I woke up in a massive bed in an opulent bedroom, one larger than I had ever seen. It was grand, in fact – the kind of room someone of Royal blood would occupy, and I lived as a Royal, so I know what I’m talking about.
The four-poster bed, covered in silk, sits against the back wall, and a blazing fire surrounded by a marble mantel sits directly in front of the bed, oak dressers with flowers in glass vases on top. Yes, it’s beautiful.
Yet there I was, a complete mess in a room I had no place being in.
The second I sat up, two women around the age of fifty came rushing over. They checked the back of my head thoroughly before deeming me fine, with no damage.
Thank the God’s and Goddess’s.
They handed me a plate filled with raw meat and fruit. I shovel
The smirk on the King’s face as he looks me up and down tells me that he is indeed the reason I am here.Were those men who took me from the woods looking for me specifically?Did Orrin send them after me because I ran from him?I ran because the vision scared me, and it scared me because I never imagined I would spark with the first wolf I came across — especially not a King and obvious powerful Alpha. But then, I’d believed I was a bear until two weeks prior.I’m forced to my knees in front of the King by two men pushing on my shoulders. The sound of the drums suddenly ceases when the King holds up his hand. I’m grateful because the pounding of those drums was causing a migraine.That’s crazy; shifters don’t suffer from migraines.
I don’t want to strip in front of these people, but if I don’t, my clothes will be torn from my body when I shift. But I can’t bring myself to remove my dress, so I don’t.Orrin eyes me curiously when I crouch down with my right hand on the ground. I lift my head to look at him, this beautiful, powerful man whom I feel my heart and body yearning for. I’ve heard of this kind of connection before, but I have never felt it.Why would I?If Orrin is my mate, then that’s why no connection of this kind was ever mine before this moment. I haven’t lived as a wolf for a month yet, and I have so much to learn.Although I would be a liar if I said there wasn’t sexual chemistry of some kind between Christopher and me. Christopher used to tell me that’s all we needed, even
Anja was beautiful out there, just as I knew she would be.When I sent Galagh and Emroy to search for the mysterious woman in the woods and her feral child, the only thing on my mind was the vision we shared. I’m not sure if it was my foresight or hers. Only the most powerful of shifters possess the gift, and I doubted that Anja was such a shifter.I couldn’t settle; nothing I did calmed my mind. As the days passed, I became more determined to find my mate.There was something that bothered me, however. I knew Anja was a shifter; I smelled it on her, the bear within the moment she ran from me. It bothered me because I couldn’t stop thinking about her, but wolves and bears avoid each other at all costs.So why the hell did the Moon Goddess pair me with a damn bear?
I watched those rare violet eyes of Anja’s wolf, pinning me with her stare. My brother noticed, but of course, he did.Of course, the whole pack was in awe when I leapt from my seat, landing on all fours in front of their new Queen. My wolf howled to the sky as Anja’s wolf told us they were now ours. She nudged her beautiful head into my neck, and the energy flowed through us, connecting us, branding us as one.Back in human form, my servants rush to cover both Anja and me with robes. I growled the second we shifted back, knowing my subjects could see Anja naked was enough to have me tear them all apart! My wolf was ready to burst out, and I had to fight my instincts to protect what was mine. Luckily for me, my servants are quick, and Anja was naked before them for less than a second.I now stand in front of my subjects, their attention
Orrin stalks towards me, shedding his robe as he goes, and all I can do is gawk at him, a gasp stuck in my throat. He’s enormous, strong, powerful, and it drips from him in the bucketload.His chest heaves as he stands before me in nothing but his birthday suit.My eyes take in the sight of him, so beautiful it takes my breath away. Orrin is enormous and full of muscle in all the right places. I want to reach out and touch his perfectly silken chest; those muscles are screaming for me to lick them. I want to trace the V at his hips with my fingertips.I’m still hung up on the fact he has no hair on his body. Maybe it’s a cliché to think all men are hairy, but most bear shifters are. The fact Orrin isn’t; surprises me. Orrin is the King of his clan, so maybe he’s hairl
More sparks shoot through me as Orrin lays his hand on my cheek. My pussy throbs and Asha howls loudly inside my head. She wants Orrin more than her next breath, and she’s not going to let me deny him as much as I think I want to.What will happen to me once Orrin and I mate?If he marks me, then I’ll be bound to him for the rest of my life. I don’t know if I want that; I don’t even know the man.‘He’s our mate, Anja. Being with Orrin for the rest of your life will be perfect.’‘How can you say that, Asha? We don’t know anything about this man!’
