Page 8

Chapter Eight

Liam

I stare up at my bond mate as my bear thrashes inside my chest. He wants out so he can search for his mate. It took all of my stubborn strength to get him to run here when I shifted as opposed to running after the damn queen who smells like cupcakes and frosting, making my mouth water. He has a burning need for her. When Gianna put her hand on me at the breakfast table, he nearly pushed his way through and ripped her face off for touching him. He has done a complete one-eighty. He tolerated her before because she was pretty and let us fuck her, but now he just wants to eat her internal organs. I have no idea why. Every time I question him, all he can grunt is, “Mate.” I’m worried that it’s taken too long for the goddess to mark our mate and he’s going insane.

“I need help,” I repeat as Brodie just gapes at me. “My bear is getting too hard for me to control. He keeps insisting the queen is our mate, but she can’t be. I don’t know how long I’m going to be able to control him. I’m worried the next time I get close to her, he will force a mating bite on her.”

He frowns, pursing his lips. “Shit, man. That’s a death sentence, you know that.”

I allow my head to hang so I can’t see the look of disappointment in his eyes. “I know.”

“Snap out of this. What the fuck is wrong with you? You’re one of the strongest shifters I know. Get your shit together and don’t let your animal rule you. Staying in bear form isn’t going to make it any better. You’ll become shift frozen.” He shoves me with his foot, and I sprawl on the ground, the rough surface stinging my naked body.

My own anger flares, and I scramble to my feet and glare at him, fisting my hands like I’m going to slug him.

“Don’t you fucking think I know that?” I shout at him, and his eyes glow with triumph.

“There he is, the Liam I know and love. None of this feeling sorry for himself crap.” He sounds smug. I drop my fists and assess myself, and he’s right. I do feel better. He got me out of my funk.

“Fuck, I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” I run a hand through my hair before dusting the dirt off my naked body. Nudity isn’t a big deal for shifters. Not everyone has clothes that are spelled to shift with them, so we learn to deal with it from a young age.

“I know how you feel. My wolf has been insisting the same thing. I wonder if we all feel naturally drawn to her because of her royal power,” he suggests as we start to walk back to the entrance of the cave.

“I don’t feel this way about Gryff’s parents,” I point out.

“No, but they still have that magnetic aura. I just don’t want to hump their legs like I do the new queen.” I chuckle at his admission and the thought of Brodie doing that to one of the queens. They would grab him by the ear and throw him into the palace pool.

“Come on, Bryson needs us. That will keep your mind off the pretty queen for at least a few hours.” He grimaces. “Well, it might not because we’re discussing her security, and we are helping her with shifting this afternoon. Are you going to be okay with that? Or do you want me to give your excuses? I’m sure I can come up with some plausible reason for you to disobey orders. It won’t be the first time.”

My bear roars inside me at the idea that we’ll miss out on helping her shift. I argue with him internally, and he settles at the threat of me not going to the practice. He decides to behave, and I breathe out a huge sigh of relief. “No, I’ll be fine. It seems we have come to an agreement,” I assure my bond mate. He stops at the edge of the falls and studies me carefully before nodding.

“Okay, but be careful. If you start to lose control, promise me you will leave. I don’t want to lose you because your bear made a stupid mistake.”

“I promise. Hell, I don’t even like the girl,” I lie, and I can tell by the look he gives me that he doesn’t believe me.

“Sure, buddy. Keep telling yourself that and someone might believe you.” He pats me on the shoulder. “I think Bryson is going to have to send us away once her mates show up. I’m not sure I could stop my wolf from tearing into any of them if I saw her with them,” he says quietly, like it’s not something he really wants to admit to, but I appreciate him sharing with me. It makes me feel less alone.

“At least Gem, Gryff, and Hunter aren’t going to be a problem,” I mutter. “They are always the perfect little soldiers anyway.”

I hear him scoff, and when I look at him, he’s rolling his eyes. “If you believe they are unaffected by the new queen, you aren’t looking closely enough. Didn’t you see how devastated Gryff was when she walked away from him last night? They also have history. He even has an endearment for her—cookie.”

I can’t stop my lips from turning up in a small smirk. “It suits her.” I frown. I don’t want to think about the queen. The damn woman is giving me more problems than any woman ever has. “Enough about her. She’s off-limits, and everyone should keep their distance. Bryson assigning our team to protect and help her with her shift is irresponsible. He should put someone else on it.”

“Don’t blame the man for your inability to control your animal. We are the top team for the job. The only other suitable team is Adam’s, and they are all mated. I’m not sure their mates would be happy with them spending so much time with the queen.”

“The fact that they are mated makes it better. None of them are going to be distracted or tempted by her.”

“Yeah, but then we don’t get to spend time with the pretty shifter, and I want to see what she can do with her animals. My wolf is dying for hers to come out and play.” He grins and shifts, putting a stop to the conversation before throwing himself into the pool of water and paddling under the falls.

