That admission had me relaxing. One only had to spend a small period of time with Gerald to know he had a military mind like no other. It was he who had orchestrated much of the battle that had saved Kade’s people when the fae first attacked us all, the night of the Red Queen’s murder. Kade had told me all about it, giving me a completely new insight into Gerald. I respected him a lot in regard to these things. If he thought our two shifter races working together was agood idea, it made me feel better about my decision to push this angle.
Gerald bowed to me when we reached the middle of the garden – close to the faeling tree. “I’ll leave you here. I have to attend to some other duties. The king will be by shortly.”
Violet and Monica spread out then, giving me privacy and also scouting the garden for another dangerous razor-wielding fae. My gaze was drawn to the spot where Derek had lost his life, and I had to swallow down a huge lump in my throat.
Finn brushed against my leg, distracting me, and I took hold of his fur, stroking him softly. Without thinking, I placed my hand on the tree to support my weight and suddenly I was filled with that tingling feeling of mecca and life.
Hello, young Queen, the treeling said to me.
Hello again…
You don’t smell your usual self. You smell of the Summer Court fae, the treeling said in its deep, multiple-trilling-voice.
My eyes widened.Well, yes, I met with one just last night. I sniffed my armpit. What was it with these fae and their sense of smell? Wait … how could a tree smell anything. Did it have a nose somewhere?
The treeling was silent for a moment and I wasn‘t sure what to say or if I should just pull my hand off.
Can I tell you a story of old?it finally asked, just as I was about to remove my hand.
Yes, of course.Story time with an old fae tree. Totally normal.
When I was first planted here, there were many shifters of both bear and wolf origin that lived here.
Okay…Like spread out in the mecca?
No, no, here in this house. The king was bear, the queen was wolf, and they had a mixture of each in their staff.
Chills trickled down my back.That’s not true!No way our kind used to mingle like that. The tree must be confused.
It is true. The wolves and bears were always meant to work and live together. Only greed and misinformation tore you apart.
I yanked my hand off. I couldn’t hear anymore. What he said was blasphemy. Treason. And … exciting. Was it possible that any of that story was the truth? Surely someone would have known if bears and wolves existed together. It would have been passed down through our storytellers, especially if at some point bear and wolf shifters did not only coexist, but actually ruled and bred together. If that happened, where were their offspring? How did they cover it all up? Was there anyone alive, besides the treeling, who knew about this?
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Kade said from behind me, startling me. I jumped, and so was already half in the air as I spun around to find him right behind me. My breath went very shallow and all I could see in my head were the images the treeling had painted. Bears and wolves ruling together. It was like seeing Kade in an entirely new light.
Sure, he looked the same as always, strong, sexy, deadly, the epitome of a woodsman. His huge muscled body was coiled and lethal, just waiting to spring into action. Where had the usual warning gone, the one that generally flashed before my eyes when I was around him, slamming me with the reality of our situation – there could never be anything between us? Damn that tree. It had given me a brief glimpse of a life that I’d die for – bear-wolf children running and playing in this amazing garden, of Kade lifting babies up and spinning them around. My heart was literally bleeding as I stood there, stunned.
“Ari?” Kade stepped even closer to me, blocking out the sun. “Is everything okay? You seem distracted.”
I shook my head in a jerky motion, trying desperately to pull myself together. It wasn’t real. It couldn’t be. And even if that had happened in the past, we lived in the present, and there was no chance for Kade and me. For us.
“No, I’m fine. Thank you for asking. Just been a long day. You know what I mean.”
He ran his hand through his tousled hair, those amber eyes tearing me apart, but thankfully he didn’t push me. “I understand perfectly. Today was one of my more trying since taking the crown.” He leaned in closer to me then, with a mischievous glint in his eye. “So Gerald tells me you’re ready to have this affair, earn the title our people are bestowing on us.” His half-smile grew, the depth of his eye color deepening. Clearly he found this amusing, and I couldn’t hold in my own laughter.
“You wish,” I said playfully.
His face went dead serious in a millisecond. “Every day, Arianna.”
I was pretty sure I stopped breathing then. Heat sizzled down my body and settled into my core. “The fae prince of the Summer Court visited me!” I blurted out, desperate to change the subject.
Kade’s face turned lethal. “When? Why didn’t you call for me? Are you okay?” He scanned my body as if looking for injuries.
I hugged my arms to keep from touching him. Why did this have to be so hard? I didn’t want to feel this way forever. It was too much.
“I’m fine. He gave me a warning though.”
“A warning?” Kade’s voice was husky as he awaited my reply.