It’s morning when I finally come around. I’m in Orrin’s bed, soft sheets surrounding me, naked as the day I was born, and I ache everywhere.The light from the sun is shining through the gap in the dark curtains. Orrin is not beside me, and I can’t sense him in the room, meaning he isn’t here with me any longer.I sigh to myself and stretch out my aching body. A smile draws on my lips as I think about what happened last night. I never dreamed sex could be like that, so raw, so animalistic. I know we’re animals inside, but I thought a girl’s first time was supposed to be gentle lovemaking.I also didn’t bank on feeling like this the morning after, especially when I told Orrin that I didn’t want him to mark me.
My mother, Lady Larentia Dalgaard, sits to the left of the dining table beside her youngest son, Adrian, and across from her three young daughters, Adore, Allure, and Fawna.My mother was not here last night to bear witness to Anja’s confession. Much to my annoyance, she was out with some Lord she’s now dating. However, I cannot tell my mother who to date, even if I’d rather she didn’t.Mother went through a lot when she lost my father, and if this Clive fellow makes her happy, who am I to deny that?Of course, Mother has been filled in on the sparking of Anja and my wolves. She has been beside herself with glee all morning.Although Mother has concerns about the whole Anja being the daughter of King Leopold, she now understands that Anja is a wolf and not a bear, and she will not stand in
Twenty-Five years later “Dad? You okay?” I turn away from my bedroom window and face my daughter with a smile. “Something I can help you with?” Lilly says nothing, just walks into my open arms. My daughter will one day take over the throne. My sons are strong Romarians, but Lillian is an Omerian, much more powerful than anyone predicted. It’s been many years since there was a crowned Queen of Zidiah. My daughter will be the first in two hundred years. My children have struggled with having Lorcan’s spirit share Luther’s body all their lives. The witch who stole him from us did the unthinkable. Killing the child as we thought was bad enough, but what she’d, in fact, done was force Luther and Lorcan to share one body. It took twenty-five years and Luther’s little mate to separate Luther and Lorcan. But Jenna did it, and Lorcan is now here in the physical. I love Lorcan, none could ever say that I don’t, but the boy is insane. All those years living inside his brother have left Lo
I gasp and stumble as blood falls from my mouth. The power of the Firsts rips from my body, flowing back into them.What the fuck just happened?I fall to my knees, gasping for air and clutching my chest. I feel as though I’m in another dimension, but, strangely, I feel like my old self once again.Thank the Goddess!However, I remember every vile thing I’ve done over the past weeks, and my heart is breaking.Tears fall from my eyes, and I sob. I’m a monster! There is no other word for it: I’m a monster and will never be anything more.“Anja?” I look at the man crouching in front of me. “My child,” Mythius cups my cheek. “You are free.”“I don’t know what happened,” I admit.“The blood of the Firsts corrupted your heart and mind. It almost stole your life force, but your mate saved you. How did he do this? No one knows.”“Orrin,” My eyes widen. “Where is he?”Mythius smiles sadly. “I’m sorry, young one.”“No,” I shake my head while clambering to my feet. “He’s not gone; I would feel i
“Are you sure this is the way?”“Yes, Freddy,” I mumble.Today is the day. I have but moments to save Anja, and I cannot fail. It’s taken days to find her hiding place, yet it shouldn’t have – not when we’ve followed the bodies along the way.So many shifters have been killed, too many to count. It seemed that no one was safe from my mate. Anja cared not for who she killed nor the land she destroyed.What has become of my mate?If I do manage to save her, will she ever be the same?Will she be my Anja or someone I don’t recognise?I feel sick with nerves as I approach the cave in which Anja is hiding. Liam, Adrian, and Freddy all insisted on coming with me. It didn’t matter how many times I protested; they wouldn’t listen. I also know the Firsts are following, hiding out of sight, but they’re there.They’ve come to the end of their tether, and no amount of me protesting would stop them from ending Anja. Onyx, the first dragon, almost angrily set fire to my pack!I’ll never know how th
“You need to sort this, Orrin!” I roll my eyes at Mythius. Fucking vampire prick is driving me nuts! I know that I need to sort things, but I’m at a loss for what to do here. “Your mate is out of control, and the Firsts have been talking. They want Anja neutralised before the week is out.” I know what that means; they want Anja put down. It won’t happen, but I don’t know how much longer I can hold them off. After what happened in the woods the other day, things have been slowly getting worse. Anja has killed more people than even I can count. Goddess knows I understand where Mythius and others are coming from. But I cannot stand back and allow anyone to hurt my mate. Our cubs need her; I need her! Four days ago, I was called to the forest, where I found my mate torturing rogues. Adrain, Liam, and I ran as fast as we could when Mythius called. Bodies were littering the ground, decapitated, deformed, and bent in unnatural ways. Dozens upon dozens of rogues were dead as the Firsts,
