Taken By Werewolves (Lost Princess 0f Howling Sky Book 1)

by Kamryn Hart

  “I still love Babaga. She loved me, too. I don’t know why she kept things from me or why she gave me away to Paws Peak after it all, but I know she did love me. I think she still does because love isn’t something that breaks so easily, Aerre.”

  “It seems pretty fragile to me.”

  Sorissa shifted onto her knees and pressed her nose to my neck. Her hot breath tickled my skin, and I had to squeeze my eyes shut tightly to resist the groan on my lips. I needed to adjust my fucking pants, but I couldn’t move because I didn’t trust myself at the moment. I didn’t want this. I so didn’t want this.

  But I did.

  Each word she spoke, how easy she was to talk to, how she made my anger fade, each move she made, I craved it all.

  She rested her hand dangerously high up my thigh and took in a deep breath through her nose. “You smell so good, like the breeze that came in from the east and into the woods sometimes. Babaga told me that breeze came all the way from the ocean.”

  Gods, the princess didn’t know a damn thing about personal space. First, she fell asleep against Rodrick’s arm, Rodrick, and now she was cuddling with me. She made me remember things I almost had, the girlfriend I was serious about before becoming tethered to Caspian. Genna was my first and last when it came to sex and thoughts of a future family. I was fine with that. But with Sorissa, right here, right now, I wasn’t. I had moved on. Genna moved on and was married. Sorissa made me want things I couldn’t have.

  Suddenly, the princess pulled away from me. “Am I making you uncomfortable? You keep shaking. Or are you just cold too?”

  I stood up before I could give in to temptation. “I need to take you back to the castle, Princess.”

  “I’m sorry, Aerre.” She stood and stared down at her slipper-covered feet.

  “I’m not mad,” I said. For the first time in a long time, I really wasn’t. I was nearly jumping out of my skin, but I wasn’t mad. “There’s just this thing called personal space.”

  “Is it a similar lecture to modesty?”

  “What?”

  “Caspian told me I can only be naked in front of the werewolf who becomes my mate.”

  I shook my head but couldn’t hide the smile tugging at my lips. “I don’t know about that, but we’re strangers and it’s not typical for strangers to be so close.”

  “But it’s cold.”

  I couldn’t take my persistent hard-on anymore and tried to discreetly adjust my pants. The princess stared at me the whole time, so that was a failure.

  She narrowed her eyes at me.

  “What?” I asked, feeling like I was in trouble.

  “Our bodies are magnetic.”

  “Okay?” I was fucking lost.

  “Being near you, all of Phantom Fangs, makes my body feel strange.”

  “Cor, give me strength,” I said under my breath. I was not equipped to deal with this. I didn’t know what to say. In hindsight, I should have called out to Lureine since he was the werewolves’ god. It wasn’t like the God of Humans could help me with a werea.

  The princess closed her eyes and brushed her fingers down the front of her stomach, lower and lower, and I couldn’t take another moment. I took her hands. She opened her eyes, startled.

  “I really need to take you back to the castle,” I repeated.

  “I really don’t want to go back to the castle. It’s lonely. The bed is too soft, and I can’t sleep.”

  “Too soft? People usually complain about the opposite. I complain about the opposite.”

  She shrugged. “Maybe you’d like to trade beds for a night.”

  I laughed. I laughed much louder than I should have.

  “I won’t be in the way,” she insisted.

  “You think you’re going to come with me?”

  “Sounds perfect.”

  I didn’t have the strength to fight with her, not after she left me so thoroughly wrecked. At least I wouldn’t be alone back at the lair. Caspian could take care of this. “Okay,” I said, “but if the king comes calling, I won’t be able to do anything about it. You’ll have to go back.”

  “Deal.” The princess smiled and squeezed my hands. “And call me Sorissa. Friends call each other by their names.”

  Friends, huh?

  “I can’t. It’s improper.”

  “Aerre,” she chastised, but I raised a finger to her lips to silence her.

  “However,” I continued, “I’ll whisper it from time to time so only you can hear.” I sighed in defeat and pressed my lips to her ear. I shuddered at the feeling of her skin and murmured, “Sorissa.”

