Royally Entangled

by Catherine Banks

  He followed behind me and asked, “Did you sleep well?”

  “Yes. I didn’t even wake up when Rhys moved me,” I explained. This time not bringing up waking up in his bed and hopefully avoiding that conversation.

  “That’s good. We were all worried about you,” he whispered. He pushed open the door to the lunchroom for me and conversation inside immediately died.

  I ignored it and headed to an open table. He sat next to me and turned his chair so he could face me.

  “Are you going to eat too?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “I already ate.”

  The lunch he had brought me consisted of a turkey sandwich, chips, a granola bar, and a fruit snack.

  I giggled and took out the sandwich. “You packed me a kid’s meal.”

  He smiled. “I thought you would enjoy it.”

  While I ate my sandwich, I looked at the others, all staring openly and not caring how rude it was.

  “You learn to ignore them,” he whispered to me, leaning his elbow on the table and scooting his chair closer to mine.

  “Why’d you come in wolf form?” I asked after finishing the food in my mouth.

  “You saw?”

  I nodded. “I saw you through the window.”

  He scowled at me. “You shouldn’t be standing next to windows. They had a sniper, remember?” he told me harshly.

  The sandwich suddenly tasted like sawdust. I hadn’t thought about it.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t…”

  He nodded and brushed my hair behind my ear. “I’m sorry for snapping. I just want to make sure you stay safe,” he explained.

  “Couldn’t they just come into my work?” I asked.

  He nodded. “They could.”

  “What do I do-”

  “Fox said that he has a plan for that. He didn’t tell us what it was, but he said he would be able to put it into play tomorrow.”

  “Okay,” I whispered and set my sandwich down.

  “Hey,” he whispered and maneuvered his face in front of mine.

  “Yeah?”

  “You’re beautiful,” he said and smiled.

  I laughed and shook my head. “You flirt.”

  His smile widened and he leaned forward to kiss me lightly on the lips. “Truth speaker.”

  “What’s it like to be able to sense me?” I asked softly.

  His eyes widened. “They told you?”

  I nodded.

  “It still doesn’t make much sense to me,” I admitted after a moment of silence.

  He ran a hand through his hair and said, “It doesn’t make sense to us either. Not that we would have had a problem making you our queen, eventually. It’s just…there’s usually a process and specific steps needed. None of us know when it happened or who did it. Well, we all did it. It’s not something only one of us can do.”

  “Nico said if we broke it, that I might die,” I said with barely any breath.

  He turned his chair and draped his arm across my shoulders. “We aren’t going to break it, so you don’t have to worry.”

  “But you didn’t choose this. You guys didn’t choose for me to be added.”

  “We did, somehow. It’s complicated. Like I said, we all did it. Somehow, we all decided to add you. It’s just strange that it didn’t create the Queen’s bond between us and instead added you to our bond, but the bond isn’t something that happens against the group’s will.”

  “Will it hurt you if the bond is broken?”

  “It hurts whenever a bond is broken.”

  “Will it kill you?”

  He shook his head. “The warrior’s bond was created so that if one of us dies, it won’t incapacitate the others. It’s designed that way so we can protect the queen. We will experience pain at the warrior’s loss, but not death.”

  “So, then shouldn’t it be okay to remove me?”

  “We don’t know. This is uncharted territory. Fox and Nico are in contact with their elders to try to see what they can find out from them and if they know anything. We’ll know more soon.”

  I packed up my lunch and then leaned my head against his shoulder.

  “They said you all talked about our relationship,” I whispered.

  He nodded.

  “I’m worried that I’ll ruin your friendships.”

  “You won’t,” he assured me.

  “How can you be so sure?” I asked and tilted my head to look up at him.

  He smiled and whispered, “Because the only thing we care about is keeping you near us. We all want you. We all care about you.”

  “Is that because of the bond?” I asked. Wondering if the bond made them like me more. We did barely know each other, after all.

  He nodded. “Partially. We were all interested in you before the bond formed though.”

  “I can’t choose between you four,” I whispered. “I’m selfish, I know. I just…can’t.”

  He brushed his lips across my forehead and whispered, “We aren’t asking you to choose, Jolie. We are asking you to let us all have you.”

  I chuckled and shook my head.

  “That sounds so wrong,” I whispered.

  “It’s not. In the days before humans ruled, the queen didn’t have a king or a husband, she had her guards.”

  “I’m not a queen,” I reminded him.

  “You can be our queen,” he whispered in my ear.

  A shiver raced up my spine and it had nothing to do with fear or cold.

  Chapter 6

  Jolie, are you going to introduce me?” Justina asked with a scowl on her face as she sat in the chair across from us.

  “Deryn, this is my friend, Justina. Justina, this is-”

  “I know who he is,” she said and smiled at him. “He’s the famous Prince Deryn of Clan Wolf. One of the first wolves to learn how to talk in warrior form. Beloved of his house. And, one of the most sought-after bachelors in the Others circle.”

  He smiled at her. “I like her. She should announce me when we go places.”

