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

by Willa Hart

  Arianna’s nostrils flare. Finally she drops her gaze and sighs. “You’re correct King Rex,” she says softly. “I…I know better. I know the rules of our pack and I agree that I broke pack law.” Her gaze flicks upward and meets mine. “But it was not just because of jealousy.” Arianna lifts an eyebrow, “She cannot lead us, if she cannot shift.”

  I cross my arms over my chest. “I do not know that what you say is true. My father bonded me to Meela knowing that she had not shifted and that it was possible she never would. The wisdom of past leaders is sometimes not understood until well past their reign.”

  Arianna rolls her gaze toward the glass ceiling above us. “You expect too much of your pack if you think they’ll follow a human simply because your father bonded you to her.”

  My beast growls. My body puffs up. My hackles rise. “Your insubordination is unacceptable. I expect the pack to follow because I order it. While you may be female Alpha, I’m King. Do you understand the order of command, or do you need a refresher course in pack hierarchy?”

  “I don’t need a refresher course,” Arianna says. Her hand rubs the bandage on her right ribcage. “But an interloper has entered and where she fits into our pack has yet to be determined. Humans have no respect for the idea that the whole pack means more than the individual. This isn’t about my feelings for you, this is about my loyalty to our pack.”

  “She will learn about the Wolveskin.”

  “She knows nothing,” Arianna says. “Other than her attraction to you. There isn’t one female in this lair who doesn’t want to mate with you.”

  A smile breaks over my face.

  “And yet, only one female gets to do so,” I say.

  “As it’s been for a millennia. But we’ve not had a half-human bound to our King before now.” Arianna looks at me. There is no anger in her eyes. Only concern. She strokes Rexiana who is asleep on Arianna’s lap. “What shall we do? What will you do?” Arianna asks. “Who would you have your pack follow? Me? Or a half-human who knows nothing of our lives? How our pack functions? Or our history?”

  I sigh. Arianna speaks the truth.

  “These are questions for which I don’t yet have answers,” I say. While I am King, pack law also dictates that I owe a duty to my Female Alpha to respond to all reasonable inquiries.

  “I’ve called a Leadership Counsel meeting,” Arianna says.

  “You did what?”

  “It’s well within my right as Alpha Female, to do so.”

  “It’s also well within my right to lash you for attacking Meela, but have I requested that you submit to my whip?”

  “There are too many questions to be answered as to her status and how this will work,” she says. “I fear that your mind has been clouded by your attraction to the human. You’ve not yet fulfilled your desire, and it’s obvious that this need impacts your ability to lead.”

  “As is my desire for Meela impacting your ability to behave in a rational manner,” I say. Rage pummels my chest.

  “Perhaps the leaders can provide insight,” Arianna says.

  “I’m not compromised,” I growl. I grow impatient with Arianna’s impertinent words. I preferred her when she submitted to my desires and my rule. This behavior, what she’s doing now…then it hits me. How did I miss it before now? “Eregos,” I say very softly.

  Fear enters her eyes.

  “Do you tread the path of a traitor, Arianna? Even while my cubs sleep beside you in your bed?”

  She lifts her head. The muscle in her jaw tightens. “I have the right to call a meeting of the counsel.”

  “Did you also have the idea to do so? Or did another Wolveskin give you this idea? Whisper what you could do in your ear? Counsel meetings and politics have always been so far away from your interest. While you may not like the human, you’ve never before questioned my ability to lead.”

  “You’ve never before put the pack in this kind of jeopardy,” Arianna says.

  “Nor was my elder brother here to plant the seed of doubt in your mind regarding my decisions.”

  Her gaze drops to the floor. She is my Alpha Female, the mother of my cubs, and I have loved her. But she was never my bound-mate, and of this fact she was always aware. Still, she is a member of my pack, and as such she owes me her loyalty.

  “Be very careful, Arianna, Eregos is not one to sacrifice himself for another. I became King because he abandoned his position to live amongst the humans that you loathe. Be cautious. To be found a traitor is a fate worse than death for a Wolveskin—it means banishment.”

