Alpha Bear Princes Box Set

by Lily Cahill

  But instead of running like his brother, this bear took advantage of Elliott's momentary mercy to strike.

  Elliott dodged just in time to miss the bear's teeth sinking into his jugular. Instead, he felt a sharp pain as jaws sank into his shoulder.

  He'd had enough.

  Elliott knocked him hard and the bear released his grip.

  He put all of himself into the attack--his pity for Zara, his love for Laila, his outrage at nearly having been taken from her too soon. This bear would pay for all of it.

  He didn't revel in the kill. He made it quick. He ended the beast in a bone-crunching snap of his jaws.

  The bear sank to the ground, turning into a man as he met the floor.

  The glory of defeating an enemy was overshadowed by the harrowing reality of taking a life. He had never seen himself as a killer or a warrior, and it twisted his stomach to do it. But he would do it again ten times over if it meant keeping Laila safe. He would do it a hundred times.

  One look at the fallen man confirmed Elliott's suspicions. He had to be one of Zara's brothers. He had to. The three of them could have been triplets.

  Then he heard a clatter. Certain that the last enemy was dead, he turned toward the noise. It was Laila, Laila running toward him, her steps echoing across the ballroom floor.

  He ran toward her, shifting with every step. By the time he reached her, he was a man. She crashed into his arms, her face wet with tears.

  "Oh, Elliott," she said. "I thought I was going to lose you. I thought. Oh, Jesus."

  "It's okay. I'm okay," he said. "Everything's going to be all right."

  "Zara," Laila said, pulling away from him. "She saved you."

  Elliott followed as Laila ran to where Zara lay on the ground. Her eyes were still open, but barely. And she was trying to speak. It was a gurgling--a throaty whisper of words.

  "Shh," Laila cautioned. "Don't try to talk. An ambulance is on the way."

  But Zara seemed insistent. She looked up to Elliott with pleading eyes as Elliott bent closer to hear her.

  "Zoltag," she said. Then her eyes fluttered closed.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Laila

  "What did she just say?" Laila asked, her mind racing at a million miles per hour. She'd heard the girl, but she needed to hear Elliott say the word to be sure she wasn't jumping to conclusions.

  "I don't know. I think it might have been a name. Zoltag?"

  "Zoltag? You're sure?" Laila asked. Zoltag was the name of the clan who had staged an unsuccessful coup against the throne several years ago. Laila's family had little dealing with the Empress. Their clan sent a delegate to the palace once a year, sometimes more, but she had never been herself. Neither had her father. All she really knew of the royal family were stories. And there was one in particular that seemed to be coming into focus at the moment.

  "I think that's what she said. Yes. I'm positive. Why? Does it mean something to you?"

  "How much do you remember about your parents?" Laila was calculating the dates, cross-checking her memory of the events against Elliott's age.

  "Nothing. I was just a baby."

  The more she thought about it, the more her new idea made sense. So many things suddenly didn't add up about Elliott. Bear clans were usually very tight-knit. She'd never heard of an orphaned bear shifter. Sure, parents sometimes died and left children behind, but they were always absorbed into the clan. They were always adopted by family.

  And then there was Elliott's wealth. She hadn't asked him about money--it didn't matter to her one way or the other--but that house in New York had to be worth millions. She'd guessed twenty-five million when she'd been there. And he'd paid the editing costs out of pocket. She'd thought he must have been stretching himself thin to do it, but maybe she'd been wrong.

  The house alone was an outrageous amount of money. It was an amount of money that should have made Elliott well-known in the shifter community--a celebrity. But he'd lived a relatively quiet life. She'd never even heard of him, and he'd barely known any other shifters. How was that possible? How was it possible that a child who'd inherited so much money from shifter parents was completely unknown to the shifter community?

  The pieces of the puzzle were snapping into place.

  Was it possible?

  Could Elliott be ... royalty?

