“I’m sorry,” I said. I looked over her shoulder to where Gabor stood, his face clouded with uncertainty. I wasn’t sure if I was talking to her or to him.
“Get out of here right now,” Camila said, stamping her foot and pointing to the ground outside.
Instead of obeying, I flicked my eyes to Lord Balam, who leapt into the helicopter, his muscles rippling under his jaguar cloak.
“I’ll bring you the amulet,” I said to Camila as the chopper began to rise. “I need to keep you safe. This is the only way.”
With that, I threw my entire weight at her. Her slender form may have held hidden strength, but it was no heavier than a human’s. She went flying, toppling from the chopper and hitting the ground outside. She gave a shriek that ripped into my very soul, and tears burst into my eyes.
After leaving my mother, this was the hardest thing I’d ever done.
Gabor leapt to the door, then turned back. Our eyes met, and for an instant, he wore no mask. I knew that no matter what he did for her, he agreed with me. He knew that the only way to keep her safe on her tour was to keep her from performing the tasks necessary. He didn’t say goodbye. His face said everything I’d needed to hear, everything he’d never said. Then, without a word, he turned and jumped, disappearing out the door as the helicopter climbed.
A sob wrenched free of my throat, and I fell to my knees. I had given up everything for the amulets so my sister wouldn’t have to. But giving up my virginity, or my dignity, or even my mother, couldn’t have hurt worse than giving up my best friend, my sister, the heart that beat inside my chest.
As Sir Kenosi rose from his seat to pull the door closed, I reached out, as if I could take back what I’d just done. But my fingers only touched the smooth, warm surface of the door.
“Goodbye, Camila,” I whispered.
And then Lord Balam was lifting me, and Kwame was asking what I needed. Shadow’s hand stroked back my hair, and Sir Kenosi instructed the helicopter’s operator where to go.
I realized in that moment that I hadn’t lost everything. I wasn’t alone. Just as I had given up everything for Camila’s bid for the throne, these four men had given up everything for me.
That’s when I knew the truth. It didn’t matter whether or not they were my mates. Each of these beautiful, terrible men was mine.
If you plan to continue with this series, there’s an epilogue…but I suggest you stop here if you don’t like cliffhangers and don’t plan to continue.
Epilogue
Shadow
Keeper, Panther Nation
The others slept, but I sat up, keeping watch even when the only dangers to us lay in peaceful slumber. Itzel’s body curled against mine, her head on my chest, her lips parted in sleep.
My mate.
I had never entertained the possibility that I might find a woman to be my mate, let alone a True Mate. But here she was, cradled in my arms. And even though I knew Kwame thought she was his mate, too, he hadn’t made a fuss. In the end, he probably wanted exactly what I did—to see his True Mate happy.
It didn’t matter that she somehow belonged to both of us. I’d already shared her with Balam. Seeing her with him didn’t diminish my love for her. There was no jealousy in me when it came to her. Jealousy was selfish, and what I felt for her was unbound by selfishness. I would have shared her with the whole world if it brought a smile to her face.
I leaned down, pressing my lips to her forehead. She gave a sigh and nestled closer. Somehow, in this ridiculously extravagant helicopter over the Arabian Sea, mated to the human daughter of a king who had executed my parents, I found a contentment I hadn’t known since childhood. The odd assortment of shifters with royal titles didn’t intimidate me. Though I was nothing more than a poor panther orphan, with my True Mate in my arms I felt like the richest man and most important man in the world.
Too soon, the helicopter began to descend. Sir Kenosi straightened in his seat and picked up the headset he’d used to communicate with the pilot.
“Thank you for taking us,” I said. “For letting us use your helicopter.”
The cheetah’s eyes flicked to my mate, who stirred restlessly as the chopper began to descend. I understood that look even if he quickly covered it with a casual grin.
“Anything to be rid of those cold-blooded ocelots,” he said with a shrug.
Itzel sat up, stretching her beautiful body before sagging against me again. “I left her,” she said dully. “I left Camila.”
Right where she belonged, I thought as the helicopter lowered. I knew nothing about the other nations, but the Lion Nation probably had some sort of transportation. Camila would probably find a way home—or come after us.
I hoped she had to suffer a little on the way. Itzel had done far too much of that for her sister already. From now on, now that we’d gotten rid of the biggest obstacle on the trip, maybe things would go a little easier for my mate. Maybe her turn to suffer was over.
Ahead of us, what looked like a lush green jungle spread out in all directions. A gorge cut through it, probably cut during one of the earthquakes that had wracked the world for the past several decades. A river ran through the gorge, and dotting the edges, I could just make out small grass huts.
“Camila will be fine,” I told my mate.
“Maybe not when she sees this,” Kenosi said with a grin, picking up a quilted bag from the floor next to a seat.
“The amulets,” Itzel said, a hand flying to her mouth.
“Will she come after them?” I asked.
“She’s probably already on her way,” Itzel said. “Oh god, what have I done?”
I pulled her in to comfort her, but this time she struggled free and jumped to her feet.
“You did the right thing,” Balam said in his deep, thick accent.
Itzel turned to us, her eyes rounding. “She’ll be coming here with only one guard after all.”
The helicopter gave a slight lurch before settling, and Kwame reached out to steady our mate. “She will be fine,” he said. “My parents will make sure of it. She’s the sister of their future daughter-in-law. They will give her every protection and comfort.”
“You don’t understand,” Itzel muttered.
“If she comes after you for revenge, we’ll protect you,” I said.
“Welcome to the Tiger Nation,” Kenosi said as the door lifted. We all stepped out, and the hair on the back of my neck raised. I dropped to all fours, my panther out before I could question it with my human mind, convince myself that there was a logical explanation for the watched feeling.
“Whoa, what the fuck,” Balam said, burying his hands in my fur as if to hold me back.
“He’s right,” Kwame said, glancing around. “There’s something here. Something not of this world.”
“What is it?” Itzel asked.
In answer, a massive tiger streaked from the trees. Itzel screamed. Kenosi shot across the space between us with unearthly speed, slamming into the tiger. But it was at least twice my size, even in my panther form. Without effort, it flung Kenosi’s body aside.
All around me, I heard ripping cloth as the other men shifted. I leapt, but the tiger was already sailing through the air. In a single bound, it cleared my form and slammed into Itzel, knocking her to the ground. I threw myself at its back at the same moment that Balam and Kwame dove in, now fully shifted. But it was too late.
It was too late for all of us.
The tiger closed its powerful jaws around Itzel’s neck and ripped her throat out.
From the Author
You were ready for that cliffhanger, right? ?? You were warned!
To find out what happens next, click here for book 3.
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Alexa B. James, Captive Princess: A Dark Paranormal Romance (Feline Royals Book 2)
Captive Princess: A Dark Paranormal Romance (Feline Royals Book 2) Page 23