1
The first cut is the deepest
THERE HAD BEENmany times in my life I had mourned shifters I loved. I’d mourned the idea of a father since I was old enough to realize I would never know him. I dealt with it, moved on, and decided I’d never do the same thing to my children. But that didn’t mean the hole wasn’t still there. It always would be. I just learned how to accept and compartmentalize it.
Then my mother. Her death had stolen the last of my childhood innocence. Despite the fact she’d always been a bit cold and distant, she was there for advice, for support. That she had been taken before knowing Winnie, my sister, was a doubleblow, one I wasn’t sure I’d ever really recover from.
Kade had also made that list. The kiss we’d shared at the summer festival stayed with me for five years, and even though he was back in my life, there was still no chance of us ever having more than an alliance. We both ruled different shifter clans. We were allies now, but our people had been enemies for too many years for the animosity to turn into anything positive. Duty and protocol was my priority. My people would always be my focus, but that didn’t mean my heart wasn’t mourning for what was and what could have been. For now, I had Kade in my life as a friend, and I had to accept that was all it’d ever be.
One other death had resonated strongly with me: Jeremiah, the single father of two, who had turned to a life of crime to feed his young. I’d been an heir then, not yet the alpha of the Bronx. I’d seen his trial. The queen had him killed to prove her own strength, to show the other wolves that no one stole in her territory. I had to stand witness then, as I was coming of age. It was not an action any fifteen-year-old wanted to see, especially one who was fragile from the loss of her mother. After that I saw the Red Queen in a different light. I loved her no less, but I fearedher a little more. She was brutal in a way I had no comprehension for.
That was also the day I wished to never be queen. I’d been happy being a queen heir with all of the benefits that came with it. Of course, fate had a different idea in store for me, and now I was ruler of the three boroughs in New York City, controlling the mecca, our energy and magic source.
The greatest leaders are forged in fire and trial, and this was going to be one hell of a fiery trial. I was a queen on the brink of a war, which didn’t surprise me in the slightest. But I would not worry on that today. Today I was in mourning again, this time for one of my friends, dominants, and former lovers.
Derek. He had been cut down by a dark fae during the battle at Kade’s home. Cut down protecting me, which he’d been doing for many years. Since becoming the alpha of the Bronx, I’d had six core dominants, the best of my people. My friends. Losing one of our own was a pain that sent roiling surges of mecca through my body. But I had to keep it contained. Mecca was powerful and dangerous; it could easily kill the shifters around me, and I was their queen. It was my duty to protect them.
“I can’t believe he’s gone,” Monica said beside me, her voice almost inaudible. She had run herhands through her ashy-blonde hair so many times it was literally standing on end, and her eyes were rimmed in red, her hands shaking as she stared out across the mass of shifters before us.
Monica was one of my inner six – well, five now, along with Blaine, Jen, Ben, and Victor – standing with me on the raised platform. Directly across from us, on the funeral pyre, our friend Derek was going out in full warrior fashion, to take his place with the gods. The council, on the other side of the platform, were performing the last rites.
“He went out as a warrior, protecting Ari. He would not have asked for more than that,” said Blaine, one of my oldest and best friends. “It is good that we honor him today, that we stand with all the shifters to honor his sacrifice.”
The rest of the shifter world did not know about the fae threat yet, but they would soon. I’d finally convinced the council that we were at war, and that Derek would only be the first of many. It had taken them quite some time to accept. We’d never had to deal with the fae, the Tuatha de Danann, as a threat. Heck, they had not been much more than a fable, a folk story from the origin of shifters. They’d disappeared from Earth around the time of the first shifters. And yet … they hadn’t disappeared at all. They’d gone into the Otherworld, the parallel land that shared mecca power with us, and now, since the death of the Red Queen, they’d stepped out of the shadows, and wanted control of the mecca energy.
Torine, the oldest of the council, raised his voice as he finished the death ceremony: “Dust to dust, ash to ashes. Derek of the yellow line will now take his place among his ancestors. He will rule in the next life as a warrior. We honor him.”
“We honor him,” was echoed back by the hundreds who were stationed around the expansive and private garden of the royal mansion. It was here that we would send my old friend to the gods.
The council turned to me then and I knew it was time for me to offer reassurance. The fact that Derek was killed in bear territory was not a great thing for our fragile new friendship. Rumors had been rife despite my initial press release about a new threat we were investigating. They thought I was covering for Kade because we were friends. Everyone wanted to blame the bears again for our troubles.
No more.
I stepped forward, my dominants remaining a respectful distance behind me as protocol dictated. “One of our own has been taken,” I said, my voice strong as it echoed across the gardens. “Brutally murdered by the same foe who killed our queen and many of our people on the night of the Summit. This was not the bears’ doing. If it hadn’t been for the bears, we would have lost many more that night. King Kade aided us. He forged a friendship between our people that I want to see grow and develop. For without it, we will have no chance against those who think they can threaten our people.”
From the corner of my eye I could see that the council looked concerned. They probably thought I was going to drop the fae bomb on everyone right now. I knew better than that though. This was not going to be an easy sell. That information needed to start with a small group of alphas and then, very slowly, we would filter the news to the packs.
“Who attacked us, then?” someone shouted from the crowd.
Turning in that direction, I let some of my inner wolf rise up, the mecca shimmering across my skin in a purple glow of energy. I knew the mecca crown on my head would also be glowing, the stones infused with energy. I remained silent for a moment, letting them stare upon me. It never hurts to remind them that you are queen, that you are powerful.
Finally I said, “We have suspicions about who is behind the new threat. All I will say for now isthat they are not enemies who will be easily countered, and until such a time I have more evidence this is all you need to know.”
No one else opened their mouths, which probably had a lot to do with the purple lightshow my body was doing. Stepping across the platform, I neared my fallen friend. His body was tightly bound in a stitched cloth that displayed his yellow lineage symbol. He was handsome still, even in death, with his multicolored hair styled back neatly. But all of his vibrancy was gone; it was impossibly painful to see Derek like this, to know he was gone and that we were about to send his shell off in a warrior fire. Sucking in a few short breaths, trying to get my emotions under control, I lifted my head to the sky and shouted: “Derek, you are honored. A warrior going home to your people. Fly free, my friend. Until we meet again.”
Violet, my best friend and pack magic born, stepped up beside me, and together we lifted our hands and a burst of purple flames shot up all around the pyre. I needed her help; I was a newbie when it came to mecca control. The flames smashed against us, we were so close. The heat was scorching, tightening my skin to the point it felt like it would crack, drying the tears tracing slowly down my cheeks. But I couldn’tmove. I couldn’t leave him until he was dust and ashes. That was the way of our people.
My dominants joined me, all of us burning with our friend. Then, as one, the seven of us, Violet included, lifted our heads and let loose a long, mournful howl. My people joined in. Our cries rang out across the royal house, across the world. I let my sorrow filter out into my bonds with all shifters. Calista had sent out a press release stating the time of the funeral and asked shifters around the world to pray for Derek and to pay their respects. I felt them now, scattered about within the energy that made up my body.
For a moment the shifter packs all stood together in grief, and I knew this was the only way for us to beat the fae, as one people. But we would also need the bear shifters.
I needed Kade.It was a truth that could get me dethroned or killed, an alliance I needed to be careful with but my heart and gut told me it was the only way. Kade was going to teach me how to control and channel mecca, and then we were going to neutralize the threat against our people.
One way or another.
2
One beary brutal beating
