Shadow King's Redemption: Forced Proximity Shifter Paranormal Romance

1. CHAPTER 1

I’m on top of the fucking world, and life couldn’t be better.

Last night, I used my tongue, fingers, and everything else at my disposal to push three human women into orgasmic oblivion. Their naked bodies are sprawled around me, their minds lulled into satisfied sleep.

Another round,my wolf says, wanting to wake them up just as much as I do. Well, if they can’t, I’ll simply get my pack to bring me new ones. It’s good to be king.

You’re not one yet,my wolf reminds me. The ascension process hasn’t finished yet.

Semantics,I reply with a roll of my eyes.

I’m aware that until the coronation, I only have as much power as my father allows me to have. The ancient rules state clearly that only the oldest son can ascend to the throne, which definitely works in my favor because everyone can see that stupid Saint Gavin is my father’s favorite.

We’re lucky that he married into another royal family, my wolf says. He’s just as relieved as I am that we don’t need to constantly watch our backs now that my overly ambitious younger brother is out of the picture.

I have used my newly found extra time well. My second-in-command, the Beta of my pack, and the wild wolf that I sometimes take to my bed, is very good at locating the pure and uncut drugs. Getting top-shelf alcohol was always easy because all I had to do was hold my no-limit credit card up in the air.

My cock’s already waking, which means that one of the ladies should do because I won’t take care of my needs alone. With my right foot, I lazily kick at the young blonde at my side. She jumps and whimpers at the contact, her sleepy eyes locking on me as she gives me a startled look.

“You have work to do,” I order, then let my head slip into the pillow as I close my eyes and wait for her nimble fingers and her mouth to do their thing.

The other two sleeping beauties make small sounds in complaint as the young blonde pushes past them to get between my spread legs. The corners of my mouth lift as I brace myself for contact. It never comes because someone picked that very moment to knock on the door and interrupt my morning.

“What?!” I yell, not bothering to keep the anger out of my voice.

The door opens and though I’m expecting Tiana to walk in, the person that enters doesn’t resemble my Beta one bit. I react even before I manage to properly process the newcomer, my reflexes automatic and quick.

I don’t care that my knee connects with the young blonde’s cheek when I get up. Everything else is secondary to the person standing in front of me.

“Father,” I breathe, looking at him with my mouth open. “What are you doing here?”

“Grab the whores and take them to the doctor!” my father shouts the order to Tiana, who I’m only now noticing is standing behind him. “We need to make sure that they don’t leave with bastard pups in their bellies.”

“Right away, Your Grace,” Tiana says with a submissive tone.

With a slight gesture of her head, the other members of the Pack of Shadows move ahead and pull the three women off my bed. No one offers them any clothes, and the women are too hungover to put up a fight.

“Stop,” I order, looking at my pack. “Get your hands off them.”

Not even one wolf obeys me, nor do they show any signs of hearing me. Gavin trained them well to listen to their superior, but it seems like they’ve forgotten that I’m their leader.

“Your Alpha is telling you to stop!” I command, putting as much authority into my voice as my high and drunken ass can manage.

“You’re no one’s Alpha,” my father tells me, narrowing his eyes as he looks at me from head to toe with his lips curled in disgust. “For fuck’s sake! Will you cover yourself up a bit? You’re an embarrassment to our family’s name.”

“The Pack of Shadows is mine,” I argue weakly, but to no avail.

“The Pack of Shadows will always be Gavin’s,” my father replies coldly after I wrap a blanket around my waist, his words hitting a sore spot. “You’ll never be half the man that your brother is. Now that he’s a Lafayette, Tiana’s the only suitable option to lead the pack. She was Gavin’s protégé after all.”

“You’re right,” I say at last, figuring that it’s best to agree with him. “Besides, I can’t be both Alpha and a king at the same time. My life is too valuable, and I can’t be expected to focus on ten people when I need to lead our whole kingdom.”

My father’s eyes darken, his look wiping the smile off my face. My intoxicated brain seems to have forgotten for a second that he found me in bed with not one, but three human women. While he’s been hearing rumors about me fucking around for years, he never had any actual proof. At least until now.

“I’m freezing your ascension process,” my father says, getting straight to the point.

“You can’t!” I exclaim. I’m wracking my brain to find a way to convince him, but I can’t think clearly through the fog and the headache that’s beginning to pound behind my eyes. “Our laws make it clear that the firstborn son is the future king. So, unless I die, I’m the future Grey king.”

He won’t have us killed, will he?my wolf wonders as soon as I say those words.

“I know what the laws say,” my father tells me, sounding far from happy. “I’m aware that you’ll be the next king, which is why it’s my duty to prepare you as best as I can so that you’ll lead our family well.”

“I’ll make you proud, Father,” I promise him with a determined nod. If I wasn’t half-naked with only a blanket around my waist, I’d probably sound a lot more convincing.

