Page 2 of Unwilling Queen (Kingdoms #1)
Chapter
Two
Colbie
T he kitchen is filled with the scent of baking muffins, cupcakes, and boiled sugar as I prepare the first batch of marshmallows. I’m deciding which of the adorable little marshmallow animals to make first when Olivia, my assistant, walks through the door at six.
“Good morning,” she greets me as she takes off her jacket and hangs it next to mine. She’s wearing leggings and a shirt similar to mine, and she puts an apron over the top of them. Her pixie cut black hair is sticking up at all angles from wearing her helmet, and it makes me smile. Pushing her glasses up her nose, she faces me and frowns. “The streets are super empty this morning. I didn’t even get a peek of the night watch on my way over here today.” Olivia lives in the human section of Aramis and has to travel a lot farther to get here than I do.
“Hmm, something is going on,” I grumble. “I tried to call them earlier to report something and the operator blew me off. I couldn’t even tell her what I wanted before she hung up.”
Her eyebrows jump on her face. “Why did you call the night watch. Is everything okay?” She comes around and leans on the prep table, crossing her arms to grill me for gossip, but then she catches sight of my problem. The cub is curled up fast asleep in its little nest and didn’t even notice her come in. The poor little thing really must be exhausted. Olivia’s eyes go wide, and she pushes off the prep table in a hurry, pointing at the little bundle of fur.
“That’s a fucking tiger!” she shouts, and I wave the thermometer in my hand to keep her quiet.
“Shh, don’t wake it. It’s had a rough night,” I tell her before sticking the probe into the bubbling sugar mix to check the temperature. I need to dissolve the gelatine and then add the hot mixture to the whipped egg whites and sugar in my stand mixer.
“Where on earth did you get a tiger cub?” she whisper-screeches, her eyes locked on the little creature. Her face softens when she realizes it isn’t going to attack her. Heck, it still hasn’t woken despite her being super loud.
“I found it huddled up under some of Brock and Niles’s boxes near the dumpster in the alley,” I answer, studying the gauge on the probe. The sugar is at the right temp, so I turn off the stove and carry the pot to the prep table, dumping in the softened gelatine sheets and whisking furiously to dissolve it. “That’s why I called the night watch. I have no idea where it came from, but some poor shifter parent has to be going out of their mind with worry.”
A small whistle escapes her mouth. “I’ll say. There’s nothing more precious to a shifter than their child. Even us humans know that.”
“I’m just going to make this batch of marshmallows, and if they still haven’t arrived, then I’ll call them again, and this time, I won’t let the operator blow me off.”
“Yeah, good plan. The last thing we need is to open and have a shifter come in for something and find us with a shifter cub in the kitchen. Apparently, their sense of smell is so good, they’d probably smell it over all the other scents in here.”
The timer on the oven goes off, and she grabs some pot holders and pulls them out, stacking the hot ones on the top rack. There are already a couple of batches cooling on there, ready for her to frost and decorate.
We work in comfortable silence for another hour. This isn’t the first time I’ve made marshmallow animals, so I know what I’m doing, but they do take a little bit of concentration. I’m planning on doing a bear, tiger, unicorn, and a cute little penguin, but I can only make the marshmallow in small batches, otherwise it hardens, and I can’t pipe it.
When it’s time to open the store at seven for the early morning coffee crowd, I’m covered head to toe in starch and powdered sugar. Thankfully, Olivia finished icing and filling all the muffins and cupcakes and setting up the front display. I would be lost without her.
There’s a knock on the back door as I’m shaking off the last of the powdered sugar and starch from the penguins. I look up, but Olivia is already in the front of the store, turning over the sign and unlocking the door. I brush off as best as I can using a tea towel and go over to see who it is. It’s probably just Niles or Brock coming to grab their first mug of coffee for the day.
Smiling and pushing a strand of my black hair off my face, I open it. “Hey, guys, just in time. Olivia should almost have the coffee ready.” When I look up, I meet a pair of glowing green eyes, and all the breath in my lungs wooshes out. I take a step back, gasping. “You aren’t Brock.”
The glowing green eyes belong to a man in the night watch’s uniform. He’s a tall, golden, tousled blond-haired, mountain of a man with muscles that look like he could pop me if he got his arms around me and squeezed. He’s fucking gorgeous.
His eyes run the length of me, a smirk coming to his lush lips as he takes in my starch-covered form.
“Did you lose a fight with a bag of flour?” he asks, his voice all gravelly with amusement lacing his tone.
I cross my arms and glare at the man, feeling slightly defensive about my disheveled appearance.
“No, but unlike some people, I work hard for my money,” I growl, annoyed that it took them this long to get here.
