The Royal Shifters Complete Series Boxed Set

by Alice Wilde

  “Li and Ero are going to kill you even if we do get out of this alive.” I laugh nervously.

  “Perhaps by then they’ll have good reason to,” Roan says with a roguish grin over his shoulder at me.

  “Ride out,” one of the other men on horseback says and we start moving.

  I hug Roan’s waist tightly as we gallop through the night. Under any other circumstance, this is exactly how I imagine running away with a lover on horseback. The full moon is rising and the stars are coming out to play as we traverse stunning landscapes in the sweet summer air.

  The ride takes longer than I expect, but when the men finally call for us to halt, I’m not ready for it to end.

  Roan dismounts with ease and then he lowers me gently to the ground.

  “Ready, lass?”

  “No.”

  “Good, neither am I.”

  One of the men motions for us to follow him and the other two fall into line beside us as we step through the last of the grassy terrain toward the forest looming before us. I can feel my pulse quicken as we approach a large tree that almost seems to shine silver in the moonlight. To either side of the tree are masses of dark, thorny thickets as far as the eye can see.

  The tree itself is far larger than any tree I’ve seen before, its branches reaching high into the sky like tendrils of silver against an inky blue night. The base of the tree is split in two, creating an archway through the trunk that leads into the dark forest beyond.

  I peer into it but can’t make out anything beyond.

  “How many people have gone in there?”

  “No one knows for sure. Many have tried and never come back. Others entered and returned mad. The last known mortal to come back alive and unscathed was one of the ancestors of the Artair clan. He entered and made a pact, resulting in nearly a century of peace between the Fae folk and humans.”

  “Once you enter, you won’t be able to return through the same gate,” one of our escorts explains. “We’ll ride to wait for you at the Southern Portal. Good luck.”

  I look up at Roan. He takes a deep breath in, closing his eyes as he does so. Breathing out slowly, he turns to me and takes my hand in his.

  “Here we go, lass. The adventure of a lifetime. Whatever happens, there’s no one I’d rather be here with.”

  I smile nervously up at him, and then we step forward together through the archway, Roan bowing his head to get through. As we continue to walk, I’m surprised to find the archway doesn’t end right away, but almost seems to keep on stretching indefinitely. I turn to look back, but there’s only darkness.

  I tighten my hold on Roan’s hand. Neither of us says anything, and I start to wonder if we’re ever going to get out of this dark tunnel when we step through something that I can only describe as a wall of dry water.

  Roan and I stop, our eyes wide as we take in what we’re seeing. While it’s still night here, the forest is aglow with beautiful, phosphorescent lights given off by mushrooms, glow bugs, and things I have no words for in any language. A white stag stops grazing long enough to lift his head and look at us before continuing to nibble at the grass. Small human-like beings peek out at us from behind rocks and vegetation, their eyes large and made perfectly for seeing at night. Perhaps they are more similar in appearance to a flying squirrel than a human.

  There’s a path that winds before us, lined with small glowing mushrooms and some kind of grass that lights up when you step on it.

  “Shall we?” Roan says, squeezing my hand reassuringly.

  “This isn’t anything like what I expected,” I say.

  “Me neither, but I suspect this is only the beginning of what we’re about to see. Stay close.”

  We stroll along the path, watching as the forest slowly changes around us. Roan was right. What we walked in on was almost like walking through a small forest town. The creatures living there are more like animals than highly intelligent beings. The trees around us have started to straighten and grow in tight, column-like rows. A phosphorescent moss hangs attractively from their branches, lighting the forest in a most ethereal way. The path Roan and I are following has begun to widen into an alleyway. The trees open up further just ahead of us.

  “Roan,” I gasp, clutching at his arm with my free hand.

  “What is it, lass?”

  “Look,” I say, pointing ahead.

