The Royal Shifters Complete Series Boxed Set

by Alice Wilde

  “Done.”

  Ero carefully picks through the rocks, tossing most of them aside before placing the remainder around the dirt pit he’d created earlier.

  “Why didn’t you use those?” I ask, pointing to the discarded rocks.

  “Most of the rocks you found were sitting in puddles or wet earth, were they not?” Ero asks.

  “Yes, but I don’t see why it matters if they’re dirty or not.”

  “It matters if they’re damp,” Ero says. “If you surround a fire with wet rocks, they can spit hot water or even fracture from the high temperature.”

  “Oh, I didn’t know,” I say, my face growing hot with embarrassment.

  “I know, princess,” Ero says with a wink at me.

  My mouth falls open as I realize why his pet name bothers me as much as it does. It’s his way of reminding me of my place in life. Reminding me that I was born a princess and know little of the ways of the real world, or at least that’s what he probably thinks.

  “Why didn’t you tell me instead of letting me waste my time?” I ask, trying to keep my tone from revealing the anger rising in me.

  “You didn’t ask,” Ero says.

  I stare at him blankly for a long moment, unsure of how to respond.

  “How was I supposed to know to ask if there was a certain kind of rock?” I finally respond.

  “You weren’t.”

  Ero continues to watch me in silence as I contemplate what he’s said.

  “I don’t understand,” I say. “Were you trying to embarrass me?”

  “Not at all, princess,” Ero says. “I just wanted to let you try things out on your own first. How can you do that if everyone just tells you what to do all the time?”

  “But it would have saved us time.”

  “Perhaps. But aren’t you more likely to remember which rocks to use now than if I had just told you?”

  I look down at my dirty hands, mulling over his words. Ero might be on to something, but it’s an unusual concept for me to try to accept.

  I’d spent most of my life having people do everything for me or telling me exactly what to do. As a princess, there was little room for error and mistakes were frowned upon. Even now, having made such a small mistake, I feel angry and frustrated with myself instead of just accepting and learning from it.

  My chest tightens as my eyes begin to burn. I don’t know why my reaction to doing something incorrectly is bothering me so much, but it is.

  “What’s wrong?” Ero asks, tucking a finger beneath my chin so that he can raise my face toward his own and sending tingles down my spine. “This isn’t something to cry over. Anyone could have made that mistake.”

  “I know,” I say, my words coming out in a choked whisper. “I just…I can’t afford to make errors. I’m supposed to be a queen…to save my people, but look at me. I can’t even start a fire on my own!”

  Ero raises an eyebrow, his face twitching as he tries not to laugh.

  “You’re going to make mistakes, princess. There’s no use getting worked up over it, especially over making a fire,” Ero says.

  “You’re no comfort at all.”

  “I know. Now, how about we finish building the fire?”

  I nod and quickly wipe away the single tear that’s managed to find its way down my cheek, refocusing on the task at hand.

  It doesn’t take long for Ero to finish building the fire, and I listen carefully as he explains each step along the way.

  “See, it’s not that hard,” Ero says as he leans back from the hot flames.

  I keep my mouth shut. Ero made it look simple, and he is a surprisingly good teacher, but I’m positive I’ll do something wrong if I ever have to start a fire on my own. Staring into the flames, I wonder how I’ll ever succeed as a queen and shiver at the thought.

  “Come here,” Ero says.

  I look over my shoulder at him but don’t move.

  “I won’t bite…unless you want me to,” he says with a smirk.

  I throw a twig at him, but he easily swats it away and then reaches for me.

  “Hands off!”

  Ero pauses mid-movement, but then he grabs me and pulls me to his side, pressing me against him. I want to be mad at him for not listening to me, but then the warmth of his body washes over me, chasing the chill of the evening air away in the space of a moment and I sink into him instead.

  “You need to learn when to accept help,” Ero says. “Being a leader doesn’t mean doing everything yourself, and it certainly doesn’t mean you have to be perfect.”

  “You sound like Li.”

  “You’re right. He’s said the same thing to me a thousand times over, and I still don’t pay attention to his advice. But even I can admit when Li is right…sometimes,” Ero says. “Warmer?”

  “Yes.”

  Ero wraps his arms tightly around me, but even as close as our bodies are, it still feels as though we are worlds apart.

  We sit for a long time, watching the fire in silence. I think over what Ero has said and all that has happened over the past few weeks. The sky has grown dark and the stars make their appearance, a soft summery-scented breeze brushing over me, and I find myself suddenly aware of Roan’s absence once again.

  “Why does it irritate you that Roan and I spend so much time together?”

  I can feel Ero’s body stiffen slightly at the inquiry and immediately worry he’ll pull away from me. Instead, Ero just remains silent for several minutes.

  “I’m worried something will happen.”

  “You don’t trust him?”

  “I don’t trust you.”

  I look up at him as best I can from my position pinned against his side, my face full of confusion.

  “You don’t understand the ways of the world, or men, princess. How am I supposed to trust you?”

  “I haven’t done anything wrong!”

  “I never said you did.”

  “Then what is there not to trust?”