  She'd heard the story when she was a child, but it had been so long without seeing any of them that most believed it was just a fairy tale. After the attack on the palace, after the Emperor had been killed, and the bomb had gone off at his funeral, it was rumored that the young princes hadn't died at all, but survived. It was rumored, in fact, that the Empress had sent her four sons into hiding.

  The story was that she'd done it to keep them safe. She'd let people believe they were dead in order to protect them until they could claim the throne, though it had come at great personal sacrifice to them all. She'd had to live alone. She'd had to miss watching her sons grow into men. And the children had grown up without a mother's love. The story had always made her sad, but she could never decide if it was sadder if the princes had died after all.

  What she'd never considered was the possibility that the sons--the lost princes, as some referred to them--would have survived, but been brought up with no knowledge of their past.

  But the more she thought about it, the more she realized that it was exactly what she herself would do if they were her children. Telling them who they were was an enormous risk. Children talked. Children couldn't be trusted to keep secrets--especially ones that might get them killed.

  And, of course, there was the other part. They wouldn't be allowed to take the throne until they had their mate by their side. They would have had to stay away long enough to find love, or lose their claim to the throne.

  "Laila? What's going on? What are you thinking?" Elliott asked. In the streets beyond, she could hear the wail of sirens approaching.

  "I'm thinking ... I'm thinking we need to talk to Nigel."

  Chapter Eighteen

  Elliott

  Somehow, Elliott made it out of the building with Laila before the police stormed in and asked questions. At first, Elliott was clad only in an overcoat they'd found in the coatroom, his attire having been destroyed when he shifted. But he'd found their driver and called Nigel from the car.

  "I'm on my way," Nigel said. "I'll take the jet."

  "You're coming here?" Elliott asked. "Can't you just tell me what this is about?"

  "I'm sorry, son, but what I have to tell you needs to be said in person. In the meantime, it's imperative you stay safe. Don't go back to your hotel. In fact, don't go anywhere you've ever been before."

  "Am I in danger?"

  "We need to operate as if you are, yes. And if you're in danger, Laila is too. It's important you stay together until you can get to the plane and we can get you both out of the city."

  Elliott felt every protective cell in his body light up and catch fire. He practically growled his next words at Nigel. "If she's in danger, I have a right to know."

  "You do and you will. But I need you to trust me right now, Elliott. Have I ever steered you wrong before?"

  Elliott took several deep breaths before continuing. Nigel had never failed him. He had to trust his advice now. "No, you haven't."

  "And I don't intend to now. So meet my plane at the airfield in six hours. I'll text you the details."

  Elliott agreed and hung up the phone. Then he went into action mode.

  Their first order of business was to dress his wounds and get them both new clothes. He had none and Laila's gorgeous dress was stained in places with dried blood. His blood, most likely. He ordered the driver to an all-night big-box store where they could get clothes and first aid supplies.

  "I'll go in," Laila said.

  "By yourself? Not a chance." Elliott wasn't about to let her out of his sight.

  Despite getting odd looks from everyone inside, they managed to get what they needed and get out wi
thout trouble.

  The next order of business was to ditch the driver. This would be more complicated. Elliott directed him to drop them at a nearby hotel. They changed in the back of the town car while he drove.

  When they arrived, Elliott told the driver his services wouldn't be required any longer and the driver left. Elliott thought it was probably safe to assume he wouldn't tell anyone where they'd gone. But just to be sure, they slipped out the back door, and called a cab to take them to a small diner in a neighboring city.

  They ate in silence, watching the TV in the corner and trying not to attract unnecessary attention. News stories were full of the bizarre attack at the Sundance Film Festival, reporting two deaths--which Elliott knew must be Zara and her brother. Thankfully, no one else had been hurt and no one had stayed around long enough to see anyone shift.

  Their phones had been ringing constantly and filling up with messages from people asking about their safety and reporters requesting interviews. They didn't answer. Elliott had made a single phone call to contact the film's publicist and confirm they'd survived, but fled. She was already writing up a press release communicating their sorrow for the victims and planting misleading information about their current whereabouts. The whole situation was unreal.