  Arianna looks up at me. The muscles in her jaw flinch. My beast claws and anger shreds my insides. I won’t unleash my beast, not now, not again. I leave my Alpha alone to pet our cubs and think on the words I’ve said.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Taraz

  The woods are thick with pine. The sky is dark with grey clouds. My horse walks slowly across the rocky path through the forest. Jix is behind me, with Sarkany in front. Nixal the Dreg leads us, and Lorelai is just behind him. I feel the Wolveskin presence in the woods on either side of our caravan but see little of them other than flashes of grey that barely register in my peripheral vision.

  This isn’t the way we traveled to the Wolveskin lair, I think.

  I remember very little but holding onto the pelt of that beast King Rex, Sarkany thinks. Hints of Sarkany’s jealousy toward Rex trickle into my mind with his thoughts.

  I don’t share your feelings, I think. I experienced a twinge of jealousy when you first arrived at the Wolveskin lair because my declaration of Meela as my fated-mate was new, but it soon became evident that her feelings for me have no relation to her feelings for you or for Rex. Once my mind processed this fact, any feelings of jealousy evaporated.

  It’s quite different when we, two of a Tripsett, share Meela as a fated-mate than when we share her with a beast like that Wolveskin, Sarkany thinks.

  It’s not different, I think.

  Sarkany glances over his shoulder and lifts an eyebrow as if to emphasize his disbelief at my thoughts.

  She was bound to King Rex before she even knew us, I think. And if she was to be our fated-mate even after she was bound to King Rex as a young girl, then surely the Goddess had something in mind with regards to Meela that we don’t have knowledge of, I think.

  Your thoughts are more similar to a high priestess than a scientist, Sarkany thinks.

  I have a deep faith in the prophesy, and my knowledge of it indicates that a Queen shall bind all the realms. Now, nothing is specific in how this is to be done…but being raised a Dreg, bound to a Wolveskin, with an Eliterrati bloodline that allows her to be our Tripsett’s fated-mate? All those connections allow her to fulfill the prophesy.

  Stop! Sarkany’s horse pulls up short.

  A crashing sound echoes in the forest.

  King Rex’s Beta leads us in Wolveskin form. I look to my right and scan the woods looking for the Wolveskin that’ve flitted in and out of my peripheral vision since our journey began. A thick stand of trees blocks my view. A rabbit breaks through the bushes and darts across the path. A Wolveskin darts out and snaps its jaws closed.

  My stomach churns. I look away. Yes, humans do eat rabbit. I’ve eaten rabbit, but first we trap and kill them and that strikes me as less vicious, even though my logical mind tells me that the end is the same—dead rabbit.

  They’re less human than us, Sarkany thinks.

  The Wolveskin brings the rabbit to Sarkany’s horse’s feet and drops it. She looks up at him as though to say, this is for our dinner tonight. She turns and trots to the front of the line.

  And yet, I’m unsure being less human is a bad thing, I think. The Wolveskin are always thinking of the group. What is best for the pack. How to subvert their individual needs for the betterment of their society, I think.

  Sarkany does not respond. He slides down from his horse and places the dead rabbit in the game satchel attached to his saddle. Now I understand why the Wolveskin
Sharalla insisted I put this on my saddle, he thinks. Fresh meat for dinner tonight. We shall stop within the hour.

  Sharalla pauses and with her giant Wolveskin head looks back at Sarkany. Did she understand what he said? Perhaps. As she trots ahead, Sarkany mounts and we move on our way.

  By your logic, Sarkany, then our fated-mate would be less human too, I think. It seems as though you had less trouble with her being a Dreg than you do with her being a Wolveskin.

  Mother and Fathers were actively promoting that all Dregs be treated as fairly as Eliterrati, Sarkany thinks. We were raised with that belief system.

  And it would seem they were also starting a move toward having Wolveskin participate in our society. What other reason could Mother have had for allowing envoys? And her favorite handmaiden to marry a Wolveskin? I think.

  But they did not live within the city, Sarkany thinks. Or the Palace.

  Perhaps for their own safety? Or the safety of the girls?

  Perhaps, Sarkany thinks.

