Page 21 of Unwilling Queen (Kingdoms #1)
Chapter
Twenty-One
Brodie
I am still completely reeling as I come to terms with everything that just happened. I can’t believe the little human, whom I admit to having a small crush on, is the next shifter queen. Is that the reason I’m attracted to her? Did my magic sense something in her that no one else, including herself, did?
Hunter and I hurry back through the palace, both of us lost in our thoughts. I feel a sense of wonder and excitement through our bond, but also a sense of disappointment.
“You know we won’t be selected as her mates, right? Our bond prevents it. In fact, as soon as she walked through those doors and the magic hit her, marks should have started showing up on shifters all over the zone. It’s only a matter of time before they begin to walk through the front door.” He growls that last bit, and I know he’s feeling exactly the same as me, because the whole time I was holding her, I was wishing she was mine, but I know she can’t be, and the disappointment I feel is visceral. I want to snatch her up and run away with her and keep her all to myself.
“Fuck, I know,” I snarl, unable to control my temper. I’m mad as hell that I’m going to have to watch Colbie while she is being courted by others. I’ve never resented being in a bond group before and actively looked forward to the day our mate was marked, but right now, I could burn it all to the ground. My wolf whimpers mournfully inside me and covers his eyes with his paws, sadness leaking from our soul.
“My dragon wants to set fire to any male who appears with bond marks. He’s actively plotting their deaths and is sure he can get Gem’s phoenix on board,” Hunter admits ruefully, rubbing the spot on his chest where his animal resides. “How are we going to protect her with our animals doing crazy shit?”
We reach the courtyard we arrived in, and both of us sort of just stand there for a moment, lost in our thoughts.
“I don’t know but we better get our shit together quickly, because I have a feeling this is not going to go as smoothly as we hoped.” There are alarm bells inside my head at the fact that we couldn’t feel an animal within the new queen. We should at least be able to sense it, but it’s almost like she was wearing the pendant again. She feels completely human. Did something go wrong with the magic?
If she doesn’t, there will be nothing to stop shifters from challenging her. There’s a law that says she has to be strong enough not to cower even to the most alpha shifters. Part of the ceremony calls for any shifter who wishes to challenge to step forward. No one ever has because they can always feel how powerful the king or queen is, but Colbie doesn’t feel like a shifter at all, and it won’t take long for that to spread through the shifter population.
Hunter shifts, and we make our way back to the neutral zone and the night watch headquarters. He lands on the reinforced roof, and I climb down as he shifts back. Neither of us waste any time hurrying down to brief the commander on what happened.
Bryson is relieved that the new royal has appeared and commands our whole team to return to the palace. “Fuck, Gryff isn’t here,” I mutter to Hunter as we take our leave and head to our apartment to gather Liam and Gem.
“He’s just going to have to catch up. I’m sure Dad will let him know where we are once he returns.” I wince at the thought of being caught in the crossfire of Bryson’s anger, but Gryff brought it on himself. He can lie in the bed he made.
We find Gem and Liam watching television in our apartment. “Where’s the coffee? What took you so damn long?” Liam frowns at our empty hands. Heck, I’d completely forgotten that’s what we were doing. We worked late last night and all needed the caffeine hit this morning, even though we weren’t working again until this afternoon.
“The new shifter royal has made themselves known,” I announce, and that has both of them sitting up straight, paying attention.
“Holy crap, when? Where?” Gem demands at the same time Liam asks, “Who?”
“You aren’t going to believe this,” I tell them as Hunter goes into his room and starts packing a bag. We’ll be staying at the palace for the near future, so we’re going to need to take some of our things there. “Remember the pretty little baker?”
“No…” Gem whispers, understanding what I mean straight away, but Liam just screws up his face in confusion.
“What about her? What does she have to do with the new royal?”
I roll my eyes at our bear bond mate. God, sometimes he’s so dense. “Colbie is the next shifter queen. When we went in for coffee, Violet made her tell us. She needed an escort to the palace.”
Liam’s confusion disappears as his expression turns to a scowl. “You’re kidding.”
“Huh. Maybe that’s why my phoenix was so insistent we return to the bakery. He instinctively knew.”
