Alpha Bear Princes Box Set

by Lily Cahill

  They all cheered and stood to hug the couple and give their congratulations.

  "Hold on," Laila said, turning to Annika. "Do you mean to tell me you fought today knowing you were pregnant?"

  "Um ... yes," Annika said warily. Her voice quieted. "I couldn't let my father ... not with a baby coming."

  Max's heart overflowed with admiration for his beautiful, brave wife. She'd known. She'd known and she hadn't told him.

  He thought he understood why. And while he hated the idea of his pregnant mate having been anywhere near the battlefield--and hated even more that she'd carried that burden alone--he respected her actions too. Annika would never be the sort of person to stand by when she knew something had to be done. She would protect their family to the end just like he would.

  He kissed her softly, sending her a message of love, of support.

  "I guess what they say about a momma bear is true," Frankie said. "Don't mess with them."

  "No shit. I think I just figured out my next movie idea," Laila laughed. "It doesn't get more heroic than that."

  "I'm pretty sure this makes Annika, like, a triple badass," Kay said.

  Max couldn't have agreed with them more. But right now, all he wanted was quiet. All he wanted was her.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Annika

  Their bedroom door closed behind them, and finally Annika was alone again with Maxwell. The day had been endless--the last several days had lasted a lifetime--and they hadn't been alone together in so long.

  She needed to feel him. She needed to have his skin against hers. She needed to touch his chest and feel his heartbeat and reset herself to the tempo they shared together.

  She kissed him with all the passion in her heart. He returned every bit of it, parting her lips with his tongue and taking from her hungrily.

  "I need you, baby," he said, echoing her thoughts and making her core tighten. "I need you so fucking bad right now."

  She groaned.

  He lifted her and she wrapped her legs around his waist as his arms reached beneath her ass to support her.

  God, she hated pants. She could feel his hardness pressing against her. She wanted him buried deep inside her, but they both still had clothes on.

  Apparently, Maxwell was thinking the same thing.

  He laid her down on the enormous four-poster bed and unbuckled his belt, taking off his pants in record time. She worked on her own while he undressed, but got a little distracted looking at him.

  He was so damn sexy. Criminally sexy. Mouthwateringly sexy. Even bruised from battle, his body was amazing. From his wide, brawny shoulders to his athletic chest to his defined calves, there wasn't an inch of his body that wasn't pure muscle. He was a powerhouse of a man, and every bit the image of a strong monarch.

  She giggled.

  "What?" he asked, giving her that sexy smirk she loved.

  "I think I'm about to fuck an Emperor," she said.

  "Maybe," he smirked again. "Or maybe I'm about to fuck an Empress."

  "Even better."

  He finished taking off the clothes she hadn't gotten to, pulling her T-shirt over her head and removing her bra.

  Her bare breasts puckered, begging for his touch. He obliged with his mouth, tonguing her tits one after the other. She moaned, feeling the heat between her legs rise.

  Soon they were skin to skin. His delicious warmth radiated above her as he parted her legs with his knees. She could feel his cock tickling her entrance, hard and thick and all for her.

  "Do you want me to fuck you, baby?"

  "Yes," she moaned. She was aching for him.

  "Tell me," he asked. And he was asking. She could see that he needed to hear it, needed to hear how much she needed him. There was nothing that separated them now--no boundaries of judgment or fear that prevented them from asking for what they wanted, for revealing their desire for one another. She was only too eager to tell him the absolute truth.

  "Fuck me, Max. I need you to fuck me."

  He pushed his enormous cock inside her and she cried out, hoping the thick tapestries on the bedroom walls would quiet her, because she couldn't quiet herself. He felt too good.

  He fisted her hair as he thrust between her legs, urgent and fast and exactly what she needed. He dove deeper with every rock of his hips. Every time she thought he couldn't possibly drive any deeper, he did.

  The hair on his chest teased at her nipples, driving her wild. She felt her pleasure building, felt his growing too.