  The sun sets in the distance. The wind grows colder. A chill carves into my bones. Meela’s bloodline and pedigree are irrelevant to me, however many Eliterrati do not share my feelings. They hate Dregs so much that they would prefer war within the Kingdom than to accept that Dregs are as human as Eliterrati and therefore deserve equal rights. What a waste. Peace promotes prosperity and prosperity promotes the accurate use of resources and allows the Kingdom to utilize great minds whether Eliterrati or Dreg. I glance back at Jix; he can’t be the only Dreg with a brilliant mind. And the technology? What have they discovered? Do they travel to the Outerlands? The more I learn of Dregs and Ninaku from Jix, the more I realize how little I know.

  The fire crackles and keeps the chill at bay. Our Wolveskin guides haven’t changed into human form. They brought us a half dozen rabbits and squirrels to clean and spit over our fire

  “Saving us a whole lot of time and effort,” Nixal says. “Can’t quite get used to it though, when one of them giant beasts comes over to us. Part o’me wants to hunker down, sceered for me life.” Nixal laughs and takes another spit of rabbit leg from over the fire and pulls at the tender flesh.

  “So, tell us more about Ninaku and what is going on there,” I say. Having as much information as possible about a situation is how I feel prepared. And while we saw the mind-recording of the Dreg uprising and Nixal and Lorelai told us of the Engineers Guild Counsel, I feel woefully unprepared to enter Ninaku.

  “Well, it was Kaxon of the Engineers Guild that called for the uprising,” Nixal says.

  “Ah, a scientist. Things must’ve been quite dire if a scientist calls for such a thing,” I say

  Nixal glances past me to Jix. I don’t comment on the look.

  “Please, continue,” I say and take a small bite of the meat that is on the skewer.

  “Well, we was tired of being killed and when we saw the devil himself enter the district, we knew that there was going to be hell. So it was then that Kaxon said it was now or never.

  “I see, but how did the Wolveskin become involved?” I ask.

  Nixal glances to Jix again. There’s a level of comfort that Nixal feels toward Jix. Of course; Jix is a fellow Dreg, while Sarkany and I are Roya Princes and Eliterrati. We’re part of the problem. It is Jix that keeps us safe, and in Ninaku it will be Jix that will keep Sarkany and I alive. It’ s clear to me that for us to survive and possibly even lead the Dregs that we’ll need Jix by our side.

  “Well, you see, Prince Roya—”

  “Please, call me Taraz,” I say. It’s an immediate response, and as Sarkany turns his head to me, Nixal nearly drops his skewer of rabbit leg onto the ground.

  “Well, sir…I don’t think…” He pulls his eyebrows together and shakes his head.

  “Please,” I say. “If we’re to embark on the journey together, one that risks all of our lives, please, call me Taraz.”

  A smile breaks across Lorelai’s face, and she presses an elbow into Nixal’s ribs. “I told you they was different than their Uncle. More like their mother, Goddess bless her soul, these two are.”

  “Perhaps,” Nixal nods. “Not like your brother Leo at all.” Nixal spits to his right. “No disrespect, sir, but that one, he came with the devil himself and was there when they began to kill the laundry girls. He’s sealed his own fate with that.”

  My gaze slides to Sarkany. Deep breath. Will it be possible to convince the Dregs that Leo is on our side? If he is… I’ve reached a mind-tendril out to Leo, and so has Sarkany; neither of us have received a response. Sarkany remains steadfast in his belief that Leo fights for all of us and what is best for the Kingdom. With the report from the Dreg uprising, my conviction as to Leo’s allegiance grows tenuous.

  “The Wolveskin?” I redirect the conversation and take a bite of rabbit. I pass Nixal my flask of dark liquor, hoping to ply more truth from him.

  He takes a long swig. He presses the back of his hand across his mouth wiping away droplets. “They been with us a long while. Years and years. Since before the Queen passed. No one ever said nothin’ cause we was told not to.”

  “You knew?” I ask Jix.

  “I didn’t. When he says ‘we’ I believe he means his guild,” Jix says.

  “Aye,” Nixal continues.

  “And what guild is that?” I ask.

  “Tis the Forest Guild,” Nixal says. “The very guild that your fated-mate, Meela, was to become a member of, before all this started. Before she was taken away and lost to us and now all of this that’s happened.”

