Chapter 1- Hadriel
What in the absolute fuck? I thought as silence descended on the after-battle crowd. The prince stood at the top of the steps in jeans and no shirt, in front of the castle, staring down at his mother, the queen.
The fucking queen!
How the hell was she alive?
Well, obviously I knew how—she’d somehow escaped before the curse and hidden in the collection of dragon villages in the Flamma Kingdom, safely tucked away.
I didn’t know her story, and already I wasn’t sure I could forgive her. She hadn’t aged. In all this time, she looked exactly the same as the last time I’d seen her in the castle. So did her chief lady-in-waiting. The magic affecting us had obviously impacted them, too, but they’d gotten the fun antiaging side effect without having to pay the price. She’d hung out in that cute little village while her people were slowly dying or being indoctrinated into some pretty fucking weird sexual kinks.
Like…what the fuck?
Had the king known? Probably not. He’d never been much of an actor, and he’d convinced Nyfain his mother was dead.
It took Leala’s wide-eyed glance for me to realize I’d said that last bit out loud.
Almost like he’d been slapped, the prince jerked. Soon after, his body bristled and he unleashed a thick wave of stinging power. It washed over me and threatened to pull me under its tide. My wolf curled up inside of me and did the equivalent of a whimper. The queen flinched, along with almost everyone else in the room. Not Finley, though. Her eyes blazed as she stood beside the ferocious dragon prince. She was the only person in the whole fucking world who liked to bathe in his dominating power, the nutcase.
As if in response, a different sort of power suffused me. A calming magic full of steadfast strength, utterly unbreakable. It was a message of unity. Of pack. Of protection. Power in numbers.
Weston, the alpha wolf, was responding to the dragon’s fury. This was why strong wolf shifters and dragon shifters never really got along. Dragons liked to swing their dicks or tits around, and wolves linked arms and said, “Come at me, fucker!” Too much ego all around.
And now I was stuck right in the fucking middle of it, because my goddess-cursed wolf had connected with that alpha wolf and did not plan to let go. He wanted to join Weston’s pack. To belong. To bask in that sense of unity and try to muscle our strength to its full potential rather than remain a lone wolf curled up at the feet of dragons.
And while I got where the fuzzy bastard was coming from, I needed him to understand that Finley created unity just like that alpha wolf did, only she didn’t have to use wolfsong to do it. My loyalty to her had been earned by her actions alone, no magic involved. She would protect us just the same or better. She’d let us flower within her care.
He was not listening, the horrible cumgoblin.
Within Weston’s magic, my wolf slowly uncoiled. Adrenaline seeped through my blood and my back straightened. For the first time ever, I didn’t have idle thoughts of shitting myself within the prince’s hostile golden stare.
At least that was a nice change.
“Please,” the queen said, a small quiver in her voice. “Give me a chance to speak with you.” She must have felt all the eyes on her, and a lesser woman would’ve looked around at the spectators. But she’d learned mastery of her emotions after living with the late king. She’d had to. She’d had to be the people’s rock within the storm.
Right up until she left us.
She lifted her chin. “Let me explain, and then I will respect your decision about my fate,” she continued in a strong, even voice.
The prince clenched and unclenched his fists, his expression stony and his body straight and tall. Finley, though, let unease crease her expression. Her eyes darted between the prince and the queen, full of concern for one, anger for the other. The prince might not be showing his emotions, but she’d feel them through their bond. He probably didn’t want to hear his mother’s explanation for fear it would damn her, destroying his opinion of the woman who’d been everything to him. The woman he’d put above all the other people in his life.
I took a deep breath, my heart breaking for him. For all of us. The king had been a horrible bastard. I didn’t know if I could handle it if it turned out the queen had been just as bad. It would tarnish all my good memories of this place. Because she was the one who’d made it livable.
Fuck. I couldn’t believe this was happening!
The prince’s nod was minimal before he looked away, not sparing her any more of his attention. It was a slight to her position, both as the crowned queen and as his mother. It must’ve killed him to do it.
