by Riley Storm
“That…sounds like an awful lot of hard work,” she said, thinking about it. “He’s going to be operating on a razor’s edge trying to walk the line between keeping his current supporters happy, and re-integrating those who stayed loyal for political reasons, isn’t he?”
Liam nodded, but she sensed that wasn’t all there was. Why would that affect her man, after all? He wasn’t part of that.
“Why does that have you acting so serious?” she wanted to know cautiously. “What am I missing?”
Turning, Liam walked over, taking her hands in his. For once, she noticed his eyes weren’t focused on her nudity, but instead on her face.
“What is it, love?” she asked, cautiously using the new term for only the third or fourth time. It felt good to say, but it still had that fresh new-car smell about it as well. Something she enjoyed but wasn’t used to.
“I suspect Logan is going to ask me to help,” he grumbled. “He’ll fill some important positions now, and then leave the less important ones open for the newcomers.”
Jennifer was confused. “Isn’t that a good thing? That means he trusts you.”
“I don’t want to do it,” Liam said plainly. “I’m not a leader. I’m not a commander. I never have been.”
“Well, Logan must see something in you that you don’t, then,” she said, reaching up to pat one of his broad shoulders, digging her fingers as deep into the muscle as she could manage.
“Whether he sees it or not, that doesn’t mean I want to do it,” Liam protested.
“Shut up,” she said lightly, rising up on her tiptoes to steal a kiss.
Liam obliged but his expression didn’t lighten. “I really don’t want this, Jen.”
“Then tell him that,” she said softly. “Decline it. That is your right, in the end. But think of what it will do to your House. Logan is smart, if he’s putting you in a position of power, than he must know what he’s doing, and why, don’t you think?”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.”
She patted his chest and then went about finding her clothes, strewn as they were around the room. The pair hadn’t exactly cared much where they went, considering the hurry with which they’d wanted them off.
Liam was silent while she finished dressing, and much to her surprise, it wasn’t because his eyes were on her. She glanced over at him after pulling up her pants, only to find his focus off somewhere in the distance, and not on her ass, which she’d deliberately stuck out for him.
This must really be bothering him. More than I thought. I hope he can handle whatever it is Logan has in store for him.
“Ready,” she pronounced, pulling on her robe and tying it tight.
Liam nodded, extending an arm. She took it, following him out of his quarters—which had stayed untouched, much to his surprise—and through the maze of hallways that was Moonshadow Manor. They went left and right; it was quite like a den in there.
Which makes some sense. They are wolves, after all. That would feel more like home to them.
Eventually, they reached the main hallway that ran the length from the ceremonial entrance to the Throne Room at the heart of the Manor. Turning onto it, she followed at Liam’s side, proud to be there. She’d done her part, as had Liam, and now it was time for them to move into the future.
Together.
The doors were closed, and they paused. Two shifters stood on either side. One of them spoke through a tiny porthole off to one side.
“Ma’am,” the same shifter said, acknowledging her, then turning to Liam. “Sir.”
She frowned at that, noticing Liam also reacting strangely. What was going on?
“They’re ready for you,” the guard said, and together, he and his partner pushed the doors open.
“What’s going on?” she hissed under her breath as they walked forward.
The Throne Room wasn’t empty. In fact, a great many shifters, many of whom she recognized, but many whom she did not, lined the walls and stood in ranks on the floor.
On the dais at the rear, hastily cleaned of debris—and dead bodies, she thought morbidly—sat Logan, another shifter whose name was Lucien, and several others she recognized from the shifter command, but didn’t recall their names.
Many seats beside and between them sat empty. Soon, though, she suspected one of them would be filled by Liam.
“Thank you for joining us,” Logan said, his voice carrying easily over the assembled crowd.
“Uh, thank you for having us, my King,” Liam replied as they came to a halt at the foot of the raised thrones.
Jennifer kept quiet, but she did incline her head respectfully in the direction of the throne, dipping her knees slightly as well, to show she acknowledged Logan as the King.
“Now we are all here, there are some things I wish to make official. You can see some of it by those who sit near me, but I now wish to formally introduce you to your current Canis Council.”
She listened carefully, very curious to know what Logan was up to. And also, which positions on the Canis Council he’d filled. Jennifer knew the names of the positions everyone in her world did, but didn’t know which throne corresponded to which. She was about to find out.
“I have, at your wishes, taken up the mantle of King of House Canis,” Logan said, pausing as the crowd clapped and cheered enthusiastically. “Thank you.”
“As my Knight, heir to the Throne when I step down, I present to you, Lucien!” he said, pointing a finger at the shifter sitting closest to his right, leaving only an empty chair for where the Queen would sit. If there was one.
The crowd cheered again.