  Then he was shifting her. Turning and lifting her until he was sitting on the edge of the bed and she was straddling his lap. The new position sank his cock in even deeper, and she gasped at the unbelievably pleasurable sensation. Then it was her turn to plunge.

  He squeezed her ass as she rode him. He mouthed her nipples as they bounced against the thick hair on his chin.

  Soon, she was right on the edge, barely able to hold on, praying that she could last long enough to give him release too.

  "Tell me you're mine," he begged.

  "I'm yours," she said. "And you're mine."

  "Yes, baby," he groaned.

  With that, he climaxed inside her. She let go too, her pussy milking his rigid cock with every delicious spasm of her own. Their bliss became satisfaction, became contentment as they collapsed together, laying fully on the bed.

  Their bodies were tangled together as their breath began to slow. To Annika, there was no better feeling in the world. He was her husband, her mate, her partner. She felt his heartbeat wild and alive against her own.

  Hand in hand, they would build a life together. Side by side, they would rule the world.

  Part Five: Bonus Content

  Prince Maxwell

  30 YEARS AGO

  The Empress Colette buttoned her eldest son, Maxwell, into his parka. Each snap hid more of his little tummy, and sent memories marching like toy soldiers through her mind. All the times she'd tickled him there as he laughed uncontrollably. Watching him belly-flop fearlessly into the lake, water wings and all. Seeing him walk around with that tiny belly stuck out in front of him, trying to mimic the muscular bulk of his Papa.

  But his Papa was gone now--killed by Dietrich Zoltag. Her little boy was now the ruler of the whole kingdom--or would be when he found his mate. In the meantime, Colette would rule as Empress Regent. Her first job was to keep her son alive until he was strong enough to rule on his own. Her next job was to keep the rest of her sons safe. And so she buttoned Maxwell into his coat and sang him his favorite song.

  "The blue bluebirds

  And the sky blue sky

  Belong to each other

  Just like you and I."

  The singing kept her from crying. She refused to cry. It would be easier on him if she was cheerful, and she didn't want him to remember her any other way. Besides, she had three other sons to be strong for too.

  "The great big whales

  And the great big sea

  Belong to each other

  Just like you and me."

  At four years old--nearly five now--Max would have a hard road ahead. He wouldn't forget her. He might always be haunted by memories. At the very least, he'd feel the loss of something he once had. The most selfish part of her was glad that he'd have some part of her to hold on to. But it was little solace. She knew the changes he was about to face would hurt him deeply. She also knew the alternative was much, much worse. If the Zoltags killed her husband, they'd try to kill her son too.

  "Of all the lovely creatures

  Great and small

  You're the greatest creature

  Of them all."

  "Again, Mommy?" he asked, his big blue eyes shining up at her with the purest of love.

  Her heart nearly ripped out of her chest.

  "Auntie Mara will sing it to you on the plane," the Empress said with a smile as she stood. She looked to her beloved sister, the woman in whom she was placing all her hopes and all the hopes of her entire shifter kingdom. "
Won't you, Mara?"

  "Of course, buddy," she smiled. After her children, Mara was the person in the world Colette loved most. Sending her eldest son away with her was doubly painful. But she was also the person Colette trusted the most, and right now, that was more important than her broken heart.

  "But I want Mommy to do it," Max whined.

  "I'll tell you a little secret," the Empress said, kneeling down next to him again. He was already so tall. How had he gotten so tall? How much more would he grow before she saw him again? "Mara knows lots and lots of songs. I bet if you ask her, she'll teach you a brand new song."

  "Can't you come on the plane ride instead, Momma?"

  "Not this time. This time is just for you to have a big adventure. You want to have a big adventure, right?"

  "Like Rob-son Cruise-oh?"

  "Exactly," the Empress said with a laugh. He'd always been her bold little adventurer. "So you're going to be very brave, right?"