“I will send for you,” he said indifferently. He panned his gaze over the crowd gathered before him. “You’ve all fought and won a hard battle. Those of you joining us from outside my kingdom, welcome. I apologize that we don’t have more to offer you, but we will at least organize warm beds and offer you what food we have. Those of you who have returned after imprisonment in the demon kingdom, I will hear your stories, one and all. You will be avenged, that I promise. And lastly, those of you who rose up against the demons, congratulations! It was a battle well fought. You clinched our victory today. Be proud of yourselves. We’ve taken our kingdom back!”
A cheer went up from the periphery of those gathered, those mediocre fuckers feeling the glow of our win.
“Hadriel,” the prince said, wiping the smile off my face immediately. I hated when he zeroed in on me. “Get everyone settled. We’ll all take a rest to get our bearings, and then we have much to do. We’re still weak as a kingdom, but I mean to rectify that issue as quickly as possible. After you get everyone settled, see me for a list of those I need to meet with and when.”
Power rode the prince’s rapid-fire commands. My wolf thrashed within me, not wanting me to bend to the dragon. My wolf only wanted to recognize commands that came from his alpha.
I grimaced, hesitating, not able to stop from glancing back at Weston. If this were a normal situation, he’d take grave offense to an outsider telling his pack wolf what to do. It would be seen as a challenge. Then again, the prince probably wouldn’t take kindly to Weston snagging the loyalty of his people. What a clusterfuck.
I opened my mouth to speak, still not really sure what I planned to say, when understanding dawned in the prince’s eyes. His gaze turned hard as it flicked to Weston.
“I can sever the connection at any time,” Weston said, his tone as hard as the look the prince was giving him. “His wolf doesn’t wish it. None of them do.”
A wave of power washed over us again, the prince not liking what he’d just heard. My wolf clearly wasn’t the only one who’d responded to Weston. Other villagers had been drawn to him too. After such turbulent times, the feeling of safety and unity offered by a pack led by a powerful, balanced wolf alpha was beyond enticing.
The prince and Weston stared at each other for a long beat, the dragon power pounding around us and the wolf power throbbing in our middles. Weston held steady. It felt like the two alphas were gearing up for an explosion, and we’d all be slammed in the process.
That wasn’t what was tearing me apart, though.
Finley was looking at me with sudden understanding. Sorrow lined her features.
“Your wolf wants to join his pack, is that it?” she asked me quietly. Each word was like a nail hammered into my heart. I’d wanted to do this differently. I’d wanted to explain.
Everyone waited quietly for me to answer.
I nodded mutely. “I tried to resist, but I saw the queen fly overhead, freaked out a little, and accidentally let down my defenses. My wolf…took over.”
A breath left her parted lips. She reached out and hooked her hand around Nyfain’s scarred forearm, seeking support.
He shifted his attention to her.
“We’ll talk about this later,” she told him, her gaze still on me. When she finally ripped it away, it came to rest on Weston. “We’ll need to talk this through. I want to better understand how wolf shifters work. But this isn’t the time. We have a lot of tired people that are due a rest. We need to get everything organized, as Nyfain said, and to do that, we need our people. All of them. Can you…release them or whatever you do for long enough for that to happen? It’ll help all of us in the long run. After that…we’ll figure out what happens next. Is that a good enough compromise?”
Nyfain wrapped his arm around her waist possessively, hooking it on her hip. He didn’t comment, just watched Weston quietly. Despite being his mate, she wasn’t technically the princess yet, and in this kingdom the queen had never shared the full weight of the throne’s power. That was the way it had always been. It was clear the prince didn’t care, though. He clearly intended to treat her as his equal in all things, including leading his kingdom. He had always made way for Finley, respected her, even when he wanted to throttle her.
If he wasn’t so fucking terrifying, I’d pat him on the back for being better than the king before him, even now, on the doorstep of hell. I’d praise him for putting his faith in Finley.
You’re going to make me miss her rising to her mantle and being a kickass fucking queen, you gibbering fuck puppet, I thought-yelled at my animal, my heart still breaking. I don’t want to leave her. I don’t want to go with that alpha.
Being with our own kind is what is best for us, and you know it, he replied. Our father was a beta. Our mother was just as powerful. There is more to you than a mediocre butler or a stable boy. We should be in a pack so we can pull out our true potential.
