The smirk on the King’s face as he looks me up and down tells me that he is indeed the reason I am here.
Were those men who took me from the woods looking for me specifically?
Did Orrin send them after me because I ran from him?
I ran because the vision scared me, and it scared me because I never imagined I would spark with the first wolf I came across — especially not a King and obvious powerful Alpha. But then, I’d believed I was a bear until two weeks prior.
I’m forced to my knees in front of the King by two men pushing on my shoulders. The sound of the drums suddenly ceases when the King holds up his hand. I’m grateful because the pounding of those drums was causing a migraine.
That’s crazy; shifters don’t suffer from migraines.
<I don’t want to strip in front of these people, but if I don’t, my clothes will be torn from my body when I shift. But I can’t bring myself to remove my dress, so I don’t.Orrin eyes me curiously when I crouch down with my right hand on the ground. I lift my head to look at him, this beautiful, powerful man whom I feel my heart and body yearning for. I’ve heard of this kind of connection before, but I have never felt it.Why would I?If Orrin is my mate, then that’s why no connection of this kind was ever mine before this moment. I haven’t lived as a wolf for a month yet, and I have so much to learn.Although I would be a liar if I said there wasn’t sexual chemistry of some kind between Christopher and me. Christopher used to tell me that’s all we needed, even
Anja was beautiful out there, just as I knew she would be.When I sent Galagh and Emroy to search for the mysterious woman in the woods and her feral child, the only thing on my mind was the vision we shared. I’m not sure if it was my foresight or hers. Only the most powerful of shifters possess the gift, and I doubted that Anja was such a shifter.I couldn’t settle; nothing I did calmed my mind. As the days passed, I became more determined to find my mate.There was something that bothered me, however. I knew Anja was a shifter; I smelled it on her, the bear within the moment she ran from me. It bothered me because I couldn’t stop thinking about her, but wolves and bears avoid each other at all costs.So why the hell did the Moon Goddess pair me with a damn bear?
I watched those rare violet eyes of Anja’s wolf, pinning me with her stare. My brother noticed, but of course, he did.Of course, the whole pack was in awe when I leapt from my seat, landing on all fours in front of their new Queen. My wolf howled to the sky as Anja’s wolf told us they were now ours. She nudged her beautiful head into my neck, and the energy flowed through us, connecting us, branding us as one.Back in human form, my servants rush to cover both Anja and me with robes. I growled the second we shifted back, knowing my subjects could see Anja naked was enough to have me tear them all apart! My wolf was ready to burst out, and I had to fight my instincts to protect what was mine. Luckily for me, my servants are quick, and Anja was naked before them for less than a second.I now stand in front of my subjects, their attention
Orrin stalks towards me, shedding his robe as he goes, and all I can do is gawk at him, a gasp stuck in my throat. He’s enormous, strong, powerful, and it drips from him in the bucketload.His chest heaves as he stands before me in nothing but his birthday suit.My eyes take in the sight of him, so beautiful it takes my breath away. Orrin is enormous and full of muscle in all the right places. I want to reach out and touch his perfectly silken chest; those muscles are screaming for me to lick them. I want to trace the V at his hips with my fingertips.I’m still hung up on the fact he has no hair on his body. Maybe it’s a cliché to think all men are hairy, but most bear shifters are. The fact Orrin isn’t; surprises me. Orrin is the King of his clan, so maybe he’s hairl
More sparks shoot through me as Orrin lays his hand on my cheek. My pussy throbs and Asha howls loudly inside my head. She wants Orrin more than her next breath, and she’s not going to let me deny him as much as I think I want to.What will happen to me once Orrin and I mate?If he marks me, then I’ll be bound to him for the rest of my life. I don’t know if I want that; I don’t even know the man.‘He’s our mate, Anja. Being with Orrin for the rest of your life will be perfect.’‘How can you say that, Asha? We don’t know anything about this man!’
It’s morning when I finally come around. I’m in Orrin’s bed, soft sheets surrounding me, naked as the day I was born, and I ache everywhere.The light from the sun is shining through the gap in the dark curtains. Orrin is not beside me, and I can’t sense him in the room, meaning he isn’t here with me any longer.I sigh to myself and stretch out my aching body. A smile draws on my lips as I think about what happened last night. I never dreamed sex could be like that, so raw, so animalistic. I know we’re animals inside, but I thought a girl’s first time was supposed to be gentle lovemaking.I also didn’t bank on feeling like this the morning after, especially when I told Orrin that I didn’t want him to mark me.
My mother, Lady Larentia Dalgaard, sits to the left of the dining table beside her youngest son, Adrian, and across from her three young daughters, Adore, Allure, and Fawna.My mother was not here last night to bear witness to Anja’s confession. Much to my annoyance, she was out with some Lord she’s now dating. However, I cannot tell my mother who to date, even if I’d rather she didn’t.Mother went through a lot when she lost my father, and if this Clive fellow makes her happy, who am I to deny that?Of course, Mother has been filled in on the sparking of Anja and my wolves. She has been beside herself with glee all morning.Although Mother has concerns about the whole Anja being the daughter of King Leopold, she now understands that Anja is a wolf and not a bear, and she will not stand in
“Is she as beautiful as everyone is saying?”I smile at Adore.Such a beautiful young lady just fifteen years old and a future doctor in the making. That is Adore’s dream, much to Mother’s dismay. She believes all women should stay home and bear cubs, not out there doing what she deems a man’s job.If I taught my sisters anything, it’s not to waste their lives in that way; each is special and has the right to be whomever they want to be. Of course, they have to run things by the King and get my approval. But as long as they follow my rule, all is well.Adore has long brown hair and brown eyes; she’s not very tall, but she is incredibly smart. She hasn’t had her first transformation yet, but the day is not far off; I can feel it in my bones.