“It’s not your fault, Son,” my father says with a heavy sigh. “I should’ve put an end to your playtime years ago, but I chose to ignore it. Even after I was warned about your disgusting ways, I still didn’t want to see the truth.”

“This is nothing,” I tell him with a nonchalant wave of my hand. “It’s just some harmless fun.”

“You’re the Grey heir, and you should hold yourself to higher standards,” my father says in a firm voice. “If you want others to follow you, you have to lead by example. Right now, I don’t see anything I like, but don’t worry because I have a plan that will fix everything.”

It seems like not everything’s lost,my wolf says, finding a sliver of hope in this otherwise dark conversation.

“I’ll do anything,” I tell him, knowing it’s the quickest way to get out of this predicament. “Just name it.”

“I’ll order a coffee to be brought while you put on some clothes,” my father tells me, and the fact that he’s planning on us sitting down further confirms to me that I won’t like what he has to say.

I nod, then grab my clothes off the pile in the corner and go to the bathroom for some privacy. My head spins when I lean down to put on my boxers.

Can’t you heal us already?I ask my wolf, needing a clear head to talk to my father.

I would if it was only alcohol, my wolf complains, feeling just as beat as I do. Fucking drugs are too hard on us. I told you not to mix so many of them.

I grunt in response and throw some cold water on my face before I continue dressing myself. The healing process is too fast when using only one drug, making it nearly impossible to feel its effects. But when mixed in a neat and pure cocktail, then either sniffed or washed down with a potent liquor, I’m on top of the world.

When I’m all dressed and the buttons of my shirt are somewhat buttoned up correctly, I return to the hotel suite that I have permanently rented. Even I wouldn’t dare to bring humans back to the Grey Manor.

I walk past the bed to my father, who’s already sitting at the table by the window and sipping out of his cup. His eyes carefully observe me as I reach for my own cup and mix in two little bags of sugar before topping it off with cold milk.

“What would you like me to do?” I ask him when I finish prepping my coffee and lean back into the comfortable chair. “A diplomatic mission to the Farrells? I’m sure they’re quite upset with the mess Felix and Gavin created. Or should I travel to the Middle East to check on our new rig? I’ll be happy to make rounds to confirm that all our businesses are bringing in the most money they can.”

“I’m afraid that I have different plans in mind for you,” my father says, a small smile playing on his lips.

I don’t like this, my wolf tells me, and I have to agree with him.

“As I said before, I haven’t paid enough attention to you. Now that we’ve started the ascension process, we’re in a rush to turn you into a king,” my father tells me. He pauses long enough to take a sip of coffee and let his words sink in. “The best and fastest way to do that is to send you off to a military camp where they’ll make a proper man out of you.”

I tip my head back and laugh. It’s the best joke I’ve heard all day, and for a moment, I was actually worried that he was being serious. When I realize that he didn’t join in, my laughter slowly dies down.

“Please tell me that you’re kidding,” I say, looking at him in disbelief.

“I’m afraid not,” my father says, his previous smiling face now turning grim. “You’ll be sent there undercover, and you’ll be forbidden to tell anyone who you really are.”

“Or what, huh?” I challenge, clenching my jaw in defiance. “You can’t force me.”

“I can, and I will,” he tells me with a nonchalant shrug. “Should you dare to tell anyone about who you are, I’ll kill them, their family, and everyone that person might’ve come in contact with. Be careful what you do, otherwise all those lives will be on you.”

“You can’t do this,” I insist, calling his bluff.

My father takes his time and finishes his cup of coffee before replying. When he’s done, he sets it on the table, locking his eyes on mine.

“You seem to forget that I’m the king, Garren,” he reminds me. “I may not be willing to punish you directly just yet, but push me far enough, and I will have you removed from the royal line. Until then, people around you will pay for your shortcomings. Tread carefully.”

Our eyes are locked in a battle of wills, but it’s very clear who’s the dominant one. He doesn’t even need to use his powers to make me submit. Clenching my jaw so hard that it hurts, I bow my head at the neck, wordlessly agreeing to his plan.

Seemingly satisfied, my father nods and gets up. He looks around the room, his nose scrunching up in disgust. Lucky for me, he doesn’t bother to comment any further. He’d made his position clear enough.

“Tiana should return soon to take you to the military encampment. I’ve assigned you to a pack called Dark Hunter,” my father says, his words making my eyes widen to comical proportions as I realize that I’m supposed to leave right now. “The Alpha is from a prominent military family. All her siblings are Alphas of their own packs, and her mother is the Alpha Captain. Her father died on the frontlines, but he was also the Alpha Captain, leading ten packs, the same as her mother is doing now.”

“Is that supposed to impress me?” I growl and roll my eyes.