I gritted my teeth, my eyes prickling with heat. I hated being torn in the middle—because he was both right and wrong. If we left, we’d be missing the opportunities she could give us. She’d always tested my mettle, and in the demon dungeons she’d trusted Leala and me to help in the best way we knew how. She’d worked with us to create a solid team that had gone on to save the fucking day. Shehad led, not Weston.
“Yes, of course,” Weston said, cutting through my thoughts, and the tangling power of the two alphas subsided. “They want to stay connected to the pack, but I will step aside as alpha—as their commander—so you can see to your affairs. Please let me know how I can help.”
Finley breathed out a smile. “Thanks. Get some rest. We’ll chat soon.”
Weston visibly relaxed, as did the wolves around him.
“We need to grab the faeries and the demons before any of the villagers find them,” Finley murmured to the prince, running her hand down his stomach.
“The demons?” he growled.
“Yes. A small group of demons helped us get out of the dungeon. They want to overthrow their ruling party and are offering us inside information so we can help them do it. I’ll explain everything, but first we need to secure them before someone gets the wrong idea and kills them.”
He nodded, looking out at the members of his court she’d returned from the dungeon. “Take a team of dragons,” he told her. “I’ll work on getting everyone settled here. See me when you get back. We haven’t finished imprinting.”
She shivered, her eyes going starry for a moment.
“Okay,” she said in a breathy whisper before she seemed to get a hold of herself. “But also…” She turned and pointed at Weston. “Wolves are better on the ground. Can you spare me an escort, Weston?”
The prince stiffened momentarily. Finley didn’t know how things were done here. All official business was typically handled by the court, and positions of power had always been held by dragons.
Finley was breaking protocol by asking for Weston’s help, even for something as simple as guard duty. She was essentially asking a wolf to do a dragon’s job, or at least that was how it would be perceived.
But the prince didn’t correct her. He didn’t call her down, like the mad king certainly would’ve. He was allowing her to make the faux pas without comment to ensure she saved face in front of their subjects. And honestly…he probably realized Finley was right. Wolves were better on the ground. It made sense to bring them to help, especially since any problems would come from the villagers who were ground-bound shifters.
Weston glanced at the prince, obviously wondering if the dragon alpha would have a problem, before stepping forward. “Of course.”
“Great,” Finley said. “Tamara, grab a couple of people, and let’s go.”
Tamara didn’t move. She looked at the queen, technically her commander, waiting for the go-ahead.
Fear gripped me. How would this go for Finley? Would anyone support a commoner when they had the real thing back in the flesh?
I should’ve known the prince wouldn’t stand for that.
“Until we know how she escaped the curse,” he barked, looking over his mother’s head, “my mother will not retain any power. And as most of you are aware, queens are not afforded the capacity to independently rule. With my father gone, the crown and its duties have passed to me. I am its steward until the coronation. Finley, as my mate, is acting princess, soon to be crowned queen. At such a time, I will amend the laws to give her equal power and authority, and to grant any female offspring the same rights to the crown as their male counterparts. You will treat any command given by Finley with the same weight as you would if it came from me. You will not obey any commands by the former queen until I say otherwise.”
His words blasted through the day, and if the queen felt their power, she gave no sign. She stood up straight, her expression stoic, seemingly undaunted by his sentiments. I’d never seen her so cool to him in my life. Her chief lady-in-waiting, however, standing behind her, scowled like a motherfucker. I did not forget that she’d also escaped the curse. The two of them had gotten out in the nick of time. And then, because of the queen’s supposed death, the prince had been trapped in the kingdom.
I noticed a slight tremor in the prince’s hand as he reached for Finley’s cheek and ran a thumb along her jaw.
“Hurry back,” he told her softly before giving her a lingering kiss. “We have many things to discuss, and we will do so…after we’ve exhausted our efforts with the imprinting.”
Her gaze turned eager as he glanced at me and then turned away, heading back into the castle. Finley gasped, reaching for him, and I saw what she was responding to.
The prince’s back, scarred and covered in tattoos, had two strips of gleaming golden scales carved down each side. Hours ago, they’d been nothing but scars. Neither strip was complete, however—there were patches that showed only old scar tissue. It was like someone had scratched away sections. He hadn’t completely healed with the release of the curse. The other scarring on his body hadn’t gone away at all.