  Ahead of us stands a being dressed in white from head to toe. The being motions for us to draw closer, and we do. I’m surprised to find upon walking near that the being is male, his features almost too beautiful to confine to a single gender. Everything about him is a pale glowing white, as though he were simply made from different waves of light.

  He’s significantly taller than Roan. I should be terrified of him, but I’m not. He looks down at us with eyes just as white and glowing as the rest of him.

  “Roan,” he says, his voice more beautiful than anything I’d ever heard. “You’ve come at last.”

  “I didn’t know I was expected,” Roan says.

  “And you’ve brought your mate. How interesting.”

  The man watches me for a long moment, but nothing about him alarms me. There is no animosity directed toward me, just complete and utter curiosity.

  “She’s not my mate,” Roan says carefully.

  The man slowly turns his gaze back to Roan. “No, not yet. But she will be.”

  Roan shifts uncomfortably, unsure of how to respond.

  “What is this place?” I ask, hoping to turn the topic away from mating.

  “This is one of the Seelie Courts,” the being says, turning and almost seeming to glide away from us. “Follow.”

  Roan and I hurry to keep up with him.

  The trees open up around us and we find ourselves walking through a beautiful forest city. Everything seems to be lit from within.

  “How does anyone sleep here?” I murmur to myself.

  “Sleep is a mortal ritual,” the man leading us says. “We do not need it in the same way you do, but there are ways to do so if we choose.”

  I bite my tongue to keep from asking more questions aloud and satisfy myself with soaking in everything I can. I’ve never seen anything this beautiful.

  “What should we call you?” Roan asks.

  “My name cannot be spoken by mortals. You may refer to me as Kai.”

  The further we walk through the city of light, the more beings we encounter like Kai. They are all just as stunning, graceful, and full of light as he is, but not quite as tall. Some watch us with a calm curiosity, but most simply continue on with their own existence.

  “I am taking you to the High Court. We will arrive momentarily.”

  It’s impossible to feel fear here. Kai’s words would make me nervous if they were said anywhere else, but here, it’s merely a statement. Just the way things are, nothing more or less.

  We are led up to a set of tall, narrow doors. Kai pushes them open and we step into a circular hall with a ceiling so high we might as well be outside. A soft, pale gold intertwines with the brilliant white of the room. Kai motions for us to stop in the center of the hall, and then he moves to stand on a ring that rims the edge of the room. As soon as he does, the walls of the room almost seem to drop down around us, as if the very floor we were standing on was being hurled upward into the sky. There’s no rush of wind, only the sensation of movement, and then the room stands still once again.

  In front of us are two white stairways that lead to a small platform, Kai climbs it to take his place in the middle of four other beings.

  “Welcome to the High Court,” Kai says, raising his hands toward us and bowing his head slightly. The other four simply nod their heads at us.

  “You’ve come to us to seek passage to the Southern Portal, have you not?”

  “Yes, if that’s possible,” Roan says.

  “All is possible,” Kai says. “But not all things are easy.”

  “Why have you brought us to the High Court?” I ask.


  Kai looks at me. “Because of you. You are not of Clan Artair. The truce once made between Fae and humans only grants safe passage to the Artair clan.”

  “I see,” I say calmly. In my mind I know I should be scared, but I’m not.

  Kai fixes his gaze on Roan. “No harm will come to her while she remains in the Seelie Courts, but I cannot speak for our fallen brothers. If you insist on taking her with you through the Fae lands, the truce will be broken between your clan and the Fae. They will not be able to harm you while you’re here, but once you return to your own lands, there will be great turmoil between us once again.”

  “What are you suggesting?” Roan says.

  “We will give you the same choice we give all who are drawn to this court,” Kai says. “She is welcome to stay here, becoming one of our own until her mortal death.”

  “Out of the question,” Roan says, his voice rigid.

  “The second option is to continue on, just as you planned.”

  “That’s really not much of a choice,” Roan growls.

  “And the third choice is to marry her here in the High Court, making her part of your clan and keeping the truce agreed upon intact.”