“You also know Linden by name, but I now give you the Captain of House Canis!” Logan said, pointing now off to his left.
She watched Linden get up, looking embarrassed and uncomfortable, but he did his part, nonetheless.
“See,” she said quietly. “Linden doesn’t want this either, but he’s doing what’s best for the House. You can do it too. I believe in you.” She gave his forearm a fierce squeeze.
“Our Herald should come as no surprise to you,” Logan continued. “The only one of us who can drone on for an hour and still end up saying nothing, I give you, Lechiffre, or, as we all know him, Chief!”
The crowd roared again. Jennifer smiled, finding it fitting that Chief would end up as the diplomat of the House. She couldn’t think of a better pick of the shifters she’d met. The man was a natural.
“And finally, there is one last position I must fill today. This one will cause some consternation, I’m sure. Probably even some backlash, but I think for those of you in the know, you will approve of this heartily. It’s never been done before, to my knowledge, in the history of the Houses, but there is a first time for everything, and I know I have the support of those gathered here, to ensure there are no problems.”
Jennifer looked around, eying the crowd. What was Logan going to do with Liam? What position could he give him that would be so divisive, she wondered.
“So now, without further ado, I give to you, the new Magi of House Canis, Jennifer!”
“What?!”
Silence followed the outburst. It was only then she realized it was her voice that had shouted.
Then Liam started to shake. It was subtle at first, but it built, and built.
“What is it?” she asked quietly, looking at him. “Are you okay?”
His lips twitched.
Her eyes went wide. “Are you laughing?”
Liam finally couldn’t contain it any longer. “Ha!” The single explosive laugh burst out like a gunshot, silencing any random whispers.
“You think this is funny?” she snapped quietly. “Do you?”
“And amazingly accurate.” He turned to look at her. “The Throne is yours, and like Logan said, I can’t think of anyone more appropriate for it. It might be a first, but you’re one of us now, Jennifer. And we want you there.”
He pointed up the steps to the Throne that was hers. “Now go
sit that fabulous ass of yours on some stone.”
She shook her head. “Nope. No way. Nooooo way.”
“You can do it.” Her head snapped around at the unexpected voice. She saw one of the shifters from the farm. Just a random, she didn’t know his name, but his face was familiar. He was smiling at her, nodding in support. “I believe in you.”
“Me too.”
Her head came around, and if her jaw could open more in shock, it would have become unhinged. One of the shifters who had come at her in the kitchen oh so long ago was nodding his head in approval. “You’re one of us.”
More words of approval came, and people started to urge her to accept. The clapping came next, as she turned in a slow circle, as shifter after shifter began to enthusiastically cheer her on, urging her to take her seat.
“But I’m only human,” she protested.
“You’ve got the heart of a wolf,” Logan pronounced, and the crowd went wild.
“You better do as they say,” Liam said, leaning in so she could be heard. “I love you. Now go make history.”
“You’re just happy you don’t have to do anything.”
Liam nodded, a huge grin on his face. “Damn straight. Not to mention I’m incredibly proud of you.”
“Do you accept?”
Jennifer turned to see Logan pointing at the Throne in particular.
“I…” The crowd was still cheering her on. They’d started to chant.
“Jen-ny! Jen-ny! Jen-ny!”
She shuddered, then lifted one hand, magic pooling around her fingertips before she touched them to her throat.
“Enough!”
Silence blanketed the room instantly as her amplified voice reached every corner, thanks to the spell.
“I have one condition,” she said, turning slowly, surveying the entire room.
“Which is?” Logan asked dryly, leaning back in his throne to cross his legs.
“You never, ever, ever, call me Jenny again!” she finished as the crowd went wild.
Liam thrust his fist into the air. “Jen!”
The crowd was silent at first, but her mate repeated the motion.
“Jen!”
Some caught on. “Jen!’
“Jen! Jen!” The entire room picked it up, and once more were shouting her name.
Grinning like a maniac, she shook her head and climbed the stairs.
“I hope you know you’re all crazy,” she said to the crowd, once again amplifying her voice. “But I’ll give it everything I’ve got for you.”
She couldn’t hear herself think over the thunderous crescendo that met her words.
44
“Did you have fun?” she asked as Liam came back into their quarters.
Their quarters. It still felt weird to think of it as shared, but that was the way it was. The two of them had been living together for a week now, and other than the constant battle to get him to leave the seat down on the toilet, life was pretty good.
No, not just pretty good. It was wonderful. Perfect. Amazing.
“Yeah, we had lots of fun,” Liam said, walking over to her and casually picking her up to plant a kiss on her mouth. “Lots of it.”
“Phew!” she commented. “I can taste the booze. You certainly did.”
Liam chuckled. “You know, it’s been a long, long time since I’ve gotten drunk.” He paused. “Since I’ve had fun with a group of friends.”
