16

I couldn’t sleep through the night.

I tossed and turned like a mad woman. Thankfully, Tavlor complain throughout the night and when morning came, I was already showered when he awoke.

“Everything all right?” Tavlor asked as he got out of bed.

“Of course.” My voice cracked, as I looked at his bare chest and those abs I desperately wanted to run my hands up and down. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

He said nothing. He finished showering shortly after, and we were ready to go by the time the sun came out. My father surfaced not long after we conjured our food onto the table.

“How come we’re going to the shifter realm so early?” I asked as soon as we’d finished eating. Not that I was complaining, but I was curious if there was a reason for it.

I was a little confused by our schedule. Witches and warlocks loved their sleep!

“The shifters are morning creatures,” my father said as he sipped on his morning coffee. “Especially wolf shifters. You’ll find bears are not especially morning people. But to answer your question, they’re going to show you a great deal of respect if you abide by the time they keep rather than the time you keep.”

Bear shifters… what a thought. I’d never even imagined that was possible.

“Okay.”

What else could I say? As usual, I didn’t know anything about this world, nor its inhabitants. I just had to trust that the information I was being given was all correct.

The three of us followed the same routine as we had the day before. Tavlor, armed to the teeth, was dressed in dark, long robes. My father wore a similar plain outfit, not wanting his clothes to point out the grandeur of his position.

Our cloaks today were all thick, natural fibers. No fur, for obvious reasons. But they were a level of comfort and warmth should we encounter a cold climate, which I was expecting we would.

As soon as we were all ready, we slipped through a portal door and whoosh, we were off.

Once through that strange, cold void of space, I opened my eyes. I stood in a thick wood. I inhaled the pine scent and shivered at the chill of the morning air as it touched my cheeks. The air was crisp and clear and burned my lungs, but in a good way.

I pulled my cloak around myself tighter. “It’s freezing.”

My father moved ahead and we walked together along a beaten path, around the huge trees and large bushes.

“It’ll warm up.” He nodded to his left. “The sun’s rising.”

I glanced towards the horizon that I could see between the trees. “That’s… beautiful.”

I stopped walking for a moment, giving myself a chance to take in the sight. The sun cast incredible colors across the sky and land. Reds and oranges, but also purples and pinks.

Just breathtaking.

If everything were ideal, it would have been just me and Tavlor here for romantic reasons rather than political ones.

We kept walking, I assumed to find whatever meeting point we’d been assigned.

There was a sudden growl ahead of us. Tavlor put a hand out, signaling to stop. I froze.

The growl intensified, then I realized it wasn’t just in front. The sound was coming from all around.

Behind us. In front of us. To the sides.

They had us surrounded.

I swallowed. I had been caught by shifters before and the experience wasn’t pleasant. I didn’t want to repeat it, quite frankly. I didn’t want to attack the shifters as we were in their realm and they probably saw us as threats, but at the same time, I didn’t want to be injured, either.

The hairs on my neck stood on end as the noise began to sound more threatening, deep and throaty. Large grey and black wolves appeared between the trees. Their yellow, glowing eyes stood out against the early morning light.

At the very least, I could protect us from them.

I threw my cloak back and conjured up a protection spell, getting ready with a more offensive spell if needed. I didn’t want to use it, but I wouldn’t go down without a fight, even if we were in a different realm.

I’d killed this type of shifter before, and unfortunately, I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again if they forced my hand. Especially to protect my father or Tavlor.

“We are here to see the Alpha, Robert Tannen,” my father called out, his hands up in a placating gesture. The growling stopped, as though someone had switched off a tap. Then the wolves were gone, disappeared as though they had never been.

In their place stood men.

Naked men.

Um…

I cleared my throat and looked away, covering my face with my hand so I wouldn’t see anything I probably shouldn’t. Although, I was curious….

