Page 3 of Bonded to the Fallen Shadow King (Of Fae and Wolf Trilogy #1)

Chapter Three

Briar

T he sensation of falling overtook me. My stomach lurched as if I'd been dropped from a great height. My heart pounded against my ribs, and I tried to yank my arms from the winged men’s hold, but they were like stone statues. All the exhaustion I’d felt in bed had been replaced with pure adrenaline.

I had to get back to my sister, but how the fuck could I manage that when everything was blinding white around me except for Asshole and Dipshit?

I gritted my teeth, ignoring a strange, prickling sensation coursing through my body, and focused instead on the hot anger knotting in my chest.

My bare feet landed on marble with a stinging thwack that echoed around a massive room. I fell to my knees on a logo that looked like a cross between a wolf and a shadow with one creepy-ass crimson eye staring at me. Asshole and Dipshit let go, and I fell forward on my hands, one palm landing on the rim of a golden circle that went around the wolf. I growled and jumped to my feet, then spun to face the two twatwaffles, but froze when I took in the room.

Massive black stone walls streaked with gold stretched toward high ceilings. Amber-red flames in sconces lit up the area.

“What the fu—” I started but the words died the second I glanced around. There were at least thirty other people moving toward us, almost every single one a female. My mouth dried. Every woman wore a gorgeous gown that screamed money, and a few had wings sprouting from their backs.

They were all beautiful—gorgeous and ethereal. Most seemed horrified, but a few looked angry.

I swallowed loudly. This had to be some sort of nightmare. Served me right for running out on Ember when she was worried. However, the pack links with her, Gage, Xander, and Kendric were faint but warm, and even the alpha pack link with Ryker was intact though not nearly as strong as usual. Being a rogue wolf and going crazy…well, crazier than I already was wouldn’t happen.

Still, something didn’t feel right. I glanced down, hoping like hell that I’d at least dressed myself up to their standards in this dream. No. I was still wearing my sleepyhead Stitch pajamas. I snorted. Of course. Even in my dreams, I was awkward.

A woman with hunter-green hair wrinkled her nose. “What sound did she just make?”

“Nothing I ever want to hear again.” A tall fierce-looking woman grimaced. Her silver eyes matched her sleeveless shimmering gown, and white-feathered wings spread behind her back. Her presence screamed trouble .

I stiffened. Both my knees and pride ached, and inside me my wolf stirred restlessly and bared her teeth in warning. We weren’t supposed to be here. The pounding in my ears increased until it was a painful drumming.

Every single person stared at me like I was some sort of zoo exhibit. Even the two men who’d abducted me had their freaky eyes fixed on me. Bastards.

I gave everyone a lazy smile and shrugged. “What?” I planted a hand on my hip, lifted my chin high, and took an exaggerated look around. “Isn’t this a pajama party?”

“Pa...jama?” a woman with pink hair whispered. “Is that what the atrocious outfit she has on is called?”

A few of the women laughed, while others whispered behind their hands. A woman with dark-red hair seemed particularly horrified.

I took an instinctive step back only to realize these women had formed a circle around me and were closing in. My wolf snarled, feeling both threatened and not liking that I was so overwhelmed I hadn’t noticed until now. Some wolf shifter I was turning out to be.

Even more disturbing, the crimson eye of the shadow wolf logo seemed to watch me from below.

Turning slowly, I noticed a balcony jutting into the center of the room. Three men and a woman about my age stood on it, dressed elegantly in shades of black, gray, and gold, nearly blending into the shadows.

My stare stopped on a pair of haunting gray eyes that belonged to the most handsome man I’d ever seen. His long, loosely curled black hair hit the top of his black jacket. When he tilted his head and bit his full bottom lip, my breath caught.

My wolf stirred in response as something in my chest tugged at me, wanting to close the distance between us.

He leaned into the curve of the balcony and his brows furrowed, but he didn’t break eye contact.

The young woman placed a delicate hand on mysterious guy’s shoulder. A long black braid hung over her shoulder, seeming almost too heavy for her.

