The Royal Shifters Complete Series Boxed Set

by Alice Wilde

  Tall masts are visible in the distance, and it’s finally starting to dawn on me how far we’ve come and how close we are to what I hope will be a significant step toward taking back my kingdom. As long as we can get across the channel, we should be able to separate ourselves enough from Damien to make decent headway. At least, I hope so.

  Although we can see the masts of the ships, it still takes the better part of the morning to make our way to the port, which is even more crowded than the rest of the town.

  Fresh fish and various wares are being sold all along the edges of the road and men and women compete with each other to be heard above the din of the crowd. Li, Ero, and Roan have fallen into step around me, making sure we don’t get separated and protecting me from the masses.

  Roan places a hand on my shoulder as we finally approach the ships anchored at port. Li steps to the side and against a building’s wall, just out of the way of the crowds, and we follow.

  “I’ll go ahead and search out some possible options for our journey. Roan, Ero?” Li says.

  “I’ll stay here with Annalise,” Roan volunteers.

  Ero mumbles something none of us can hear.

  “What’s that?” Li says.

  “I’ll find us something to eat,” Ero says, but not without side-eyeing Roan before disappearing into the multitude, at least as much as a goliath of a man can disappear.

  “We’ll meet back here. I’ll come find you as soon as I have more information. Try not to draw attention to yourselves in the meantime.”

  Li turns and slips through the crowd as easily as a flowing river through a cut path. I continue to watch the people passing by even after Li can no longer be seen.

  “Did you mean it?”

  I had been dreading this moment but decide to feign ignorance. “What do you mean?”

  “When you told Ero it was just a kiss. Did you mean that?”

  “It was just a kiss.”

  Roan gazes out over the crowd, frowning slightly. “It was more than just a kiss to me,” he says.

  I can feel my heart starting to pound in my chest. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

  “Then what did you mean, lass?”

  “I…I just meant…”

  Roan turns his head to look at me. Our eyes meet and I have an even harder time finding my words. Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes and re-center myself.

  “I just meant that our kiss didn’t bring us any closer to danger than usual.”

  “You’re wrong to think that, lass,” Roan says quietly.

  I look up at him. A little smile plays at the corner of his mouth, but then he turns back to look out over the crowd.

  “You’re a dangerous woman, Annalise. You don’t know your own power over us.”

  “Me? How am I the dangerous one among three giant shifters?”

  “Perhaps Ero is right about the magic bonding us. But whether or not that plays a significant part in how we’re drawn to you, we can’t deny that we are. Even if some of us hate it.”

  “What are you trying to say?”

  I suddenly find myself pushed up against the wall behind me, Roan’s massive body gently pressed against mine as he looks down at me with a mischievous smile. The speed at which he was able to change his position should have startled me, but all I can think about is the way it felt to have him so close the night before.

  “Lass, if Ero and Li hadn’t been so close when we kissed, it might have been impossible to stop there,” Roan whispers, his fingers twisting a strand of my hair.

  A tingle runs down my spine at the thought of us alone. “But they were sleeping,” I say.

  “Not quite as deeply as you imagine,” Roan says with a twinkle in his eye, his cheek brushing against my own as he breathes gently, making my heart race and fire rise in my body.

  “Do you mean that you knew Ero was watching?” I say, trying to be mortified at the thought but failing as one of his hands seizes the hair on the side of my head, pulling my head gently to the side to reveal more of my neck as he begins lavishing me with soft kisses.

  Roan grins roguishly. “Of course.”

  I want to slap him for that, and I would have, too, if not for how much I am enjoying the moment.

  “You ass.”

  Ero’s voice startles me, heat rising to my cheeks as I push Roan away and turn to see Ero standing next to us. Roan laughs, and I realize he’s timed his actions and the conversation perfectly just to annoy Ero even further.

  “I found us some bread and cheese, not that food seems to be on anyone’s mind,” Ero says, obviously irritated.

  “How did you pay for it?”

  “Who said anything about paying for it?”

  “You stole it,” I say in disbelief.

  “Beggars can’t be choosers.”

  “Let it go, lass. There will be far worse to come than a bit of stolen cheese.”

  I know he’s right, but I still feel uncomfortable.

  Ero holds out a piece of cheese to me and I take it gratefully, the three of us silently munching away at the food as we wait for Li to return.

  Judging by the location of the sun, we haven’t been waiting very long, although the tension between us has certainly made it feel like it, when I finally see Li weaving through the crowd toward us.

  “I think I found something,” Li says happily, taking the remainder of the bread and cheese that Ero offers him. “It’s not going directly to Scotland, but it will take us across the channel in exchange for some manual labor. It seems the ship is short on crew.”

  “When does it leave?” says Ero.

  “Just after midday, in about an hour’s time,” Li says through a mouthful of bread. “But I don’t think we should wait to board.”

  “What kind of labor are we meant to do?” I say.

  Li looks at me with a grimace. “Don’t be angry, but I didn’t tell the captain about you. He’s an odd man, very set in superstition.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, he seems to believe women aboard a ship bring bad luck, so we’re going to have to find a way to sneak you on.”