  Justina leaned on her elbows on the table and her eyes flashed red. “Hurt her, and I’ll be the first to announce your death.”

  His eyes flashed gold, but the smile stayed on his lips. “Good to know.”

  “Justina. Deryn. We are all friends,” I growled at them.

  “Oh, she’s got the growl down,” Justina whispered. “Just how much time have you been spending with her.”

  “Not enough,” Deryn countered and then stood up. “I have to go, but remember, stay away from the windows and wait for Nico to come get you.”

  “Thank you for bringing me lunch,” I said and hugged him.

  He hugged me back, and then spun and dipped me to kiss me deeply.

  People gasped and began talking excitedly.

  He helped me stand back up and then bowed to me in a grand flourish. “Until tonight, my queen.”

  He winked, and then we watched his great derriere leave the room.

  I flopped down into the chair and sighed. I was in over my head.

  “Why do you have to stay away from windows and wait for the Mage Prince to come?” Justina asked. “What haven’t you told me?”

  “Well…”

  What could I tell her?

  “…I ended the war and people weren’t happy about that. They tried to kill me twice already.”

  Her eyes flashed red. “Why am I just now hearing about this?”

  For the first time, I found myself afraid of Justina.

  “I, um, it just happened last night and-”

  “And you have a cell phone capable of texting,” she snapped.

  “A lot of shit has happened to me, Justina. I’m sorry I didn’t text you, but I’m barely keeping it together right now. Please, don’t add to it.”

  Her scowl stayed in place, but she nodded once. “Fine.”

  “Thank you,” I said with a long sigh.

  “So, how many Princes are you dating?” she asked with a smirk.

  �
�How much do you know about magic?” I asked her instead of answering. She was a dhampir, after all. She had to know something.

  “Quite a bit, actually,” she admitted to me. “What’s going on?”

  “Do you know about the bonds that they develop with queens and guards?”

  Her eyes widened. “Yes.”

  “Have you ever heard of one developing with the female becoming part of the warriors’ bond, instead of developing a separate one?”

  “What have you gotten yourself into?” she asked me softly and glanced around at the tables near us. She gripped my arm and pulled me out of the room and down the hall to one of the empty conference rooms. She drew the blinds, locked the door, and turned to face me.

  “I met them all individually. I told you about my meetings with a few of them.”

  “How many are there?” she asked.

  “Four.”

  “All princes?”

  I nodded.

  She let out a low whistle. “You met the Four Princes of Jinla. The quad of friends that every girl has been dying to break into. You broke into their group in less than a week!”

  “I discovered that they all live in my apartment complex with me and they’re all friends. They told me that they don’t know how it happened, but at some point, they added me to their bond. They said it was not a conscious thing, but it can’t be done without all of their consent. So, somehow, I joined their bond. Nico said it is possible I might die if they try to remove me from the bond.”

  “I’ve heard of it happening before,” she told me softly.

  “And?” I asked, my throat dry and the sad look on her face totally not reassuring.

  “She removed herself from the bond and died,” she whispered sadly.

  Great. There went that idea.

  “So, they’re stuck with me?” I whispered and looked at my pathetic human hands.

  “Yes. Though, with your current predicament, it will be a good thing. They will have the uncontrollable desire to protect you.”

  “How did it happen for the one you know about?”

  “They were all protecting the female from something and during the altercation, they expressed their interest in her. The bond formed, but since she was human, it added her to their bond and did not make a Queen’s bond. The only perk, is that when she died, they didn’t feel it the way they would have if she had been their queen.”

  “Do you think it’s a defense mechanism to protect them from having a human with a shorter lifespan added? Since our lives are so much shorter?”

  She nodded.

  “So, does this mean the feelings they feel towards me-”

  “The bond deepens the bonds of friendship, but not romantic feelings. Your friendships will grow immensely, but the romance will be something you have to work on with them separate of the bond. One positive of this, it means they won’t feel jealousy towards each other when one is with you and not the others.”

  This was all so insane and out of control. When could this have happened? What could have-

  “The park,” I whispered in shock.

  “What?”

  “The night I returned the stolen artifact, an old enemy showed up intent on taking me back with him to torture me. They protected me. They all stood together and told me that I am important to them. They said I was their friend and they would protect me. That must be when the bond developed.”

  She ran a hand through her hair and thought about it. “It sounds likely that was when it happened,” she agreed. “Though, as I’m not one of the participants, I can’t be sure.”

  I pulled out my phone and dialed Nico. He answered before the first ring had even ended.

  “What’s wrong? You’re upset,” he said.

  Stupid bond.

  “I have answers about the bond,” I told him.

  “You do?” he asked, shocked.

  Yes, I was capable of finding things out too. I imagined sticking my tongue out at him, but he wouldn’t see it even if I did.

  “Are the others working right now?” I asked.

  “No, we’re all at Rhys’s.”

  “Can you come get me? I can explain it to everyone.”

  “What about work?”

  “I can’t focus on work right now,” I admitted.

  “I wouldn’t be able to focus with four princes waiting for me either,” Justina teased.

