Forbidden Union: A Paranormal Romance (Harem of The Mindslayer Book 3)

by Willa Hart

  Forbidden Union book 3

  Harm of The Mindslayer

  Willa Hart

  About This Book

  I have a secret; a secret that could get me killed. I’m a Dreg, but that’s not the secret; that’s obvious. I live in the Ninaku Slum where a Dreg life is worth less than nothing. I’ve always known my life has little value ever since the day my parents sold me and my sister Huali to Dribble, the Dreg that owns the Ninaku Laundry. But my secret is a secret that could get not only me, but also my sister killed—I have The Curse.

  Mindpowers.

  Only the highest of the high; the Eliterrati are gifted with Mindpowers; for a Dreg having any ability of the Mind is known as The Curse. Only the Roya Aristocracy is allowed to read the thoughts of others; any Dreg thought to have The Curse suffers a cruel and painful death. Not only is the Dreg killed; but their entire family dies as well.

  I’ve heard the thoughts of others since I can remember. I must find a way to contain my powers; keep any knowledge of my abilities away from the Dregs and also the Eliterrati. Which would’ve worked if I could control my temper. An angry outbursts alerts the Roya Tripsett; Sarkany, Leo, and Taraz, who are on the cusp of becoming the Kings of The Realm to not only my illegal abilities but also the fact that I may have more ties to both the Eliterati Aristocracy and the Wolveskin than anyone could’ve ever imagined. The Roya Tripsett needs their Queen and the Kingdom needs their Unifier and it’s a surprise to me, but I might just be both the new Queen and the fulfillment of a prophesy long ago spoken and forever hoped for.

  Forbidden Journey: Harem of the Mindslayer is book 2 in the Harem of The Mindslayer Series.

  Find the FREE PREQUEL, Forbidden Mindslayer on your favorite ebook retailer HERE!

  Get Book 1 Forbidden Power: Harem of The Mindslayer HERE!

  Get Book 2 Forbidden Journey: Harem of The Mindslayer HERE!

  Contents

  About This Book

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Excerpt from Forbidden Love

  Also by Willa Hart

  Afterword

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  Meela

  “There will be war.” Sarkany stands in the center of the Wolveskin map room. “We must prepare.”

  Prince Sarkany Roya, my fated-mate, leader of the Roya Warriors Guild, one of the Roya Tripsett destined to rule the Eliterrati of the Roya Kingdom, is a man who takes up space. Big and bold and brash, Sarkany is accustomed to being the largest and most intimidating warrior in a room.

  But he isn’t today.

  I glance at King Rex. Skin the color of the deepest starless night, and deep brown eyes lined with silver, he’s sprawled over his map room throne.

  Fear slides through my belly. Can Rex, King of the Wolveskin, and Sarkany, Prince of the Roya, remain in the same room for long? Like similarly charged magnets, they repel. Rex’s gaze slides from Sarkany to meet my eyes. The silver that lines his black pupils pulses and Rex lifts a brow.

  This? I am a Wolveskin King, and this is the human you choose over me? King Rex sends me his thought through the mind connection we share due to my Wolveskin bloodline.

  I did not know of your existence when I chose Sarkany, I think.

  But still? Even now?

  I close my eyes and sigh. “It’s not like that,” I say the words out loud. I’m unused to communicating openly through my mind connections. Only a short while ago, me using my mental abilities would’ve seen me killed, or worse yet, mindslayed.

  Both Taraz and Sarkany turn to me.

  “What are you saying, Meela?” Taraz asks. “Do you see another way? Because as a scientist, I believe war is a horrible misuse of resources, both human and inanimate. Please, if you see another way to protect the Roya Kingdom from Lord Vlissimal, please tell us.”

  Oh my most lovely Prince Taraz Roya: the leader of the Scientists Guild, Taraz’s brother, my fated-mate, and a Roya Prince attempting to keep violence away from the Kingdom.