I’m not sure his wolf is actually any better than my bear. I will have to keep a close eye on him as well as my own bear. This is going to be a fucking disaster. My anger rises again, as does the resentment I feel toward the new queen. I’m pissed off that I want her but can’t have her. I hate being denied the things I want, and I usually go out of my way to get them. This time, it just isn’t going to work out in my favor.

I shift into my bear, and he roars his own disappointment before following Brodie into the water. He’s a much better swimmer than Brodie’s wolf, able to hold his breath and swim under the rush of water. By the time we come up for air, we’ve passed him and almost come to the side of the pool. We climb out and shake off the excess water before Brodie joins us. He does the same, and then we make our way back to the palace, our animals easily keeping pace with one another. By the time we get back to the edge of the forest, my heart rate is up, and I’m feeling less hopeless about everything. I certainly have better control of my bear.

“You know, I bet Colbie’s hydra would love that pool. It’s deep enough for her to swim around in. We should take her there to shift one of these days,” he says as he pulls his clothes on.

I gather up the remains of my shredded clothes, knowing the queens will have my hide if I leave them behind, and the two of us walk toward the military barracks where we will find Bryson and the rest of our team.

“Stop, man. Let her mates do things like that for her. We are there for two reasons and two reasons only—protect her until they appear and help her get control of her shift. Romancing her is not one of those reasons.”

He huffs, frowning at me. “I wasn’t trying to romance her. I just thought it would be good if she could learn to control her body in water as well.”

I scoff. “You know that pool is a place where shifters go to fuck. That secluded area behind the falls always has aroused scents in it.”

“Not since you claimed it and chased everyone off. The only aroused scents are from you and your flavor of the month. You’re the only one fucking in that pool now, Liam,” he argues, and I can’t stop the smile from curving up my lips.

“You got that right. Chicks dig it. It’s romantic, guaranteed to get them to drop their panties, and those sheets and blankets are self-cleaning. I have a handy witch charm that does it, so they are always scent free, and it doesn’t piss off any of the women I take there. That’s also how I know that we shouldn’t be taking the queen there,” I finish with a scowl as we enter the barracks, and I grab a pair of shorts from the bin off to the side for any shifter who needs to cover themselves. I can’t really go into a meeting with the general with my cock hanging out, even if he has been like a father to me since I joined the same bond group as his son.

“About time,” he snaps as Brodie and I join the rest of our team and Gretchin around the conference table. “We have to work out a schedule with the queen. I want you all working with her every afternoon on her shifts until she can shift on command and control whichever animal’s body she is in. Brodie, you will be able to help her with her wolf, and I suggest you go to the archives and ask Sable for information on the hydra. As for the pegasus, we don’t have any in our ranks due to the prejudice of the last few royals, so maybe she will have information on them too. It’s not as good as learning from a shifter source, but I don’t think they would willingly send one to assist us.” Bryson looks and sounds tired. The shit show with the council this morning didn’t help. I know he’s under some pressure to keep the new queen safe, especially since no mates have appeared. It is their role to provide protection for the sitting ruler. Layla, Mia, and Evie look like refined ladies, but the three of them are fierce protectors. Their cats are savage in the defense of their mate.

Suddenly, before anyone else can say anything, a rush of breath stealing magic washes through the conference room. I shudder as it caresses my skin, and my hands change to paws before slowly switching back as the magic dissipates.

“Fuck, did you feel that?” Hunter grunts, smoke drifting out of his nose, and I see scales disappear on his arms much like my hands changed.

“That felt like the same magic that was in the throne room on blessing night.” Gretchin’s eyes are still feline as she shakes her head, trying to negate the magic’s touch.

“Goddess magic,” Gem agrees, his body awash in flames as he pushes back out of his chair and steps away from anyone to prevent anything else from catching on fire. His chair smolders on the ground behind him as he wrestles his flames under control.

Gryffin runs out of the room and returns with an extinguisher, quickly dealing with the still burning flames, and Gem winces.

“Shit, sorry. I couldn’t control it all of a sudden.”

Bryson gives him an absent wave and looks toward the door. “I have no idea what that was, but maybe we should head outside and check. The troops should still be at morning formations, so let’s go and see if we have to put out any more fires. Hold on to that, some of our newer recruits may not have the same control all of you have,” he tells Gryffin and gestures to the extinguisher.

We follow him out of the conference room and to the outside exercise area. Sure enough, the area is pure chaos. There are a few shifters running around in animal form, as well as a couple on their knees, struggling to control their animal. A dragon is still on the ground, but he’s thrashing his head around, and flames are flying haphazardly across the yard.

Bryson marches up to him, puts his hands on his hips, and bellows at the recruit. “Shift before you kill someone.” The change is instant. The shifter freezes, and his body convulses before he returns to a naked, huddled male on the ground, his training uniform shredded. The rest of us round up the other animals running around like they are in a panic and use our own alpha command to get them to shift back.

