The Royal Shifters Complete Series Boxed Set

by Alice Wilde

  “You have a great deal of faith in your…bodyguards,” Longwei says. “I hope you’re right.”

  “Of course, I am.”

  “Lass...”

  “Please, Roan,” I say, laying a hand on his forearm to quiet him. “Don’t argue with me. I’m asking you to go. No, I’m telling you to go. I need you all to come back safe, and we need whatever help we can get before it’s too late. I need you to do this for me.”

  “I don’t trust him,” Roan whispers.

  “Neither do I… go. I promise, I’ll be careful.”

  Roan pleads with his eyes, begging me to reconsider without saying another word. I lift myself up on my toes and kiss his cheek, giving him a reassuring nod.

  “I suggest you pick up the pace,” Longwei exhales. “The Nian wake and begin their hunt as soon as the sun sets.”

  “Go,” I chime in, as none of them move to leave.

  Li looks at me like he wants to say something but decides against it, instead turning and signaling for the other two to follow. I watch as Ero and then Roan reluctantly turn to leave. Longwei leaps up from his chair and scampers across the room to open the door with his gold key. All three of my men turn to give me one last look as they slip through the doorway, and it takes every ounce of willpower for me not to beg them not to leave me. Instead, I force a soft smile to my face which disappears the moment Longwei shuts the door behind them.

  “Well, well, well,” he says, clicking his tongue and walking slowly back across the room. “I thought they’d never leave.”

  I don’t move, watching him closely as he passes close by me.

  “I thought you said you have preparations to attend to.”

  “Oh, I do,” he muses, “but there’s time enough for that.”

  I swallow, my mouth dry and my stomach queasy. “So, why am I here.”

  “I’ve already said.”

  “What’s the real reason you wouldn’t let me go with them?”

  He tilts his head to the side, regarding me carefully. “You don’t trust me.”

  “No.”

  “I suppose I can’t blame you for that,” Longwei sighs. “You’re right not to trust me.”

  “Is that so,” I say, trying my best to sound more confident than I feel.

  “Of course. You’d be a fool to trust me. I’m surprised your men agreed to leave you alone with me.”

  “I insisted.”

  “I know, which makes me wonder what hold you have on them. Perhaps you really are a queen after all.”

  It suddenly dawns on me that Longwei trusts us as much as we trust him… which is to say, not at all. It’s possible he’s just as wary of our intentions, and the real reason he wants me here is to make sure we aren’t a threat to his people. What better way to deal with two problems at once than to send one off to deal with the other?

  I look around the room, trying to think of something to say as well as making note of any possible means of escape.

  “There’s only one way out,” Longwei says as if reading my mind.

  “Oh, I was just—”

  “You were looking for an escape. Let’s not play games with each other. I’ll be honest with you and in exchange you’ll do the same for me. Agreed?” I nod my head. “Excellent! Now, tell me, what are they?”

  “Who?”

  “I thought we agreed not to play games,” Longwei says. “One of your men.”

  “They’re…” I trail off, attempting to come up with a way to describe them to him. “I’m married to Roan and, in a way, Li as well.”

  “Fascinating,” Longwei says, raising an eyebrow and leaning back in his chair. “Go on.”

  “I…I can’t say the same for Ero, but—”

  “You’ve slept together,” he answers for me. “That much is obvious from the way they all look at you.”

  “It is not.”

  “Trust me, it is,” he chuckles. “I’ve seen that look time and again. They’re bound to you, that much is clear. What I can’t quite figure out is why.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I’m not saying you’re not a fine specimen of a woman, but I have never met a man, let alone three, willing to share his woman with another man… At least not knowingly.”

  “Why shouldn’t women be able to have multiple lovers?” I ask defensively.

  “It’s just not natural.”

  “And one man with multiple women is?”

  Longwei gives me an appreciative look, and raises his hand in defeat. “Let’s just agree to disagree on this topic.”

  “No, I want to know why you think it’s acceptable for a man to have multiple lovers and not a woman.”

  “If you insist. It’s all about biology. One woman can only bear so many children, but a man can easily sow his seed time and again. A woman simply cannot appease the needs of more than one man, and often not even then.”

  “You have some nerve saying that,” I retort.

  “Then you can honestly say you’ve satisfied every need of all three of your own men?” I open my mouth and then shut it, knowing full well that I haven’t. “I rest my case.”

  “If you want to go down that train of thought, then can you claim to have satisfied every need and desire of the women you’ve been with?”

  “That I can.”

  “What…” I trail off. “That can’t be possible.”

  “Oh, but it is.”

  “How?”

  “For the fact that I’ve never been with one.”

  I blink in dumb confusion. Is this the real reason he had demanded I stay behind? Is he planning to take advantage of me while there’s no one here to stop him? He wasn’t a physically unattractive man by any means, but he was by no means a young man either.

  “You…you haven’t?”

  “Don’t worry, I have no intention of changing that fact.”

  I relax slightly, but eye him curiously. “I’m sure you could have any woman of your choosing, so why haven’t you?”

