weeks, and those matings need to be sealed. If they aren’t, they will question her dedication to being queen. Even with her kickass animal, she will get challenged, because being unmated makes her weaker,” Mia says, giving me a sympathetic look.
“I’m working on that,” I mutter, feeling my cheeks heat, and when I glance around the table, I find my mates looking at me with feral intensity.
“And you six need to be on full alert. Colbie doesn’t have the fighting skills you all have. Even though this is a covert mission, we have to assume the Tidemans are not the only shifters who want change. I’m going to have the other councilors watched as well just in case,” Bryson orders my guys.
“Should we leave tonight?” Hunter asks his dad.
Before he can reply, I jump in. “I’m exhausted from shifting. I’m already going to be a liability, so would it be alright if we go tomorrow night? I wouldn’t mind checking on my bakery tomorrow morning, and if we go early, no one will be around to see us go. We could hide in my apartment until nightfall, and once curfew comes, we can go into the human zone then. We just have to avoid my mother at all costs.”
“That would also give us a chance to speak to Brock Tideman and see if he knows his parents’ plans,” Gem suggests.
