THE MUSIC WAS softly playing in the corner, and people were standing on all sides talking and laughing, but there was tension in the air. Word had spread about the attempt on my life and that Lorenzo was looking for the guilty party. I could see from the faces of the people who were in attendance that they either knew what was going on or had already been questioned and released.Lorenzo’s mother waved at us and we took our places in front of our thrones. The trumpets played and Leila was announced. She looked stunning in the soft pink dress as she walked to the steps in front of us. Lorenzo went through the motions of declaring her nobility, and I scanned the crowd in the hopes of seeing something … Anything that could give me an idea of who hated me so much that they would actually want to kill me.Lorenzo introduced Leila with her new title and the party started with Lorenzo and Leila opening the dancefloor. I smiled as I realized that her life would never be the same again. Leila
Strange things he has done over the past couple of months start coming to mind. Things I saw that didn’t make sense at the time, but I didn’t pay much attention to them. Conversations he was having with people he shouldn’t have been talking to. My heart broke as I thought of the old queen and what this betrayal would mean for her.This time around, I knew that Lorenzo wasn’t going to save him. He couldn’t. I wondered for a moment if I shouldn’t perhaps leave. That way, Lorenzo wouldn’t have to choose, but then the old king would win. Lorenzo would become weak without me, and he would be able to take over. Besides, the old king would hunt me until he knew for sure I was dead. If I ran and stayed alive, I would always be a threat to him.No, I wasn’t going to be run out of the only place I could call home and I wasn’t going to leave the man I loved. I stopped pacing and looked at the door. I needed to know what the hell was going on. Lorenzo wasn’t saying anything in our link, but I kne
ArianaI WAS STILL PACING when he finally walked into the room. Our safety protocol required that the guard take me to my old bedroom for safety reasons, and it helped to make me feel slightly more at ease to be in there, but as soon as I saw Lorenzo’s face, my heart sank.I could see something serious happened. Opening my mouth to say something before closing it again, when he closed the gap between us and pulled me into his arms. He held on so tight that I thought he was going to crush me. He breathed in my scent and I could have sworn I heard him sob, but by the time he pulled away, he looked strange.Different. As if something had died inside him … He let go of me and sighed deeply as he walked over to the windows. His arms folded tightly around him and I was dying to know what happened, but I didn’t want to push him to tell me.“He’s dead.” Lorenzo’s voice cracked before he turned around to look at me. “My father is dead.” His eyes filled with tears and he made no move to come cl
NEWS OF THE DEATH OF THE OLD KING spread like wildfire throughout the kingdom, and everyone wanted to attend the funeral. The old queen hadn’t come out of her room since the day he died and I was beginning to wonder if she would even make it to the funeral. She wasn’t eating or seeing any visitors. I had hoped that she would at least hear Lorenzo out, but she refused.I could understand where she was coming from. If someone had killed Lorenzo, I wouldn’t have spoken to them either! But Lorenzo was her son. Couldn’t she at least hear him out? Find out what happened. Find out why he killed his father … I tried to see her a couple of times to let her know how the funeral arrangements were going, but there was no sound from her room.I was beginning to think she wouldn’t come to the funeral, but when the crowd went silent, I could feel that she had arrived. She walked through the crowd slowly. It had been two days since we last saw her. She looked pale. Her eyes had dark circles around th
THE KINGDOM WAS IN SERIOUS NEED of some happiness after the storms we had been through. Leila’s introduction to society was just the start, but I had an idea that was going to shake up all royal protocol. I wanted to open the events to everyone and not just the nobles.I wanted Leila to be able to find her destined mate and not just marry to better her rank. It was time we brought happiness back into our kingdom. The queen frowned when I told her of my plans. She wasn’t concerned about mixing with the riffraff. She was concerned about the scale of it all. There was no way we would be able to fit everyone into the ballroom.I have been involved in some of the events of my old pack and I suggest more relaxed events where people don’t have to wear ball gowns to every event. The queen was also concerned that it would take away from Leila’s experience of finding a mate, but I finally convinced her that it was a better way to find her a husband.I had just created more work for all of us si
The flower arrangements were beautiful and I could smell the food all the way up in our room. Okay, so my nose was a bit more sensitive than normal. I could smell everything I wanted to eat, and when Lesley brought me a plate of food, I was so grateful. I was beginning to feel as if I was eating all the damn time, but at least our baby would be healthy. He was growing at an alarming rate, and so was I.I was due any day now, and people were starting to make bets on when our little bundle of joy would be born. It was a great time in the kingdom. I stood beside Lorenzo at the beautiful flower-covered podium at the end of the aisle. I liked watching the groom when the bride walked down the aisle. Everyone looked at the bride, but I loved seeing the love a groom felt for his bride.Today was even more special since they were actually destined mates. It wasn’t just an arrangement they made for comfort. Leila looked as though she was crying and I felt the tears sting the back of my eyes. Sh
I was a shifter dammit! Of course, my body would accommodate the birth of my son, but I was in so much pain that my brain seemed to short out and I couldn’t think straight. I understood why some women only had one child because this was just the worst pain I had ever gone through. Pushing and screaming and sweating like a pig! It wasn’t beautiful! It was the most horrifying moment of my entire life!“Okay, Your Majesty, one last big push.” The doctor sounded as though he was smiling, but I didn’t give a damn! I was tired, and every muscle in my body ached, not to mention what was going on down there! I begged Lorenzo to stop this madness. I couldn’t push anymore. Lorenzo climbed onto the bed behind me and I felt some relief as he whispered in my ear.“Just one more push baby and I promise it will all be over.” He sounded just as frustrated as I felt.“YOU’RE NOT THE ONE PUSHING!” I growled as another contraction hit and I had no alternative but to do as they asked. Falling back onto L
LIAM’S FIRST BIRTHDAY was the best day of my life. Okay, well, one of the best. We had gotten him this far. We survived the first year, and more importantly, he survived the first year with us. If it wasn’t for the entire village of people helping, I would probably have done something to make it all go wrong.Two more ladies-in-waiting had been married by this time and it was incredible to see them with their destined mates. Leila was pregnant, but since they were lower-ranked wolves, her pregnancy would last a little longer than mine did.People came from all over the kingdom to celebrate with us. There were balloons and streamers and flowers everywhere. The food ranged from snacks for the children to all sorts of finger foods for the grown-ups and people were laughing. The entire lawn was covered with people who were all there to celebrate.Liam looked like a carbon copy of his father, but he had my eyes. He was a good little boy and I loved him more than life itself. My boys … But