“You’re the High Warlock,” said the man at the front of us. He was older that the men flanking him, obviously a beta or second in charge. His eyes narrowed at us, taking us in. He was probably trying to see if we were a threat, if we were planning something.

He had long black hair and a body built for speed and stealth, lightly padded in muscle, but his ribs stuck out on both sides. I wasn’t expecting that. I expected corded muscles, domineering brutal strength radiating off him in waves.

I frowned as I examined him and the men immediately in front of me.

He’s not eating enough. I looked to each one. None of them are.

I glanced around, assessing the health of the whole pack, and trying not to look at the long, hanging flesh between their legs. Which was difficult when I’d only seen one naked man before.

Stupid morbid curiosity.

None of them seemed perturbed by their nakedness. They stood, their shoulders rolled back, pride simmering from them. Their gazes all mirrored the beta, suspicious and wary.

I flicked my gaze back to the man speaking before us. He was fleshier than the average around us, but that wasn’t a good thing.

None of them are very well.

My father stepped forward.

“Yes. I am.” He still held up one hand while he gestured with the other, trying to ensure that the wolves understood we meant them no harm. “And this is Tavlor, my bodyguard.” He gestured to where my lover stood, then to me. “And my daughter, Ava.”

The man at the front of the pack raised his eyebrows.

“Your daughter?” he asked. “Since when do you have an heir?”

I pressed my lips together to stop myself from laughing. I liked how forth right these people were. They didn’t care that Matlock was a High Warlock. They cared about the truth and they had no qualms about calling out anything that didn’t add up.

“Ah, well…” my father began but then stopped, as though he was at a loss for words.

I wasn’t. I stood next to my father so they had a clear view of me. For some reason, I had no compulsion of hiding away.

“I’m illegitimate,” I explained. “The product of an affair my father had before he was forced into an arranged marriage by the Council.”

There was a strange grumble around us, of approval or anger, I wasn’t quite sure. But the sounds weren’t aggressive. If anything, they were surprised and a bit curious as though how such a thing was possible, especially since it went against the Council’s precious rules.

Then the man at the head of the pack smiled, in a strangely authentic way.

“Nice to know Warlocks are men too,” he said.

I rolled my eyes. If only he knew.

“Definitely. Can we go see your Alpha now, please?” Even I could hear the snap of annoyance in my tone, but there was no correcting it now. I should have added that we were on a time crunch and I was cold, but I thought they wouldn’t particularly care. They might even see it as complaining.

The pack leader stared at me for long moments, then nodded. “Come with us.”

The pack turned and began to walk, so we followed the large group of men. The whole time, I kept my eyes above, trying to scan the horizon. Anywhere but on them and their nakedness. Despite my confidence on speaking to them, I wasn’t sure how I felt about being surrounded by naked men.

They led us to a small, squalid town.

Oh. My. God. Was this how all shifters lived?

I’d thought the Fae Kingdom was in disarray. But this… this… town wasn’t fit for people to live in. The smell… god, the smell of human waste was pungent in the air. The children were mostly naked, running in the streets despite the cold. And the houses…

God… they weren’t houses. They were pieces of tin and some sticks holding them up.

This was absolutely pitiful.

I glanced across at my father, horrified. But he didn’t flinch. And he didn’t look my way. He simply walked with his head held high, following the pack through the town, until we came across a slightly larger tin shed.

I wasn’t sure what was worse: acknowledging the disarray here or purposefully ignoring it.

I decided to follow my father’s act and remain silent, though there were a few times I had to bite my bottom lip to keep from saying anything at all.

I wondered where the Alpha lived compared to his people.

Would this Alpha have a nicer home than the rest of his pack? Had he hoarded powers, or riches, while his people had none? Or was it like with the Fae, their magic stolen but for one man and one room?

I’d soon find out.

The naked wolf man beta moved a beige curtain, which served as a door, out of the way. He flicked his head and I assumed that meant we should follow.