  Not even the peace of the Seelie Courts can keep my heart from leaping out of my chest at the proposal.

  “But, I’m already married,” I say.

  Kai’s white eyes once again turn toward me, a long silence ensues.

  “It wasn’t consummated.”

  “Would we have to consummate it?” Roan asks, his voice wavering.

  “Our laws are not so primal,” Kai says. “However, a vow taken in the Seelie Courts by a mortal cannot be broken without dire consequence, in this land or yours.”

  Roan clenches his jaw in thought for a moment before taking my other hand in his and turning me to face him.

  “Annalise, I swear to you, I did not bring you here knowing any of this. I will leave this choice up to you. If you do not want me or you’d rather stay here, say so. But if you take me as your husband, I will follow you for the rest of your days.”

  “Did you just propose to me?”

  Roan pauses, a soft smile forming on his face. “Yes, lass. We may never be able to be man and wife in the ways we desire, but I will be true to you and only you if you will be my wife.”

  My heart is beating hard within my chest. “What about your family? Damien? The others? Doesn’t it bother you that I’ll be bound to multiple men?”

  “No. I can’t promise to always be happy about it, but I can accept it. As long as I am one of them.”

  I smile up at Roan, a warmth flooding through me unlike any I’ve ever felt before. This is how blissful I had always imagined I’d be on my wedding day. Although this isn’t quite how I had thought it would come about.

  Now, here I am, standing in a Fae court, wearing dirty clothes and unkempt hair experiencing happiness far greater than any I had ever known.

  “Yes.”

  Roan’s emerald eyes almost seem to sparkle with joy as he looks deep into my own. He draws me to him and we kiss deeply, my heart singing.

  I feel a cold but searing pain on my ring finger.

  “It is done,” Kai says.

  Roan and I pull away from each other and look down at our hands to find a small band of light entwined around each of our ring fingers. We turn to face the High Court once again.

  “On behalf of all Fae folk, the High Court welcomes the laird and lady of Clan Artair.”

  All five of the tall beings bow their heads at us.

  “You may now traverse the Fae lands without harm. The bands of light around your fingers are a symbol of your vows. They will only glow in moonlight, but they will do so for the rest of your lives,” Kai says. “I warn you, Roan, do not break the vows you made this day. There are far worse things than death.”

  “I have no intention of doing so.”

  “No, you do not, but there will be great trials ahead…for both of you. You may stay in the Seelie Courts for as long as you like. However, when you are ready to leave, simply continue to follow the path. Once you have left this place, you will encounter a crossroad. Keep straight. Do not stray from the path. You will have to walk through the Unseelie Courts to get to the Southern Portal. They cannot harm you, but there are other ways of tormenting humans. We wish you good fortune, and an heir.”

  Roan and I are greeted once again with the sensation of movement as the floor lowers away from the members of the High Court. Exiting the building, we stop and look around.

  “Did that just happen?”

  “I think so,” Roan says. “I’ll be disappointed if it didn’t.”

  He pulls me to him once again and kisses me. I wish he’d never let me go. Roan presses his forehead to mine and carefully tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear.

  “I guess we should probably get going, unless it’s okay for us to let Li and Ero sort themselves out.”

  “You’re terrible,” I say.

  “You’re terrible, husband,” Roan says, correcting me with a wink.

  I swat at him playfully, but he dodges it with ease.

  “Let’s go,” I say, laughing as we make our way back to the path.

  As we are making our way out of the city, Roan pauses, forcing me to stop as well.

  “I had a thought. Give me a minute.”

  I watch as Roan bounds over to speak to one of the nearby Fae. The conversation doesn’t last very long, but it seems to make Roan excited.

  “Lass, have you noticed how time seems to feel…slower here? Almost as if we were the only ones moving at a normal speed.”

  “I’d noticed something was different.”

  “Well, it’s because time is moving slower here. An hour spent here is only half that in our own lands,” Roan says.