I wouldn’t put it past him. Gem’s phoenix has magic on levels we can’t even begin to comprehend. It’s like he’s lived a thousand lives and just knows stuff.
“Fucking great, and now we have to make sure she doesn’t get herself killed between now and being crowned. Has there ever been a more pathetic human who was chosen? Jesus, what was Aramis thinking?” Liam puts his head in his hands and props his elbows on his knees, shaking his head.
“Dude, what the fuck?” I smack his shoulder. “What is your fucking problem with her?”
He stands up and presses his chest against mine, getting in my face. “You know this changes nothing. You can’t start anything with her, even if she’s a shifter now. She’s the queen and has chosen mates, and we are still waiting for ours. If I can’t fuck around with Gianna, then you assholes have to keep your fucking paws off the queen, which means we’ll protect her and nothing else.”
“Whoa, no one said anything about fucking the queen.” Gem places a hand on Liam’s chest and gives him a push. Liam snarls and spins, heading to his room to pack his own bag.
“Fuck, what an asshole,” I grumble.
“He isn’t wrong,” Gem murmurs quietly so Liam can’t hear him. Nobody needs him gloating.
I sigh heavily and rub my chest. My wolf’s whining and pacing is becoming painful. “I know. It’s going to be a fucking nightmare. Lucas told us we need to help her with her shift.”
Gem’s expression would be comical in its horror if it wasn’t so tragic. “He wants us to teach her how to shift? What the fuck is he thinking?”
“He’s not thinking. We’ll either have to get her clothes that shift with her or hand the job off to someone else. I can’t spend hours at a time getting naked with her without my cock reacting,” I admit, and I can tell he feels the same way. She’s gorgeous, and I can imagine what she looks like without any clothes on. Even now, my cock is stirring in my pants at the imaginary image.
Gem scrubs a hand over his face as Hunter returns. “I doubt any of us would be able to. Despite Liam’s arguments, I could feel his attraction to the baker when we were there last week. None of us are immune to her.”
“Let’s not worry about it now. She was still unconscious when we left, and we still need to grab some of her things and then return to the palace. There will be time to worry about the rest once she wakes up.” Hunter returns from his room with a duffle bag slung over his shoulder.
“She’s unconscious? Why?” Gem asks, and Hunter and I exchange a glance.
“We don’t know. They are waiting on the palace physician to look her over, but it might be better if you do. Your phoenix can do its healing thing,” I tell Gem who quickly agrees.
“Yeah, of course. Hopefully we can help her. It might just be magic overload. That sometimes happens to mythical shifters when they first receive their animal. Maybe she has a mythical creature.”
Neither Hunter nor I mention the fact that we can’t feel an animal inside her at all, let alone a mythical one. Gem and I both head toward our own bedrooms and pack our bags.
“What about Gryff?” I call out, wondering if one of us should pack a bag for him.
“Fuck him,” Gem replies. “He can pack up his own shit. We aren’t his errand boys who are at his beck and call.”
“But you wish you were,” Liam retorts, stirring the pot, and I hear a muffled, “Ow!” Hunter probably smacked him on the back of the head. I close my eyes and inhale deeply. This is going to be a fucking disaster. Our once harmonious bond group is a fucking mess. How are we supposed to keep ourselves together as a unit on top of protecting the queen and helping with her training, all while I have to ignore my raging attraction to her? The next couple of weeks are going to suck.
W e stop in at the bakery to ask Colbie’s grandparents about grabbing her stuff. We don’t share with them that Colbie is unconscious and unresponsive, since there’s no need to worry them just yet.
Jenny, Colbie’s grandmother, accompanies us back to her apartment. As we enter through the foyer, an older woman who looks very much like Colbie, but with harsher eyes, intercepts us.
“Who is this, Mother? Where is Colbie?” she demands, putting her hands on her hips and blocking the way to the elevator.
I hear a muffled, “Goddess save us,” from Jenny, but she smiles at the woman. “Malina, these men are here to collect a few of Colbie’s things to take to her in the palace.”
“Well, why isn’t she here? She can collect her own damn things before she presents herself to the palace. I have her dress ready and waiting.” She tries to peer around us like Colbie might appear from somewhere. “Is she waiting in the car? Go get her. Trust her to make this all about her. She has no thought toward me and everything I’ve done for her,” she snaps, looking at Liam who crosses his arms and gives her his dead eyes.