  "Yes," he nodded sternly.

  "And you're going to obey Auntie Mara? Do everything she tells you?"

  This elicited a sigh. "I guess so."

  "Good boy. Now give me a kiss good-bye."

  He planted a sloppy kiss right on her lips, smashing into her like it was an attack. Kiss bombs. It was a phase he'd been going through lately. The Empress wondered what his next quirk might be. The prospect of missing it felt like a physical loss.

  She drew him into a hug, so tight she was afraid it might hurt him, but she couldn't stop herself. "You have a good adventure, okay?"

  "Okay," he said.

  "And promise me you'll remember one thing. The most important thing?"

  "Momma loves me," he grinned.

  "That's right. Momma loves you so, so much."

  "Love you too. Bye, Momma," he said.

  "Bye," she said.

  Then the Empress watched as her sister walked her little Emperor through the long, tall halls and out into the dark of night. The next time she saw him, he would be a man coming to claim his rightful place on the throne.

  Prince Hudson

  30 YEARS AGO

  Empress Regent Colette Rex saw her late husband's face for the last time as the council wrapped him in burial furs under the bright light of the moon. It had been the way of their people for generations and, despite modern practices, it continued with shifter royalty in honor of their past. Soon, he would be secured inside a weighted copper coffin and sink forever into the deep waters below the ice.

  The Empress had to stifle the urge to race to his side, hold him to her, kiss him one last time. He was her emperor, her husband, her only love. But she had to be strong. Her subjects were watching.

  Huts were arranged around the iced-over lake in a large circle. Dignitaries from across the globe had flown in to pay their respects to Emperor Phillip after news of his assassination had spread. Kings and Queens from Europe, Russia, China, and beyond watched the ceremony from small, heated cabins much like ice-fishing huts.

  At the center of the circle was the catafalque--the draped table upon which her husband had been laid for the processional viewing. Beyond that was the opening in the ice through which he would pass to his final resting place.

  As the standing Empress Regent, Colette sat in her cabin alone. She wished for the company of a friend to help her through this moment, but she was expected to endure the ceremony in isolation as a symbol of her eternal commitment to her late husband.

  Committing to him forever, even after his death, wasn't the difficult part. She knew she would never love anyone again like she had loved her Phillip. But facing the loss of him alone felt like a particularly cruel duty in light of what she was about to do.

  She wished she could be with her children right now. But that was impossible. Even if custom had allowed it, it was too dangerous. The Zoltags--who had murdered her husband in an attempt at taking the throne--were still at large. The children's cabin to her right stood only as a decoy to their true location inside the palace under heavy guard. The hut was empty, though smoke curled from its chimney to make it appear her boys were inside.

  She supposed her sons were too young to understand the ceremony anyway. Maxwell, her eldest son and now the Emperor by order of birth, wasn't yet five. And she'd already had to send him away and into hiding with her sister to protect him. She should be thankful the other three didn't have to be here either, but she longed to cradle baby Elliott to her chest. She longed for her eighteen-month-old, Samuel to sit on her lap. She longed to kiss Hudson, only three, on the top of his head and smell his dark, toddler curls. It was the only thing she could imagine making any of this more bearable.

  The ceremony continued. The members of the Imperial Council lifted Phillip's body into the coffin and sealed the watertight latches. Now came the part she'd been dreading.

  She stood from her position on the throne and walked forward.

  "I now commit Emperor Phillip's body to the grave. May the honor with which he served his people in life follow his name in death," she boomed. Then, her voice barely a whisper, she said, "Sleep peacefully, my love." She kissed her fingers and placed them on the cold copper, then stepped away.

  The council members lifted his coffin and began their slow march to the opening in the ice.

  Above her, Colette noticed the Aurora Borealis glowing green and blue. Legend had it that the Aurora held the spirits of the dead. She imagined Phillip in the sky, instead of under the ice. She imagined him watching over her always from the heavens. She imagined joining him in that glorious arc of color one day.