“Ma’am, you made a report to the watch operator, but they didn’t take down what the actual problem is. We’re sorry it took us so long to come around. It’s been a crazy night.” The voice comes from over the mountain man’s shoulder, and when I look in that direction, I meet another glowing set of eyes. These ones are so blue they look like a tropical ocean on a summer day. Jesus, what is in the shifters’ water? This man is not quite as tall as his teammate, but he’s equally as muscular as the mountain man in front of me. They both fill out their dark blue watch uniforms like they were molded to their forms, but this one has long, black hair tied back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck with a few strands framing his face from where they have come loose.
Before I can answer, the blond man in front of me stiffens, and his eyes glow even brighter as he sniffs the air and scowls at me. “Why do I smell a shifter cub?” he growls and takes a menacing step forward. I watch with alarm as scales shimmer across his cheeks before they disappear again, and I hold my hands up in a nonthreatening way.
“Whoa, easy, tiger.” I step back and wave them in. “It’s why I called the night watch. I found a shifter cub near the dumpster when I arrived at work this morning. I tried to tell the woman on the phone, but she cut me off, telling me she had no available teams.” I wave a hand, inviting them in, and the two men step into my kitchen, instantly shrinking the large space with their presence.
“I’m not a tiger,” the first man growls at me, and I roll my eyes.
“Easy, Hunt, it’s just an expression.” The blue-eyed shifter puts a hand on his friend’s shoulder before their attention turns to the little cub sleeping next to my oven. Their eyes soften, and some of the tension leaves their body.
“Are you telling us you found the cub?” the blue-eyed guy asks skeptically, and I shrug.
“Yeah, poor thing was cold and wet, and it was starving. I brought it in, dried it off, and fed it, and it’s been sleeping ever since. Poor baby seems exhausted.”
The two exchange a loaded glance.
“I was just about to call the watch again now that I’ve finished prep for the day.” I wave my hand at the table covered in tiny marshmallow animals, and the two men turn their attention from the cub to my display of tiny edible creatures. The blue-eyed man’s lips quirk up at the side.
“Crafting a little army to do your bidding?” He arches an eyebrow, nodding at my creations.
I blush a little at the suggestion. “It’s in celebration for the shifter king and queens’ retirement,” I tell them sheepishly. Here I am, cashing in on something that’s probably pretty important in their society.
“Yes, it’s quite an occasion,” he murmurs. “It’s a nice thought, though there aren’t any penguin shifters.” He turns his attention on his teammate who has crouched down in front of the cub and put his hand on the little tiger, giving it a gentle shake.
Huh, no penguin shifters, but he didn’t mention anything about the other three. Are there unicorn shifters? Now that would be something.
The little shifter yawns and stretches before they sniff the air and it comes instantly awake, its fur bristling as it snarls at the two men. It pushes past them and puts its body between me and the big men, its tail twitching back and forth while adorable threatening sounds come out of its mouth.
The blue-eyed man barks out a laugh, which warms something inside me. “What are you doing, cub? You don’t need to protect the pretty lady from us,” he assures it, still chuckling, but his words seem to have no effect. The tiger cub starts pacing back and forth between us, not taking its eyes off the two mountainous men.
“That’s enough,” the green-eyed man snaps, reaching down and picking the cub up by the scruff. The cub spits and scratches, but all it succeeds in doing is wearing itself out. “Now shift,” the green-eyed man—Hunt, I think his friend called him—commands.
My mouth drops open as magic shimmers around the cub, and suddenly, there’s a small boy in his place. He’s possibly four or five, if I had to guess. He crosses his arms and glares at the two men, completely naked and unafraid.
“Leave my friend alone, you big bullies,” he says in a high-pitched voice.
“Holy shit, is that…” The blue-eyed shifter gapes at the child in shock.
Hunt nods. “Yes, it’s Prince Archer. Archie, your parents are going out of their minds with worry. How did you end up here?” he asks, turning a suspicious glare on me, but I don’t cower under his stare, I just glare back at him.
The boy loses his glare, and his bottom lip starts to quiver. “I’m sorry, Hunter, don’t be mad.” The child obviously knows this man, which is a relief. “I snuck out of the castle so I could play with the kittens in the stable last night. A strange man was there. I didn’t recognize him as one of the grooms, and he smelled funny, like moldy hay, not like a shifter. I told him he had to leave, but he just laughed and grabbed me.”
“Witch,” the blue-eyed shifter growls, and the two of them exchange a loaded look.
“He took me out of the castle grounds and tried to put me into the back of a van. I tried to fight him, but he was too big, so I shifted and scratched him. He dropped me, and when he tried to grab me again, I ran, and I just kept running until I couldn’t run anymore.”
“Holy shit, how did a little thing like you run so far? That has to be like five leagues.” Blue eyes sounds both impressed and skeptical.
The little one wraps his arms around his body, shuddering with fear. I hurry to the cupboard and pull out a clean baker’s top, but as I approach him to give it to him, Hunt growls, so I stop, not willing to upset this mountain man, and hold it out.
“For the boy.”