  “I’m not interested…”

  “Oh.”

  “…In women.”

  I stare at him wide-eyed and blinking. “Are you saying…”

  “Let’s not go into details,” Longwei says, changing the subject. “You still haven’t told me what your companions are.”

  “They’re my—”

  “No, no. Not what they are to you… what are they,” he stresses, leaning forward and watching me carefully.

  “They’re shifters.”

  “Ah, yes. That makes sense,” Longwei says, grinning widely, his eyes glinting excitedly. “I was absolutely certain I was sensing some form of magic.”

  “Sensing magic?”

  “Of course, I wouldn’t have sent them after the Nian if they were mere ordinary men.”

  “Then you think they’ll be able to handle the task?” I ask quietly.

  “A more interesting question would be to ask why you don’t.”

  “I do,” I say quickly. “Well, I hope I do. It would be easier not to worry if I knew what they are up against.”

  “Trust me,” Longwei starts, “you’re better off not knowing. But don’t fret, you’ll be safe here and I have no doubt your men will do whatever it takes to return for you. Now, I have to attend to certain things down in the village.”

  His words do little to comfort me, my mind running wild as I try not to think of the creature they’re hunting and failing. Longwei glides to the door, unlocking it once again with his golden key and stepping outside. He turns back to look at me and a slow grin spreads across his face.

  “Funny,” he says, barely loud enough for me to hear, “you really do fit perfectly.”

  The doors click shut before I can respond. I sigh deeply and move to sit on Longwei’s massive throne, left alone in a room full of cold, lifeless gold.

  It’s going to be a long night…

  Seven

  Li

  “I don’t like this,” Roan grumbles.

  “Do you think
any of us do?” Ero asks.

  We walk in silence for several minutes, trying not to notice the uneasy looks we’re getting from the villagers as we pass through the town.

  “Are you at least going to tell us what we’re look for, Li?” Roan asks.

  “Once we get out of town,” I reply.

  “I can’t believe we’re leaving Annalise with that man. We should go back. What if he does something to her?”

  I grab Roan’s arm to stop him before he can turn to head back. “He won’t touch her.”

  “How can you possibly know that?”

  “Because…” I trail off.

  “Because?” Roan probes.

  “Let’s just say he was more interested in you than he was in her.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “All I’m saying is there’s a reason we didn’t see any women in his little fortress.”

  There’s a long moment of awkward silence.

  “Oh,” Roan finally exhales, realizing what I’m alluding to. Then he bursts into laughter, startling everyone within earshot and several scurry away, slamming the doors of their homes shut behind them.

  “What’s so funny?” Ero asks.

  “I suppose I’ve just realized that for the first time since we’ve met Annalise, we’ve finally left her somewhere she should actually be safe.”

  Roan continues to try and stifle his laughter as we finally leave the town and villagers behind us and enter the forest once again.

  “So,” Ero says, “what exactly are we looking for?”

  “It’s hard to know,” I say. “I’ve never seen a Nian in the flesh, but I doubt we’ll have trouble recognizing one once we encounter it.”

  “Can you at least try to describe one to us?”

  “They’re monstrous creatures, part dragon, part lion, part magic, and they have a ferocious appetite for human children. Nian aren’t supposed to show themselves but once a year, and often not even then if the towns take proper steps to decorate and celebrate the Spring Festival properly.”

  “Nian are afraid of celebrations?”

  “They’re less likely to venture into a town or village if red lanterns are strung and lit and fireworks are set off throughout the night and early morning.”

  “So, they’re afraid of loud noises and light?”

  “Loud noises and the color red,” I reply.

  “Why aren’t we wearing red then?” Ero asks.

  “We’re not trying to scare them away.”

  “Probably should have left Roan back in the village then.”

  I stop and look at Roan. “You’re right. Roan, you need to cover your head. We don’t want to make this any harder for ourselves than it’s already going to be.”

  “Fine,” Roan says, pulling off his shirt and wrapping it around his head.

  “Damn. Not sure what’s worse,” Ero snorts pointing at Roan’s chest. “Might need to cover your nipples, too.”

  “It’s not my fault the air is chilly,” Roan growls.

  I shake my head, continuing forward. “We should search for tracks, anything unusual that might be of interest.”

  “How are we supposed to find the tracks of anything let alone some mythical beast after the storm we had last night?”

  “I completely forgot about that,” I groan, stopping to rub my temples. “We’re not going to be able to do anything until they show themselves again.”

  “And how are we going to get them to do that?”

  “We have to go back to the town,” I answer.

  “Doubt Longwei is going to like that.”

  “Forget Longwei,” Roan says. “The villagers are going to like seeing us even less.”

  “They’re going to hate us even more after I tell you my plan,” I say. “We need the villagers to bait them.”

  “What?”

  “We need children to use as bait, to lure the Nian out of hiding.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding,” Roan scoffs in disbelief.

