The Shifter’s Prisoner

by T. S. Ryder

  ***

  The palace was resplendent. It was made from a cream-colored brick – quartz if Julia wasn't mistaken. It actually glittered in the sunlight. The inside was no less beautiful, richly decorated in warm colors, including a red carpet. The trimmings were dark, contrasting nicely with the golden frames that held portraits of old monarchs.

  Julia smoothed the front of her new uniform. She had, ridiculously, expected some sort of sexy French maid outfit that would chafe her thighs as she walked and would only be good for the prince to flip out of the way when he wanted a girl. Instead, she found herself wearing sensible slacks paired with a white button-down top and a black skinny tie. Not bad, as far as uniforms go.

  The HR manager who had hired her, Fredrick, stopped at a locked door and pressed a buzzer. Julia stopped fidgeting with her uniform and shifted Henry to her other hip. Beside the door was a big window that showed a large room full of toys and children. At six months, Henry was just old enough to be taken in at the palace daycare while she worked. Even better, nobody seemed to find it odd when she told them that he was half Dragon Shifter. The kingdom, Enderby, was ruled by the Dragoness Queen Maria, as were all the neighboring kingdoms, and there were plenty of lower-class Dragons to be Henry's potential father.

  "We have an adult for every two children from the ages two to four," Fredrick said as they waited for the door to be answered. "For those under two, we provide one-on-one attention to make sure that they get the care they need."

  Julia nodded. "I read the pamphlet."

  Fredrick smiled warmly at her. "I understand. It's just a lot of moms have trouble dropping their children off for the first time. It's why we like you to come in early, so you can see the daycare and how it's run before you start work."

  Another nod. Julia took a deep breath as the door opened. A round-faced woman with bright eyes greeted them and ushered them inside. After introducing herself, she took them to meet the woman who would be Henry's caregiver while Julia worked. She was a gray-haired woman with soft eyes and a gentle way about her. Still, handing over her precious baby made Julia's throat close over. What if something happened? What if they found out the truth?

  "We'll page you if anything goes wrong," the daycare leader said, catching her expression. "And remember that you can come see your little one at any time. You have your identification?"

  Julia pulled the lanyard out of her pocket. "I just have to show this, right?"

  "Yes. We can also add fingerprint scanning if you're especially worried."

  "No." Julia managed a smile. "It looks like you have good security here. I'm not worried about anything."

  With one final kiss to Henry's forehead, she let Fredrick lead her away. She had already talked with the daycare staff thoroughly and was confident her boy was in good hands. It didn't make it easier to walk away, though. The past six months had been tumultuous at best, and she had never left Henry in anybody else's care.

  "My two girls are in there as well," Fredrick told her with a smile. "Don't worry, we have a carefully vetted staff."

  "Yeah. Well, we're working for royalty. You'd have to." Julia let out a deep sigh.

  Luckily for her, she didn't have any sort of criminal record and she kept her internet profiles clean of any sort of anger towards the royal family. Not that she had anything bad to say about Queen Maria. In her opinion, if Maria could live forever, that would be just fine. It was her son that Julia had issues with. And it was him she was going to bring down.

  "Natalie will be training you," Fredrick said as he took her to a back room that contained a computer, filing cabinets, and lists upon lists hanging on the walls. Sitting at a desk was a cute, chubby-cheeked blonde. She chewed on her pinky finger as they came in. Fredrick gestured between them. "Nat, this is Julia. Julia, Natalie. Natalie's in charge of all the housekeeping staff."

  "Pleased to meet you," Natalie said. "Ready to start?"

  Julia smiled, trying not to show her nerves. "Of course. I've worked in the hospitality sector since I was fourteen. My CPR is up to date, I've got training in food safety and disposal of hazardous waste, as well as the proper use of cleaning agents and—"

  Natalie laughed and shook her head. "Yes, I saw your resume. My goodness, you are ready. That will make things much easier. There is some paperwork for you to fill out and then we can put you to work right away."