Jennifer’s heart couldn’t decide if it wanted to burst from the hurt or swell from the joy at hearing him say that.
“I’m so happy, my love,” she said, wrapping her arms around him tight and giving her mate a tight hug. “So very happy.”
Liam returned the squeeze. “Thank you, for telling me to go do it.”
She smiled, kissing his neck where her face was buried. “I just want you to be happy,” she said. “I thought you and Lucien would be good friends, and, well, with Alison revealing she’s pregnant, he needed the night out to celebrate with friends.”
“Friends,” Liam echoed. “Yes. Yes, we’re friends.”
Warmth spread through her. One of her biggest fears had been that Liam would latch onto her and her alone, instead of branching out and finding new friends within his House now they were united. Theoretically.
The friction the past week has been brutal.
The arrival of the two groups of shifters loyal to Logan had created a lot of tension in the House as the King tried to navigate it. She’d mostly avoided being involved, begging off meetings to work on the wards around the Manor. Thankfully, it wasn’t a false excuse. She truly had her work cut out ahead of her, but was making progress, bit by bit, day by day, strengthening them. It would take months before they were back to the strength before her attack, but every day she made progress.
“I’m glad to hear that,” she said, still hanging from his arms, relishing being close to him.
“I am happy, too,” Liam said, setting her down. “Happier than I’ve ever been, I think.”
She smiled. “Oh Liam, I’m so glad!”
“A large part of that is because of you,” he said, facing her straight on. “Both finding you as my mate, but also listening to you, reaching out, making friends. It’s…scary, but I’m happy too. I feel like I can trust these guys. Which is strange to say.”
She shrugged. “All I did was push you to go do something. You did the rest on your own.”
“I know,” Liam said, nodding. “I know. And I talked about that with the guys tonight.”
“You did?” she asked, her eyebrows rising in genuine surprise.
“Well, I had something else I needed to talk to them about, and it just sort of all blended together,” he said sheepishly, fiddling with his pockets.
Jennifer frowned. What was going on? Liam was never nervous. Why would he be now?
“What was that?” she asked.
“Well. Um.” He looked up and to one side.
“Just spit it out, my love,” she urged. “You know you can ask me anything.”
“Yeah, I know,” he said quietly. “But this is something I intend to only ask you once. So, I want to get it right.”
Jennifer went still at the seriousness of his tone, and his words. What would he only ask her onc—
“Jennifer Shaw,” Liam said formally. “Would you make me the luckiest man on earth? Will you marry me?”
She gasped, covering her mouth in shock. Her mind had started to drift in that direction, but she’d not truly had time to think he was going to ask her that.
Her mate got to one knee, pulling back the top of a black velvet-covered box to reveal a ring that glittered fiercely in the light.
“You’re serious,” she said, half question, half statement.
“With all my being,” Liam said, nodding. Then he frowned as she just stared. “This is the part where—”
“Yes!” she shouted, throwing herself at him. “Yes of course! Absolutely, I will marry you!”
Liam picked her up with a throaty roar, spinning her around in a circle.
“She said yes!” he bellowed.
From outside the door there were shouts, and a moment later the door burst open and a parade of people came into the room, men and women holding glasses and champagne, which they started to pop.
“You little trickster!” she said, punching Liam lightly in the chest as he slipped the ring onto her finger. “You had this all planned!”
Her mate grinned, pulling her in for a kiss. “Maybe. But they helped.”
She looked around at the group. “Yeah?”
“Yeah,” Liam said. “After all, that’s what friends do.”
She couldn’t have snuggled in tighter to her mate—no, her fiancé’s side—if she tried.
***
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Thank you for reading Shadow’s Howl. If you enjoyed it, please consider leaving a review so that others might enjoy the adventure as well.
Next Book: Royal Alpha (High House Canis #5) – OUT NOW
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Other Books by Riley Storm
High House Ursa
Bearing Secrets
Furever Loyal
Mated to the Enemy
Shifting Alliances
Blood Bearon
High House Canis
Savage Love
Blood Mate
Moonlight Bride
Shadow’s Howl
Royal Alpha
About the Author
Riley Storm
Riley is one of those early-morning people you love to hate, because she swears she doesn’t need caffeine, even though the coffee-maker is connected to her smartphone. She lives in a three-story townhouse by the good graces of a tabby-cat who rules the house, the couch, the table, well, basically everywhere. When she’s not groveling for forgiveness for neglecting to pet her kitty enough, Riley is strapped in to her writing chair coming up with crazy worlds where she can make her own decisions of when feeding time is and how much coffee can be drank without her friends—of which she has three—holding yet another intervention that they threaten to post on the internet.
Find her on:
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