  “I wish I was, but we need to draw them out and real bait is our best bet. We’re going to have to convince Longwei and the town not to do anything to scare the Nian off, at least long enough for them to make an appearance. We’ll have to act quickly if we’re going to keep anyone from getting hurt and attempt to run them down.”

  “I’m not usually one to say anything about your plans,” Ero pipes up, “but this is ludicrous. Using children as bait?”

  “I know what it sounds like,” I growl. “But I don’t see any other way to go about this without wasting days, perhaps weeks searching for some sign of the beasts. They’re far more cunning than the average wild animal, and they can go months between meals if they have to…but they won’t if they think they can access an easy meal.”

  “Fine,” Ero says, shaking his head, “but you’re the one who has to convince them to go with your plan.”

  “Good luck ever convincing them we’re not demons after this,” Roan mumbles.

  “Convincing them of that is the least of our concerns right now,” I say. “Come, we shouldn’t waste any more time. They’ve probably already started preparations.”

  “Yeah,” Ero says, “and you need as much time as possible to practice asking which of them is fine using their children as live bait.”

  I ignore the jab, turning toward the village as Roan pulls his shirt back on and he and Ero make jokes in poor taste the whole walk back.

  As we reenter the town, the villagers shoot dirty looks our way. I was right, they’ve already begun preparing things for the night’s festivities. Longwei is walking up and down the streets inspecting their handiwork and making suggestions when he notices us.

  “What are you doing back so soon?” He asks in a harsh whisper as he draws near.

  “We need your help.”

  “I already told you, this is up to you to take care of.”

  “Well, we can’t take care of it without your help,” I say.

  “What do you need?”

  “The storm from last night washed away any signs of the…problem,” I say, trying to choose my words carefully.

  “And?”

  I pull Longwei to the side, away from listening ears. “We need to draw them out of hiding.”

  “What are you suggesting?” Longwei asks, narrowing his eyes.

  “Don’t decorate or set off any of these fireworks, cancel whatever made-up holiday or celebration you’ve told everyone about.”

  “Impossible.”

  “You’re right,” I growl, “it’ll be impossible to find them unless we have some way to track them.”

  Longwei glares at me for a long moment and then looks away. “Fine, but one night only.”

  “There’s something else.” Longwei glances over his shoulder at me as he starts to walk away, his expression wary. “We need bait.”

  “Out of the question.”

  “You know as well as I do that they’re more likely to hunt if there’s something to hunt.”

  “You mean someone,” he says coldly.

  I nod.

  “Do you have any idea what kind of position you’re putting me in?” Longwei questions.

  “I do.”

  “No, you don’t. These aren’t your people. You don’t have to live day in and day out trying to explain to them why their children have gone missing or what they’re going to eat all winter. You don’t have to decide who lives and who dies to keep the peace around here.”

  “This much is true, but we are trying to help.”

  “If I do this for you,” Longwei says slowly, “I’m going to need something else from you.”

  “Name your price.”

  “One of your men.”

  “What?”

  “You heard me.”

  “Annalise will never agree to that.”

  “I’m not asking her,” he states. “Besides, I’m not asking for any of you to stay. I only want…”

  It dawns on me what he’s actually asking for and my
stomach shrivels in my gut. “Very well.”

  “Then I’ll make the preparations,” Longwei says quickly, bowing his head slightly before hurrying away. He starts shouting new orders to the villagers who stand around in stunned silence for a moment before grumblingly starting to take down all the decorations and pack them away inside.

  “What did he say?” Ero asks as he and Roan step into place beside me.

  “He’s going to do it, now all we have to do is watch and wait.”

  “Really?” Roan asks. “That wasn’t nearly as difficult as I thought it would be.”

  “You have no idea,” I mumble under my breath, but neither of them seems to hear me.

  “Where should we watch from?” Ero asks.

  “First, we should find out where the other children were playing when they were taken, then we should be able to find a good vantage point to watch from.”

  “Good idea,” Roan says.

  We spend the next hour questioning the villagers who are willing to say more than curse us out, but it’s not easy to get any of them to give us corroborating information. Finally, we run into an old farmer returning from the fields who eyes us up and down and then agrees to tell us what he knows for a mug of mijiu.

  The old man chugs the sweet liquor in a matter of seconds, wipes his mouth with his forearm and motions for us to follow him. He leads us across the main bridge and out of the town on the opposite side we’d entered from. Just outside the town is a small field where a number of children’s toys lay scattered on the grass.

  “Here it was,” the farmer says, waving his hand at the empty space. “The small ones played here before the kidnapping. Now they get beat if they step a toe outside town. T’would be nice to hear laughter this side of the river again.”

  “Thank you.”

  The old man nods and strokes his scraggly white goatee before giving us one last look and hobbling back toward town.

  “This isn’t eerie at all,” Ero leers.

  “Who the hell are we going to put through this?” Roan asks, his voice thick and disgusted. “I think we should call this whole plan off. So, what if it takes us a few weeks to track them down?”

  “Weeks, huh? Are you willing to leave Annalise here alone that long?” I ask.