“My council and bear leaders know of the threat, but we too have not spread the word to the general shifter community,” Kade said, dropping a hand onto my shoulder. “I have to return to my boroughs now. Never a good idea to leave bears alone for long without their king.”
We were nearing the door of the library and I could hear our guards softly talking on the other side, Chelle’s short, blunt answers a clear sign that she was not warming up to my people. Iwould have thought for sure Blaine would have won her over; my friend was a real charmer when he wanted to be. Not to mention he was gorgeous. And very, very dominant. Chelle was a tough cookie to crack, though, which is probably why she was one of Kade’s guards.
“Send Nix with word when you want to train again,” I said to Kade. No matter how difficult controlling the mecca was for me, his training was helping immensely. My control was stronger; the amount of energy I could funnel through my body was increasing. Even the headaches were less frequent and intense – still terrible – but I was taking any improvement.
He gave a slight head bow. “I have to go away for a few days, but I’ll be in touch. Good luck with your alpha meeting.”
Then those eyes locked me down and I couldn’t move. Mecca energy oozed from him, and wrapped around me with a strength that would have had my knees buckling, but I was used to it now.
“Stay safe, Ari,” he said, and then with a dispelling of the energy, he was gone.
I must have been standing like that for some time, because suddenly my dominants were around me. Blaine, one of my oldest friends, with his rich, auburn hair and green eyes, blinked at me in concern.
“Your Highness … are you okay, Ari?” He was one of the worst with protocol, always forgetting to address me as the queen.
I didn’t care. It was just a title. He would die for me. A title was hardly important compared to that.
“Do you think that bear did something to her?” Monica, the more cautious of the two females who were part of my inner five, said to the others.
A chuckle escaped me. “I’m standing right here, and my brain is not defective. Kade didn’t do anything to me. It’s just the mecca. The energy is strong and sometimes it takes a few minutes for me to get everything back into place. Mentally speaking.”
This wasn’t even a lie, and they all relaxed at the clear truth in my words. Still … Kade had something to do with it all. Kade and the mecca energy equally destroyed and rebuilt me. Almost like I couldn’t survive now without both of them, and yet I knew I had to. Neither were mine to keep forever.
3
Burning bridges. Scarred feet
AFTER TRAINING WITH Kade,I showered and dressed for my royal appointments. Calista managed to get me into a dress and everything – hair up in a crown braid, mecca stone diadem on my head. First order of business was the summer festival on the Island, which was two weeks away, and apparently the queen had to be involved in every aspect of it, including decorations. Boring. But my people expected a royal touch in all aspects of the event. I was still hoping the day would have a double purpose – discussing an alliance with the bear and wolf armies so we could fight the fae as one – whichwas the only reason I was giving it any of my time.
I almost couldn’t believe it was summer festival time again. Where had the last twelve months gone? The leaves would soon be turning their multitude of reds, oranges, and yellows; fall was on the horizon. The wolves looked forward to it every year, the festival to celebrate the last days of summer.
It was a longstanding tradition, only missed in times of full-on shifter wars. All of the wolves and bears converged on the Island for a huge two-day festival. Two days without many rules, two days to try and reinforce the peace between our people. Some of the wolves chose to stick strictly to the wolf side of the Island, as did bears on their side, but a good number of shifters did venture out and mingle together. Got drunk, played games, got in fights, made friends, and of course enemies.
Summer, a time of magic, and then after it was over we went back to our separate lives. There was really only one strict rule: no inter-mating of the two species. I’m sure it had happened – as an alpha I heard rumors – but the women were always careful to make sure no children resulted from their forbidden night with a bear. Now … kissing? There was plenty of that going on between both shifter species. It was almost a dare: “kiss a bear once before you die” type of thing. The first time I kissed anyone on the Island had been with a bear – Kade.
The knock at my door startled me from my thoughts. “Come in.” I sat up straighter on my throne, adjusting my crown, preparing to receive my next royal appointments.
My guards let in two women who were wheeling a cart full of bolts of silk fabric. I tried not to groan. I liked fashion as much as the next woman, but picking out fabric all day when I had a fae war to prepare for was a complete waste of my time.
“Your Majesty, thank you so much for commissioning us to make your royal gown for the summer festival,” said the one who was slightly closer to me. She was a robust woman, not fat – wolves had fast metabolisms – but short and solid. Her hair was a shade of golden brown, her eyes similar, and she smiled prettily as she bowed so low her nose was nearly touching the floor.
“Yes, thank you,” the other added, as she too bowed. She was finer boned and her hair was a strawberry blonde, her eyes an arresting shade of gray. Not as pretty or vivacious as her friend, but still striking.
I had never seen either of them before, not during my coronation, or when I went throughthe staff of the royal mansion. Calista must have commissioned them from outside my staff, and since I already had a palace seamstress, Casey Marie, who had been custom making everything so far, I wondered why we were going out-of-house for this dress.
“Of course. You’re the best.” I assumed this to be true; Calista wouldn’t hire any other.
They both blushed and shared a smile as if I had just made their day. “Thank you, Your Highness,” golden-haired said again. “As you know, we specialize in costumes. Have you decided what you would like to dress as?”
Of course, it all made perfect sense now. Casey wasn’t proficient in costume wear. Oh sure, she could have easily whipped a dress up if I needed her to, but it wasn’t her specialty and the queen would be expected to go all-out on costume, especially for my first festival since my coronation. The summer festival was a time to dress up – fairy wings, masquerade masks, Renaissance dress – Violet didn’t even need to change from her daily wear. Whatever you could imagine you could become. Last year the Red Queen had a beautiful peacock dress with mask and feathers.
With everything going on, it had completely slipped my mind that I’d need a costume. “Oh, I don’t know. I haven’t given it much thought,” Isaid honestly. I stood, approaching them, looking at the different silks they had. The teal caught my eye, and so did a soft, sunset pink.
“Well, Your Majesty, could we make a suggestion?” This came from the petite redhead.
I smiled at her. “Please do.”
She grabbed the teal silk I was running my hands across and unrolled a long piece, holding it up to me. “Queen of the water?”