  I glared at her and she laughed.

  “I’ll be there in a few minutes,” he said and hung up.

  We went to our desks and I typed a message to my supervisor, letting him know that I wasn’t feeling well and would be leaving early. Luckily, I was ahead of my deadlines, so it wasn’t a big deal.

  “How did you meet them?” Alexandria asked. She was a short, curvy woman with a love for gossip.

  “Who?” I asked, feigning ignorance.

  “The princes,” she said and rolled her eyes.

  “Oh, we live in the same apartment building.”

  “How-”

  She was interrupted by Nico walking inside the room and heading towards me with a determined look on his face.

  “I need to go,” I told her, grabbed my stuff, and met him halfway.

  He hugged me and I relaxed into him, not realizing I was so close to having an emotional breakdown. I was normally really good about keeping my emotions hidden.

  The emotions were easier to stuff down, once I touched him, and I smiled at him in appreciation.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  I nodded and walked beside him out of the building, ignoring the stares of everyone.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked me. “Aside from what you have to tell us?”

  “You guys probably aren’t going to be happy about what you hear,” I whispered.

  “It will all be fine,” he assured me.

  I wasn’t sure.

  Once we got into Rhys’s apartment, all eyes turned to me. It was too much pressure to have four alpha males staring at me like that. Instead of sitting and letting the pressure build on me, I paced behind the couch and relayed Justina’s information to them. When I finished, I continued pacing, waiting for their responses.

  “It was likely the night at the park,” Rhys confirmed. “We all vowed to protect her.”

  “Agreed,” Nico said.

  Tears brimmed in my eyes.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered. “If I hadn’t gone to the park that night, none of this would have happened. I knew I should have stayed away from you all.”

  “Fate cannot be stopped,” Fox informed me.

  “Fate? This isn’t fate,” I replied with a scoff. “This is my bad luck being pushed on you four. I’m a curse.”

  Fox stepped in front of me, making me stop walking. “You are not a curse.”

  “You are jaded by the bond now. You care for me as a friend because of this-”

  “We cared about you before the bond was formed,” Deryn countered.

  “At least you guys won’t be in much pain when I die,” I said. The only positive thing that came out of all of this.

  “You’re not going to die,” Rhys growled.

  “Eventually, I will,” I replied. “Way sooner than you all will.”

  The weight of everything came crashing down on me and I dropped into the leather recliner Rhys had vacated a moment ago. It was still warm from him and I curled up on it.

  “Well, at least we know what happened,” Nico whispered.

  “It doesn’t change anything, really,” Rhys admitted.

  Fox knelt in front of me and smoothed my hair back. “Do you want me to shift?”

  I shook my head. While his fox form was comforting, I preferred his human form.

  “Can you pet me?” I asked, blushing as I asked for something so ridiculous.

  He didn’t smirk, laugh, or question me. He just sat on the floor next to the chair I was on, and started petting my hair. “Are you hungry?” he asked softly.

  “No,” I whispered in response, my
eyes closing at not just the soothing touch, but his reassuring presence. How could someone be so calming?

  My cell phone rang on the coffee table where I had set it when I came in, but I ignored it. It rang immediately again without the person bothering to try to leave a voicemail.

  “Hello?” Rhys answered.

  I opened my eyes, shocked he would answer my phone, but also not really caring. I had nothing to hide with them.

  “What are you talking about?” he asked. “She’s not at work right now. She left early.” He said to whoever was on the phone. His eyes widened and he grabbed the remote for his television. “Thanks for calling. We’ll let her know you called. No, I promise, she’s safe and sound. Bye.”

  He turned to a news station and I stared in disbelief at what was left of the building I should have been working in.

  I leapt up and ran towards the door, but Deryn grabbed me and stopped me.

  “Justina!” I screamed. “I have to check on-”

  “There are no casualties,” he said in a loud voice to get my attention.

  “They evacuated everyone before it went off,” Rhys said and pointed at the screen where the headline said just that.

  I slumped into Deryn. “So, everyone’s okay?”

  They nodded.

  My phone rang again, this time it was Justina calling, so I ran and snatched the phone from Rhys.

  “Are you okay?” I asked her.

  “Yes. Let me talk to Deryn.”

  “Why?” I asked a bit miffed she wouldn’t want to talk to me after almost getting blown up.

  “Jolie,” she whispered in exasperation.

  I grumbled, but gave him the phone.

  “Deryn,” he answered. He listened a moment and then my phone creaked as his grip tightened. “Got it,” he replied and set my phone gently on the table, the screen cracked on one of the corners.

  “What?” I asked.

  “A package was delivered for Jolie,” he told everyone. “Justina knew about the problems and smelled the package because she thought it was odd Jolie would be receiving one after starting so recently. She could smell the bomb thanks to her dhampir abilities and got everyone evacuated. The bomb squad inadvertently set it off after everyone was evacuated.”

  Another attempt on my life. This time, my entire building had been put at risk. Justina had been at risk. If I had still been there and received that package, I would have been blown to pieces. Why were these people always trying to blow me up?