My father went in first, and Tavlor indicated that I should follow him, my Fae warrior bringing up the rear, sandwiching me so I was protected.

Once inside, the barrenness wasn’t much better, though there was some furniture. It looked as though it was constructed by the wolves rather than purchased at a store, which meant the wolves had to be crafty.

No weapons. No technology.

Just a group of worn couches and a pack of men standing around. Most of them were only half naked, and one older man with a greying beard who was fully dressed.

“Alpha,” Tavlor said in greeting, stepping forward and bowing his head. How Tavlor knew it was him, I didn’t know unless Tavlor was familiar with all rulers in every realm.

The older man smiled, his teeth white and surprisingly sharp. “Please. Sit.”

We walked forward and sunk into the old, comfortable couches.

My nose was still struggling with the smell of the people, and excrement around us, but I was slowly getting used to it.

“Thank you for seeing us, Alpha,” Tavlor said, speaking in lieu of my father, which I thought was odd.

Perhaps Tavlor had a better relationship with the shifters than my father did?

“I was intrigued by your request.” His gaze turned to me. “The daughter of the High Warlock. A daughter I was not sure existed until now.”

I smiled back at him, biting my tongue. I was only one of the daughters of the High Warlock, but that was a secret I needed to keep to myself.

“I’m Ava,” I said, trying to keep my voice under control. I bit my tongue right after to ensure I didn’t say more than I needed to.

“Robert,” the older man said, placing a hand on his chest.

“Nice to meet you,” I said, not sure exactly what greeting was appropriate for a wolf shifter at all, let alone the Alpha.

Robert’s gaze slid over to my father, but he didn’t say anything. Interesting. There was no love there, obviously.

Then he moved his attention to Tavlor.

“What do you want on this day, Fae?” he asked. His voice was stiff, cautious.

I frowned at the change in attitude and tone. Tavlor was only half Fae, but was that the better half as far as the wolf shifter’s attitude went? Or the worse?

“Ava is deciding on whether she will become the official heir to her father, or if she will hand the mantle over to a man of the Council’s choosing,” Tavlor said.

Robert’s gaze narrowed. “I’m surprised it would even be a choice to be considered,” he said with a sneer. “But what does that have to do with me?”

“She wanted to meet some of the people from the realms the Council oversee,” Tavlor answered smoothly. “And we thought it prudent to her education that she meet you.”

“You mean control, don’t you?” the shifter corrected him with a bitter tone. “She needs to meet the people and the realms she’s going to control.”

Tavlor didn’t blink, of course. Didn’t even flinch, like he expected this.

I couldn’t help but take the bait. “Exactly!” I exclaimed. “But can we go back a step, Robert? Why would you assume I’d jump at the chance to be High Warlock?”

Assuming I’d read him correctly in what he’d just said.

He moved on his large armchair so he was facing me directly. The original softness and warmth was gone from his face, and there was now an aged weariness I hadn’t expected to see.

“The High Warlock has an enchanted life. Power. Wealth. Status. His own realm,” he said. “What isn’t there to jump at?”

I wrinkled my nose, trying to remind myself that he and his people had been suppressed by the Council for a long time, longer than I could imagine. “You mean the rules and regulations? The fact that the Council will use me as a puppet and essentially, I’ll have no real power? Or the fact they want to marry me off to some… asshole of a Warlock I’ve never met? And I have to produce the next one, of course. A boy. Only one child. It’s all in the contract. I know that means nothing to you…”

I let my words hang in the air, because he was a man. He’d probably mate with anyone, not caring who it was, if it meant good things for his people.

“But I’m already in love,” I continued, “and I don’t want to give him up just because of some stupid rule in an ancient text that has nothing to do with what I can do for the people in my realms.”

Robert slid forward, sitting on the edge of his seat. “What did you just say?”

I grinned. “Um, which part?”

“You said that the High Warlock is just a… puppet?”