He slowly reaches out and takes it from my hand before stepping closer to the child. “Here, put this over you.” Hunt uses gentle hands to help him into the shirt. I’m not a tall person, only five-five, but the shirt swims on the child.
“I just kept going until I couldn’t run anymore, and I found a space to hide, but it was raining, and I was cold and hungry, and when I saw the pretty lady, I couldn’t stop crying.” The boy bites his lip and stares down at his feet, looking ashamed.
“You have nothing to be ashamed about.” Hunt crouches again and puts both hands on the boy’s little arms, giving them an encouraging squeeze. “You did the right thing, but how about we get you back to the castle and to your parents and grandparents? Everyone is frantic and looking for you.”
The little boy sags and collapses into the arms of the blond watchman who gathers him and stands up. Without another word, he turns and leaves my kitchen, not sparing me another glance.
“Thank you for everything you did for him.” The blue-eyed man holds out his hand. “I’m sure the royal family will reward you for it.”
I scowl at him. “I don’t need a reward for doing the right thing. I’m just sorry the operator didn’t care enough to listen to me so you could be here sooner.” I take his hand, giving it a perfunctory shake, but I flinch back when a spark of something ignites between our hands. I look down at my palm, but there’s nothing there, so I give it a little shake. It must have been static from all the starch in the air.
The shifter’s eyes narrow slightly before he growls. “Yes, the operator will be suitably punished. No matter what is going on, your call should not have been blown off. Hell, the reason we were so busy was because we were looking for the boy.”
“I’m just glad he’s okay. Poor thing has been through so much. I would have asked questions, but he stayed in shifted form.”
“Yes, shifter children need help from an alpha to shift back. It’s why they are not allowed to wander on their own until they get control with their shifting around the age of twelve.”
I’m almost positive that information is not common knowledge. I certainly didn’t know it.
“Again, thank you.” He nods and turns to leave, but not before snatching up a penguin and a tiger marshmallow. “You know what else would look cool as a marshmallow? Dragons and wolves.” He gives me a wink and leaves, shoving the penguin into his mouth.
I gape at the now empty kitchen and nervously brush my hands over my apron, heaving out a breath of air. Now that they are gone, my nerves catch up with me, and I shakily lean against the prep table. They were fucking intimidating. Luckily for me, the child was able to tell them I wasn’t involved in any of it, and they believed him. What did they call him? Prince Archer? Holy fuck, I had one of the royal kids in my kitchen. I’m probably lucky I’m not dead.
I’m still trying to swallow my nausea when Olivia sticks her head in and looks around. “Are they gone?” she asks nervously, and I glare at her.
“You knew they were here, and you left me alone with them?”
She shrugs sheepishly. “Yeah, sorry, but shifters scare the shit out of me.”
I frown at her words. I’m sure I asked her about her feelings regarding shifters when I hired her. I can’t have anyone working here who can’t tolerate either species. She must see my look, because she quickly shakes her head.
“Oh no, I don’t hate them or anything, but I could practically feel the menace flowing off those two and didn’t want their attention on me. They were fucking scary dudes. Hot though. I peeked through when I heard voices, and they were some fine man meat.” She chuckles, and I lose my annoyance. “I don’t know how you stood there and looked them in the eye. I was virtually shaking in my boots.”
I think about my reaction. Sure, they were intimidating, but I didn’t feel any fear or menace. All I felt was their curiosity and suspicion, which turned to worry and relief when they saw the cub. Even when they were growling, I felt nervous but not terror.
“Oh well, hopefully that’s the last of that,” I tell her as the door chimes as another customer enters the store. “I’ll finish up here and get the marshmallows into the display cabinet, then I’ll clean up and help you with the breakfast rush.”
“Sure thing, boss.” She salutes me and goes out to serve, her friendly demeanor firmly back in place. It’s one of the reasons I hired her. She always has a smile on her face and is really good with our customers. My other employee, Justin, isn’t as good with the customers, but he makes a mean sandwich and is a whizz with the coffee machine.
He comes in a little later, closer to lunch when his skills are more in demand. For breakfast, we offer savory muffins and quiches, which we prepared last night, and bagels, which I bake twice a week. Thankfully that was yesterday morning’s job, so I don’t have to bake any this morning. They are all ready to go with a variety of smears on offer. It means we have a good flow of customers for breakfast, and it doesn’t require a lot of work on my part except to fry up some bacon and eggs if people want a fresh bacon and egg bagel.
We aren’t run off our feet this morning, and I have time to put the lunch rolls in the oven so they are ready in time. If I decide to add the marshmallows to my menu permanently, I’m probably going to hire someone else. It’s a lot of work and gives me little time for the rest of the prep work. Thankfully, I thought ahead last night and prepared batches of muffin and cupcake batter that only needed to have the wet ingredients added, mixed, and then put into the oven this morning. I’ll do the same this afternoon as well. It’s going to be a long week, but hopefully it brings new customers into the bakery.