“Yes, it seems like there are a couple of factions actively trying to undermine the goddess and her decisions.” I make the snap decision to confide in them, and between the seven of us, we fill her in on everything we know, from the missing children and the feral problem, to the fact that I will be the final human queen, as well as the plans to offer all humans the chance to change to shifters. The only thing I don’t share at the moment is that we are looking for Nox. If I’m right and these are his parents, then I’m concerned with how they are going to react to him being my mate, considering how openly hostile she is.
Her and her mates’ expressions run the gamut of emotions during our tale, but by the end of it, she seems to have calmed a little. She still has a stubborn set to her jaw, but I think it’s probably born out of the need to protect her people rather than sheer hatred toward me.
“Wow, it seems like you have walked into a veritable storm. There has definitely been an increase in feral activity. The curfew the lion told you about is one that has been in place for a while. It wasn’t him who enforced that,” Johan tells us.
“No, another thing we asked the outpost for help with that got ignored. They’ve started running in packs, terrorizing the village. Thankfully it’s been confined to nighttime, and as soon as the sun starts to appear, they melt back into the mountains. They are typical ferals with no reasoning, so they act more like rabid animals than cool and calculating shifters—lots of snarling and fighting and marking their territory. If they saw a shifter, they would attack, but if we stayed inside and out of view, they just ran around the village, slightly confused. It’s like they could smell us and recognized we were shifters, but didn’t know what to do about it. They are drawn here, the need to be around pack guiding them, but they can’t recognize that.” Christos sounds forlorn. “It is sad, really. So many lives wasted.”
One thing I didn’t share was that I have the ability to fix them. With the book missing, I’m not sure I’m going to be able to, but I guess if we can track the children, we can also have them track the whereabouts of the Tidemans and the spell book.
“Is there a unicorn who will be willing to help us track the children?” I ask, not wanting to beat around the bush any longer. “I just want to bring them home to their families.”
Lena’s eyes soften, and she exchanges a glance with her mates who all give her nods of encouragement. She sighs. “Do you promise that you will accept an equine onto the council?” she asks me, and I decide to be honest.
“As long as they are willing to work with me and not be outwardly petty because of their previous treatment. I won’t work with someone who is going to hold your past against me. That was out of my control, and I need someone open to the changes I wish to make,” I warn her.
“Yes, I have a person in mind—someone who suffered greatly in the town they were born in before we all moved to Zalfari. They would work hard to make sure the equines have fair representation and to ensure none of the newer generations have to suffer the same kind of bullying.”
I have a feeling she’s talking about Nox, and I know it’s time to come clean about him, but I hold my tongue a little longer. Tomorrow is soon enough to ask for his whereabouts. I’m worried because I didn’t see him amongst the crowd earlier. If he isn’t here, then where is he?
“I’m sure we can come to an agreeable arrangement for everyone,” I say vaguely, knowing Nox will not be able to take a council position because he is my mate, but I need the children and the book found.
“Then yes, I will track the children. I will start first thing tomorrow morning. I need to go home and eat some decent food and get a real night’s sleep in a comfortable bed. If you have something belonging to the children, it will help immensely. I will do a locator spell, and my mates and I will find the missing children for you,” she says.
Thankfully the guys thought to bring an item from each of the children that Bryson had on hand. It’s protected by plastic, so the scents remain.
“It’s getting late, and we need to get home before the ferals start flooding into the village. The seven of you can use the upstairs living quarters. Make sure you stay inside though. I don’t want to be held responsible for the queen getting hurt in our village.” She stands up, and I know I should talk to her about Nox, but I’m going to wait until the morning when she’s not still enraged about what happened here.
“We can’t thank you enough for getting rid of the alpha,” Christos tells us. “We tried, since his power levels weren’t all that strong, but he threatened the children of the village, and none of us were willing to take a chance that he’d hurt one of them.”
“And we understand that completely. He made a mistake coming after the queen and didn’t live to regret it. Trust me, he suffered in the end.” Liam grins evilly, and I roll my eyes, but Lena and her mates seem just as pleased to hear of his demise.
“Isn’t the alpha space upstairs yours?” Brodie asks. “You are the alpha of this village, right?”
“I am. The top level is our space, and I will be glad to get it back and clear out his stench, but the second story, which he took over for his men, was always guest quarters for any visiting shifters. There is plenty of space for all of you, though I am afraid we don’t have a swimming pool for you.” She turns her attention to Micah. “We haven’t had the need to accommodate a mer before.”
“That’s fine. I don’t have the need to slumber beneath the waves like a lot of our people do. I will be just fine in a bed,” he tells her appreciatively.
“Then we will see you in the morning.” Her aggression seems to have receded, but she still has her reservations, which is understandable. With a polite good night, they leave the room.
We seem to pause as we listen to their footsteps fade away, then we wait a little longer until we are sure they are completely out of hearing range. Finally, Gem can’t wait any longer, and he explodes.
“Fucking hell. She is going to lose her shit when she finds out her son is the queen’s mate.” He grimaces, and I wince.
“You aren’t wrong,” I grumble, not exactly thrilled to have her as my mother-in-law, but where is Nox?
ChapterTwenty-Eight
Colbie
“Ineed to speak to my dad and tell him what happened here and let General Bryson know that he needs to investigate that sergeant. We can’t wait. He’s going to figure out his uncle is dead when he doesn’t hear from him soon,” Gryffin says and stands up, stretching.
“Your phone is in one of the backpacks, which are by the door of the assembly room,” Micah tells him.
“I should speak to them too,” Hunter says, but he’s staring at me. His eyes are glowing, and smoke drifts from his nose. My core clenches, and I gasp at the pain mixing with heat and need now that there is nothing to distract me. “But my dragon is insisting on finishing the mating bond. He’s scratching at my brain and clawing at my insides.” He grits his teeth and clenches his fists like he wants to reach for me but is restraining himself from leaping over the table.
Brodie claps him on the shoulder, and Hunter snaps at him with his teeth. Brodie snatches his hand back and grins. “Go, we’ve got this. Take our queen and show her all your pretties, and I’m not just talking about your cock.”
Liam rolls his eyes at his bond mate, and Gem chuckles. Micah looks as confused as I do. “Hunter’s dragon hoard is somewhere in the mountains here. Dragons like to hoard pretty things. I have no idea where he gets them all from. Thankfully there aren’t thousands of dragons, because all the kingdoms would be poor.”