  "I'll leave you ladies to it, then." Fredrick nodded. "If you have any questions, feel free to ask any of the senior staff."

  "I will. Thank you." Julia glanced around the room again as the HR manager left. "This is smaller than all the other rooms I've seen here so far."

  Natalie shrugged. "You'll find that everything else in the palace is big. It's so that they can Shift if they need to. The royal family and the generals, I mean. They're all Dragons, you know. It's been a while since the queen has Shifted, but I've heard tell she measured thirty feet to the shoulder in her prime."

  Something fluttered in Julia's stomach. If she hadn't been here on a mission, she would have been more excited to be so close to actual Dragons. She had seen air shows put on by the royal guard from time to time and often dreamed of flying on the back of a Dragon, but had never met one in real life. Some guys liked to pretend they were Dragons in the bars, but they couldn't even produce a puff of smoke, let alone anything else.

  "You have a little boy, right?" Natalie asked as she pulled out some paperwork.

  "Yeah. He's mine. Finally."

  "Finally?" Natalie arched a brow. "Sign here."

  Julia signed where the other woman pointed. "He was my best friend's baby but she . . . she passed shortly after she gave birth. Her family wanted to take him after cutting her off entirely for getting pregnant in the first place. I wasn't about to let such toxic people have him. The legal battles have been horrible, but in the end, I won and they've been forbidden from questioning my custody again. So he's my boy."

  "And initial here." Natalie pointed, then sighed. "You're very brave, fighting like that. You must love him very much."

  "He's the light of my life. I'd do anything for him."

  "Well, I don't have a baby, but I do have a little niece whom I babysit from time to time. Maybe we should have some play dates." Natalie smiled brightly as she stacked the papers again. "That's all for now. I'll give you a quick tour and get you started."

  She led Julia from the room, crossing from the giant hallway to one that was more reasonably sized. It was also more modestly decorated, and Julia figured this one must be for the cleaning staff. So that the royal family's visitors didn't have to run into them, no doubt. Julia saw that there were a lot of closets. Did the prince like to drag women into them while they were trying to work?

  "We'll be starting you off on simple tasks in only a few rooms so you don't get overwhelmed at first. You'll find that we encourage a sense of community in our staff. We want everybody to be happy, but there are strict rules that you have to follow."

  "Of course." Julia jogged to keep up with the petite blonde's steps. "So . . . Do you think I'll meet the royal family? Not the queen, of course. I heard she's mostly on bed rest these days but, the prince—"

  Natalie stopped and gave her a dark look that didn't suit her childlike features. "That is one of the rules. Stay away from him. We will not have our staff fall in love with the prince. I've been here almost ten years. I've seen girls fall hard and become violent when he rejects them. Besides, servants could never become queen."

  "I don't want to be queen."

  "Good. So keep your distance. Understood?"

  Julia snorted. "Trust me, I have no intention of falling in love with him."

  No, the plan was to get him to fall in love with her. She was pretty, she knew that. Her curves were in all the right places, with a fairly flat stomach paired with large, bouncing breasts and a round, tight ass. Guys fell for her all the time, and if she played her cards right, Benjamin would be one of them. And then she would rip out his heart and stomp all
over it like he had done to Cynthia.

  And then, maybe, Julia would finally find some peace.

  Chapter Two – The Prince

  A haze of smoke followed him out of the meeting room, a gray billow that attested to the heightened emotions of the people he left behind. Benjamin scowled at the thick scent clinging to him. This was what he got from meeting with other Dragons in an enclosed space. It had been a calculated risk, though. Meeting with the council of generals always ended up in strong feelings. Sticking them all in a small space forced the meeting to be cut short because of all the smoke choking them.

  Benjamin was pleased with himself, though. He had kept his fire under control the whole time, so none of the smoke was his. He rolled his shoulders and stretched his neck, glad it was over. He had an hour before he met with the building committee to discuss the budget for the construction of a new highway just outside the city. If he took half an hour to shower, it still gave him time to go visit his mother.