  “No…” I walk toward the map table. Marble carvings represent Roya forces now controlled by Regent Vlissimal and Taraz and Sarkany’s other brother, the third prince in their Tripsett, Leo.

  “I just…I don’t want to see you three brothers fight,” I say.

  “Leo has threatened your life and my life and has thrown in with Vlissimal!” Sarkany roars. “What other choice do I have but to fight to protect you—my fated-mate—and my Kingdom?”

  “Are you sure?” Taraz asks. “Yes, Leo was angry the last time the three of us mind-linked, and you two quarreled as you often do, but are we certain that Leo is working with Uncle—”

  “Please stop calling him that,” Sarkany interrupts, his voice hard-edged. Frustration pulls on Sarkany’s face. “Vlissimal can no longer hold the title of our Uncle even if he is Mother’s only living brother. After what he’s done to me and you and our people? Surely there’s no greater traitor in the Kingdom than Vlissimal!”

  “Maybe one,” King Rex says, his voice silken.

  I turn to Rex.

  “Your brother, Leo,” King Rex says. “From an outsider’s perspective Prince Leo is determined to rule the Roya Kingdom alone. He’s turned against the two of you, his brothers, has he not? He’s aligned himself with your sworn enemy. He has chosen his own needs and desires over those of the group…your Tripsett?” Rex’s gaze meets Sarkany’s and then slides to Taraz. Finally he looks at me, his amber eyes penetrating me. “But that’s what you humans do, isn’t it? Think of yourselves first, before considering what the pack needs.”

  That beast, Sarkany thinks. His chest expands. Across our mind-link, heat bubbles through Sarkany. Anger. While Sarkany may harbor negative thoughts about Leo, his loyalty to the Tripsett rages with Rex’s words.

  Sarkany please, I think, what Rex says about Leo is not untrue. Please control your anger.

  Leo is my brother, Sarkany thinks.

  Yes, he is, and that’s what makes his betrayal all the more hurtful. You can’t blame King Rex for what Leo has done. That’s unfair.

  With my words, like clouds across a blue sky, Sarkany’s anger dissipates.

  “It’s painful to hear your words,” Sarkany says, “but I realize that they may be true.”

  Rex lifts an eyebrow and his gaze locks onto me. Impressive, Princess, King Rex thinks to me. You have such control over the human beast.

  He’s no more a beast than any other living creature in this lair, I think.

  King Rex shoots me a pointed look. Have I overstepped? Rex is sensitive to humans calling Wolveskins beasts; even a half-human, half-Wolveskin like me.

  “You speak of war, Prince Sarkany.” Rex rises from his throne. He’s giant in his human form. Over six feet tall with a well-muscled warrior’s body. His skin is the color of a starless night—deep and dark black. His amber eyes bear the silver circle of the Wolveskin around his black pupil. He steps down off the dais, regal and fluid. He st
ops at the edge of the map room table. “You have no army. How do you intend to wage war against Lord Vlissimal and Prince Leo when they control all the Kingdom forces?”

  “Once we tell the world what Vlissimal’s done,” Sarkany says, “the troops shall turn and follow us—”

  “And how do you intend to do that?” King Rex interrupts. “I had a similar conversation with your brother Prince Taraz not long ago, before I came to the hunting lodge and saved you—”

  “Saved me?” Sarkany turns and laughs. “Ha! That’s quite a take on the events that took place last night.”

  Rex’s eyes gather a fierce intensity. “You believe that absent me and my packs’ presence at the hunting lodge you would’ve escaped with your life? After Vlissimal’s ambush?”

  “Well,” Sarkany throws back his shoulder and cocks his head to the side, “I certainly wouldn’t have died if that’s what you’re implying.”

  “Well, you certainly wouldn’t have lived!” Fire flashes in Rex’s eyes.

  Sarkany and Rex stand toe to toe, staring at each other. One dark as night with short black hair and silver-ringed Wolveskin eyes. The other olive-skinned with brown eyes and long brown hair. Both giants with muscles and warrior’s bearing. Sarkany’s nostrils flare. Rex’s jaw muscle flinches.