He shivered as she traced parts of the mended scales.
He turned back to her, his eyes intense. “I thought they felt different but…other matters stole my focus.”
“They aren’t complete. But…they’re gold,” she said softly.
He didn’t speak, continuing to look at her for a long moment before his eyes flicked beyond her. He had an audience. He wouldn’t want to shift in front of everyone in case his scales hadn’t returned to their original color. Not to mention his wings might be all jacked up, since the scales were. I’d seen dragons with damaged wings, and it usually showed in the scales on their backs. After spending so much tortured time with the guy, I could now read the prince really well. He wouldn’t want everyone seeing this new facet of himself before he understood what it meant.
“Hurry back to me,” he murmured, and then finished his walk into the castle.
I jogged after him. He probably needed someone to yell at. It always seemed to make him feel better. And after that little powwow, he had some real bad shit to sort through. He’d need someone to take his mind off things, and until Finley could do it, he’d have to settle for his trusty butler.
Mediocrity for the win.
Chapter 2- Finley
“Holy shit, right?” Tamara said as we jogged away from the people gathered around the castle steps. “I never, ever would’ve thought she was still alive. That collection of villages had no idea she was the queen of Wyvern until the curse was lifted. Lucille, did you see how confused they all were at first? Then all the blinking as their brains tried to make sense of everything?”
“She taught me to fly,” I said, still unable to believe it. “She heard my story. She smelled her son on me, saw her sword, and never said anything. It explains why she didn’t want anyone else from Wyvern hanging around, though. Why do you think that is?”
“Yeah, good question,” Lucille said softly as Jade and Xavier, two of the dragons from the old court, joined us. We stopped just inside the tree line, waiting for Weston’s wolves.
“The king was incredibly broken up about her death,” Xavier murmured, stripping in preparation to shift. “Do you think he knew?”
“He must have known,” Jade replied, her green eyes flashing.
“But it was a closed casket funeral,” Tamara said.
“He would’ve wanted to see her,” Jade replied. “It was probably a closed casket because she wasn’t in it.”
“So then why lie to us?” Tamara frowned, anger sparkling in her eyes. “Why lie to her guard? Do you think he was just trying to get the prince home?”
“It worked, didn’t it?” Xavier said.
“The king was crazy, though,” Lucille said. “He wouldn’t have allowed her to leave. If he’d known she was alive, he would’ve followed her and dragged her back.
Xavier shrugged. “Maybe she made a deal—I’ll leave, and it’ll bring back the prince. Him for me.”
“She wouldn’t sacrifice him like that,” Tamara hissed.
“She would if she thought he could leave,” Xavier said. “I doubt anyone would’ve thought the mad king would make a deal with the demon king. She probably figured she could save herself without causing any harm to her son.”
“But why didn’t she age?” I asked, replaying all that had happened, going over all of my dealings with the woman I’d known as Ami. “She and Claudile were affected by that curse even if they weren’t here.”
“First of all, her name isn’t Claudile.” Xavier smirked. “It’s Delaney.”
I grimaced. “And the queen’s name is…”
Tamara and Lucille’s eyes widened. Xavier’s gleamed.
“You don’t know the queen’s name?” Lucille asked.
“I was young when she supposedly died, and I was in one of the smaller and more detached villages,” I replied. “I didn’t know any of their names. I’m sure I would’ve if life had been normal, but they were all supposedly dead by the time I was old enough to retain that kind of information, the court with them, and we were fighting for our lives. It didn’t seem important to know.”
Xavier grinned. “Nor do you know any of the customs. You’ve already fucked up in a major way, and it’s only day one.”
My stomach twisted, and Tamara scowled.
“Remember who you’re talking to,” she told Xavier. “Show some respect.”
“I’m talking to a commoner who stands in the shadow of the most beloved queen in history,” he replied. “Finley might be the prince’s mate, but she hasn’t been sworn in. She’s not official.”
“Didn’t you hear the prince?” Lucille shoved him. “He made her official in word, if not yet in deed. Not to mention that as soon as he’s king, he’s going to change things. She won’t be just a figurehead. It’s about damn time.”
“We’ll see,” Xavier said in a low tone.