  CHAPTER 20

  SORISSA

  AERRE LED ME OUT OF the “Tech Off Zone.” Not far, though. He led me to a large house near an odd border where tech suddenly grew prominent again after being so absent. There wasn’t any sort of wall or anything separating zones. It all came down to tech, and if the tech wasn’t immediately apparent, it came down to the size of the buildings.

  “This is the Phantom Fangs Lair,” Aerre said.

  “Lair?” I laughed.

  “Ridiculous name, isn’t it? But it made sense to call it that. Phantom Fangs is a beast after all.”

  “I like it.” I craned my neck to see the windows on the second floor. “It looks dark. Is everyone asleep? Will we wake them up?”

  “Rodrick should be in. Caspian should be back soon if he isn’t. If we wake them up, too bad.”

  I got the feeling Aerre wanted someone to be awake. He was a little jumpy after that conversation we had and since whispering my name into my ear. I still had residual shivers running up my spine from him doing that. I wanted to ask about this buzzing attraction. I wanted to understand it better and why it only seemed to apply to Phantom Fangs, but it was obvious Aerre didn’t want to discuss it. I knew he and Caspian felt some kind of attraction to me too. Was it just because I was a rare werea to them? It was true I hadn’t seen any other wereas, so that was possible.

  Aerre opened the door to the “lair,” and I followed him inside. It was riddled with tech. There were these rectangular contraptions projecting light and images from their mounted position on the wall. They showed scenes outside of the house in strange grays and almost greens. I wondered if it was because of the dark. I recognized some of the areas. I even saw a light post flicker on one of them. They were like Babaga’s seeing mirror, a mirror she could use to see any part of the world. I had only glimpsed it a time or two since she didn’t like me to mess with it, but it looked like tech and magic had a lot in common. It was almost comforting because it was almost familiar.

  “Monitors,” Aerre said as he turned on a light that flooded the room. “They let us keep track of everything happening outside.”

  “So many eyes,” I murmured.

  “Pretty much. Stay here, Princess. I’ll be right back.”

  Aerre disappeared into a room, and I got closer to the monitors. It was mesmerizing, crazy to see what was going on in these different areas at the same time—though it was late, dark, and nothing was going on at the moment.

  “Caspian isn’t back yet,” Aerre said when he returned. “Rodrick’s sleeping.”

  “We should let him sleep, then. Where’s this hard bed of yours?” I asked.

  Aerre shook his head, but I saw a smile on his face. I liked it when he smiled. I hadn’t seen that look on him before tonight. His lake-blue eyes were brighter than usual, and I really could see the resemblance to his sister and mother. I wanted to unbraid his hair and tangle my fingers in the long golden strands, but I stopped myself with the thought of “personal space.”

  “My room is this way.”

  Aerre led the way to a flight of stairs and opened a door to a room on the second floor. It was much smaller than my room in the castle, but it felt better, cozier. Even though the walls were primarily tan here too, they didn’t seem as brazen. I caught sight of a rectangular bed also much smaller than mine. I walked over to it and plopped down on its edge. This reminded me of home
. The frame was even made of a dark wood like my old bed was. I fell onto my back and spread my arms, savoring the firm mattress supporting me. Already, my eyes were growing heavy.

  “I love it,” I murmured.

  “I’ll sleep on the couch downstairs if you need anything, Princess,” Aerre said.

  I sat up when he was about to leave. “I don’t want to steal your bed.”

  “I prefer the couch, and you’re exhausted. Sleep.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure.”

  I couldn’t resist the temptation after that. I pulled down the covers and got comfortable in Aerre’s bed. I hadn’t realized how tired I was until it became hard to open my eyes again after blinking. It didn’t help that this bed smelled like him, like the ocean breeze. It was soothing and somehow reminiscent of home.

  “Thank you, Aerre,” I whispered.

  Instead of leaving the room like I thought he would, Aerre walked over to me and bent down to whisper in my ear, “Goodnight, Sorissa. Sleep well.”

