by T. S. Ryder
As a boy he used to sneak in here and sit in this chair, looking at that map, pretending he was king, deciding what supplies went where and what armies would be sent to subdue what uprising. It didn't matter that there hadn't been an uprising since this underground kingdom was founded. All he had thought about was how magnificent it would be to prove his worth in battle.
At that time he was too young to understand that his father had to die before he could be king.
Henry sighed, loosening the tie that he wore. He'd updated his wardrobe to what was current on the surface, but the suit just felt oppressive, especially after the grand funeral he had just held for his father. He doubted he would ever get over how he had received the kingship of the vampires.
If he had listened to me, he would still be here.
Or perhaps he wouldn't. Henry had a child. A daughter rather than a son, but perhaps the next monarch would be a queen rather than a king. It was a year to the day since Rachel had told him she was pregnant. Maybe his father would be dead anyway, one way or another.
In any case, he was not going to make the same mistakes his father had. He would accept his future with the grace being a king demanded, and when his heir had an heir of his or her own, he wasn't going to demand that they kill the one they love just so he could live longer.
The door opened. Henry turned, expecting to see one of his father's witch-brides. He had thought that they would cause more trouble than they had, but they understood just as well as the vampires that the kingdom would crumble without a king, and most had taken voluntary exile. Those few who had stayed had tried to convince Henry that he needed more brides as if Rachel wasn't enough for him.
It wasn't one of his father's consorts who came into the room, however. It was Rachel herself, carrying their bright-eyed daughter. The baby had his blue eyes and Rachel's dark hair, and a little wrinkle between her eyes when she was about to cry that looked like Rachel when she sneezed.
"I thought you might like to see your daughter," Rachel said, handing the baby to her father.
Cheri waved her fists at him and smiled a toothless smile. Her fangs would be coming in soon, and they were already preparing to use a pump and bottle to allow her to continue to drink breast milk. They didn't know if witch blood would be deadly to a baby who was half-witch, but they didn't want to take the chance that Cheri would nip her mother while nursing and drink her blood.
"It was worth it, you know." He looked up at his queen and smiled sadly. "As much as it hurts to have killed my father. You and little Cheri… our family was worth it. Protecting you… I'd do it again."
Rachel kissed his forehead. "I just wish we could have made him see reason."
"My father was not one to take advice or listen to anybody else. How many times did I beg him to stop the tradition of kidnapping women from the surface? No. I loved him, but he would have never listened to me about you and little Cheri."
"At least you can get rid of that horrible tradition yourself now."
He nodded, stroking his daughter's cheek. "How is Cheri?"
His father hadn't harmed his oldest bride. She had been locked in her room but was given everything she needed. She was old, though, and her strength was failing her, although she had been thrilled and honored that he and Rachel had named the little princess after her.
"She's doing well. She has a bit of a cough, but the healers think that she still has a good five years left."
Five years sounded like no more than the blink of an eye, but Henry would take it. Deep down, he thought that Cheri might be ready to pass on. She remained cheerful and bright-minded, but she was tired, and the events of the past year had been hard on her. More than once she had mentioned that she was ready to sleep.
"Leila started her schooling today," Rachel said, sitting on the desk. "She's looking forward to learning how to use her magic properly. And I think she might have her eye on one of the other students. I would never have thought… but I guess now that she doesn't think she has to look after her older sister, she can relax."
At that, Rachel rolled her eyes, and Henry laughed. "She'll do just fine. What about you? Are you going to rethink going into school?"
"No. I'm going to learn how to control my magic, and that's it. I don't need to learn all those spells and incantations. I'm getting a better handle on how to control these visions, and that's good enough."
Henry nodded. Cheri gurgled and he sat her up, bouncing her in the way that always made her smile. His heart always felt lighter when he saw how bright and alive his little girl was. All his brides–they were still his brides, even though he knew he would only ever sleep beside Rachel–were doing well in their chosen tasks. Becky had returned to the surface to complete her medical training, but she was going to return once she graduated.
He looked up at Rachel again to see a soft smile on her face. She looked so utterly relaxed and so very beautiful. He fought the urge to pinch himself at having a woman like her looking at him in that way.
"So, I had a dream last night."
"A dream or a vision?"
"A vision. I can't remember everything about it, but I do know that you have a long and happy reign ahead of you. And we have a long and happy life together."
Henry reached for her hand and kissed each of her fingertips. Cheri giggled. "How long?"
"Long enough to be forever." Rachel bent over him, pressing her lips to his. Her lips were so sweet, her sighs like the sound of heaven. "I love you, Henry."
"And I love you." Holding Cheri carefully, he wrapped an arm around Rachel's waist and pulled her closer. "Until I take my last breath, I will always love you."
*****
THE END
My Shifting Billionaire Boss
Description
A BBW in need of an adventure PLUS a sexy billionaire Werewolf Shifter PLUS a dark secret hidden in a tower!
Agatha Portman had spent years secretly lusting after her very handsome and rich boss, Henry Crane. After finding him naked in her back yard, the morning after a huge wolf was spotted in town, Agatha starts to wonder if there isn't something more to the secretive billionaire.