  “Are there…are there any other Wolveskin-humans in Ninaku?” I ask.

  “Not that I know of. But we do have a few Wolveskins themselves,” Nixal says.

  “Fascinating,” I say. “Amazing to me that this was kept secret.”

  “There are many secrets that Dregs keep, especially those that look after the forest,” Nixal says, and slides his gaze into the darkness beyond the fire.

  “I can’t wait to hear them,” I say. “How many Wolveskin are in Ninaku?”

  “Maybe around fifty now. Meela’s father was one, but he left when the Queen was killed. Then there was Eregos…King Rex’s brother.”

  “And what do they do in Ninaku?”

  “I suppose keep track of the Eliterrati and report back to their King,” Nixal says, and takes another long swig of dark liquor. “So when the uprising happened, Kaxon, the leader of the Engineers Guild, he come to us and asked what we should do, who we should turn to. It was the leader of our guild who suggested going to the Wolveskin King. For help. He was our first stop.”

  “First stop?” I pull my eyebrows together. “Were there to be other stops?”

  Lorelai and Nixal exchange a look. Nixal holds my flask out to me. He pulls his coat tight around his body and snuggles down. “Suppose I’ve said quite enough for now,” he says. “Don’t want the liquor to take my tongue and make it wag. You’ve plenty of time to hear it all, but from mouths that are much smarter than me.” Nixal turns to his side.

  I look at Jix, who shrugs. Sarkany stands and grabs another log and tosses it onto the fire. Sparks fly up and into the darkness. The night air is much warmer now that we’ve come down the mountain. An anxious feeling travels through me with the thought of all that I don’t know. It’s easy when you’re a member of the ruling class to believe you know everything… I thought I knew everything, and yet it’s obvious I do not.

  It begins now. We are the ones without the knowledge, Sarkany thinks.

  Perhaps not without knowledge, but that there is much to learn from those around us, I think.

  Brother, it is your blessing that you look for good even in the darkness.

  I smile and roll over onto my side. I send out a tendril toward Leo, praying that I get a response. Our Tripsett is disconnected, and this fragmentation is dangerous for us all. We can’t protect Leo if we don’t connect. I close my eyes. Please Leo, I want to believe you. I want to help. Please…let me know that we still fight on the
same side.

  Nothing. Not a sound. Not a response. Nothing.

  And still you believe in him? I think.

  I am uncertain what to believe, Sarkany thinks. We must save ourselves, our little bird, and our Kingdom. And whoever wants to destroy any of those three things, I must destroy first.

  I shiver.

  And that includes anyone who might share my blood, Sarkany thinks.

  Sarkany’s words bang into my brain and hurt my heart. We are a Tripsett. The Roya Tripsett meant to rule the Kingdom as three made one through our Queen.

  But now?

  I close my eyes. Please Goddess, don’t let the one in opposition to the unity of the Kingdom be one of my Tripsett. Deep breath. I fear that regardless of my late night prayer, soon we will fight against our own blood.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Rex

  “While it is my prerogative to call the Leadership Counsel together, it’s also one of my duties as King to respond when my Alpha Female calls a counsel meeting.” My gaze sweeps the counsel chamber. A mix of onyx and topaz stones, this room is a sacred space where Wolveskin of the counsel may speak their truth. My older brother, Eregos, sits in a chair along the wall. He lifts an eyebrow and nods to me. A wicked smile curls over his face.

  My beast growls. Does my brother seek to regain what he gave up? I could require that Eregos leave the chamber, as when he abdicated his position in the royal family, he also gave up his right to sit within the chamber when the counsel is called. Instead, I nod at Eregos. It is a signal of my strength and my confidence to allow him to remain.

  At the far end of the long table, Arianna sits. Her amber-and-gold curls reach nearly to her waist. She wears a red leather vest and dark leather pants. Her strong arms are bare. Her skin is the color of copper and her eyes bright green. Freckles are sprinkled across her cheeks and nose. A chaotic wildness mixed with freedom ripples off her. I know she’s spoken to a number of counsel members in private regarding her concerns; I may be King, but I am not a fool. I sit in my chair at the head of the table, and before my ass hits the cushion, Arianna begins to speak.