“Hopefully he hasn’t gotten very far, but if I know him, he probably shifted and is running in the forest. We’ll be there as soon as I can find him,” I assure the general and hurry away before anyone can stop me.
I’m grateful to be out of that room. The council has always seemed slimy to me, except for the Coldicotts. I hope Colbie isn’t considering keeping them, because they would make her life miserable. As I hurry through the palace in search of my bond mate, my mind returns to the pretty new queen. She handled herself with grace and dignity at breakfast, and I can’t help but admire her. Her old life has been ripped away from her, and she’s been shoved into a completely alien environment, not to mention the changes within her, and she’s rolling with the punches admirably. I think if I were to suddenly find myself human, I would be rocking in the corner. Maybe I’ll order some treats from her bakery to cheer her up… or maybe that would just make her sadder. I’ll ask Gem, he’s good with that kind of thing.
It was a smart idea for her to leave that pendant on so she doesn’t have to deal with a whole other being inside her mind while she’s finding her footing and waiting for her mates. I wonder where she got it from.
This afternoon, we will help her get control of her shift and learn to use her new body—or bodies, I guess. I couldn’t believe it when I saw her shift from a hydra into a wolf. Mine almost burst out of my skin at the sight of her, and with the residual royal power saturating the room, I almost lost control like Archie did, but I held on by the skin of my teeth. My wolf wanted to nuzzle the pretty black wolf with purple eyes, then chase her through the forest and breed her.
I felt so fucking guilty that my animal was reacting to her like that. We were betraying our future mate, but I also couldn’t help but want the same thing he did. My soul is conflicted, and it’s causing a disconnect between my wolf and me. It’s why I offered to find Liam. I really need to shift and run to get the scent of our queen out of our nostrils and get my wolf’s brain firmly back into line.
I follow the bond connection out of the castle and into the forest, just like I suspected. I tug off my clothes, tossing them in the pile of Liam’s obliterated scraps of cloth on the ground at the tree line. I guess he didn’t wait to undress before he shifted. We must remember to grab all the scraps before we go back inside, otherwise Evie will take us to task.
I allow the shift to wash over me, smooth and painless and very much unlike Colbie’s shifts. As a born shifter, I’ve been shifting longer than I can remember, and it feels as natural as breathing. My paws hit the leaf laden ground as I sniff the air, trying to figure out which way Liam went. I locate the giant pawprints his bear left behind, and I head in the same direction. Polar bears are fast despite their size, and I know I’m going to get a good workout trying to catch up with him.
I’m pretty sure I know where he’s headed. There is a waterfall where we like to hang out during our downtime, and Liam likes the cave behind the rush of water. He’s kind of claimed it as his den, and I know that’s where I will find him. His bear has been unruly, I’m just glad he didn’t go as far as biting Gianna while they were fucking. I don’t resent him having sex with other females while we wait for our mate to be marked, but Gianna is dangerous. I wouldn’t put it past her to force a mate bond with him, and it seems like his bear may have been close to crossing the line. That would have been a disaster for all involved.
The air is sharp against my fur as I race through the forest. The trees are losing their leaves as they prepare for the incoming winter, though there are still a number of deciduous varieties so the forest doesn’t look dead. The rumbling of the waterfall gets louder as I grow closer, and Liam’s frosty scent gets stronger, but as I reach the edge of the pool, I slide to a stop and sit down, considering my options.
The water is so clear in this pond that despite its depth, I can still see the rocky bottom and fish swimming around happily undisturbed. Normally during summer, it’s a refreshing balm for the stifling hot days, but as we grow closer to winter, I know the water will become colder, and although it doesn’t freeze over completely during winter due to the waterfall, the water is much cooler now than during the height of summer.
It’s okay for Liam who enjoys swimming in the frigid water, but for those of us with creatures that are a little bit more sensible, the thought of getting wet makes me pause. Maybe I can howl and get his attention. My gaze moves to the thunderous wall of water that sits between me and my destination. Who am I kidding? He won’t hear anything over that despite his enhanced hearing. I’m going to have to go through it. That’s what makes it such a great hiding place. There is no way to access it except through the towering wall of water. I feel my wolf’s displeasure. He enjoys swimming in summer, but he also remembers how cold it is at this time of the year.
I walk farther along the bank of the pool, getting as close to the falls as I can so my time in the water is minimized. Unable to find an excuse to delay any longer, I plunge into the water, scattering fish. The cold just about steals our breath, but my wolf starts to paddle without delay, our destination clear in his mind. It doesn’t take long before we approach the curtain of water. We get battered around a little as we swim through it, but my wolf stays on course and comes out the other side, blinking drops of water from his lashes and shaking his head to clear the water from our ears. Reaching the side of the pool, we scramble up onto the bank and flop down on our stomach, our sides heaving with exertion.