My blood heated, my wolf not liking the way she touched him.

The two other men flanked the mysterious guy. One had wavy silver hair similar to the bitch with feathery wings, and the other had black hair and dark skin.

“I think she might be broken.” One of the women behind me chuckled, bringing me back to the present.

What the hell was wrong with me?

I forced my attention away from him and focused on the more immediate threats around me. I grew dizzy, but I refused to let them see me panic. Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I surveyed the group to locate the biggest threats.

Did wings make one more threatening or not? I had no clue. They had to be fae, but if that was the case, then this might not be a nightmare after all.

Bile inched up my throat. If they were fae, then this had to be what my many-greats-grandfather had been trying to warn me about. There was no other way to explain the situation. For whatever reason, they had located me and brought me here. Thank Fate they hadn’t seized Ember.

Several of the women covered their mouths as they giggled. A few seemed intrigued, their foreheads lined with curiosity as they took in the pajama-clad intruder among them. The rest took a few steps back as if they didn’t want to be near me. A tall woman with an expression that looked like she'd stepped in shit came forward. Her pale blonde hair was loose around her shoulders, and her long silver gown caught the light of the amber-red flames. Behind her, white feathered wings spread aggressively like chickens.

"Did the guards take a peasant by mistake?" She tsk ed as if she had a bad taste in her mouth. "Clearly, she doesn't belong here."

My wolf pressed inside my skin, wanting to spring at her, but I reined her back in. A lazy smile spread across my face, and I took a deep breath. No way in hell would they intimidate me. "Is this how the fae greet all their guests, or am I just special since I’m from Earth?"

My voice sounded stronger than I felt.

The women shot looks at one another, their expressions of astonishment quickly returning to sneers.

"I've never seen anything like it." The blonde fluttered her wings. "A human dressed as... What was it you called it again?"

I lifted my chin. "Pajamas."

"Disgraceful." She recoiled. “You chose to wear… that to meet the prince you are supposed to impress? How will you fight for his devotion when you show such blatant disrespect?”

The concern on some of their faces morphed into delight, like they were enjoying the show. A girl with pastel-blue hair whispered something to her friend. Their eyes sparkled like they knew something I didn't.

For some reason, my wolf ears weren't working as well here. "You're gonna hurt your necks if you keep staring like that." A faint gust of cool wind flew around me, lifting my hair.

"You don’t deserve to be here.” The blonde woman’s chest heaved, and her wings cupped her sides.

I swallowed a lump as my pulse pounded. I was scared as hell, and they knew it. I had to try harder. "Don’t worry too much about me. I don't even want to be here."

The woman drew back, shock flitting across her perfect face, then she narrowed her eyes and gave me a glare cold enough to make the rest of the room seem warm. "What did you say?"

"I don't want to be here," I repeated, louder. “Did you hear it this time, or do I need to speak louder for those in the back and on the balcony?”

Some of the others muttered behind their hands. "Did you hear her?"

"Unbelievable."

"It sounds like she's rejecting—"

The woman with wings straightened and pointed a long finger at me. "Kneel and apologize." Her voice was sharp enough to draw blood. "If you know what is good for you."

Was she out of her mind? Did she really think I'd cave just because she'd ordered me to? "What are you gonna do if I don't? I'm just a peasant, right? You should be thrilled. One less competitor for you." My face grew hot from anger and embarrassment, but I stood tall. "And here I thought I was the only one taking things seriously."

More whispers spread through the crowd, some amused, others uncertain.

"You will do it now, if you value your life." The winged woman had raised her voice to a commanding pitch.

I felt like a cornered rabbit, but I'd be damned if I let her know that. I crossed my arms. "And if I don’t? Are you gonna make me?"

"You should be honored to stand among us." Her face flushed, somehow only adding to her beauty. “Even if only for mere minutes.”

The mean one stalked toward me, her eyes alight with anger. I had no idea how far she’d go, but my wolf urged me to stay strong, refuse to back down.