  The council procession stopped in front of the circular cut in the ice. The council leader, Agatha Drummond, lifted a horn to her lips and blew. The noise filled the arctic air as the coffin slid into the water and disappeared under the surface.

  At that moment, the emerald sky burst into flaming orange. At first, Colette thought that it was the Aurora, that perhaps her husband was waving a final farewell from the sky. But a force knocked her to her knees.

  Her vision soon caught up with the sound around her--or rather, the absence of it.

  She could hear nothing but a high, ringing tone.

  All around her, chaos erupted. Kings and Queens ran, slipping across the slick surface.

  She stumbled to her feet and looked behind her. The children's cabin was on fire, half of it splintered to nothing, the other half sinking fast into a hole blasted in the ice.

  Her children. Someone had tried to kill her children.

  Rage rose in the Empress' breast as five military officers raced to her aide.

  "Find them!" she screamed as they rushed her toward the safety of the palace. "Leave me and find them!"

  She knew who had done this, just as she'd known who'd killed Phillip. It was the Zoltag clan, and they would pay. She'd kill them herself.

  Colette struggled against the officers, though she knew they wouldn't listen. They were following protocol. They were protecting their monarch. No words of hers could convince them to do otherwise.

  With a scream that turned into a roar, Colette shifted into her bear form and raced away toward the burning hut. Just as fast, her escorts did the same.

  She reared up on her hind legs and snarled. Her bear was strong, more powerful than theirs. In an instant, she had them cowed. But they did not abandon her. When she dropped heavily to her paws and continued running across the ice, they followed her, ready to do her bidding.

  Colette charged through the crowd who were running away from the burning hut. She was hoping to find something--anything--that would give her a clue about where the culprits were hiding. She sniffed the ground, sniffed the air, but there was nothing.

  Another blast rocked into the night. This one went off near the palace gates. Wherever the Zoltags were, they could see, because the explosion had gone off just as the first crowd reached its entrance.

  Colette roared. She had never been more angry.

  Again, she reared up on her hind legs, seeking a better van
tage point.

  That's when she felt the bullet. It ripped into the flesh of her shoulder and she fell back with a howl, shifting back into her human form.

  Her military consort was on her instantly. Someone shifted into his human form and lifted her onto the nearest bear's back. Then the pack of them were off, racing her across the ice, around the walls, and in through a secret side entrance to the palace.

  Colette held on with her good arm, knowing she was in no condition to fight now. Justice would have to wait. And in the meantime, she needed to see her children, make sure they were okay.

  #

  The reality of the situation sank in as a medic removed the bullet from Colette's shoulder. The battle outside appeared to be over for the moment. They might be able to hold off another attack, but their defenses had suffered. It would take years to build up a strong enough military to make the palace truly safe again. Years.

  She couldn't risk her sons for even one more day. She had to send them away. She had no other choice.

  Once she'd been bandaged, she made the arrangements. Then went to the east wing where the children's rooms were located. Hudson, the heir presumptive, would have to go first. She walked into Hudson's room with a heavy heart. Could she do this? Could she really say goodbye to her child for what might be forever?

  Hudson had already been woken and dressed by his nanny. Now he was playing at his favorite activity: pretending to be a bear, just like his father. On all fours, he growled, crouched down, and ran headlong into a beanbag chair, bouncing off it with a hearty laugh.

  She loved that laugh, loved his determined, bull-headed little personality. At only three and a half, he was already the most opinionated of her sons and very much his own person. She tried to imagine the man he would become, tried to imagine the day he may come back to her, but considering the years that might elapse between now and then was too painful to consider.

  Ellen and Steve entered the room, suitcases in hand. They were the natural choice to be his guardians. Ellen was Phillip's cousin and Steve had been Phillip's childhood best friend. They were happily married but childless, despite having tried for many years. Colette knew she could trust them to care for Hudson as if he was their own.