  “You don’t see the way Roan looks at you, like a puppy waiting to do his master’s bidding.”

  “You are jealous.”

  “I’m concerned, that’s all,” Ero says calmly. “The more time he spends alone with you, the less safe we all are.”

  His words bother me, but I don’t want to believe him. Roan and I have grown very fond of each other, but Ero’s description of our relationship is absurd. How would Roan have been able to leave without me earlier this evening if he wasn’t capable of being apart from me?

  I open my mouth to give Ero a piece of my mind when he suddenly rolls over on top of me, nearly crushing me under his weight.

  “What are you—”

  My heart freezes as Ero’s lips press against mine just as there’s a deafening roar from somewhere nearby. The next second, Ero’s body is torn from my own in a blur of fur, fangs, and claws.

  “Ero!” I scream as I scramble to my feet, but a hand grabs my shoulder to keep me still.

  I look up into Li’s face.

  “Let them fight; it’s better this way.”

  It’s only now that I realize Ero was attacked by Roan, not some wild animal. I take a deep breath in relief as my legs give out beneath me. But instead of collapsing to the ground, Li catches me and places me gently down on the grass.

  “How about something to eat?” Li offers, trying but failing to distract me from the fight.

  They’ve both shifted into their leopards and from what I can tell, they are fighting to the death. Large tufts of fur are floating in the air and I can smell the scent of blood.

  “Li, you have to stop them. They’ll kill each other!”

  “It’ll be over soon.”

  “Not before one of them is dead!”

  “Patience, Annalise. Trust me.”

  I want to pull my hair out in frustration, but as soon as I have decided that these men are all useless, the fighting stops. Roan’s and Ero’s leopards pant and snarl at each other, both sweaty and bleeding, but they are
no longer in the heat of battle.

  Roan growls fiercely at Ero before lumbering off into the woods. I half expect Ero to follow after him, but instead, he shifts back into his human form and I am left staring at his completely naked body as he walks back toward me to collect his clothes. I’ve never seen this much of any of them…not even Roan.

  I close my gaping mouth and avert my eyes as soon as I realize what I’m doing, but not before Ero notices and winks at me.

  “Put your clothes on,” Roan barks angrily as he steps out of the forest fully dressed. “Annalise doesn’t want to see that.”

  “What did I say?” Ero says, directing the comment toward me with a shrug as I venture another glance, and I can’t help but think he might be right.

  Roan sits down beside me, placing his arm around my shoulders.

  “Sorry, lass. I wouldn’t have left you with that idiot if I had any choice, but I didn’t think it would be safe to take you with me.”

  “Where did you go?”

  “I went back to see things for myself.”

  “You went all the way back home?” I ask incredulously.

  “Li tried to stop me, but we both agreed it would be better to know what we might be up against.”

  “You were supposed to talk to him, not convince him to distrust Ero,” I say, glaring at Li. “I hope you found out something worth all this trouble.”

  “We did,” Li says. “Ero was right. Roan’s home doesn’t seem to have been attacked at all.”

  “So, what now?”

  “We keep moving forward with our plan. There’s no use going back now,” says Li. “The two of you need to clean your wounds. I’ll prepare dinner.”

  I don’t know when Li managed to find food, but he pulls a loaf of bread from a bag I hadn’t noticed him carrying previously, as well as a bit of cheese and some dried meat. He quickly divvies each of the items up among us and we sit in silence around the fire as we eat.

  “Why aren’t we going back?” I ask as we finish our meal.

  Li glances over at me. “If we go back now, we’ll waste even more time than we already have, and there’s no telling how long they’ll try to make us stay. Besides, our agreement with them was to find a way to deal with the Vikings.”

  “But if we don’t go back, won’t Roan and I have a harder time getting them to trust us when we return?”

  “Perhaps, but I think our best bet at getting them to see us in a positive light again is to make good on our deal.”

  I don’t like the idea of leaving Roan’s family thinking we’ve been ungrateful and have deserted them, but I can understand Li’s point. And we can’t afford to waste more time than is necessary.

  Ero agrees to take first watch as Li, Roan, and I find comfortable spots to lie down.

  “Tired, lass?” Roan whispers in my ear as I curl up with my back against him.

  “A bit.”

  “I’ll try not to leave you alone like that again.”

  “I wasn’t alone.”

  “I know, but I should have guessed Ero would try something if I weren’t around.”

  I sit up and turn to face Roan.

  “Ero didn’t try to do anything!”

  “Oh, so kissing you doesn’t mean anything?” Roan asks, his voice low and hard.

  “I…I don’t know what that was.”

  I know Ero’s a huge flirt, but I’m not entirely sure why Ero did that. Unless…

  “I think he was just trying to get a reaction out of you,” I say, looking down at the ground nervously.

  “Why would you say that, lass?”

  “While you were gone, Ero mentioned that he thought we were becoming too attached.”

  I look up as Roan makes a gesture across the campsite at Ero but not fast enough to see what it was. Roan’s jaw is tight as he turns his attention back to me.

  “And what do you think?”