  The way he said my name made me shiver. His voice was as powerful as his touch. I smiled and trapped this warmth inside, savoring each moment. I wanted to touch him, to combine his voice and his touch, but exhaustion was clouding my brain like a fog. When I blinked again, my eyes stayed closed and sleep took me.

  AERRE

  I lingered outside my bedroom with my back pressed against the closed door. I was being much too friendly with the princess, but I couldn’t stop myself. She kept inviting me in. She called me a friend and told me to use her name instead of replacing it with “Princess.” Maybe I had given in too easily, but what was the point in resisting when we were alone? She made me feel good like I hadn’t felt in eight whole years. The last time I felt good was before Zecke hurt my sister. I changed after that, physically too since I became tethered to Caspian.

  Right now, at this moment, I felt like myself again. And that was a big deal to me.

  But this wasn’t good. Sorissa was too good. She didn’t hide things. She was honest and open unlike anyone I had ever met likely because she grew up sheltered in the Witch Woods, far away from everything else. She was a werea, but I just didn’t care. I liked her much more than I should. And I prayed to the Gods this world wouldn’t break her.

  I made my way down the stairs and sat on the couch. I was exhausted too, ready to close my eyes and sleep at any moment, but I needed to check in with Caspian first. I plucked my commsbud from my combat belt, stuck it in my ear, and searched the inteliband on my wrist for Caspian’s name. I was too tired to find one of the portacomms we had lying around somewhere. Typically, it was more convenient for making calls. The commsbud and inteliband combo was optimized for missions and a commsbud was too hard to keep track of when not in uniform.

  “What’s up, Aerre?” Caspian answered almost immediately.

  “The princess is sleeping in the lair. She passed out on my bed.”

  There was an uncomfortable gap of silence before Caspian responded with, “Why?” At the same moment, the front door opened, and he was standing right there.

  We both took a moment to shut off the call so we could talk in person instead. I explained how I was watching over my family and the princess happened to sneak up on me. I also explained that I tried to take her back to the castle, but she practically begged me not to. I left out the finer details.

  “I couldn’t say no,” I defended. “She’s very persuasive.”

  Caspian chuckled. “She is something. It’s fine. Let her sleep.”

  “She said you gave her a lecture on modesty.”

  His chuckle turned into a cough. “Why’d she bring that up?”

  “No reason,” I replied a little too quickly.

  “Lie, but I’ll let it go. Where are you going to sleep?”

  “On this couch.”

  “No. You’re going to sleep on the floor of your room.”

  “But—”

  “Sorissa isn’t inside the castle so you’re her personal guard now since you decided to bring her back here. Also, we won’t bother telling the king the real story. We’ll say she got lost. We’ll return her to the castle in the morning unless I hear otherwise before then. I’m sure she was caught on camera.”

  He called her Sorissa again. “That’s pretty bold, Caspian. I thought you’d want to return her immediately.”

  Sighing, he pulled off his combat belt and set it on the table near the monitors. “I like her. She’s spunky, fun to talk to. She makes me laugh and smile like I haven’t in so long, maybe ever. Things don’t seem so bleak when she’s around. It’s like she isn’t from this world at all. And have you looked at her, Aerre? Really looked at her. She’s beautiful.”

  “Dangerous words, Phantom Prince. But I’m glad you feel that way. I’d feel a lot better if she became your mate instead of the mate to one of your bozo brothers.”

  “You know that won’t happen.”

  “I know that you say you want change, but nothing ever changes.” I sighed. This wasn’t going to go anywhere, and I had questions. I shifted the conversation. “Why is Trace Sorissa’s maid?”

  Caspian paused. Maybe he was analyzing how I was on a first-name basis with the princess, too. “She requested to be,” he replied.

  “She did? Really?”

  “Yes. It pays well.”

  “But all the werewolves surrounding her all the time…”

  “She’s safe, Aerre. She’s just trying to move on. You should let her.”

  I bit my lip to stop myself from screaming. All of that anger Sorissa managed to subdue was coming back in full force. I wondered if Caspian knew about Koren too. I wondered if I even wanted to know.