“What the fuck?” one of the shifters on the ground grumbles and flops onto his back, his chest heaving with exertion. He rubs a spot on his chest above his heart. I recognize him as one of Bryson’s captains, a mer shifter who is a beast of a warrior. His long teal hair has fallen out of its tie and is spread out on the ground around him, moving like it’s underwater. Scales flicker up and down his arms, and his body convulses, shredding his pants when his legs shift into a tail. Gills form on his neck, and he flops around like a fish out of water, gasping and clutching at his chest.

“Fuck, get Micah to the pool. He’s drowning on land!” Gretchin screams. Gryff continues to battle the fires from the dragon as the other four of us hurry to follow Gretchin’s instructions, lifting him and running toward the pool on the other side of the training grounds.

It takes a good couple of minutes to make our way through the barracks and to the pool, and when we get there, we slide him in. He disappears, sinking below the surface. His eyes were closed, and I’m not sure if he was breathing.

“Is he dead?” Brodie asks, not taking his eyes away from the surface of the pool.

“I don’t think so. He felt like he still had a life force,” Gem replies, his own gaze locked on the water.

“What the fuck was that?” Hunter asks and drops to his knees at the edge of the pool, breathing as heavily as I am. Micah wasn’t light. He’s a big, brawny dude in human form, but his mer form was even larger. “Why isn’t Dad worried?”

“The goddess has never done wrong by us before,” Gem murmurs thoughtfully as he turns and joins us at the side of the pool. I hear other people approaching our location, and despite the scent of smoke in the air, I can smell the general, Gretchin, and Gryff as well as Adam and another one I’m not familiar with.

“How is he?” Bryson asks, surveying the pool like he’s looking for the shifter.

“We don’t know. He hasn’t surfaced yet.” Brodie sounds worried, and I watch as the unfamiliar man who accompanied them peels off his clothes, dives into the water, and disappears.

“Elliot will check on him. He’s one of the other mer shifters we have in our military and Micah’s cousin,” Adam explains.

“I can tell he’s alive, but I’m not sure how long it will take him to heal or what was wrong with him. Micah is too old and too experienced to be shifting on land. The saltwater is the best place for him at the moment,” Gem advises the general who nods.

“Okay, well, while we’re waiting, let’s help clean up the training ring. Once it’s done, everyone can have the afternoon off to recover—except you guys of course. We need to go check on the royals and make sure they are unaffected.”

“Shit, what if the queen shifted?” Hunter scrambles to his feet. “She has no control over her hydra yet.”

“I think we would have noticed if she shifted anywhere in the palace that wasn’t the safe room. We’d be hearing screams of terror.” Gretchin chuckles but bites her lip with concern, looking in the direction of the castle.

“That’s true,” Bryson agrees and puts a hand on his son. Hunter visibly relaxes, the tension leaving his shoulders. Apart from the king and queens, Bryson is one of the strongest shifters, and his alpha energy has a way of soothing riled shifters, even us.

“Let’s clean up, and then it will be time for lunch, and we can check on her then.”

“Hopefully the rest of the council isn’t joining us for that meal,” Gryffin grumbles. “Breakfast sucked.”

“That’s just because you can’t handle Gianna and Liana’s flirting,” his sister teases him, and he wrinkles his nose and moves closer to Gem, swinging an arm around him possessively. My eyebrows jump in surprise, but I can’t stop the pleased smile that crosses my lips.

“Finally,” I murmur to Brodie who moved closer to me.

“Yeah, I heard them return together from the ball last night. Thankfully Gryff managed to pull his head out of his ass. I hope he will drop the whole sixth member thing next.”

“That’s because I don’t like their hands all over me. They make me feel dirty,” Gryff replies to his sister, who is staring at Gem and Gryff with wide-eyed surprise before her face softens to joy, and Hunter shudders.

“None of us do except Liam.” He glares at me. Obviously he hasn’t forgiven me for my mistake.

I hold up my hands in surrender. “I swear I’m done with her. She was getting clingy, and you know I’m not into that. Plus, my bear wants to rip her face off now too.”

Bryson narrows his eyes on me. “Hmm, well, that’s good to know. That girl is as manipulative as her mother. You’d all do well to steer clear. I told Talon the same thing about Liana.”

Hunter snorts. “Oh, I think Talon has set his eyes on a little something else.” None of us have missed how much he’s into the queen’s new advisor, and I approve. The girl’s cute and sweet, but he also has to be careful not to break her heart. His bond group has a destined mate too, and they need to be patient. I just hope he doesn’t upset the queen by messing around with her friend.

“Go find some clothes, Liam, and we will see you at lunch. Elliot will let us know if Micah needs anything else.” Bryson departs, the rest of us following behind. I leave them to help with cleanup and head back to the palace to find suitable clothes to wear for lunch and our task after it. I smile wickedly to myself as I make the decision not to put on shift friendly clothes. I want to see how the queen reacts to seeing at least one of us naked as we work on her shifts.