Now Henry's bastard brother, Marcus, has come to town and if he doesn't get what he wants, Agatha will be the one to pay the price.
Henry takes Agatha under his protection, but it might not be enough. Henry holds a powerful book of magic and Marcus won’t stop until it’s his. It doesn’t matter what it takes or who he could hurt.
Can any woman survive being caught between two shape-shifting brothers? Agatha will have to find out. Nightfall is coming and Marcus with it. Now Henry has to protect Agatha and the book of ancient magic as his brother closes in.
Chapter One
It was way too hot for March. The high that day had been seventy-eight degrees. For the last three nights, Agatha Portman had slept with her windows open so the cool night air could caress her skin. It was late when she finally left the gym, but she kept her car windows down so she could breathe in the primal smell of the forest at night.
She was wearing a pair of black workout pants and a loose t-shirt that was damp with sweat from a tough forty-minute spin class. Not that it mattered, no matter how hard she tried it seemed she was never going to lose those last fifteen pounds.
Her legs felt a little weak as she pulled into her driveway, parked her car and cut the lights. Once the engine had quieted, the sound of hundreds of chirping crickets filled the air around her. The night was pitch black, there was no moon. Agatha lived in a small bungalow at the end of a long solitary lane, far from the center of town. She liked it back here. Her house was her own little space, no noisy neighbors, no sounds other than the occasional car on the road and the endless chirping of the crickets.
Which had stopped. Agatha tilted her head and listened for a moment, but no, she was right, the crickets had stopped. In fact, everything had stopped. The wind still whistled through the trees, but there were no other sounds. No birds called, no insects buzz
ed, there was only silence outside.
The hair on the back of her neck stood up as her heart started racing. Something felt wrong, but she didn’t know what. She looked in her mirrors checking behind the car, but she didn’t see anything. The night was dark, but everything looked fine. So why was she suddenly afraid?
Agatha couldn’t name her fear. It was something primal that came from the deep recesses of her mind. It was instinct pure and simple.
Get in the house, she told herself. Her arms were shaking as she reached into her purse. She grabbed her cellphone in one hand and her keys in the other. Her eyes were wide as if they were trying to take in every last detail. Still that strange otherworldly silence rang in her ears. Her heart started to pound and the back of her neck tingled.
It’ll be ok once you’re inside. It was a mantra she repeated to herself. If she could just make it through her front door, everything would be fine. She didn’t know what frightened her, but her instincts told her she wasn’t alone. There was something else in the darkness. She gathered all her courage from within herself. Taking a deep breath, she opened her car door and stepped out, placing one foot on the dirt road of her driveway.
As if on cue, she heard the unmistakable sound of an animal howling. The howl rang in her ears, it sounded like a wolf and it sounded very close. She gasped and turned towards the noise, her heart hammering in her chest. Maybe it was just a dog? She turned towards her house and focused on her brightly painted blue front door. She had painted it that color last spring. It was like a beacon and as she broke into a run she refused to look anywhere else.
The howl came again, closer this time. Gasping, Agatha ran towards her front door. She had just hit the cement walkway when she heard the first panting breaths of a large animal. Her eyes went wide as she took desperate gasping breaths. She glanced behind her, but couldn’t see anything. Where was it? What was it?
Her keys were in her hand. Her door was only a few steps away. Relief flooded her body, she was going to make it. Whatever was out here wasn’t going to get her. She could get inside and call animal control.
Then she heard the low, wet growl of an angry animal. She froze. Every cell in her body froze, only her heart continued to pump, thumping painfully in her chest. The wolf appeared to her left. At first, it was nothing more than a large shadow in the darkness, but then it moved underneath her porch light. It moved slowly and confidently. With one easy leap, it was on her front steps, blocking her passage to the door.
The wolf was massive. It was easily three times larger than any dog she had ever seen, including her ex-boyfriend’s German Shepherd. It was almost as tall as she was. It had mangy with scraggly brown hair and blood-tinged drool dripped from its mouth as the animal reared back and bared his long fangs at her. It smelled horrible; a mixture of rot and sweat and wet dog.
It gave a low, dangerous growl and then, to her horror, it began to move towards her. She staggered back almost falling as her sneakers slipped off the cement walkway. Agatha gave out a muted scream and the wolf growled and snapped its teeth at her. She let out a sob and continued to inch backward. How did it know to block the door? How was this animal that smart?
She needed to get back to her car. She should never have got out of it. The wolf was growing angrier. Its hackles were raised as more drool slipped from the animal's mouth. It seemed to almost smile at her. Then it was moving, running towards her at a speed she could not have imagined.
Agatha let out a terrified scream as she tripped and fell back. She was going to die. She was going to be eaten by a wolf in her own front yard. It lunged at her and all she could see was sharp teeth and matted fur before she closed her eyes and lifted her arm to protect her face as best she could.
The animal let out a painful sounding yelp and Agatha managed to peek from behind her arm. To her horror, she saw that a second wolf had joined them. Agatha was shaking and crying as she pulled her knees up closer to her and wondered what she could have possibly done to deserve this.
