Page 26 of Unwilling Queen (Kingdoms #1)

Chapter

Twenty-Six

Gryffin

T he door to our apartment swings open, and I enter feeling dejected and resigned. I promised Gem if I didn’t have any success this time, I would give up. I was sure I would find something this time, but the village of Zalfari was weird. Most shifter cities and towns coexist peacefully. It doesn’t matter what your animal is, you’re judged on your individual strength, but in Zalfari, it seemed like what animal you are determines your social status. The head alpha was, ironically enough, a lion shifter name Leon. He was an aggressive asshole who made it clear he wasn’t happy I was there, but I could tell he wasn’t the most powerful shifter in the village, so how did he end up as the one in charge? He blocked me from questioning a lot of the residents, and I only got to speak to a few, all of which denied anyone with any bond marks that matched mine.

I wasted a whole day getting the runaround and eventually had to give up and return home. I wasn’t sad to see the back of that town. It was on the edge of the Aramis Rift, the inhospitable mountain range casting shadows over the snow-covered village. It’s the last inhabitable place before the mountain range and is made up of shifters who patrol the border and the tunnel through the mountains that leads to the vampire kingdom. Anyone who tries to get through the rift without using the tunnel never returns. Rumor has it the Aramis Rift is where feral shifters escape to if they want to avoid the death sentence that comes with being turned without help from a royal.

I toss my backpack down next to the couch and look around the obviously empty apartment. Where is everyone? It’s supposed to be our night off, so at least some of my bond should be here. I walk into my bedroom and find a note on my bed.

Shifter royal has appeared. We have reported to the palace as requested.

It’s Hunters writing. I drop the note, swearing as I hurry to grab my phone out of my bag. It’s on silent, and I find half a dozen missed calls and messages from my parents and various members of my bond group. The last message I received is from my sister.

Gretchin: Dude, you are in so much trouble. Dad is pissed!

I groan and grab my backpack, shoving my phone back in, and hurry out of the apartment. Once I leave the night watch building, I shift, pick up my backpack in my mouth, and run through the neutral zone. It’s late, but not late enough for curfew, so there are still a few people about who quickly get out of the way of the large, black and white tiger, so my journey to the shifter zone is quick.

Once I hit the forest, I pick up the pace, my paws easily eating up the distance as I weave my way toward the palace. The scents of the forest invade my nose as I breathe evenly, my tiger not getting tired despite the long distance it has already run today. I can feel small creatures around me, but I ignore the urge to investigate and focus on getting to the palace as swiftly as possible.

I cover the distance in half an hour and slow down and creep carefully into the grounds. I don’t set off any alarms because my form is keyed to the magic protecting it, but I also don’t want to run into any guards who might delay me further. I head toward the side entrance, but a sound in the stables has me slowing down, dropping my backpack, and creeping forward in a crouch.

I remember Archie was tempted out of the safety of the palace by the stable kittens, and I wonder if he hasn’t learned his lesson after what happened the first time. I love my nephew, but he can be a handful. I don’t bother shifting, instead moving quietly into the barn, my tiger stalking whoever is in here. If it’s just one of the stable hands, I’ll melt back into the darkness and continue my journey into the palace, but if it’s someone who shouldn’t be in here, then they are going to regret it.

I hear a whisper of a voice but can’t make out if it’s male or female. My whiskers twitch, and an intoxicating scent reaches my nose, making my mouth water. Holy crap, what is that? I want to bury my head in it and roll around until it covers my body. It smells like cupcakes and frosting.

I crawl a little farther, my tail twitching and my ears pricked for any hint of whoever it is. My claws almost ache with the need to grab hold and never let go. What the fuck is wrong with me? As I get closer, I reach out, trying to get a feel for the person who is tucked away in one of the empty stalls. They are definitely a shifter, but a low level one. Their power feels miniscule, and I can finally make out the voice of a woman. She’s giggling and talking nonsense, and when I peer through a crack where the door of the stable hinges to the wall, I see her surrounded by kittens. Some are snuggled in, cuddling with her, and others are leaping and playing around her.

My gaze rises to her face, and I’m stunned by how gorgeous she is. Lush, plump lips perfect for nibbling are turned up in a beautiful, serene smile. I can’t see the color of her eyes, but her long, dark lashes match the silky mane of jet black hair that flows around her shoulders as slick as a waterfall. She’s sitting cross-legged, and her long dress hides her bottom half, but the top half molds to her perfect curves like a lover’s hands. The scooped neckline gapes a little as she leans forward, and the tops of her round globes push forward, begging for me to run my tongue over them.

My tiger forces out a chuff, wiggles his ass, and crawls forward playfully, pushing past my control and taking the reins. I can’t do anything to stop him, and her sharp intake of breath lets me know she’s at least heard him.

“Archie, is that you? If your parents catch you out here, nothing is going to save you this time,” she calls out in warning instead of panicking and retreating, which would have triggered my tiger’s instinct to chase.