  “Do you know Koren?” I muttered.

  “Yeah, he’s a guard in the castle. Nice guy, friendly.”

  “Fucking perfect.”

  “Why do you ask? Do you know Koren?”

  “No. I’m going to bed.”

  I didn’t let Caspian get in another word. I went back up the stairs to my room. I moved without a sound when I saw the steady rise and fall of Sorissa’s chest underneath the blanket keeping her warm. I ached at the thought of keeping her warm myself. The bed was small. If we both slept on it, she would have to stay pressed into me or risk falling off the side.

  I grabbed some spare blankets and tossed them on the floor. Since she was fast asleep, I risked changing into more comfortable clothes. Like hell was I sleeping in this combat gear. I had just barely put on some pants when she stirred.

  “Aerre?”

  “Yeah?” I quickly tugged a shirt over my head.

  “Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah, it’s fine. Turns out I’m going to sleep on the floor. That okay?”

  “Yeah.” She mumbled something else I didn’t catch, still half asleep.

  “Goodnight,” I said.

  “Night,” she whispered and rolled over.

  I stayed where I was, concentrating on her breathing. I wanted to use the last drops of my moonlight reserves to hear the depth of her breathing, calm like the leaves on a tree rustling in a soft breeze. I had the urge to adjust her blanket, to tuck her in more tightly, but I grounded myself to the floor and turned my back to her while closing my eyes.

  My last waking thoughts were of Sorissa. I wondered what her power entailed or if it was of a physical nature at all. But she was low or out of moonlight too, or she would have given us more of a challenge when she leaped from the roader like a maniac. She was the Moonlight Child, but it was obvious to me that moonlight wasn’t the extent of her abilities. I wondered how many would fall for her natural charm. And I wondered why I was so happy that she said we were magnetic. All of Phantom Fangs and her, the Lost Princess. It could never work, but I liked that it included me. I liked that I could make her hot.

  The memory of her hands gliding down her stomach, pressing against the sheer fabric of her nightdress, searching for her sex, coaxed my dick to stand at attention. The thought of her to
uching herself because of me was just too fucking much.

  I told myself to sleep, but it turned out that was going to be harder than I thought when the werea in the bed nearby had thoroughly ensnared me. It took her no effort either. I was lost. And I was hopeless.

  CHAPTER 21

  SORISSA

  I WOKE UP TO morning sunlight streaming through a half-curtained window. The sun’s warmth kissed my exposed skin. A discarded blanket currently resided on the floor. The light nightdress I wore was rolled up well past my thighs. I sat up and stretched, feeling rejuvenated. Aerre’s bed was much better than the one in the castle.

  I looked around the room. Aside from the mess of blankets on the floor, it was spotless. Aerre must have gotten up already, or did I dream that he was in the room with me? I wasn’t sure. But I felt safe. Knowing this place belonged to Phantom Fangs was almost as reassuring as being with Phantom Fangs.

  Phantom Fangs. Phantom Fangs. Phantom Fangs.

  The name was a chant that echoed in my head. I wanted to stay with Phantom Fangs. I didn’t want to stay cooped up in the castle. I didn’t want Philip to show off his sons, sons he wanted me to pick from to choose a mate. I didn’t want to think about mates. I wanted to get used to life here. I wanted to know more about Phantom Fangs.

  I scratched at that bite between my neck and right shoulder. It hadn’t been bothering me much since Phantom Fangs broke me out of Paws Peak. I had almost forgotten it was there many times. I was glad it didn’t seem to bind me to Charles like Aerre was talking about. The bite was bad enough, but the Mate Claim, fully realized, sounded awful. So did being tethered. But I wondered how powerful these claims and resulting connections really were. Could Caspian really make Aerre and Rodrick do anything he wanted?

  I hopped out of bed and smoothed out my nightdress. Then I crept outside of Aerre’s room and heard voices from downstairs. Two voices, to be exact. A deep baritone and a bit higher tenor. They had distinct tones and inflections. I recognized them as Caspian and Aerre. The thought of seeing them both encouraged my feet to move faster. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I was grinning.