“Power or not, being sworn in or not,” I said in an even tone, “keep talking to me like that and we’re going to have a problem.”
He smirked. “Except the queen took her sword back.”
“Do you think I need a sword to slit your throat?” I ground out. “I’ll find a fucking piece of glass if I get desperate enough, and I doubt I will, because a dagger or pocketknife will do just fine.”
His eyes narrowed, but his mouth shut. He correctly realized I didn’t give idle threats.
My stomach didn’t stop churning, though, something I wouldn’t allow to show on my face. I hadn’t been ready for his sudden swagger. It was like he didn’t remember all we’d been through. It was like he somehow thought the old hierarchy was alive, and his place in it was assured. Well, he’d be slapped with the dick of reality soon enough. The kingdom he’d returned to wasn’t the golden one of times past. It was broken, and swagger had no place here.
Still, his sentiments would be shared by others. I’d probably have more dissenters than supporters.
Maybe you should make an example of him. You wouldn’t need a blade to put him in his place, my dragon thought. You just need me. I’ll take his dragon any day. I’m bigger, more alpha, and most importantly, I am so much meaner.
Five men and women walked up, the men tall and broad, with clearly defined muscles and hard eyes. The women were a bit shorter, with not as much girth, but their curves spoke of hard muscle.
“The alpha sent us,” said the man at the front, brown-haired and with a chiseled face and deep-set, velvety brown eyes. “I’m Ehno. I’ll be heading up this subsection of pack. I’ll be following your lead.”
Tamara’s eyes widened, and Xavier frowned and shot me a look. This was significant in some way, but I had no idea why. My lack of knowledge about shifters and court in general was already hindering me. I needed to get some lessons, ASAP. I wondered if Tamara would give them to me.
“Do you know where we’re going?” I asked Ehno.
“Yes. Back to where we came in, right?”
“Right. Hopefully they didn’t get any dumb ideas about wandering into Wyvern after the magical wall lifted. I doubt the villagers would be happy to see those demons.” I nodded at him. “We’ll be flying overhead. We’ll keep pace with you.”
Ehno nodded, stepping away to shift.
I did the same, leaving the trees for a moment so my dragon could take over. We shifted, and she rose into the sky, beating her wings lazily as she took us over the trees. The other dragons joined me, and we soared over the Forbidden Wood—or the Royal Wood, I guessed, now that it wasn’t forbidden anymore.
A thrill arrested me. Was this for real? Was I a fucking princess?
A princess?
I still remembered the wonder I felt watching Nyfain soar through the blue sky in dragon form, his gold scales glittering. Back then I was a young girl, separated from him in every way that mattered, but he was mine now. My mate. Maybe one day the father of my children, if I was blessed enough to have any. My forever. I couldn’t believe we were finally back together, the curse lifted.
There is still a lot of work to be done, my dragon warned me. Forever won’t mean much if that demon horde comes back and cuts the legs out from under you. Or that queen rips the throne out from under your ass.
Can you just let me have one damn second to marvel at my good fortune?
Marvel when he’s fucking you. Start thinking about his wing issue now.
She had a point. Demon magic had ripped the wings from his back. Stripping it away had returned some but not all of the scales. Why? Could some of their magic have gotten tied up within him when he forced the shift?
If so, Calia, the powerful faerie who’d helped us break out of the dungeons and into our kingdom, should be able to sense the magic. Hopefully, she would also be able to unravel it or strip it away.
Patrols of village shifters roamed the trees below us as we made our way, cut through with Weston’s wolves. I made sure not to outstrip them, flying slowly as they loped beneath us. I wanted to show that we were a unit, all of us. That our success against the demon king hadn’t been a fluke and we’d be stronger if we stuck together.
My heart started to hammer as we approached the edge of the kingdom without a glimpse of the demons and faeries.
Land, I told my dragon.
She angled down quickly, the ground rushing up to meet us, and shifted, and my human body tumbled along the ground.
I know you know how to fucking land, you asshole, I told her, dragging myself to my feet and shaking it off. You’re making me look like a fool in front of the others.
I only kinda know how to land. This made it look like we were in a hurry.
The list of things we needed to work on was growing rapidly.
