“First and foremost, the most important part of taking care of others in your village is seeing what the other villagers need and making sure those needs are met. We had weekly meetings in my village and during those meetings we would list everything we had an abundance of, if someone needed something we would either give them the item free of charge or trade it for something they need. As of right now, it seems like the most important thing for these young lads is getting food to their family. Do we have anyone who is able to supply food for another family?” I asked not expecting to get a response. As I predicted no one answered. It didn’t surprise me, because from the look of things, it didn’t seem like the other villagers were better off. “Okay, that’s alright. What we will do today, is gather some ingredients from each house, and make a soup large enough to supply everyone with a least one meal tonight. For those with younger children, if there is any extra we will package it an

An explosion sounds, and everyone in the conference room is thrown from their feet. The walls surrounding the room we’re in start to crumble. Ash, Raya and Hectate managed to escape the palace before the bomb went off, teleporting at the exact same time the explosion occurred. *’Nikolai, Mary’s been taken.’ Draq signals me through the mindlink, his voice weakened and in pain. My vampiric side engulfs me, taking control of my body as a loud cry of anger rips through me, my aura now surrounding the entire kingdom. They do not call me the king for no reason. I am not weak, I am the strongest being to walk this earth, and I will show them all, what happens when you fuck with my mate and my kingdom. The devastation from the explosion, is nothing compared to the devastation my aura is wrecking on the palace. I can see Ambrose through my mind’s eye trying to calm me down, but I’m too far gone now. The beast has taken over. The only way I’ll be able to regain control is by the touch of my

Marques was starting to irritate me, my blood boiling with rage as he looks at me with discontentment in his eyes. Every once in a while he’ll steal glances towards Mary as we walk towards my study. Whenever he looks at her his eyes are full of pity, plus something else. I want to say guilt, but what does he have to be guilty for. He didn’t put Mary in this predicament, the only thing he did was hold her until I could catch up. That is the only reason I was allowing Marques into my study. I already had a feeling on what he wanted to discuss, but I loved watching people grovel. Especially merpeople. They were the weakest of the shifters, having to return to the water every night as their body forces them to shift into their mermaid form. I already knew what Marques wanted. A small girl had been picked up by my scouts about a week ago. She hadn’t shifted yet, so her mermaid wasn’t fully present, meaning she could stay out of water. A mermaid born on land would be human until they first

“ I don’t have time to wait!” Nikolai booms, shaking my nerves when I realize the King was listening to my private conversation with his second in command, “Asher has marked Mary. She will die within the week if I don’t tend to her wound immediately.” Ah, now that made more sense. Nikolai has always been a fair and just leader. Every decision he’s made, every law he’s created has always been for the good of his people. I made no sense to me why Nikolai would suddenly give that up. Now knowing that Mary’s life was a stake, it made putting two and two together easy. If it was my mate, I would do anything to save her, even if it meant killing off the rest of the fae race. “I could dream walk to her.” I whisper quietly, cringing at my own suggestion. Dream walking could be dangerous. My soul would leave my body and I would enter into the Nether, the land of dreams, and navigate my way through the land until I found Mary’s dream. I would then rip my soul in half, leaving half in the net

"So Mary is safe?" I ask Ambrose one more time, wanting confirmation that my mate will be fine if we wait another week before waging war against the werewolf kind. "uhh...yeah," Ambrose replied hesitantly. "If anything happens to my mate, I'll personally see to your execution," I growl out at Ambrose as I walk past him and into my office. I scratched at my neck, where I would've been marked had the pain I felt from Ash biting Mary been mine. The phantom mark itched like a healing scab, which made me believe that Ambrose was telling the truth and that he was able to spell Mary. I pulled for my mate bond, wanting a sign from my bond or from my mate herself indicating that she was okay, anything to help me feel okay with abandoning her for the week, but the response was the as the one I was met with last night; nothingness, which was better than the heartwrenching effects of a mate who died but not as wonderful as the feeling of my mate's heart beating alongside my own. "You look lik