  She was sitting at her window, dressed in a comfortable-looking outfit, hands clasped over her knees. It always seemed so wrong to see her in a wheelchair. The past year had been hard on her and being bedridden had stolen her strength. She smiled warmly at her son as he dropped to one knee beside her to give her a hug.

  "Ah, there's my little scale-spot," she said, brushing his hair to one side. "You need to get a haircut."

  "Mother," Benjamin started with a frown.

  Maria waved a hand and shook her head. "Ignore me, Benjamin. It's hard for me to realize that you're a grown man sometimes. Now. Tell me what exciting things you have been up to."

  Benjamin settled in a chair nearby. "Just daily business, mostly. I've commissioned a new artist for this year's Rose Day. An unknown. I found her work online and thought she could use a break."

  Maria shook her head. "A new artist for Rose Day. Announcing a living payment to all citizens, regardless of employment status. Restoring the bridge at Swan River. These are all things that I can find out by turning on the news. I don't want updates about the kingdom. I want to hear about you."

  "Mother, there really isn't anything to tell you about. I've been busy running the kingdom. Nothing else."

  "Benjamin."

  He shrugged, uncertain what she wanted him to say. "I've started reading Oscar Wilde's biography. I'm thinking of perhaps seeing a movie soon."

  The queen stared at him for a long moment and Benjamin resisted the urge to shift in his seat. He might be the crown prince and a powerful Dragon warrior in his own right, but there was still something about his mother that made him feel like he wasn't quite as grown up as he ought to be. Still, he held her gaze and tried to keep his expression smooth.

  "I was thinking of making the property we have out in the west into a protected park and turning the winter palace into a hotel. We never use it anyway, and—"

  "And this girl you've hired for Rose Day. Is she the same young woman who I heard left your room early this morning?"

  Benjamin froze.

  "Heather told me that you brought her into your room, and only a few hours later put her back into the hallway. She didn't even have her socks on. Now. Are you going to tell me what happened?"

  His shoulders slumped. "It wasn't like that. I had a girl, yeah, but she dressed before she left. She had sandals, she didn't put them on before she left but that was because she didn't want to wake anyone up. I'm not a cad, Mother. I let the girls know exactly what to expect before I let them into my room and if they seem like they're going to be too attached—"

  "Benjamin."

  He pulled back, his hands clenched. "Mother. Every other Dragon in this palace has lovers coming in and out of his or her bedroom. It's not like I'm doing anything that anybody else isn't. And I'm not tricking them. I make sure that they know I'm only after a single night of fun – that's all."

  His mother narrowed her eyes further. "Do you think that these excuses are a justification for your behavior? Maybe you are doing what everybody else is doing, but you are not everybody else. You are the crown prince and future king. Your actions make the whole kingdom weaker."

  "It shouldn’t!" Benjamin shook his head. "This is my business. My life. I might owe this kingdom a lot of things and maybe my life does belong to the kingdom, but until I am king, I am going to have some things that I do for myself. If that makes me selfish, then I guess I'm selfish."

  "Are you quite done?" Maria arched a brow.

  Benjamin grunted.

  "You know exactly why this isn't just about you. Selfish? Perhaps not, but you can't afford to be selfish anyway. It's doubtful that I'm going to recover from whatever this is—"

  "Don't say that. You're strong and you'll get over this."

  "—and you are going to find yourself with more and more responsibilities. You have to think about your future as well as the kingdom's reputation. I'm too tired to be queen anymore, but I can't abdicate and allow you to be king when you are still behaving like this."

  Her words cut out any argument Benjamin had. He swallowed hard, taking in the papery quality of her skin, her sunken eyes and the exhaustion ringing them. It was true that he was already king in all but name since she was unable to fulfill her duties.

  Maria sighed. "I don't want to order you to marry, Benjamin. But if you would at least court a young lady, it would be one thing less for me to worry about."

