The Royal Shifters Complete Series Boxed Set

by Alice Wilde

  “Ero,” I say, my voice strangled, “you can let go now. I think…I think we’ve proven our point.”

  “What are you talking about?” Roan asks, his weight still bearing down on me.

  “Don’t make me say it.”

  “What?” Ero asks again, his expression confused.

  “Come on,” I groan, “let go of me already.”

  Ero shakes his head as if suddenly becoming aware of the situation and releases me. I collapse against the ground and then have to readjust myself, avoiding Ero’s gaze as he watches me.

  “Ooh,” he says slowly. “Wait, how did that turn you on? I barely touched you.”

  “Are you honestly asking me that? Your arm was literally rubbing up against me.”

  “I was not.”

  “Maybe not intentionally,” I say, still finding it hard to look at him, “but it’s not like that matters. Just because something turns you on physically doesn’t mean there’s an emotional bond connected to it. It’s just part of being human… well, mostly human.”

  “You still don’t get it,” Ero scoffs.

  “What’s there to get?”

  “It’s the first time a man has ever been able to get me hard.”

  I was hoping he wouldn’t bring this up. “That’s not quite true.”

  “What are you talking about?” Ero’s face darkens as he glares at me.

  “I know this is going to sound weird, but you’ve definitely gotten a hard-on around Li and myself before.” I sit up and raise my hands defensively. “Now don’t jump to any conclusions, it’s just a little hard not to notice something like that.”

  He continues to glare at me for a minute and then exhales, looking down into his lap. “Alright, fine. I’ve noticed that too, but those were purely accidental.”

  “So?”

  “I meant no one outside of our group has ever been able to get me hard without me wanting something to happen.”

  I’m not sure what to say, and then I ask, “Did you want something to happen?”

  “Damn it, Roan. Of course, not!”

  “Then I don’t know what to tell you other than let it go, things happen. You know just as well as any of us that sometimes our bodies are not our own. It’s human.”

  “Too human,” Ero mutters.

  “It could be worse.”

  “How?”

  “You could be going all animal,” I chuckle, but my laugh dies away as soon as I notice Ero’s downcast expression. “Ero, is there something else you’re not telling us?”

  “It’s not a big deal,” Ero says, standing.

  “Obviously, it is. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be acting so weird about it.”

  “I’m not being weird about it.”

  “Try telling that to Annalise.”

  “Leave her out of this!”

  “She’s literally the only reason why we’re even here!” I shout, his moody pouting finally getting on my last nerves, and then I snort and shake my head.

  “What now?”

  “I’ve just realized what an absolute asshat I’ve been. When I found out about you and Annalise, I was acting the exact same way you are now, but instead of it being over some stupid random man…it was over Annalise.”

  “Annalise?” Ero scoffs. “You mean me.”

  “No, I mean Annalise,” I say, a sense of relief washing over me at the admission. Ero looks at me in disbelief. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t mad at you too, but deep down the real reason I was so pissed was because I thought your relationship with her meant that Annalise no longer had real feelings for me.…and what irked me the most was that I knew she wanted…wants to be with you.”

  “How could you ever think that?”

  “Love does weird things to you. I was so afraid of losing her forever that it was easier to blame everything on you…it’s still easier. I blamed you for seducing her, and after I found out you slept together, I was certain it meant the end of any future between us.”

  “I didn’t sleep with her on purpose, not that time.”

  “Not that time?” I ask, trying to remain calm.

  “Maybe I shouldn’t say this,” Ero says, “but the night you guys left us in the camp…”

  “I guess that explains why you didn’t realize we were missing until the next day,” I cut in, my stomach turning at the thought.

  “Roan, I’m really not trying to steal her from you. I never meant to…well, fall in love with her.”

  “You love her?”

  “Yes.”

  His admission stings. I hadn’t really believed up until now that he had legitimate feelings for Annalise. Of course, I know she loves him, but I can’t recall a single time Ero had ever said he loved someone and actually meant it, but perhaps…it’s a good thing?

  “If that’s true,” I say slowly, “then I think we’ve solved our problem.”

  “Why?”

  “I mean, unless you’re secretly gay, all you can think about is her. Right?”

  “Huh, I suppose you’re right. Come to think of it…during…when things happened, I only finished after I thought about her.”

  “Alright, way too much information,” I growl, a sour taste filling my mouth. “The last thing I need to hear about right now.”

  “Fair enough,” Ero says. “How did you get over it?”

  “I didn’t, but I’ve accepted that I love her too much to want a life without her, and if that means having to share her with you and Li, so be it…and I think Annalise would rather you stay in her life than give you up over some meaningless encounter you had with Longwei. But I also think you should talk to her about it.”

  “I don’t think I can, how will she ever look at me the same way?”

  “She already isn’t looking at you the same way, Ero. You burned a whole village down over this…that’s probably evidence enough how you feel about it.”

  Ero starts to chuckle and then laugh, within seconds he’s had to sit down he’s laughing so hard. I can’t help myself and start laughing too. Days…Weeks of stress falling away from me.