  I look at him incredulously. “How exactly am I supposed to do that and then remain hidden for the duration of the trip?”

  “If everything goes well, it shouldn’t take more than a few hours to cross, perhaps a day at most. Besides, the captain is transporting goods, so we should be able to find a way to hide you among them.”

  “This is going to be fun,” Roan says.

  “Maybe fun for you,” I say, although inwardly I’m excited about the idea of being smuggled aboard.

  “Let’s go,” says Li.

  “After you, princess,” Ero says with a mock bow.

  We follow Li as we make our way along the docks. I’ve never actually seen ships up close before. They’re far more massive than I had ever imagined, their bows bobbing majestically far above our heads. There are small boats as well, but those appear to belong to local fishermen. We continue walking, passing ship after ship, and I’m starting to wonder where ours is when Li stops.

  “Our ship is just up ahead, but we need to proceed with caution from here. I don’t think we should be seen together with Annalise. We don’t want to raise suspicions.”

  “I don’t like the idea of leaving her alone,” Roan says.

  “Of course not,” says Ero.

  “We aren’t leaving her alone,” Li says. “Annalise, I’m going to need you to follow alone, but remain far enough away that it doesn’t seem like you know us.”

  “What am I supposed to do?”

  “Pretend to be looking for some fish or wares, whatever you can find close enough to be able to hear what’s going on. Then wait for my signal.”

  “Signal to do what?”

  “I’m not entirely sure yet. I’m hoping we’ll have some idea what goods are being loaded and where. We’ll just have to improvise.”

  My stomach is somersaulting inside me.

  “Ready?”
>
  I’m most certainly not ready, but what can I say? “Yes.”

  “Okay, good. Roan and Ero, follow me.”

  “Good luck, princess.”

  Roan squeezes me gently on the shoulder and gives me a wink before they head off down the dock without me. I want to run after them, but I don’t. This is a chance to prove that I’m capable of handling myself. I wait until I feel they’re an appropriate distance away from me to start making my way down the dock as well. There several vendor stalls set up along the way, so I pretend to examine them while keeping a watchful eye on my three companions.

  It seems Li stopped us more than a short distance away from the ship we’re supposed to be taking. It’s only when they’ve almost reached the end of the wharf that they finally stop to talk to someone. The ship moored there is far smaller than the ships we passed closer to the main waterfront. From my limited knowledge of ships, I’d guess her to be a sloop. Perhaps large enough to need a crew of twenty to thirty men.

  I’m not close enough to hear what Li is saying to the captain, so I move to another stall much nearer and pretend to admire the far-from-fresh wares the seller is animatedly trying to sell.

  “—perhaps a bit short, but that shouldn’t be a problem with the three of you.”

  “How few?” Ero says, his tone hard.

  “Please, gentleman, you have to be quick. If we don’t leave soon, there will not be another chance today.”

  “How few?” Ero repeats.

  “Around fifteen, but I can assure you, it won’t be a problem.”

  The captain is a rotund man, and even I can tell he seems unusually nervous.

  “What happened to the rest of your crew?” Li asks.

  “They are cowards, that is all you need to know. Now, please, I must set sail. I cannot wait any longer.”

  They’re setting sail earlier than we expected. Gods, what now? I push away the malodourous fish the seller is shoving in my face and step away as quickly as I can as he swears at me for wasting his time. Li is arguing with the captain on board the ship now, but whatever he’s saying is being dismissed.

  Li looks out toward me, his expression far from his usual calm. He says something, and the captain pauses in his orders to the crew. He turns back to face Li and nods his head, making a gesture I can only imagine is meant to make him hurry.

  Li makes his way back down onto the dock and then over to Roan and Ero.

  “There are still several barrels and crates that need to be brought aboard. Hurry, before the captain decides to leave them behind once again,” Li says with a meaningful look toward me and then pointing Ero and Roan toward a pile of wares before returning to the deck of the ship.

  I make my way over to the crates as quickly as I can without being noticed. Checking my surroundings, I pretend to drop something and then squeeze into the middle of the goods.

  Ero and Roan are soon standing over me. Ero grabs a barrel and Roan a crate as they look down at me.

  “Now what?”

  “I think we’re going to have to get you on board inside one of these containers,” Ero says.

  “So, what would you prefer, lass?”

  “Long and well formed,” Ero says with a raise of his eyebrow, “or short and thick?”

  “What?” I ask, shocked.

  “Pretty sure he’s alluding to the barrels and crates,” Roan says. “But I could be wrong. Although I’m pretty sure we’re holding the wrong items in that case.”

  “You wish.”

  I can barely get the next words out of my mouth, my face burning with embarrassment.

  “Barrel.”

  “You’ve chosen well, princess.”

  “Stop with the princess already,” I hiss at him.

  “As you wish…Your Highness.”

  Roan rolls his eyes, and Ero yanks the top off of the barrel as easily as if it were a child’s toy and dumps the contents out into the ocean. Wine. He bends and plucks me from the ground, carefully placing me inside the barrel.