  No one breathes.

  “Stop!” The full force of my voice echoes against the map room walls.

  Sarkany and Rex turn to me.

  “We face a war and you two quibble over a battle that took both of you equally to survive? This is ridiculous! How can you think of your egos when entire countries and peoples’ lives are at stake? I will not be party to two grown men behaving like little boys as though lives saved and land won is a game!” My brows pull tight, and my gaze flashes from Rex to Sarkany. “This is not a game. People will die. People with children, and families, and wives, and mothers and fathers will most certainly die. Don’t get so caught up in winning and losing and forget that there is a cost to be paid for a war.” Heat pricks my eyes. Tears form as I speak. “I refuse to pretend that the cost that will be paid is something that does not impact real people, even while you two giant men push around little marble pieces on a map as though they mean nothing.”

  Sarkany’s gaze drops and Rex looks away. I breathe deep, quelling the passion in my chest.

  “Meela is absolutely correct,” Taraz says. “And while I respect both of you as warriors and understand that your best selves protect us all, we can’t forget our obligation as rulers to protect and serve and do what is best for our people”—Taraz looks at King Rex—“and pack.”

  Sarkany lifts an eyebrow and sighs. “I would not be here,” he says, “without the help of you and your pack. Thank you.”

  King Rex nods, accepting Sarkany’s words. “And my pack would be less safe without your presence here today.”

  Both step back. This is a tenuous peace, but a pact. My mind connection to each senses a mutual respect for the other and an acknowledgment of each of their individual warrior spirit.

  All three men turn to me; Prince Sarkany, Prince Taraz, and King Rex.

  My stomach tightens. I’m at a loss. While through our individual mind-connections I feel the inner emotions of these three men and hear their thoughts, now they seek guidance from me. A girl who not long ago washed soiled sheets and dirty linens in the Ninaku Dreg laundry.

  Fear clutches my insides. I am a girl. A Dreg…or maybe not. Perhaps half-Wolveskin and half-Eliterrati…perhaps not. My memories are suspect until such time as I have proof. How am I to provide leadership and guidance to these men? I’m not smart enough, strong enough, knowledgeable enough; there is no way that I can provide the correct counsel which they seek from me—

  No, Meela, you are wrong. A voice…a voice that I’ve heard before but that only visits me in my dreams. The voice floats through my mind.

  I close my eyes.

  The White Wolf appears in my mind.

  You are meant to guide them all. You and your visions, and what you know to be true and just, shall be what saves the Wolveskin, the Eliterrati, and the Dregs. Your vision and justice shall unify them all.

  I…I…am not ready for this, I think. What you ask is impossible. I have not been prepared…I do not know enough…I can’t—

  You can and you will. Your life has been your preparation. Follow the seeds of the memories that were planted; add them to what you know to be true in your heart. And listen, Meela: follow the visions in your mind and listen to the voices in your head, for they tell you even with their unsaid words what you must do. And like mist above a waterfall, the White Wolf is gone.

  I open my eyes and look at the two warriors that stand before me and the scientist Prince Taraz. Two Princes, One King, two fated-mates, and one Wolveskin.

  “You are correct,” I say, my voice strong, “There will be war.” I turn to the map table. “But it’s not yet time for that war to be waged. So now, today, we do the hardest thing of all: today, we wait.” I close my eyes and I feel a wave rising within me. “It’s coming,” I say. “And the army that you shall lead will be ready for its leaders to arrive very, very soon.”

  Chapter Two

  Rex

  Wind whips through my fur. My hide is impenetrable by the cold. Darkness surrounds me in the woods. The scent of snow that will soon fall. A hare darts past me, and a doe scampers in fear of me. I have no hunger. Heat pummels through my veins. The night is my companion; Luna, the moon, my lover; the Goddess and her light caress me as I run through the wilds. Untouched snow sparkles on rocks. I dash to my left and tear through the night. I pursue the freedom of cold night-wind around me. My one desire is to be away from the Wolveskin lair.