  “I can’t believe it,” Ero finally says as soon as he can speak again, wiping tears of laughter from his face. “Why didn’t I realize that myself? I can’t believe I burned a whole village down… Damn it. I burned a whole village down! How is Annalise going to forgive me for that?”

  “You’re allowed to feel things, but let’s deal with one problem at a time,” I say, getting to my feet and holding my hand out toward him. Ero takes it, and I pull him to his feet. I let go of his hand, but Ero doesn’t and pulls me into an embrace.

  “Thanks.”

  “Anytime. Now, let’s get back to Annalise.”

  Sixteen

  Annalise

  I’m starting to worry when Ero and Roan finally walk back into camp.

  “Where have you been?” I ask, jumping up and running over. I stop a few paces away from them and blink in surprise. “Why are you being nice to each other?”

  Roan claps Ero on the shoulder, giving him what looks like a reassuring squeeze and then walks past me to join Li.

  “Annalise, we need to talk,” Ero says.

  “Okay,” I answer nervously, my eyes darting from him to Roan and back.

  Ero turns and leads me over to a rock as far from Roan and Li as possible and sits down. He pats the space beside him and I join him. He looks down and is playing anxiously with his fingers.

  “You’re scaring me,” I say after he doesn’t say anything for a few minutes.

  “I know,” he says, not looking up. “Annalise--”

  “Princess,” I correct him.

  He lets out a sharp little snort, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.

  “Princess,” he begins again, “I burned down that village because…because of what happened with Longwei.”

  A chill runs over my skin, my mouth suddenly parched, any semblance of lightheartedness gone.

  “I thought that might be the case,” I say quietly.r />
  Ero turns his head toward me at this, searching my face.

  “I…He…I let him…” Ero trails off.

  I reach out and take his hands in mine, looking him squarely in the face.

  “Ero,” I say softly, “I can’t promise that I’ll understand, but I am here for you... Whatever it is you need to tell me.”

  “I burned down that village because he forced me to betray you.”

  “Betray me?”

  “I…I was able to experience sexual gratification with him.”

  “Oh.” I’m in complete shock. This is not the confession I was expecting. “Is…that it?”

  “Is that it,” Ero repeats, pulling back, “do you wish there was more? Do you need to know exactly what he did to me?”

  “That’s not what I mean,” I say hastily. “I…I am sorry… that isn’t how I should have reacted. I just, I wasn’t expecting you to say that.”

  “Aren’t you furious with me?”

  “Furious? Yes,” I say, throwing my arms around his neck as the whole situation finally sinks in, “but with you? No, not at all.”

  “Really?”

  “How could I be?” I ask, shaking my head in bewilderment against his shoulder as I try to hold back tears. “Of all people, Ero, you should know I understand what it feels like to have someone…use your body for their own means.”

  “Right,” Ero says, looking even more miserable, “because I did that to you.”

  “No, don’t you dare start that again. We all know Damien did that to me…you just had the misfortune of being his vessel of choice.”

  “You should hate me.”

  “Perhaps, but I don’t,” I say firmly. “How could I when I’m hoping to do the same thing to Damien?”

  “I hadn’t thought of that.”

  “However,” I stress, “I am angry that you didn’t at least try to control your anger. Did the whole village have to pay for what one man did to you?”

  “I admit, that was not my finest moment,” Ero agrees, “but to be fair, it’s hard to control an irate dragon.”

  We both chuckle softly, although mine is filtered through a voice full of tears.

  “Just…do not let something like that ever happen again.”

  “You might want to take that up with Avalon,” Ero says in a serious tone, pulling me away from him. “I won’t apologize for what I did to Longwei, but I do regret what I allowed to happen to the rest of his people.”

  “You’re right, we need to find a way to keep him under control before we end up causing more destruction than good…but how?”

  “I might not be the right person to ask,” he says, a small grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Li is probably your best bet.”

  I nod and raise my arm to wipe away any runaway tears, but Ero beats me to it. His large hands cup my face as he gently brushes his thumbs across my cheeks.

  “Thank you, princess.”

  “For what?”

  “For understanding… and for giving me another chance.”

  “I haven’t given you another chance,” I say, “you never lost the first one.”

  Ero shakes his head as he looks down at me and finally breaks into a smile.

  “Yet another reason why I love you,” he says softly and leans down to kiss, but I pull away.

  “I…I can’t. Not now,” I say as gently as possible. “I need to keep my head clear, at least until we figure out what our next move is…and how to train our dragon.”

  Ero sighs but nods in acceptance.

  Li and Roan look up as we approach, and I can immediately tell they’re trying to read us to find out how things went.

  “Don’t look at me like that,” I say, sitting down next to them, “what’s done is done, and it’s time we focus on what lies in store for us next.”

  “I’m glad you feel that way,” Roan says.

  “As am I,” Li agrees, “so, what do you have in mind?”

  “I was actually hoping you could help me with that. After what happened with the village, we need to make sure something like that never happens again. I don’t want to lead a dragon back only to have it destroy my kingdom.”

  Li glances over at Ero. “Are you sure you want to talk to the dragon first?”