She knows my nephew? Maybe she is palace staff or even his nanny whom I have not met.

My tiger doesn’t stop. Her eyes widen when she sees him tummy crawl into view, and her mouth rounds in a perfect O that I can’t help but think would look good wrapped around my cock.

“Oh, definitely not Archie,” she says cautiously and gathers the kittens closer like she’s going to protect them. They have no sense of self-preservation, though, and start hissing and spitting in my direction, the fur on their tiny little backs sticking out at all angles, trying to make themselves look bigger.

My tiger rumbles at them, and it’s all it takes for them to scurry away, finding hiding spots far away from us. The girl still doesn’t move, and my tiger wiggles his butt and stalks even closer. The surprised look on her face turns to one of amusement, as if she thinks his actions are funny. He is pleased she is not scared of him. They both watch each other closely, and I note her eyes are a magnificent shade of lavender, much like the dress she’s wearing. As he gets closer, her intoxicating scent makes us giddy. Could this beautiful woman be our mate? She certainly smells good enough to eat, but surely if she was, the guys would have let me know. I can’t see our bond mark anywhere on her, but there isn’t a lot of exposed skin.

We finally get close enough to lay our head in her lap, and that’s exactly what my besotted tiger does. He sighs with relief and rolls onto his side, exposing his belly. Holy crap, he wants her to rub it like she was doing for one of the kittens.

She snorts, unable to control her laughter now. “I know somewhere inside you is a human, and I can’t help but wonder if I’m supposed to rub your tummy or not. That’s kind of weird.” Her fingers clench like she wants to but isn’t sure if she should. He bats a huge paw in her direction, almost like he’s begging, and I feel mortified. I’m never going to be able to look her in the eye once I shift back.

“I’m assuming your creature is fully in the driver’s seat, otherwise this is definitely a little weird,” she says, finally making the decision to give him what he wants. She leans forward and rubs his belly and coos to him.

“What a big, beautiful, majestic…” She pauses and lifts her eyes to look. “Boy,” she finishes, and he stretches, giving her better access, enthralled by her attention. I look a little closer, seeing if I can recognize her. There is something familiar about her, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. I’m sure I would remember running into such a stunning creature when I visited my family in the past.

Her fingers drag soothingly through our fur, and I feel our eyes drift closed. We’re worn out from all the running we’ve done today, and a little nap in the lap of a beautiful woman who smells delicious is his idea of heaven.

She giggles, and I feel her settle back against the wall of the stall. “Okay, kitty, you can have a little nap, but then I need to return to the palace before anyone notices I’m gone.”

She’s silent, and I drift off to sleep. The next thing I know, I wake up alone in the stall, and the pretty girl is nowhere in sight. How the fuck did she get away without us noticing? I ask my cat, and he shrugs, showing her leaving quietly, not wanting to wake us. I didn’t wake, but he noticed and allowed her the charade. When I berate him, he insists he has her scent now and can track her anywhere.

I decide maybe it’s for the best, and he gives me back the reins. I move through the castle, the magic doors opening for me in animal form. My claws are noisy on the marble floors, and as I move toward my wing, I’m waylaid by one of my sisters.

“Finally made it, did you, idiot?” Gretchin is leaning against the doorway of her suite, which is on the same floor as ours. She has a mug of something in her hand, and when I sniff, I can tell it’s hot chocolate. “Dad is pissed. The new royal appeared today, and you weren’t here like he requested.”

I don’t shift back. I’m not in the mood to argue with my sister. Instead, I push past her, stalk into her room, and jump up onto her sofa in her lounge area. I roll around on it, leaving black and white fur all over the thing, scent marking it so her own cat will be pissed at the intrusion, before jumping back down and leaving again.

“Real fucking mature, asshole,” she screeches and slams the door in my face, but I chuff with amusement. It saved me from a lecture. If only it would work with my own team. I continue down the hallway and brace myself for whatever their reaction is going to be.

I shift as I get to our suite and open the door. It’s silent inside. It is late, but I hadn’t expected all of them to be asleep. I sent them a message before I left that I was on my way. Not even Gem is waiting for me, which is very unlike him. He must be really mad at me. I consider waking him, but I’m not in the mood to be scolded, so instead, I make my way to my bed.

I think about showering, but there’s a part of me that is pleased I smell like cupcakes and frosting, even after shifting back. I don’t want to wash it all down the drain, so instead, I get to my room and strip before climbing into bed. Right then and there, I decide to give up my search for the sixth member of our team. The rest of them must be right. He doesn’t exist or really doesn’t want to be a part of our bond, so who am I to force him?

What if this means we never get a marked mate? Someone who bears the same mark as the rest of us, our perfect counterpart to spoil and cherish? Well, if that’s the case, I’m sure we can find someone who will make us just as happy. The gorgeous girl from earlier comes to mind, and I have to resist the urge to stroke my hard cock to the memory of her hands running through our fur. Instead, I grit my teeth, roll over, and bring up thoughts of the asshole alpha from the village today. That’s enough to dampen my desire. Tomorrow, I’ll make everything up to my bond group, starting with Gem.