"Why don't we let her live, Kaylen?" A woman with dark-violet hair tilted her head. "It'll be more fun for us."

"No," the feathered one snapped, the word resounding off the stone walls. "We won't have time for her once the initiation begins." She took another step. "She will kneel. And she will apologize."

Kaylen. That seemed fitting for a bitch. I raised my eyebrows. "I think you need to learn a lesson about humility."

Some gasped. Others laughed.

"You have no idea of what you speak. I will teach you respect," Kaylen sneered.

I took a step back, knocking into one of the guards behind me. My wolf demanded that I push through the cold tendrils of fear choking me. I needed to hit her where it hurt, which was clearly her appearance. "I bet I know more than you think. Besides, you should watch out—you’ll get wrinkles if you keep sneering like that."

Her eyes darkened to a stormy silver, and a vile smile crept across her lips. She lifted her hands, moving her long fingers as if she were orchestrating some deadly dance.

The wind that had been blowing faintly around me picked up.

The bitch was using magic!

It lifted me off the ground as if I weighed nothing and slammed me into the far side of the hall. My back hit one of the huge black stone columns, and I gasped in pain as it knocked the breath out of me.

Everyone laughed, their delight clear, as a group of four women circled Kaylen.

I clutched my side as the wind whipped me into the air again, higher than I’d been before. My blood turned to ice, and my wolf squirmed, desperate for a fight. The urge to howl gnawed at my throat, but I swallowed it. I refused to give them any more pleasure than they already had.

I looked upwards and found his eyes on me as he observed, what appeared to be gigantic black leathery wings exploding from his back. When I flew above the people on the balcony’s heads, his face grew more rigid, his jaw tighter.

The silver-haired fae next to him leaned in close and said something I couldn’t make out. The mysterious man didn't take his eyes off me and clenched a fist against his side.

“Apologize to all of us now,” Kaylen commanded from below, the dark-violet-haired girl grinning beside her. Three others stood behind them wearing blinding smiles, watching me.

I hated arrogant people who believed they could control everything and everyone. My pack and I had eliminated a woman who reminded me of Kaylen not long ago. “No.”

The wind underneath me vanished, and I dropped like a sack of potatoes. My stomach lurched as the floor rushed to meet me.

The crowd of women below blurred together as they pointed up at me, mocking. I couldn't hear their words over the rush of the wind in my ears, but I could imagine.

The wind lifted me once more and moved me about ten feet from the people on the balcony. The breath whooshed out of me, and nausea churned in my stomach.

The guards looked on in silence. Asshole and Dipshit were probably laughing beneath their helmets.

The young fae woman with the long dark braid seemed concerned, but her companions didn't bother to hide their smirks. She took a step closer, and we locked eyes as I hovered.

"I'm waiting," Kaylen called, sounding more impatient than before. "For your apology."

My ears roared with the force of the wind, but I managed to shout back. "I'll only apologize if you agree to take the stick out of your ass!"

Silence filled the hall. Kaylen’s eyes blazed with white fire. With a vicious grin, she twisted her hand.

I plummeted faster than before.

I opened my mouth and screamed. My limbs numbed from cold and shock as the massive black and gold floor of the hall rushed toward me. I squeezed my eyes shut and braced for impact. I’m sorry, Ember. I should’ve talked to you instead of running to my room. I love you, I linked, hoping she could hear me.

Strong arms circled my waist out of nowhere. Smoke, leather, and spice filled my nose as tingles shot through me everywhere we touched.

Wings flapped, and my body lowered slowly. I opened my eyes to find that I was pressed against a solid, muscled chest. The hairs on the back of my neck lifted, and I looked up to find that the mysterious man had caught me.

The wings I thought I'd imagined were real. And they were huge and magnificent.

His warm breath hit my neck, sending chills down my body, and I pressed my cheek against him. Hard muscles flexed beneath his jacket.

He didn't speak.

Just held me tight as the air rushed past and everyone watched.

It wasn’t a long way down, but once we landed, he still didn't release me.

His expression turned into a deep scowl.