  “Ero and I have discussed what happened, and, while I don’t agree with certain things that occurred, I can understand his part in the…destruction.”

  “It’s always better to make sure everyone’s on the same page, anyway,” Roan says.

  “Exactly,” I say. “Now, what I need is for us to come up with some course of action so that when we approach Avalon, we have some semblance of a plan to discuss with him.”

  Li clears his throat nervously. “I do have some concerns, if you don’t mind me speaking frankly with you.”

  “I never mind,” I answer, looking at each of them in turn, “in fact, I prefer when all of you are honest and open with me, even if I don’t like what I hear.”

  “Very well,” Li says. “How do you plan on taking back your kingdom without an army?”

  “We have a dragon.”

  “Do you think one dragon will be enough to take Damien down?”

  I frown, suddenly unsure of myself. “I…I had thought, especially after what we saw with Longwei and the village, that he would be enough.”

  “Of course, I would like to believe that’s the case,” Li continues, “but Damien is no ordinary sorcerer…I doubt he will be so easily defeated. I may be wrong, and I hope I am, but I suggest we try to think of best- and worst-case scenarios before it’s too late.”

  “I know we lost our Viking supporters,” I say slowly, trying not to panic, “but we haven’t yet lost our highlanders, have we?”

  “That remains to be seen, lass,” Roan says. “I’d like to say not, but we’ve been gone a while and without the support of another human army, I… I doubt they’re going to be willing to invade another land.”

  “Even with a dragon?”

  “Even with a dragon,” Roan pauses, his brows knitting together, “now that you mention it, especially with a dragon.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “We may be used to magic and fantastic beasts by now, but most people aren’t…and, at least for me, we grew up associating dragons with the devil and dark works. It’s quite possible that showing up with a dragon might have the opposite effect.”

  “They can’t honestly think that us having a dragon means we’re the evil side, can they?”

  “You’d be surprised what people can come up with.”

  I let out a huff and hunch forward, cupping my chin in my hands as I prop my elbows up on my knees. “So, what you’re saying is that everything has been for naught.”

  “What they’re saying,” Ero says, “is that we need to prepare for a tough battle ahead. We may be going back stronger than we were when we left, but we’re a long way off from where we’d hoped to be by this point…”

  My mind is struggling to process everything, and I’m lost for ideas. I’d honestly thought, even though we’d lost so much support, that with Avalon by our side, we’d finally found a way to win.

  “Little Bird,” Li says softly, reaching out to place a hand on my knee, “all is not lost, yet. We do have a dragon, and while it may not be everything we need, it does help. We’re not trying to tear you down, only prepare you. Now, what we need to do is come up with a well-thought-out plan.”

  “I suppose reigning fire down on everything is out of the question,” I say with a strangled chuckle.

  “Speaking from my own experience,” Ero says, “I wouldn’t suggest it.”

  “Neither would I, unless you don’t want a kingdom to rule afterward,” Roan says.

  “We also need to take into account that we’re not just going up against Damien,” Li says, trying to keep the conversation on track. “From what we’ve found out, he has your people, and most likely your army under his control, as well as his own.”

  �
��And from what I’ve seen, magic allies as well,” Ero says.

  “Not to mention another sorcerer and sorceress,” Roan says.

  “I’d nearly forgotten about them,” I mutter. “My mind has been so focused on taking Damien down, I’ve completely disregarded all the other elements we have to overcome first.”

  “War is always far more complicated than it seems from afar,” Li comforts me. “The important thing is that we’re taking everything into consideration now. I should also warn you, it’s very likely that innocent lives will be lost.”

  I nod slowly. Of course, in the back of my mind I’ve always known that, but it’s only at this moment that the concept begins to weigh heavily on my mind and heart. When I left, home and the people I know and love were frozen in my mind, perfect, unchanging memories simply waiting for my return. But that isn’t reality. I don’t know what to expect upon my return, what ruin Damien has inflicted upon my people…and my friends.

  My heart aches. All this time and I’d barely spared a thought for those I’d left behind. Guilt leaches through me as I’m flooded with the harsh reality of what lies ahead…and Rosa. Poor Rosa, what’s become of her?

  “Lass?”

  “What?” I ask, blinking and sitting up to find all three of my men watching me with concern.

  “You’ve been quiet for quite some time. Are you alright?”

  “Yes… No.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I was just coming to terms with everything that’s happened…and that’s going to happen. The people I left behind, and the pain and suffering they must be going through without me.”

  “They’d be going through it with or without you there,” Li reasons. “You can’t let those thoughts in, not now. You didn’t abandon them, you left in order to save them.”

  I let Li’s words sink in for a moment. “Yes, you’re right. I’m just worried about what we’ll find when we get there.”

  “Which is one of the things that will make you a great leader,” Roan says.

  “I hope so.”

  Roan gives me a soft smile. “I know so.”

  “You will be, but you need a kingdom to rule first,” Li says, clearing his throat to draw our attention back to the task at hand. “So, are we all ready to focus on strategizing our return and battle plan?”