“Yes, it should,” my father tells me, narrowing his eyes at me. “It should also show you that I’m putting you in the best pack with an opening. They recently lost their tenth member, which makes this a perfect opportunity for you to get in. I might possibly be sending you to fight on the frontlines, but at least I’m making sure that you’re surrounded by capable wolves.”

“Come on, Father, don’t make me do this. It’s bullshit,” I say, not even caring that I sound like I’m whining. “I promise I’ll get better by myself. From now on, I’m cut off from the alcohol and drugs.”

“You’re right about that because you won’t have any of it in the encampment,” my father says with a smile. “The best we can hope for is that this experience turns you into at least half of the man that your brother is. If that happens, we’ll consider it a win.”

It’s over, my wolf tells me, making me face the truth. You’ll have to let it go for now.

“Yes, Father,” I say, forcing the words out through gritted teeth.

With a curt nod, my father turns on his heels and leaves me behind in the hotel suite that smells like sex, alcohol, and stale cigarettes. On any other occasion, I’d consider the night to be a fucking success, but right now, I don’t feel like smiling and patting my shoulder for a good fuck fest.

When Tiana arrives, I’m still sitting in the same spot, holding my now cold coffee. Not even three hours ago, I was on top of the world, and now I’ve fallen to the absolute bottom. I’m joining some random pack as a commoner, as a soldier with a lower standing. Following that theory, even Tiana has more power than I do.

We’ll show them all, my wolfpromises. They’ll end up begging us for forgiveness.

You’re right, I agree. Once we rise up the ranks, Father will have to eat his words. We’ll even put Saint Gavin to shame.

My wolf makes a sound in agreement, channeling his motivation and confidence into me. It’s potent enough that I lift my head high up and meet Tiana’s eyes.

“Ready to go?” she asks, her usually playful behavior nowhere to be seen.

I don’t think she was too happy to find us in bed with human women, my wolfspeculates.

Good point, I allow, then force a smile on my face to hold up the pretense that nothing can shake me.

“What’s the rush, sweetheart?” I ask as I set my coffee on the table and get up. I nod toward the bed, raise my brow, and smirk. “How about it? You in for a ride?”

Tiana’s face darkens, and she steps aside, giving me a clear view of the door where I only now notice Jay standing. The second Beta, or well, now that Tiana is Alpha, I suppose he got promoted to her spot, is looking at me with an air of superiority.

Bloody commoner! my wolf hisses, his disgust heavily dripping from every word.

I’m the future Grey king and I won’t be disrespected by trashy little nobodies like these two. It’s important that I make it clear who’s the real Alpha here in every sense of the word.

With a deep breath, I send a signal to my wolf to bring out the claws just as I jerk forward and roughly grab Tiana’s neck, my fingers dangerously curling around it. I expect Jay to assist his Alpha, but Tiana holds up her hand, stopping him in his tracks. My lips curl up into a triumphant smile and I tighten my grip around Tiana’s neck.

“Learn to respect your superiors or I’ll add another scar across your beautiful face,” I say with a low voice. “I’d hate for everyone to know that X marks the spot to punch.”

Tiana’s dark eyes are locked on mine as a slow grin spreads on her face. A guttural scream comes deep from within me before my brain even has the chance to realize that something’s wrong. The hand that I had around Tiana’s neck is broken in half, the bone protruding through the torn flesh.

I let go of her and cradle my injured hand close to my chest. My eyes dart to Tiana’s, my vision blurring as the pain becomes too much.

“What did you do?” I force out, my voice hoarse and low.

“You should always keep an eye on your shadow,” she replies with a nonchalant shrug. “The most painful backstabbing is the one you do to yourself.”

She animated our shadow and used it as a puppet, my wolfgrowls, panting hard as he’s doing his best to heal us through the drug and alcohol-induced fog of my own doing.

“You’ll pay for this,” I promise her through gritted teeth. “I’ll make you regret the day that you used your powers on your future King.”

“It’s time to go,” Tiana says coldly, not sounding worried at all. That’s okay because it only means that she doesn’t bother to keep her guard up around me. It will be easier to slip through the cracks and punish her.

The blinding pain makes me sway on my feet, my head feeling light, and my vision unclear. I shake off Jay’s hand when he grabs my arm and weakly growls at him. It’s the only sound I’m able to make, but at least I somehow manage to make my own way to the van.

I might hate what my father has planned for me, but he’s right in one thing. I need to get clean, so I can get stronger. While my powers are nowhere near Gavin’s, I’m not as weak as everyone else thinks. It’s my own fault for consuming so much crap, which cut me off from my vast well of darkness.

I’ll go to the military encampment, I’ll climb my way up the ranks to shut my father’s mouth, and then I’ll return to sit on the throne. I’m the only legitimate future this family has, but before I make our kingdom stronger, I’ll get rid of the traitors such as Tiana and Jay.

No one will ever laugh at me again.