I ’m up early for breakfast the following morning, not bothering to shower. I find my bond mates already awake as well.

“Look what the cat dragged in,” Liam drawls, leaning on the door of our suite. The four of them are already dressed, and I’m assuming they are heading to breakfast as well.

Brodie and Hunter mumble their hellos, but Gem flat-out ignores me, pushing Liam out of the way and opening the door to our suite.

“I’m going to check on the queen and escort her to breakfast. I’ll see you all there,” he says when Brodie asks where he’s going. He leaves without a backward glance, and I flinch from the force of his anger.

“Dude, you have some serious ass kissing to do.” Brodie claps me on the shoulder as we walk through the hallways of the palace. “You’re lucky Liam covered for your ass yesterday, so I think your family will be okay, but Gem is butthurt. I hope you’ll honor your promise to him.”

“You covered for me?” I look at my bond mate in surprise, and he shrugs.

“You’re an idiot, but you’re our idiot.”

A smirk crosses my lips, but before I can reply to him, Hunter crowds me, his nostrils flaring, and he scowls. “Where have you been? Why do you smell like that?”

I’m wearing the same night watch uniform I had on yesterday. It smells just like cupcakes and frosting from when my tiger rubbed all over the pretty girl from yesterday. My smirk grows.

“Last night when I got back, I heard someone in the stables, so I decided to check it out. My tiger got loved on by a pretty palace maid who was cuddling with the kittens out there. She smelled fucking delicious. I’m hoping maybe I can find her and convince her to come play with me maybe tonight after dinner. I’ll ask Gem if he wants to join us.” I feel giddy with my decision. It feels right, and I can’t wait to share the maid with the phoenix. If we just so happened to touch one another, it would be even better.

The three of them stare at me, speechless. Liam and Hunter growl aggressively, but Brodie bursts into laughter, slapping them both on the shoulders. “Easy, guys. I think that’s a wonderful idea. I’m so glad you’ve decided to give up your relentless search for our sixth, but I think you’re going to have to rethink that ‘maid.’” He says “maid” in a kind of sarcastic tone, and Hunter and Liam snicker like schoolboys. What the fuck is their problem? We start walking again, and I look carefully at every staff member we pass. All dip into curtsies or bow as I pass.

“I’m just not sure where to find her, but how hard could it be? How many staff members does the palace have?”

“Over a hundred,” Hunter states dryly.

“Oh, I’m sure you won’t have any trouble finding her. She may even just drop into your lap,” Brodie says cheerfully.

Breakfast is a casual affair. A buffet is placed on the side of the room, and we all help ourselves before taking a seat at the table. Liam and Brodie head directly to the food, but Hunter stops to say hello to his mother, and I do the same.

“Ah, Gryffin, there you are. We missed you last night,” my mother scolds me as I place a kiss on Evie’s and Mia’s cheeks before doing the same to her.

“Sorry, but it couldn’t be helped. I’m here now.” I look around the room, but I don’t see anyone unfamiliar.

“Uncle Gwiff!” Archie calls and waves at me. “You’re here! I want to introduce you to my sidepiece,” he shouts, and the table chuckles. Adam chokes on his juice he had unfortunately taken a sip of.

“Archie, you can’t keep calling her that,” he scolds his son who ignores him. I ruffle his hair, and I’m about to ask him what he’s talking about when Dad and Bryson enter the room. Bryson joins Liam, Hunter, and Brodie at the buffet, but my father beelines it toward me.

“Good, you’re back.” He hugs me quickly. “We need to start work with the new queen immediately. Your mothers and I will instruct her this morning, but your bond group will take over this afternoon and work on self-defense, shifting, and gaining control of her magic. It is a priority. Leave the missing shifters to the rest of the watch for now.”

He gives my mothers absent kisses before moving to the buffet without waiting for a response from me, but I guess there’s nothing left for me to say.

“Did any mates show up this morning?” Gretchin asks as I give both her and Gracelin kisses on their cheeks before heading to grab some food.

There is an awkward silence that has me looking around to see what’s going on. My three mothers have frowns, and Mia shakes her head. “No, not yet.”

“Maybe the magic did go wrong,” Evie says quietly, and I frown.

“What are you all talking about?” I ask, but before I can get a straight answer, the steward makes an announcement.

“Queen Colbie Karridge, Lady Violet, and Prince Jeremy Saunders.”

I smirk with amusement. The guys all got prince titles when they bonded with me, but they hate the pomp and ceremony.

My smirk soon drops, though, as the doors open, and Gem enters. On his arm is the gorgeous creature from last night. Holy shit, is she the new queen? Something inside me shrivels with misery. I’m never going to have a chance.