  “Get ready for the ride of your life,” Ero says and then carefully replaces the top of the barrel, pushing it back into place but leaving enough space for air.

  It’s nearly black as pitch inside the barrel, and the scent of wine is pungent. The sensation of being moved inside a barrel is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. I’d never realized how much the ability to see changes how you experience movement. Just when I’m afraid I’ll be sick, Ero sets me down. I have no way of knowing exactly where I am, only that I’m no longer being carried.

  “Grab the last of the merchandise and we’ll be—”

  The captain doesn’t finish his sentence. I can hear men shouting but can’t quite make out what is being said.

  “Forget it! Weigh anchor! To your posts. We sail at once!”

  Men scurry about the deck and I hear the gangway scrape against the ship as we begin to pull away.

  The shouting on shore grows fainter, and the ship rocks as we crash through the waves and out to sea.

  “What was that all about?” Li asks.

  “Oh, just a bit of trouble with the French authorities. Nothing to worry about now,” says the captain as he walks away.

  “Probably something to do with the stolen wine,” Ero says.

  “Wonder what’s in the crates,” says Roan.

  “Hopefully we never have to find out,” says Li. “Better get to work. The faster we get there, the sooner we can forget this.”

  I shout as loudly as I can, but no one seems to hear. Water has started leaking in through the crack in my barrel. Wave after wave crashes over the sides of the ship.

  I can hear men yelling as they try to keep the ship on track, but my barrel continues to roll back and forth with each lurch of the vessel. My stomach turns and I want to be sick, but I swallow hard to keep from doing so. Pressing my mouth and nose to the small opening in the barrel, I try to breathe in the salty air as best I can. If I could turn my body around, I’d kick the lid of the barrel off and escape. As it is, I’m going to have to wait. This is not how I expected to die.

  “How could you not know there was a storm brewing?” Li shouts above the pandemonium.

  “Don’t turn this on me. I warned you, didn’t I?” the captain bellows. “I dare any man to say he saw the warning signs for a storm! I had to sail today and needed crew and you wanted free passage. I took you aboard and you lot have brought us misfortune.”

  “We’ve brought you misfortune?” Li growls.

  “You and your blasted companions snuck a woman aboard! Don’t you know how much bad luck you’ve brought down on us?”

  “And that gives you the right to just throw her overboard?” says Ero.

  A flash of lightning is quickly followed by the rumble of thunder as another wave surges over the side of the ship and into the crack in my barrel. I cough.

  “Ero, calm yourself,” Li yells.

  “As soon as I find her, she’s going over. The sea demands a sacrifice!”

  “Hurt her and you’ll breathe your last,” Ero roars.

  Lightning explodes once again and I hear the crack of wood and the boom of thunder all at once.

  “The mast! She’s going down,” the captain shouts.

  The boat rises beneath the swell of a titanic wave. I feel my barrel rolling with great speed and then all of the sudden nothing. A moment of emptiness and then I’m falling, plunging into the stormy sea. My head hits hard against my wooden prison and then blackness.

  Ten

  Roan

  I pull at the rigging, sweat dripping down my brow more from the heat of the sun than the strain of labor.

  “What brings you to England?”

  I glance over at the man beside me. “Thought you were supposed to be helping,” I say.

  “Not much I can do to help. So, what are the three of you doing on this ship?”

  “We just need passage across the channel.”

  “Not many would want to be associated with us, even f
or free passage.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The captain’s pretty infamous around these parts for smuggling. He’s generous when it comes to compensation, but crew don’t last long.”

  “If that’s the case, why hasn’t he been caught?”

  “Could be for a number of reasons. He only smuggles when the offer is high enough to draw him from his estate. No one knows who he really is. And he’s extremely superstitious. He won’t sail unless everything is opportune.”

  I can’t help but shake my head. “Annalise will get a good laugh out of this.”

  “Your lady?”

  “I can’t say she’s my lass. I wish she were.”

  “Perhaps she’ll take you once she knows you’ve been sailing the high seas. Many a girl will shed her dress for one night with a man of the sea.”

  “I doubt it. Besides, she already knows and hasn’t thrown herself at me yet.”

  “Ah, a French girl then. Exciting lovers.”

  “No, not French. She’s coming back to Scotland with me. Well, with us.” I smile at the thought and then I swallow and look back at the man I’ve been talking to. His tanned face has gone a deadly pale.

  “You don’t mean…she’s here? You snuck a woman onboard the ship?”

  My throat has gone dry and I can’t seem to get the words to come, my hesitation signing our fate.

  The man steps back away from me before I can move to grab him.

  “Captain!”

  “No, please.”

  He spins around and leaps down to the main deck, darting over to the captain. All I can do is watch in horror as I see the captain grasp what the man is saying and turns on Li.

  What have I done? Everything was going fine until I opened my big mouth. I don’t know what I was thinking. No, I wasn’t thinking. I forgot myself. It had finally dawned on me that in a few short days I’d be sharing my life, my family, and my home with the lass. I had let pride and the folly of my wagging tongue prevail over caution and now she would have to pay for my mistake.