“Ma’am, please move to the side and remember you are talking about our queen. Have some respect,” he says, and I can feel through our bond that he’s barely keeping a lid on his temper. Despite his misgivings toward Colbie, he respects her position as queen and won’t have anyone else speaking negatively about her. In his current mood, though, it wouldn’t take much to push him over the edge, and arresting the queen’s mom probably isn’t going to do him or her any favors. I step up and grip his shoulder, giving him a squeeze.
“Why don’t you run back to the palace and get rid of some of that pent-up energy?” I word it like a suggestion, but he knows it isn’t. He tears his dead gaze away from Colbie’s mom, growls aggressively at me, then spins and leaves. I can practically feel him telling me to go fuck myself through our bond. I want to snigger with amusement, but that will only upset Colbie’s mom more. I turn my attention back to her and find she is berating poor Jenny.
“I can’t believe you let her go without me. You’ve always been too soft on her. I spent all night slaving over a suitable outfit, and now all that hard work is ruined.”
To Jenny’s credit, she keeps her temper in check and pushes past her daughter, pressing the button to call the elevator.
“Malina, what’s done is done. Colbie needed to do it at her own pace, and it has nothing to do with you. Go back to your studio and work on your designs. I’m sure Colbie will invite you to her coronation, so until then, keep yourself busy.”
A small screech leaves Colbie’s mom’s mouth. The three of us are smart enough to know not to engage. We skirt around her and step into the elevator.
“I will not wait. My daughter needs me. You will take me with you when you return to the palace. Colbie needs a familiar face she can trust and take advice from.” Malina locks eyes with the three of us, but both Gem and I take a step back, leaving Hunter front and center as the focus of her ire.
“Pussies,” he mutters to us, but his shoulders draw back, and his spine stiffens, a small amount of smoke drifting out of his nose. Malina’s eye twitches slightly at the sight of it, and she takes a minute step backward, but we can smell her fear, and I see a flat smile stretch across Hunter’s lips.
“Don’t you know you should never run from a predator?” he says, but his words just seem to fuel her anger.
“I’m not afraid of you. I want to see my daughter.” The doors to the elevator start to close, and I let out a small sigh of relief, ready to be done with this infuriating woman. I see why Dennis warned everyone about her now.
She puts a foot out to catch the doors, and they reopen. She crosses her arms and taps her foot, waiting for a response.
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but humans are not permitted to enter the shifter zone without written permission from one of the royals. As that position is currently in transition, all requests are being denied until after the coronation. Jenny is right, I’m sure Her Majesty will send you an invite, until then, you can contact her via phone, since she is still permitted to have that.” Hunter doesn’t wait for her to argue, using his own foot to nudge hers out of the way, and the doors close. We hear another screech of annoyance, but thankfully, the door blocks most of that out.
The ride up is silent, but in the mirrored walls, I see Jenny wipe at her eyes. She meets my gaze in the mirror. “I’m so sorry. Malina never used to be so self-involved. She used to be sweet and loving just like Colbie, but when she met Colbie’s father, all of that changed. She became selfish, both of them caring more about material possessions and success than the more important things in life like love and family. Then Colbie was born, and for a while, I saw my daughter return to the person she used to be. She loved Colbie with all her heart, but then her husband left her for another woman—a woman with more money and power—and it destroyed Malina. Colbie was a constant reminder that Malina was never good enough for the man who promised to love her above all else.”
The doors open on Colbie’s floor, and we step out. “Shifters and the other supernatural races are lucky in that regard. Your mates are perfect for you. You never have to wonder what might have been or what you did wrong.”
She pulls a keycard out and swipes it over the sensor, and we step into the apartment. The space is filled with Colbie’s intoxicating scent, and my mouth waters. Gem grabs the doorframe to steady himself, and more smoke leaks out of Hunter’s nostrils as we all try to contain our reaction to it.
“No, Jenny, even the goddess gets it wrong sometimes,” Gem says seriously, and I feel his pang of need inside our bond. All three of us know it isn’t going to change one damn thing.