Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Brodie
I watch as the new queen leaves, surrounded by Gryff’s parents. My wolf feels longing and the persistent need to follow her. He pants after her like he’s discovered a female in heat and wants to mount her. I’ve struggled to keep a handle on my shift since she first stepped into the palace, her scent driving my inner animal crazy. He’s reacting like she’s his mate. Maybe Liam is right. Our animals have waited too long for their mate to be marked and they’ve finally had enough, and now they are seeking comfort in the first attractive female to walk their way.
“What is she, Liam?” Gianna asks, and I drag my attention away from the pretty queen and back to our table.
“Yes, I must admit I’m curious as well. If she is a prey animal, then that doesn’t bode well for her ability to keep our great kingdom safe.” Councilor Altmore’s eyes twinkle with excitement at the thought. “We should consult the archives today to see if there is a precedent for a ruler with a prey animal and no mates. Surely there is something we can do if this is the case.”
“Careful, Jonathan. Those words sound treasonous,” Emmett warns, a frown on his face.
“Why isn’t she sharing her animal with us? Why is it a secret if she has nothing to hide?” Sophia argues, jumping into the conversation.
“Well, if I could hazard a guess, it would be because it’s none of your damn business,” Bryson growls at her, and she glares at him. There is definitely no love lost between those two, and it’s even worse since he fired Gianna.
“Of course it’s our business. We need to be able to run damage control with the people if she is weak and unsuitable to rule. We owe it to our kingdom,” Councilor Mason argues. “It’s the council’s responsibility to keep our rulers in check.”
“Pfft,” Emmett scoffs. “You overestimate your importance, Andrew. We are here to help guide them, not make decisions for them, nor is it our position to speculate.” The oldest council member leans forward, his eyes blazing with anger. “I would worry about your own security before worrying about our queen’s. So far, none of you have realized that our own positions are on the line, and after that little performance, it would come as no surprise if she replaced us all.”
His words finally register with the rest of the council, and they shift uncomfortably in their seats.
“But I want to know,” Gianna whines, and I see the moment she pushes my bond mate too far. Liam shoves his chair back and wrenches his arm from her grasp.
“I won’t be the one to tell you. I’m under strict instructions to keep my mouth shut, and I won’t jeopardize my career for you,” he announces before storming out of the room. She gapes at him and starts to push her own chair back to chase after him.
“Sit down, Gianna,” her mother orders, her teeth clenched.
“I can assure you that none of you need to be concerned about what animal our new queen shifts into. Once she is ready, she will be happy to show you,” Gryffin, forever the princely diplomat, says calmly as Gianna drops back into the seat beside him. He wasn’t there when she shifted, and I don’t think any of us have told him what she is, but he trusts us.
“What about the fact that no mates have presented themselves? That’s something we can worry about. She can’t be crowned until that happens, so we are in limbo until such a time,” Vallen argues.
“It isn’t the first time that mates haven’t appeared and been instantly chosen,” Audrey points out. “When Emmett was king, it took weeks for him to decide on whom he was choosing for mates.” She looks at her husband affectionately. “He was such a manwhore, he thoroughly explored all of his options.”
He grins at her and shrugs unrepentantly. “I was going to spend the rest of my life with them, so I wanted to make sure I had the right combination. I didn’t hear you complaining when I invited you to help me with the interview process.” He leans back in his chair. “Ah, that was a fun time. So many eager and willing males and females, all vying for my attention. I would have been remiss if I made snap decisions.”
We can tell by his tone that the interviews involved more than an exchange of words. My wolf growls inside my chest at the thought of Colbie “interviewing” anyone.
“Disgusting,” Vallen grumbles loud enough for us to hear. We all know he has a problem with same sex relationships. Disavowing his son only proves it, and Emmett’s mates are two females and two males, and Vallen has never been friendly with any of them. Luckily most of the shifter kingdom doesn’t have the same prejudices.
“I don’t know about everyone else, but I am thoroughly done with breakfast.” Sable stands, followed by her husband, General Bryson, and their two younger children. “I have better things to do with my day than sit around in idle speculation. I have patients to attend to and an archive to visit.”
“Don’t go hiding any books from us, Sable. We will be down there later today to look over the histories of past kings and queens,” Vallen warns her, and she glares at him.
“How dare you question my integrity? I was awarded the position of historian by the king when none of you wanted to take that role. I will see to it that you have the books you need, but I can assure you none of them contain the information you seek.”
“Maybe the royal vault? It has books we don’t have access to. We should demand the king and queens hand it over,” Sophia suggests, looking to the more manipulative council members for support.
“Again, that sounds rather treasonous, Sophia. You don’t get to demand for the king or queens to do anything,” Audrey warns, scowling at her fellow councilor. “You are walking a fine line today.”
“Agreed, and I will gladly arrest you if you keep up this line of questioning and investigation,” Bryson threatens. “Go ahead and keep pushing, I dare you.” He turns his gaze to my group leader. “Gryffin, if you, your team, and Gretchin can join me, I’d like to go over the queen’s security schedule with you,” Bryson says, and I almost jump up and kiss the man for giving us an excuse to leave. I don’t hesitate to follow their lead, pushing my chair back and getting to my feet.
“I’ll go find Liam. Where should we meet you?” I ask the general as the rest of my team and Gretchin also get to their feet.
“The barracks, please. I’d like to supervise morning training now that all of our troops are back in the city for the coronation.”
“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.”