I shrugged. “Yeah, pretty much. The Council pulls all the strings. And that is so not the way I roll. Even if I did accept the position, they’d probably have me kicked out within the week for stirring things up.”

Robert hadn’t taken his eyes off me, and as he swallowed awkwardly, I noticed a woman hanging around in the background. She kept looking down at her hands, trying to busy herself, but I could tell she was listening in.

I glanced up at her, then back at the Alpha. “Do you get to choose who you marry?”

His demeanor changed completely at my question. He sat straighter, prouder, and held out his hand. The woman who’d been hanging around in the background stepped forward and took his hand.

She stood tall and proud. She was also visibly pregnant, her bulging belly pressing against her long, thin dress.

“Hello. I’m Ava,” I said with a smile, wondering if I should stand up as she was, but deciding it was better to stay seated unless requested to change.

“I am Jennifer. The Alpha’s mate.”

Something tickled in the back of my mind, an old lesson of my mother’s. “Do you mean, fated mate? Or… how does it work here?” I lifted my hands. “I grew up in a totally private realm with only my mother for company and she wasn’t exactly forthcoming about all of this. So please excuse my ignorance.”

“How do you know about Fated Mates?” the woman asked, cocking her head like a bird.

I shrugged. “I remember my mother teaching me something about it when I was young, and it stuck.”

Bella had dismissed the notion as nothing more than biological urge while Courtney was young and thought it was gross. “It was such a beautiful ideal. Though, I’m not much of a book worm and don’t remember all the details, I’m sorry.”

The mate and the Alpha exchanged glances, then she spoke. “Yes, we are fated mates.”

She looked considerably younger than the Alpha, but what did I know about wolf genetics and aging?

“And is this your first child?” I asked, gesturing to her swollen belly.

She laughed. “No. We have five others.”

“Five.” I gaped at her. “Wow. You’re amazing!”

Her face lit up with a smile, then she tugged her smile down as she looked at her mate with regret. It was obvious they had no intention of liking me.

I slid to the edge of the couch and addressed them as honestly as I could.

“Listen, the main reason I am here is to find out what sort of damage the Council has done over the years, and if I want to be part of a solution,” I admitted. “Because being the High Warlock will mean basically giving up all my freedom, and then I’ll be fighting tooth and nail for the rest of my life to help people the Council doesn’t want me to. I want you to know that despite this legacy, I am on the complete other end of the spectrum. I am aware I have to prove myself to you, but I wanted to tell you myself.” I caught my breath. “So please… help me understand what your life is like. What would you change? If I had the power to help, what help would you need?”

The Alpha and his mate exchanged a look.

Then the Alpha asked me, “Are you serious?”

“As a seizure.” I said, using one of my mother’s old expressions.

“You want to know… how to improve our lives?” he asked again. It was as though the thought was incomprehensible to him.

I frowned. “Well, yes. Unless you think your lives are perfect, and don’t want anything to change.”

I bloody well hoped that wasn’t the case. How could anyone be happy to be so poor, so undernourished, so…

“No! We’d change a hell of a lot if we could.”

I cocked my head at the Alpha. “Again, excuse my ignorance, but why don’t you?”

These men were strong, and fast, and capable. The Council had to have something to do with how badly they were doing.

“Why do you think we don’t?” He threw his arms out carelessly, his eyes at half-mast.

I grimaced. “It has to have something to do with the Council.”

My voice was flat.

“Of course, it does. They put taxes on everything we make and try to sell. They use magic to destroy our lands and crops when we don’t pay. We can barely grow enough to feed our children, and they take the animals we raise for meat.”

I shuddered. “That’s disgusting. How are you surviving?”

The men around me, who hadn’t made a noise since I arrived, chuckled.

The Alpha laughed in response. “We’re tough. Let’s just say that.”

I slid along the couch, getting as close as I could to the power couple.

“Tell me everything,” I said. “Don’t leave anything out.”