It’s dark, always so dark.My life was once filled with love and light, but that’s all gone now. All that is left behind is rage and darkness.I don’t want to be this way; it’s lonely where I am right now – locked inside my head. But I can’t deal with the pain of losing my son.Lorcan was cruelly snatched from me by a madwoman for no other reason than she could. I am one of if not the strongest person in our world. One witch should not have been able to curse me; I should have been able to take her voice and stop her.Why then couldn’t I?Why was I frozen and unable to speak?But I couldn’t speak, and I couldn’t stop that woman from taking my son from me. I still don’t understand her words, and I don’t even care to try. That bitch took something from me that I will never be able to get back.No one will ever understand what that witch did to me that day. I knew that I was out of control, hurting my own people because I couldn’t stop myself.But did I really deserve to lose my son beca
Some Months Later. . .Time is getting closer. I have around a week to save Anja, and I still haven’t worked out how to do that. She’s so out of control that the whole city is coming down around me.The Elders are on my case to contain Anja, while my people are terrified of what their Queen will do next. My pack will end in rack and ruin at this rate, and it won’t be long before my enemies swarm in.I have dozens wanting to take Anja from me. Many of whom would use her powers for their own ends, just as my cubs informed me.I am doing everything in my power to keep Anja safe, but it’s not easy. Anja fights me on everything, and just one person disagrees with her, and she ends their lives as if they were nothing.I feel as though I’m being pulled in ten different directions. The Elders, though they stay in hiding away from Anja, have been on my case to put her down. Like she’s a fucking dog!I know Anja is bringing around the destruction of our pack. But I can’t bring myself to hurt he
On the other hand, Amanda and Leopold felt the mate bond the moment they laid eyes on each other. They sparked in a way no other Kulumi bear ever has, and their love story is one that will last the ages. A woman out of her timeline with the face of another ended up being the King’s, destined mate. Nothing could have been more perfect.“Amanda,” Leopold wraps Amanda in his big arms, lifting her slightly because she’s a foot and half shorter than he is. “My love.”Though I knew Leopold loved Amanda, I never realised how much until this moment. The pale blue and lilac auras swimming around their heads as they kiss tenderly only provides more evidence that they belong together. They’re deeply in love, and nothing could take that away from them, not even death.I understand now why Leopold would never take another wife. He wasn’t and never would be over his true mate.Is it wrong to keep from the King his wife’s true identity?I don’t believe so.Why cause more pain when it won’t change an
I hadn’t heard Brody come into the room, but he’s certainly made his presence known since. “What have you done to my father?”“Brody, stand down,” Leopold waves his hand at his son.“Stand down? She was banished from Kulumi and ended up the damn Queen of Zidiah.”Leopold narrows his eyes, confused by what Brody just said about me being banished from Kulumi. But of course, he would be.“Does the King know she’s here? Or should we be expecting Orrin Dalgaard to bring war down on us?”I get to my feet.Brody is no threat to me, but I won’t have him stand over me, trying to intimidate me.“Orrin knows that I’m here, Brody. No, he wasn’t happy about it, but when I explained why I needed to come, he took a step back.”“Why are you here?” The man who used to be my best friend grinds between his teeth.I take a deep breath before using my vampiric ability to wipe Brody’s memories of who I was to him, just as I did with Leopold.I then explain everything to Brody. Every little thing I told Leo
“It is true, Leopold. But there’s more.” “What more could there be, Anja?” I know this is a lot for Leopold to take in, but he needs to know everything. So, I explain his sister-in-law’s plans to kill his child due to Amanda’s death. Leopold’s eyes widen in shock, and I see the bear within trying to break out. Not once did Leopold blame Dania for what happened. “I’ll kill her!” Leopold roars. ‘Why did you tell him that?!’ Asha screams inside my head. ‘You didn’t need to say anything. You planned to glamour the clan into forgetting who you were here and believing Amanda hadn’t even died. ‘Everything would have been as it always was, but you had to go and spill this shit to the King. Once you’d glamoured everyone, nobody would have wanted to kill Dania. What the hell is wrong with you?’ Crap! Asha is correct, but I wasn’t thinking. I am so overly tired, and I’ve used so much power today that I’m starting to slow down. ‘Wipe the memory, Anja! Amanda’s sister was acting due to gri