The second wolf was different. It was bigger and completely white. Where the brown wolf had mangy fur and a foul odor, this white wolf was like a well-kept pet. Its fur was clean and smooth, no drool slid from between its teeth.
Agatha was frozen, stuck in that dangerous place between fight and flight. Her eyes were wide and white, her face was streaked with tears. A sob escaped her lips, then to her shock, the white wolf turned and looked at her. Right into her eyes. And then it nodded towards her car only a few feet away.
Her jaw fell open, had he come to save her? Was that possible? The brown wolf growled and snapped its jaw at the white wolf who turned to face his opponent, getting down on his haunches in a dangerous pose. He stood between Agatha and the brown wolf, appearing poised to leap should the brown wolf make a move.
He’s protecting me, she realized and then her brain snapped into gear and she was scrambling for her dropped keys. Agatha got up off the ground as the brown wolf glared at her. He growled and took a step towards her, but the white wolf was right there, blocking the other’s path, giving Agatha the chance to escape.
“Thanks,” she whispered as she raced to her car, got in and locked the doors.
Chapter Two
Agatha’s wasn’t the only wolf sighting that night. The small seaside town of Cryer’s Bluff had over fourteen calls to the police station about a huge, shaggy wolf that had been seen in backyards and parks. Locals had been warned to stay indoors and avoid heavily wooded areas. They were reminded that if they saw a wild animal they should not try to engage with it, but should instead seek shelter and call the police. Agatha had been the only person to see a second white wolf.
Agatha didn’t return home until the next afternoon. She went to a friend’s house and slept fitfully on the couch. Her nerves were on edge all night. Even the smallest of noises from outside, like leaves rustling or a twig snapping, would pull her from her sleep, jerking her awake, leaving her breathless. It was all too strange and too wild. Agatha’s life was a simple and quiet one. She worked in an office building, she drove a Ford, she just wasn’t used to this level of strange danger.
It was a bright and sunny afternoon when she returned to her house, but the pleasant weather didn’t put her at ease. Stepping out of the car she could see a paw print in the mud. It was sunk deep down into the mud, the claw marks stood out in stark detail. Whatever had left this had been huge, it must have weighed a ton.
Skirting the paw print Agatha looked around her. The wind whispered through the trees and the grass. She could hear birds chirping to each other in the forest and she watched as a squirrel skittered up a knobby oak tree. Her stomach churned. This was her home, her favorite place in the entire world, but it was tainted now. She had never been as afraid as she had been last night.
Her hands were shaking as she pushed her key into the lock and opened the door. She closed the door and locked it behind her. Taking a deep breath, she moved through her kitchen and to her living room. Her heart was pounding and she was still shaking. It was driving her crazy. She was home now and she was safe, so what was making her so nervous?
Agatha jumped when she heard a noise from outside. She peered through her sliding glass door to her wide back yard. On the back patio, there was a table, a few Adirondack chairs, and a couch. It sounded like something had just moved out there. Agatha moved towards the glass slowly, her cell phone clutched in one hand prepared to call the police.
Step by inching step she moved closer to the door. Her heart was thundering in her chest as she peered around the curtains. At first, everything looked normal. The grass was a verdant green, her daffodils were in full bloom and the furniture was where she had left it.
Then she saw it. There was a hand hanging over the back of the couch. Her heart skipped a beat when the hand moved. She moved to the side to try and get a better view of who might be out there. She raised her phone debating if she should call the police.
The hand continued to move, it was pulled ba
ck to the other side of the couch. For a breathless moment, she waited and then a head came into view as whoever was out there sat up. He was tall and had a head full of dark black hair. She could tell by his build that he was strong, his shoulders were muscular and those muscles extended down his arms and back.
Agatha’s mouth fell open as the man ran a hand through his hair and then turned around. With a gasp, Agatha quickly hid behind her curtain. It was her boss. Well, not really. He ran the company where Agatha worked. He was at the top of the totem pole and Agatha, who worked in accounting, barely merited a place on the pole at all.
She was frozen, hiding behind a curtain when it occurred to her that this was her house and her land. It wasn’t her, but Mr. Crane who should be hiding. He was the one who had fallen asleep in someone else’s backyard, not her.
Taking a deep breath Agatha pushed open her screen door and marched out onto the patio.
“Mr. Crane?” Her voice came out high-pitched and more scared sounding than she had intended. He turned to look at her and all of her bravado left as she stumbled on the grass.
The couch was between them and he turned around to face her. Agatha saw that he wasn’t wearing a shirt. She tried not to stare, but she couldn't help but notice the many scars that marked his strong chest. Some were deep and old, with the skin wrinkled and puckered around them, while others still had a tinge of red that marked them as new. She wondered how a man as rich as Mr. Crane had come to have so many scars.
He looked her up and down and then sheepishly looked away.
“What are you doing here?” She asked.
“I um... must have had a little more fun than I expected to, last night. I’m so sorry that you found me like this...” He looked around and gestured to himself and said. “Do you have a robe I could wear and could I trouble you for your phone so I could call a car?”