Filed to story: The Wolf Prince’s Fated Love
“It’s strange, Jada. I just shook her hand, and it was like she zapped me,” Hudson said, sounding apologetic.
I stiffened, shocked at the assertion. She’d zapped him? How the heck had that happened, and what did it mean?
“I mentioned it to my sleuth mates, and they agreed that we should all shake her hand, to see if she responded to all of us.”
Fury built in my chest, scalding me like acid. These fools thought that my mate was theirs. What else could be the purpose of all of them touching her? Now I wanted to rip all their heads off, not just the handsy one’s.
“These are our honored guests, come to seek my counsel.” Jada’s voice rang with indignation, and Hudson ducked his head. “And I sincerely hope that the rest of this explanation involves you being respectful and speaking with the girl about your suspicions rather than doing something asinine.”
“It’s my fault, Jada.” Dax’s voice was heavy with his bear when he met her eyes, and I noted with concern that fur had sprouted along both his forearms, thick and golden brown as the bear fought to break free. “I was just going to stand next to her, try to catch her scent without risking the touch. You know I have poor control.”
The woman nodded, eyes narrowing.
“But when I got a whiff, I couldn’t stop. She smells like heaven, like home. I- I touched her. Grabbed her. If there is any shame brought to my sleuth, and to you, I bear the burden of it.” His head dropped, hanging off his shoulders with the weight of it.
Meanwhile, my wolf was clawing at me even harder. She smelled like heaven? I’d give him a piece of hell for daring to take liberties with my female. Shay was not his. Gael sidled up to my side.
“Easy, friend. They are not going to take her from you. Jada is reputed to be a fair, wise leader, and she will deal with him appropriately. You got your licks in. Now it’s time to let it go.”
My head swiveled toward him as my lip lifted, the snarl right there on the edge, fangs fully descended in my mouth.
He held up both hands in a placating gesture. “You’ve come so far in a short amount of time. I’d hate to see you slip back because of this.”
The words struck me like a battering ram. Was I slipping backward? My vision was still red tinged, my wolf on a hair trigger.
Shit, shit, shit.
I couldn’t let myself go feral again, not now, not ever. The mocking voice in the back of my head taunted me, eager to watch me fall.
You’re a feral wolf. Finding your mate isn’t going to change that.
Once a loose cannon, always a loose cannon.
You skirted the Fetya’s prophecy. Going feral again and killing her yourself would be a solid punishment for that.
Oh, Goddess save me from my own critical thoughts. But once I’d thought them, they wouldn’t let me go. We had skirted the Fetya’s vision. Shay, my beautiful Shay, was alive and whole. Smiling at me and looking up at me like I hung the stars to shine on her.
She was supposed to be dead, and they would exact that price. But would it be me who killed her, with my own lack of control? Or would they strike in some other, unexpected way?
I didn’t know, and the fear that took hold of me then was worse than anything I’d ever felt, except the pain of her lying limp and bloody in my arms.
I never wanted to live through that again.
“Is she not mated to the one who guards her? It’s extremely unusual for a wolf to mate with a bear sleuth. It’s not in their nature to live as we do.” She gestured lightly to the three men bracketing her, then to the clustered youths kneeling before her.
“We don’t know, Jada.” The last one spoke up. Finn, the leader of our star-crossed welcoming party. “We’ve never felt anything like it. I have not touched her, and even so, I feel the pull.”
The woman’s brows drew down as she peered past me to where Shay now stood more solidly, still hanging on to Leigh.
Jada paced forward, her complement of mates flowing behind her like water. Before I could move to intercept, Gael grabbed me by the biceps.
“Hold tight. She’s not going to hurt Shailene, and she might know what’s going on.”
I nearly broke a tooth, I ground my jaw so hard. But I held on, letting the touch of a pack mate steady me. It was foreign after so long being on my own, but we were wolves, and some things ran deeper than others. The need for comforting touch was the deepest of them all.
I watched in tortured silence as Jada approached Shay, whose coloring was thankfully starting to return to normal. She nervously tucked a wild, curly strand of hair behind her ear as the bear leader stopped in front of her. Jada sized her up silently for a moment, before extending her hand.
Brielle stepped forward, shaking her head. “Shay, you don’t have to do this. You’ve been through a lot today, and this can wait for another time. Or never.” Her words were firm, and that still-water scent I’d come to associate with her was charged, as if a lightning bolt had struck the pond and ozone hung heavy in the cave.
“It’s okay,” my brave mate whispered. Shay slowly raised her hand to Jada’s, even as she leaned back, away from the contact.
When their palms met, nothing happened that I could tell. But Jada’s eyes widened, and she held on tightly with both hands for a moment before pulling away.
“Those imbeciles mistook a fae’s warning as mating energy. Goddess have mercy on me.” She shook her head and rounded on the young males, but my brain was stuck like a truck in a mud pit.
Fae warning? What the fuck was she on about?
Jada dressed down the males for a solid two minutes before sending them out of the cave with an escort and a promise of punishment after our delegation had left their island. Once they were gone, the tension around us eased. The rest of the bears in the cave all went back to their happy chatter since the show was apparently over.
One of Jada’s mates spoke next. “If you will please follow us, we’ve prepared a small reception for you in our private quarters.” He nodded politely and held up a hand the size of a dinner plate to indicate the direction.
I wanted to take Shay’s hand or wrap my arm around her again, but I hesitated, the surety that my touch was unwelcome stopping me. As long as I lived, I’d never forget the way she looked when she jerked back from me as if I was going to hit her.
So I stayed at Gael’s side and followed the bears, leaving Shay in her friends’ care.
THIRTY-FOUR
Shay
Jada’s private quarters were surprisingly luxurious. Though that probably shouldn’t have been completely unexpected. Not everyone lived close to the land, like Inuksuk and his people, and many shifters were very wealthy. Compound interest did wonders when you lived for centuries on end. Plus, Reed wasn’t even that old, and he was already rich as fuck.
The receiving room was full of ornate furniture with scrollwork details on the back, plush rugs underfoot, and heavy gold sconces on the walls. It reeked of Old World wealth, sitting right on the verge of overpowering the natural beauty of the rock the room seemed to be carved from.