  “I think he might be right,” I say quietly. “We’ve barely spent a moment apart, Roan. Not that I want to, but I need Ero’s and Li’s help just as much as I need yours and we can’t afford to be alienating them.”

  “So, I’m supposed to just be okay with them kissing you?” Roan growls.

  “I didn’t say that, but things were different before.”

  “Yes, but we weren’t married before…You weren’t mine,” Roan says as he places a hand gently on my knee.

  “Roan, marriage doesn’t make me yours,” I say firmly.

  “I didn’t mean it as though I own you,” Roan says quickly, removing his hand from my body. “I just meant…I don’t want to share you.”

  “You’ll have to share me, or at least learn to,” I say. “I’m a queen, and my people will always have to be my first priority.”

  “I meant with other men.”

  The fire crackles as we sit silently for a moment.

  “Ero and Li aren’t other men. They are our companions and I expect you to treat them as such,” I say. “We all know what is at stake here, and we can’t afford to tear apart the bonds between us.”

  “This isn’t about companionship, lass,” Roan says, his voice tight as he tries to remain calm. “I’m telling you, I don’t like other men touching you.”

  “Roan, I swear nothing happened. Ero was just trying to get under your skin.”

  “I still don’t like it,” Roan says, placing one of his hands against my cheek. “No, I hate the very idea of anyone else’s hands on your skin.”

  “I’m not asking you to like it, or even to like Ero. I’m asking you to accept that these are our current circumstances,” I say, knowing none of this sounds reassuring, especially when I can’t say that I didn’t enjoy Ero’s touch.

  “Lass,” Roan says, hesitantly. “You know that I love you, right?”

  My mind spins at the confession. The last thing I was expecting was a pronouncement of love, and certainly not right now. I knew Roan cared deeply for me, and I for him, but love? I can’t even remember the last time someone said that to me.

  “I hadn’t considered it.”

  Roan lets out a sigh and lies back on the grass.

  “If you didn’t know, why’d you agree to become my wife?”

  “Please believe me when I say I care very much for you,” I say. “Choosing to marry you was easy, but even I know it was rushed and predominantly out of necessity.”

  “Is that really what you think?” Roan asks, choosing not to look at me. “You honestly think that I’d marry you simply out of necessity?”

  “Isn’t that what we’re trained to do?”

  “To hell with that,” Roan says fiercely. “I’d only marry a lass I loved, and if you don’t believe that I love you, I’ll prove it to you.”

  “I’m not asking you to prove anything to me,” I say. “I just need you to understand that we need to focus on the task at hand…and we can’t afford to let feelings get in the way of that.”

  “If you’re asking me to play nice with Ero—”

  “I’m not asking. I’m telling you to.”

  I half expect him to shout or storm away, but instead, Roan turns his head to look at me, his emerald eyes twinkling merrily. He shakes his head, a small smile spreading across his face as he reaches out and pulls me down on top of him. He kisses my forehead as he runs his hand gently through my hair.

  “You’re a tough mistress, lass. Ero must have really gotten into your head with that kiss.”

  “Roan!”

  “I’m only teasing! Let me at least enjoy tonight before I’m forced to let you go.”

  “Fine,” I say, trying to sound bothered but failing.

  “This doesn’t mean I’m okay another man laying a finger on you…”

  I’m about to open my mouth to argue with him, but Roan shushes me as he continues to caress me, his fingertips slowly trailing along the exposed skin at the nape of my neck, sending delightful tingles down my spine. I really don’t know why Ero’s words bothered me so much earlier, not when moments like this exi
st.

  “Sleep, lass.”

  The last thing I want to do right now is sleep, but I do.

  Three

  Ero

  I don’t honestly know what drove me to kiss her. It was easy enough to hear Roan approaching, and part of me had hoped that the action would throw Roan into a frenzy, which it did, but the other part of me just wanted her. I had hoped Roan’s reaction would cause a rift between them, or at the very least that she’d see how dangerous emotions can be.

  Odin’s missing eye, they’ve only been married a few days and Roan can barely control himself when it comes to her.

  I try to keep my eyes from wandering over to them, but I can’t help it. Roan notices and gives me the middle finger and I reciprocate. I’m not the jealous type, and I don’t believe in love—so why do I feel so irritated and clouded by Roan’s relationship with Annalise? Nothing good comes of loving someone, only hurt and betrayal. Why can’t either of them see that?

  Sometimes I think the only sane one left among us is Li, and I don’t know how he has accomplished that since he was the first one to kiss the girl. Did he feel the same thing I did when he kissed her? Or was this what he was talking about when he mentioned feeling a connection to her?

  There’s something dangerous about this bond between us. I’ve never felt this spark with anyone else, and it scares me. And somehow, I want more of it.

  No. This is madness. This isn’t me. I’m not the kind of man to fall for a woman. To fall for anyone…and that has to include Annalise.

  Four

  Annalise

  “I’m not getting into a barrel again, end of discussion!”

  We’d reached the ocean, but instead of trying to find a port town, we’d traveled north along the coastline, searching for a ship that was less likely to be picky about its passengers. We hadn’t found one yet.

  “We’ll decide that when the time comes,” Roan says, teasing.