  “Okay, so where are you going with this?”

  “What if we spent a bit more time here than we were planning? We’d still be able to make it back to the castle in plenty of time.”

  The offer is tempting, but I honestly don’t know what we’d do here among these otherworldly beings.

  “I don’t think we should,” I say. “I don’t want to lose track of time here, at least in our own world we can tell the time of day.”

  Roan’s face falls in disappointment, but he is quick to compose himself. “You’re right. I was being selfish.”

  He offers his hand to me and I take it as we finally make our way out of the Seelie Courts and back toward our own realm.

  It doesn’t take us long to reach the crossroad, each road leading off into completely different areas. The way straight ahead leads into darkness while the road to our left winds through forests far greener than any I’ve ever seen. Gnomes and other woodland Fae can be seen flitting through the flora and fauna. The path to our right soon disappears into a crystal blue water, and I just make out the shape of a merfolk’s tail disappearing beneath the waves. I’m starting to wonder how many portals there are connecting the Fae lands to our own.

  “I can’t believe this actually exists,” I say in awe.

  “Are you ready to face the Unseelie Courts, my bonnie lass?”

  “As ready as I can be.”

  “I’ve heard tales of these folk. If you start to see something you wish not to, close your eyes. I’ll lead you through it.”

  “And what am I supposed to do you if you see something?”

  “I suppose that will lead to the blind leading the blind, won’t it?”

  I snort, trying to keep myself from laughing. “I’m being serious,” I say.

  “If that happens, we’ll stop and refocus. We just have to remember they can’t really hurt us as long as we stay on the path. Whatever they say or do is just lies meant to torment us.”

  “Okay. Let’s do this.”

  Roan rolls his shoulders and holds my hand tighter as we walk forward into the gloomy darkness ahead.

  Roan runs his fingers through my hair, his lips slowly making their way down my neck. The tip
of his nose drags gently against my skin, sending shivers of electricity down my spine. He pushes me gently to the ground, straddling my hips with his own as he continues to kiss me. His fingertips gently graze my collar bone as they slip beneath my high neckline.

  “I want you,” Roan whispers. “I don’t want to wait any longer.”

  Before I can protest, his hands have seized the neckline of my dress and torn it down the middle.

  “How am I supposed to be able to wear this later?” I ask in shock.

  “You won’t need it later.”

  “Oh really? And what am I supposed to do? Show up naked before your sister?”

  “Suits me just fine,” Roan teases, his fingers gently tracing the bit of bare skin now visible down the center of my chest to my navel. “I’ll give you my shirt if it bothers you that much.”

  Roan slips his hand beneath the fabric, taking my breasts in his hands and I moan, forgetting all about the dress. His hands leave my breasts wanting as they make their way up to my shoulders where he proceeds to push the fabric of my dress down around them, exposing my breasts to him. He looks without touching for a moment before leaning down to kiss me softly on the mouth.

  “You’re beautiful, lass.”

  He shifts, one hand cupping my breast while his mouth finds the other. Roan’s tongue flicks back and forth over my nipple, a throbbing ache starting between my legs. His fingers gently rub and tug at my nipple as he continues to use his mouth to suck and pull at the other one. Shifting his weight, he begins to pleasure the opposite breast with his mouth, but this time his hand slips beneath my dress and between my legs faster than I can react. My eyes flutter shut in anticipation.

  “You’re mine now, wife.”

  My stomach twists and my eyes fly open. It’s no longer Roan, but Damien on top of me, tearing away at my dress as he readies himself to enter me.

  I scream.

  “Annalise, please. I need you to focus on my voice. You need to wake up!”

  I slowly open my eyes, my body shaking uncontrollably, and look up into Roan’s worried face.

  “What did you see?” Roan asks, carefully wiping the cold sweat from my brow.

  “I…I saw Damien. He tried to force himself on me, and then I woke up.”