We push to our feet and shake our body furiously, sending droplets of water flying in all directions. I look around, my shifter sight not hindered at all by the dim light. Liam isn’t in this front cavern, so he must have moved into the back section, which he has made cozy for himself. I head in that direction, and my wolf wrinkles his nose at the wet musky smell that reaches our nostrils. Liam is definitely in here somewhere, I can practically smell his desperation. Unlike his usual crisp, frosty scent, like fresh snow in a pine forest, this smells distressed and anxious.
I find him curled up in a pile of blankets. His head lifts, and he growls at me as I approach him, but he doesn’t move. I get down on my belly and crawl toward him, nodding my head at him in submission until I get close enough to nuzzle his side. Liam’s bear is as grumpy and unruly as he is, and you never know if he will smack you with one of his giant paws or smother you with a hug hard enough to crack ribs.
He doesn’t react at all, though, and that’s what worries me. He ignores us as we butt our head against his body, inviting him to play. In fact, he just rolls over and gives me his back, ignoring me completely with a large huff of air. I listen carefully to the sound of his heartbeat, and I can tell it’s already starting to slow down. Damn it, the stupid bear is going to trigger a hibernation if he isn’t careful. I’m sure polar bears don’t actually hibernate, but he’s been talking more and more about it recently, so I’m concerned he’s going to give it a try in an attempt to block out his bear’s need.
That isn’t good. I allow my wolf form to flow away and wrinkle my nose as my bare ass finds the cold, dirt-covered floor. I look around and find one of the spare blankets he usually uses as a nest and pick it up, wrapping it around my waist before taking a seat.
“Hey, man, you can’t sleep. You need to shift back. Bryson wants to go over the queen’s protection detail with us and Gretchin, and he didn’t say anything in front of the council, but I have a feeling he wants to talk about the ferals and the missing kids. We need to figure out a way to go into the human zone and search without causing any political drama. We’ve exhausted all options in the neutral and shifter zones.”
I wait for him to reply. The sound of the nearby waterfall is still loud, but not as deafening as it was when we were closer. This chamber is down a small tunnel, and the rocks block out a lot of the noise.
When he doesn’t respond, I nudge him with my foot, and he snarls and rolls, swiping at me with a giant paw. I yelp and jump backward. The damn lardass is fast.
“Hey, don’t be an asshole. Fucking shift, man, so we can at least talk.”
He snarls at me but gets up onto his paws, and I watch as he shifts into his human form and looks up at me, his eyes filled with turmoil.
“I need help, man.”
ChapterFive
Colbie
The palace corridors are quiet this early in the morning. It’s a large structure broken up into separate wings. The main wing contains the kitchen, offices, ballrooms, dining rooms, and a variety of different rooms for social events and business, as well as the central shifting chamber where they took me to shift yesterday. The wing where my room is has the royal family living quarters. Along with Violet and I, Gracelin and her family, Gretchin, and Watch Team One, Lucas and his wives have suites. The wing on the opposite side is where the councilors and their families live, as well as General Bryson and his family. Talon’s new bond group will be taking up residence as well once their final security clearance comes through. I don’t actually like how close the council is, but apparently it’s how it has always been.
I’m mulling over the awkward and uncomfortable breakfast interaction when we reach the same conference room we were in yesterday. We take seats around the table, and Lucas waves his hand in my direction.
“Right, let’s start with any questions you may have this morning,” he suggests, and I take a moment to gather my thoughts.
“I have so many, I don’t know where to start. How about we talk about the breakfast debacle? There is no way I want to spend the next forty years dealing with that crap. What are my options?” I ask, referring to the incredibly painful interaction.
“It is your right as queen to choose a new council if you are inclined, and I have to say I don’t blame you,” Lucas explains. “Like Mia said, we were blindsided when the former royal refused to counsel us when she was forcibly retired against her wishes. We learned after we took over that she was constantly pushing to change to a hereditary crown, but thankfully, the council was too scared of the goddess to vote with her. They were mostly a new council back then. Vallen is the son of the king before her, and they came around to her way of thinking by the end of her reign and have been pushing hard for it during ours. We shut down so many of their suggestions.”
“She didn’t want to give up the role, despite the goddess’s rules, so instead of helping us, she left us flailing. None of us are from what you would call high shifter society,” Evie explains, and Violet gasps.
