Sitting in front of a fireplace should have made Grayson happy, but all he could do was try to strangle his wolf into submission before it attacked one of the many Fae women who came up to talk to him and tried to get into his bed. Sure, they were gorgeous, but Grayson wasn’t into women. The men were too snobby for him to deal with even long enough to greet them, let alone anything more.
For some reason, he had assumed that when he and his betas, Adam and Russell, were admitted to see Queen Arabella, it would just be them, not them and a huge group of Fae.
“Is this seat taken?” a voice asked. Seconds later, a Fae woman sat in his lap.
Before Grayson could say anything or let his wolf attack the woman, the queen arrived. Not wanting to be rude, Grayson stood to greet the monarch. The fact that his uninvited guest ended up falling to the floor at the sudden movement just made him and his wolf snicker as his eyes remained on the queen.
Without the queen uttering a word, all of the Fae moved toward the door, leaving just Grayson, Adam, and Russell with the queen and her personal guards. When the door was closed behind the last person, the queen finally spoke.
“So, representatives, tell me what it is that you think I can do for you,” she said, moving to the chair opposite the one Grayson had just stood from. She gracefully sat down. “Please, be seated.”
Grayson sat down facing the queen, with her guards standing to attention at her sides. Adam and Russell took up position on either side of him.
Grayson met her gaze, clearing his throat before speaking. “As you know, there has been trouble with the witches—the ones from the Midnight Coven to be exact.”
“What sort of trouble is it that you would feel the need to come and see me?” she asked, curiosity evident in her tone.
“We believe that they are using the dark arts, but we don’t know what their end game is. We have come across a prophecy, one which seems to point to your involvement.”
“Our involvement? There would need to be something significant linking us before we would get involved.”
Although Grayson knew she was only stating facts and not trying to be cruel, he couldn’t completely hide his wince at her comment. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, the door burst open. Without thought, he moved to stand in front of the queen, ready to protect her if necessary. Growling from his left indicated that Adam and Russell were with him and a presence to his right let him know that at least one guard was there.
“What is the meaning of this intrusion?” Queen Arabella demanded from behind him.
Grayson took in the uniform of the man and realized he was one of the border guards. The person he was holding looked to be small, and with the grip the guard had, Grayson couldn’t tell if he was holding a man or a woman, but it was obvious that the person was unconscious.
“Please forgive me, Your Highness, but he came asking for sanctuary—“
“And so you carried him here just because he asked?” one of the queen’s guards demanded, sounding beyond pissed. He stepped forward, his arms extended as though he would take the unconscious man when suddenly something small and black launched itself at the guard, causing him to yelp and step back.
Grayson was surprised to see that it was a black house cat, which was now on the floor hissing at the guard.
“No, I carried him because he collapsed. I brought him because he said he would like to seek sanctuary from Queen Arabella and he asked in Elvish!”
The sudden silence in the room was only broken by the sounds coming from the cat.
“He spoke in Elvish?” the queen asked quietly.
“Yes, Your Highness. At first, all he said was take me to your queen, but the next time he spoke, he spoke in Elvish and he sounded like he understood the language, not like he’d only memorized a few phrases.”
The guard was obviously uncomfortable, shifting from one foot to the other while everyone in the room stared at him.
“Bring him closer to the fire. Let’s get him warmed up,” the queen stated.
Grayson saw the relief on the guard’s face. Stepping to the side, Grayson made room for the guard and their new guest, or rather guests, since the cat obviously belonged to the unconscious man. As the guard rushed past him with his burden, Grayson finally got a whiff of their scents and everything inside him froze. The guard deposited the man on the floor in front of the fire, then waited until the queen dismissed him before he raced past once again. At the lack of response the guard’s scent brought him, Grayson shifted his attention to the man lying on the floor with the cat sitting by his head.
“Gray, what are you doing?” he heard Adam ask him, but he ignored him and continued moving closer to the pair on the floor. The guard had placed the man on his side facing the fire so Grayson knelt behind him. Even without leaning closer, Grayson knew who the man was. Unwilling to deny himself the pleasure of the scent, he moved until his nose was pressed against the man’s neck.
“Gray?” Adam asked again.
Grayson continued to ignore him. His wolf was alternating between making happy noises and wanting to hunt down whoever was responsible for hurting the man—their mate.
“Mine,” he growled out.
“What?” numerous voices behind him asked while the cat in front of him purred.
Turning his head to look at those assembled, he noticed the surprise and confusion on their faces. “He’s my mate.”
While his friends and the guards looked completely shocked, it was the queen’s wince that drew his attention.
“Your Highness?” he asked.
She sighed. “Well, it looks like your prophecy is right about one thing. We will be involved.”
Although she said the words he wanted to hear, there was something off about her tone.
“What exactly has changed?” he couldn’t help asking. His gut told him that his mate had something to do with her sudden capitulation. The thought had all of his protective urges roaring to the front.
“Because the man you’re referring to as your mate is my nephew,” she admitted.
His jaw wasn’t the only one in the room to drop open at that revelation.