  He wished Laila would tell him what was on her mind. But if she couldn't do that, he was thankful to have her by his side. Whatever he was facing, he felt stronger knowing they would face it together.

  By the time they arrived at the Heber City Municipal Airport--a small airport on the outskirts of the city, the two of them had been awake for over twenty-four hours.

  They walked out onto the airfield as the plane taxied to a stop. The door of the jet dropped down to form stairs and Nigel was there, waving at them to board.

  "I've waited long enough, Nigel," Elliott barked as he followed Laila into the aircraft. "What's going on here and where are you taking us?"

  Nigel looked at him with a frank, open expression. "To see your mother."

  #

  Elliott stared up at the tall, white spires of the palace as the snowmobile arrived at the front steps. The cold winter wind stung his cheeks, but he had never been more glad to be in the cold. Nigel and Laila had explained everything to him on the way there, and he knew he was about to meet his family for the first time.

  At first, he had felt cheated--not only of his mother's love, but also of the knowledge of his past and the ability to make his own choices. But as he'd talked with Nigel and Laila, he'd realized the direness of the circumstances. The Zoltags had wanted him dead, even as an infant. They'd been trying to kill him and his brothers after assassinating his father. What other choice did his mother have but to send them away? Especially considering shifter heirs couldn't take the throne--or even return to the palace once they'd come of age--without bringing their mate.

  Elliott could understand the sacrifices everyone had made to keep him safe. Nigel, especially, had sacrificed. He'd given up most of his adult life to raise Elliott. He hadn't been home in thirty years. Elliott glanced at the man as the giant snowmobile came to a stop. Nigel was staring up at the grand palace in awe, and Elliott was sure the water in his eyes had nothing to do with the fierce wind.

  After hearing the story, Elliott had realized that he could either be upset about the troubled beginning of his life, or he could be thankful for all that he had. He'd grown up happy. He'd made a good life for himself. Above all, he'd found Laila. And now they were about to meet family that he'd always wanted but never knew he had. Elliott decided to count his blessings rather than his scars.

  Elliott took Laila's hand, glad to have her by his side during this important moment. As the three of them climbed the steps, the door swung open and two burly men stepped out. They wore thick parkas that obscured much of their features, but Elliott knew exactly who they were: his brothers.

  The two grinned at him. One had hair shaved close to his head. The other's was slicked back.

  "Welcome, brother," the one with the slicked-back hair said. "I'm Hudson."

  "And I'm Samuel," the other said. "But everybody calls me Sam."

  "Elliott," Elliott said, still in a bit of a daze, holding out his hand to shake theirs. It wasn't exactly like looking in a mirror, but the two men's strong jawlines, tall statures, and deep blue eyes couldn't hide the truth. No one who saw them together would question if they were related.

  Hudson slapped him on the back and Sam turned their handshake into a hug.

  "Come on," Sam said. "Mom's inside, and I'm sure you have a lot of questions."

  But before they could make it through the doors, Elliott saw a petite blur racing toward them, pulling on a jacket over her nightgown and trying to walk outside in her slippers. If he wasn't mistaken, he thought she looked a bit different than the last time he'd seen her.

  "Kay?" Laila exclaimed, racing up the stairs to meet her friend. "What are you doing here?"

  Hudson's attention quickly turned to Kay. "Don't you dare take one more step onto these slippery stairs," he growled, scooping her up with a grin before she could take a single step outside. "I told you I would send her up as soon as she got here."

  "Put me down," Kay protested. "I'm not porcelain. I'm just pregnant."

  "Pregnant?" Laila asked in shock as Hudson delivered Kay back inside.

  As he set her down, her nightgown settled over her rounded belly.

  "Okay, you have some explaining to do," Laila said.

  Kay bombarded her best friend with a hug. "Oh Lay, I missed you so much. I thought you might never get here."

  "You knew I was coming?" Laila asked.