  What was he meant to say to that? The thought of marrying just for the sake of having a wife and queen left his blood cold. His fire rebelled against the idea. To spend his life with someone he didn't care for, someone he would share his bed with but live a separate life . . .

  "I'll start looking," he promised. "But I can't say it will happen quickly . . . or that I will stop bringing women to my room until I have an idea whom I will pursue."

  Maria still didn't look happy, but she nodded. "It will do for now. Now, my little sunspot, call Heather. I'm feeling dizzy and think I ought to lie down."

  Benjamin nodded. Heather, Maria's maid, entered from a side door and he couldn't help but think she had been listening to this whole time. He wheeled his mother to her bed and helped lift her into it while Heather prepared her medicine. He kissed Maria's forehead before he left her room. His heart was heavy as he glanced at his watch. Forty-five minutes until his next meeting.

  That left him fifteen minutes to spare.

  The creak of wheels caught his attention. A woman dressed in a housekeeper's uniform wheeled her cart down the hallway, a map in one hand. Her brows were pinched together and she didn't seem to notice him there. The housekeepers weren't permitted in these hallways. There was a specially designated one for them, but it wasn't uncommon for newbies to get themselves lost.

  Fifteen minutes. Benjamin eyed the woman, considering. She was a dark-haired beauty with a generous hourglass shape that hardly looked natural. She was somewhat more slender than he usually liked, though he could still see her muscle definition. No, he couldn't . . . It was against his personal policy to seduce housekeepers while they were working . . . He usually preferred to seduce them after work . . . Although he had fifteen minutes and he did need something to settle his nerves.

  "Hey." He gave her his best grin as she jumped. "Lost?"

  "I am, yes — oh!" Her eyes widened, jaw-dropping. Her complexion actually paled a little, and Benjamin sighed. He didn't like it when people feared him. The housekeeper ran a hand down her front. "You're the prince."

  "I am. And you don't have to look at me like I'm going to bite you. What's your name?" He leaned forward and inhaled, looking for any scent that indicated she was in a committed relationship. There was no scent of a man around her.

  "Julia."

  "Well, Julia . . . There's some cleaning that needs to be done in my room and—"

  "Um . . . " Her face reddened. "I can't."

  Benjamin rose a brow.

  "I don't have clearance to be in the royal rooms. I shouldn’t even be here. I just got lost . . . I'm new," she
blurted out. She took a deep breath and looked him up and down. For a moment she looked angry, and she put her hands on her hips. "Besides, I was warned to stay away from you. I'm not in the habit of dropping my pants for my employer."

  Benjamin's jaw hung slack. "Wait, that's not what I meant."

  "Sure it wasn't."

  Well, apparently she had him all figured out. At least she thought she did. It was odd: people, especially employees, usually treated him with more deference. He stepped back and held up his hands. "I'm sorry if I offended you."

  She huffed, putting a hand on her hip as she cocked it out. The movement puffed out her breasts and, if he didn't know better, he'd have thought she was trying to entice him. His nostrils flared again. Baby powder. She smelled like baby powder.

  "I have to get back to work . . . my lord." She ducked her head and the red in her cheeks increased. "I apologize if I said something I shouldn’t have."

  "Don't worry about it. I suppose my intentions weren't exactly honorable." He winked, loving how her skin turned even redder.

  "Thank you for your . . . interest. But I'm not . . . I have to go," she stumbled.

  Benjamin stepped aside and let her pass, smirking as she did. Those tight pants showed off her heart-shaped ass to perfection. His mouth watered. Considering everything that was going on – his mother's illness, the strain he was under trying to rule a kingdom and now the need to marry hanging over his head – he could use a distraction.

  "Are you sure? I've got fifteen minutes. No pants-dropping."

  She stopped and stared at him. A strangled noise escaped her mouth and for a moment he thought he saw desire flare in her eyes. Without a word, she continued away, and Benjamin let her go. A hunt was just what he needed.

  And Julia was going to be a delicious hunt.

  Chapter Three – The Game Begins