  It’s a miracle that Prince Sarkany and Prince Taraz are alive. Especially in my lair. I couldn’t remain there while Meela sleeps beside her first fated-mate, Sarkany. The scent of her arousal and their coupling pervading the halls of the Mountain, enraging my beast.

  My beast roared within me. Unable to quell his want for Meela, I placate the savage with freedom. My attempt to prevent my wolf from ripping the throat from the human that lies with the woman that shall be my Wolveskin Queen. The immediate relief that my beast would feel by my bloody victory over Sarkany would be short lived. Should either Prince Sarkany or Prince Taraz die by my tooth or claw, then Meela would most certainly refuse to become my Queen.

  You may take what is rightfully yours, my beast roars even while I run at full speed, trying to tire my wolf. While it’s my right as King of the Wolveskin to take what I wish from any member of my pack, I do not do so, nor would I ever take from Meela or any other female that which they are unwilling to give. That Meela shall become my Queen and therefore Queen of the Wolveskin is inevitable. She was destined to be mine long before she met any Roya Prince.

  My beast growls.

  My wolf is less patient than my human side. My beast howls and growls when Sarkany or Taraz draw near Meela. After dinner, when Sarkany wrapped his arm around Meela’s waist and pulled her close to his side, the scent of her arousal wafted through the air.

  I left. I walked from my lair naked with two bare human feet onto the snow. The cold sliced through my vulnerable human body. I walked into the Dark Forest until my human feet were nearly purple with cold before I transformed. My desire as a man and the desire of my beast for Meela nearly overwhelmed me. I needed to be very far away from my lair before I trusted my beast to emerge.

  I burst through the dark forest. My muscles ripple beneath my pelt. My Beta and my sentries run by my side. I push beyond exhaustion. To the very brink, so that I might forget that tonight Sarkany beds my future Queen within the confines of my own lair. Tonight he receives all that I wish to take as mine. If I’d remained in the Wolveskin lair tonight, Sarkany would not live to see the dawn.

  I stop. My Beta and the two sentries stop beside me. Huge puffs of air pant from their snouts and mouths. They’re out of breath. I’ve forced them to run harder than ever before. It�
�s good training for what awaits us. I feel the tilt of the world, just as Meela does. The building of a pressure, a wave, a fierce energy that shall rain war upon all humans, Eliterrati and Dreg alike, and Wolveskin too. These battles are inevitable, and it is nearly certain that me and my pack shall be ensnared in the human events.

  A scent I know…in the distance. I lift my snout, tracking the smell. I turn toward Wolf Mount. I look up and across the ravine.

  Arianna stands on the rocks. My heart beats faster. She is beauty—this wolf. I know her well. She has born me many cubs. She has traveled away from me and our pack, on a high-lonesome for many nights since the birth of our latest litter. She has been gone since before Meela arrived.

  Arianna turns her head. Her female Beta is beside her, and just behind her are her two sentries. All four look at me. Their Wolveskin eyes black as night with silver rings sparking in the moonlight.

  I’d nearly convinced myself that my childhood binding ceremony with Meela meant nothing. She and her parents and sister disappeared. Until Meela was discovered, I thought Arianna would be my Wolveskin Queen and permanent mate. She is the ideal Wolveskin female Alpha: a warrior, strong and fierce, and beautiful. Her scent arouses me.…even now. Yes, Arianna has always appealed to me.

  But not as Meela appeals.

  I take a deep breath. No, Meela’s appeal is different. Meela’s appeal is much deeper than my physical desire for Arianna. My desire for Meela is a deep longing that stems not only from the Wolveskin binding ceremony as children, but to the Wolveskin prophesy that a Unifier shall bring peace to all the Kingdoms. Meela, with her long dark hair and fragile human frame, her giant eyes and sharp tongue, her strange mix of knowing and naivete, all make me want to protect her and respect her at the same time.