  "Sort of. I mean, I wasn't sure, but I hoped," Kay said, then she shoved her left hand forward, showing off a big diamond. "I wanted to tell you so bad, but I couldn't."

  "You're married?" Laila asked. Somehow, Elliott thought she looked more surprised about that than the baby, "To Elliott's brother?"

  "I know! Isn't it crazy?" Kay beamed. "I promise I'll tell you everything. But first I have questions for you. How was the premiere? Did people like it? What did you wear? Has Elliott proposed yet?"

  Kay continued to bombard Laila with questions as they walked down the long hall of the palace.

  Then a woman stepped out into Elliott's vision. She was wearing jeans and a thick white sweater. Her long black hair was piled in braids like a crown around her head. Was that her?

  "Elliott," she said. "Welcome home, son."

  Chapter Nineteen

  Laila

  "Now that we've all had a chance to get to know each other a little bit, there's something we need to discuss," the Empress said.

  Laila turned her attention away from Kay and Frankie, Sam's lovely wife. The three of them had been talking for hours, and Laila already knew that she and Frankie would become close friends one day.

  On the other side of the room, the boys quieted their conversation too.

  "As you know, your eldest brother, Maxwell, has yet to join us," the Empress continued. "What you may not know, is that Maxwell secured the title of Emperor when he was only five years old. He became the legal monarch of all shifterdom the day his father died. I only rule in his stead as Empress Regent."

  Wide-eyed looks passed over the room. Laila knew very little about how the monarchy worked. It was barely a part of her father's life, much less her own.

  "However, by law, I am only allowed to rule until his thirty-fifth birthday, which is fast approaching. If he has not either ascended the throne by that time, or officially abdicated to the next heir in line, then not only do I lose my title as Empress Regent, but the line of ascension passes away from Maxwell and over to your father's second cousin, Dietrich Zoltag."

  "What?" Sam said in shock.

  "The Zoltags are related to us?" Kay asked.

  "Very loosely, but yes," Colette confirmed. "Your father's ancestors built in his succession rights as a concession to avoid war. He is the last of the Zoltags in the line of ascension, and his right
s are tenuous. Even his children can't succeed him. But him taking the throne could be enough to harm our kingdom in irrevocable ways."

  "That can't happen," Hudson said.

  "No shit it can't," Elliott said. "They've been trying to kill us. They attacked me at Laila's premiere. They kidnapped Kay, and they tried to kidnap Frankie too."

  Laila and Elliott had been told Samuel's story, about how the Zoltags had first tried to recruit Sam only to attack Frankie once they realized Sam wouldn't join them. They'd heard Hudson's story too--how the Zoltags had kidnapped Kay in order to lure Hudson toward danger, and how she'd been saved by a brave Zoltag woman named Annika.

  Laila's thoughts flew to their awful night, to the viciousness with which Zara had been killed after saving Elliott from her brothers.

  It turned out each of the princes had encountered the Zoltag sisters--even Elliott, who'd met Annika and Blanca the very night before he'd left LA to come work on Laila's film. Everyone believed Dietrich hoped one of his daughters would bond with one of the princes. They also thought Dietrich might first be trying to sway the princes to his own side in order to infiltrate the palace.

  They'd discussed Zara's behavior in depth, and agreed that Zara had likely been sent to distract Elliott from finding his mate after he didn't bond with any of her sisters. But she'd changed her mind, and her family's punishment had been both cruel and swift.

  "We can't let them be in charge," Laila said, thinking of her father and her cousins. "If they're so awful to their own family, what would they be like to their subjects?"

  "Very cruel, I'm afraid. As most of you know, Dietrich believes that bears hold supremacy over all other shifters. Giving him the throne is a death sentence to our brothers and sisters of all other species. The wolf clans especially, who are his biggest threat. He's wanted them dead for decades."

  "That's disgusting," Frankie said. "What you all can do--it's incredible. And rare. Why would anyone want less of it in the world?"