The other dragons landed behind me, joining me just outside of the previously erected magical wall. The wolves jogged up in their animal forms.
In this spot, it was easy to see the effect of the demon magic on our land—one side of the invisible line was lush and green, the other side twisted and blackened and robbed of life.
“Where’d they go?” Tamara asked, pointing out heavy treads from what must’ve been demon boots.
While I caught whiffs of their scents, it wasn’t distinct enough for me to follow them, and the treads disappeared after a few steps. It was almost like they’d tried to keep their path hidden.
“No bodies,” Jade said, circling out to scan the area. “No blood. Those are good signs.”
Ehno, now a large gray wolf, growled softly before making a show of putting his nose to the ground. He jogged forward like that, then turned back, asking me to follow.
I needed to learn to read wolf better so he didn’t have to mime his intent.
“Their noses are clearly better than ours,” I said, motioning for him to continue and then jogging after him. “They’re better at tracking. Follow on two feet so that we can communicate if we have to. I don’t think I have the energy for rapid-fire shifting.”
“Me neither,” Tamara murmured. “I’m exhausted. Thank the goddess the prince has a heart and will let us rest before we start to rebuild. I don’t think I can keep going much longer.”
I didn’t bother asking what the mad king would’ve demanded. It was pretty clear.
In a moment, it was evident where we were going—right back to the boats. Once there, we saw the rowboats we used to get to shore had been taken in and tied up, keeping anyone from heading out to them.
“Smart,” I said, readying to shift. “They probably worried one of our people would come out this far, searching for demons, and didn’t want to risk a confrontation.”
“Or maybe they were just tired and wanted a bed.” Jade rubbed her eyes.
“Or that, yeah.” I smirked and shifted, wondering how the hell I was going to get onto the demons’ boat without crashing into it. My dragon shifted in the air, and I dropped like a stone onto the deck, landing hard on my butt and then falling back and clunking my head.
Problem solved, she thought.
There weren’t enough swear words in the world to properly get my feelings across, so I just pushed myself to standing and thought about how to get revenge without killing us both.
As the rest of the dragons circled overhead, the captain emerged. He quickly alerted the others to our presence.
“It worked,” Govam said when he met me on the deck. His dusky gray eyes twinkled. “Is your kingdom in one piece?”
“It hasn’t been in one piece for years, Govam, you know that. But we did do it, yes. We chased them out.”
I heaved a shuddering sigh and let myself smile, still struggling to process everything. Nyfain and I had freed our kingdom from the demons’ clutches.
I was banging the golden prince!
Would you calm the fuck down? my dragon thought in annoyance. Don’t make me keep reminding you that—
Yes, yes, I know.
I tried to wipe what I knew was a stupid grin from my face, except desire was pooling within Nyfain now, curling and growing and heating up. I felt his longing for me and my equally strong need to get back to him. To feel his body under my fingers. To get lost in his touch. It wasn’t just a sexual need for him—it was a strange sort of throbbing. A pull that gripped my middle and kept yanking to get me moving toward him. He felt like a part of me, like half of me, actually, and everything in me was desperate to merge those halves. It had to be a side effect of the imprinting. There was so much to do, and now so much to sort out—the queen, the wolves, establishing trade again, getting supplies—but all I wanted was to revel in Nyfain’s body. To feel his soft lips glide down my scorching flesh.
“We need to get you guys safely back to the castle,” I said as Calia drifted to the side of the railing on the deck of her sleek ship, anchored not far away. She waved. I raised my voice. “I have a favor to ask you. I want to see if you can help my mate shrug off the rest of the demons’ magic.”
“Your golden prince will undoubtedly want to establish a connection with her people,” Govam said, watching as her sister and the other faeries joined her. “He will want to secure an invitation to speak with the king and queen, I have no doubt. She is high up in their hierarchy. I’ve heard it mentioned throughout the years.”
Add it to the list.
Then, unbidden, a thought drifted up. Was she from the same kingdom as Nyfain’s ex-fiancée? Would that woman think she had some sort of claim to him, even after all this time? To his plant-growing magic that was so rare and powerful?
My dragon growled low, but I pushed the thought away. I had enough to do—I didn’t need more dread heaped on my pile. I’d worry about it when the time came.
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