Ella and Her Shifters: A Reverse Harem Shifter Romance (Once Upon A Shifter Book 1)

by Aria Winter

  Chapter 4

  Cash

  We switch places during the night so Finn can take a turn going downstairs to check for any danger. I do not think anyone would dare try to attack us now, especially since two of us watch over her, but we cannot be certain.

  She must be kept safe at all costs.

  Soft light from a small candle in the corner of the room illuminates her features. She is the most beautiful female I have ever beheld. As if knowing I wish to study her luminous blue eyes, her eyelids flutter and open. “Where is Finn going?” she asks. I’m surprised that she can tell us apart. Even my bond brothers often have trouble doing this.

  I tuck a stray tendril of hair behind her ear, the silken strands soft beneath my fingers. “We are taking turns guarding downstairs.”

  She stiffens in my arms, and the acrid scent of her fear fills my nostrils. “You think someone might come after me here?

  I hate that my words have caused her to be afraid, so I quickly move to reassure her. “All is well. We are just being safe. I doubt any would try to harm you with two of us here.”

  She gives me a strange look. “Why me? What’s so special about me? Is it because I can communicate with your kind in my thoughts?”

  I want so much to tell her everything, but I know I should wait for the rest of our bond brothers to arrive. So, for now I will give her a simple answer. “Yes.”

  She lowers her gaze. A small crease of worry forms across her brow.

  I reach out and gently smooth my thumb over it, as if to ease her concern. “You do not need to be afraid, Ella. Finn and I will protect you.”

  She gives me a faint smile. “I trust you.”

  My heart feels full. She has been through much, this female. And for her to trust us is a precious gift. One I vow I will never abuse. I press a soft kiss to her cheek, then smile at the pink flush left behind in its wake. She is precious, our Ella. “We will protect you,” I swear. “My vow.”

  She nods, closes her eyes, and then goes back to sleep. It is an effect of the poultice that she is able to drift away so easily. Its ability to soothe pain also causes drowsiness. I am glad she is able to rest despite her injuries.

  When Finn returns, I am loath to trade places with him again, but I do. I wish to spend as much time holding her as I can. Once she mates the prince, I will only be able to guard her from afar.

  Human males are not known to share their mates like shifters often do. The Elders explained it has something to do with possession and passing their property to their heirs. They want the assurance that a child born of their female is of their seed and no others.

  Whereas shifters, we prefer safety in numbers. When we choose to become part of a harem and share a female, it means that any offspring she has will be accepted by each male. They will always have protection and be well provided for.

  With a heavy sigh, I carefully untangle myself from her arms and watch as my brother takes my place. It is difficult to push down my jealousy, but I somehow manage.

  This is the first time I’ve ever been jealous of Finn. As far as I can remember, we’ve always shared everything. But this? This is different. I want her all to myself.

  Even though my kind are known to form harems, it is not unheard of for males to experience some tension amongst each other, fighting for the attention of their female and vying to become her favorite.

  During our training, the Elders tried to prepare us for the intense possessiveness we would likely experience toward the female we would guard. They warned us of the strong pull of the bond, informing us that it would only grow stronger once she sealed us to her permanently.

  The bond between female and guard is cemented with a kiss. But this is how it is done among shifters. Ella is human, and I wonder if the bond can be sealed in this way.

  I sigh heavily as I try to push down the fierce possession deep inside me as I hold her. It is easy to see that my brother struggles with this too. I know we’re not the first to feel this way, and we certainly won’t be the last. I should be grateful we have this time with her alone... before everyone else arrives and before she fulfills her destiny and marries the prince.

  Chapter 5

  Devon

  We are on our way to find the Chosen One—she whom we will guard. As we make our way through the woods, we decide to travel along the river. I detest being so close to the water, but Kai insisted we come this way. He is right, I suppose. If an enemy tracks us, it is easier to lose them by crossing the water frequently so they cannot follow our scent.

  The normally silken black fur of my feline form is still wet from our last crossing. I look up at Kai. His blue feathers gleam brightly beneath the sun as he flies overhead. What does he care about water? He is not the one who has to get wet, I think bitterly. But still, he is our leader, and we must do as he says.

  Nyx appears just as miserable as I am. His light brown fur sodden and clinging to his rabbit form. He casts a sideways glance at me. “What are you looking at?” he projects.

  Of all of us, he is the one I have the most difficult time getting along with. I suppose it is the nature of what we are. The Elders, at first, were hesitant to place us in the same bond brother group, even though we each possessed the Mark of the Chosen. Rabbits and cats are archenemies in our world. But after seeing our strengths and knowing that the one we’d be protecting was so important, they bonded us after all.

  They were hesitant to bond me and Kai as brothers as well since he is a blue jay. Truth be told, cat shifters have many in our kingdom we do not get along with. I think the Elders recognized this and that is how they decided to approve our brother bonds with each other.

  How could they not? The prophecy foretold our bonding, and we were each recognized from birth because of our marks. I care for my rabbit bond brother. He is just difficult sometimes, and I love to tease him. My lips tilt up in a grin. “You look terrible, Nyx.”

  Nyx narrows his brown eyes and kicks out at me, sending me flying into the river. The freezing water takes my breath away as soon as I hit the surface. My tired limbs refuse to move as quickly as I want as I struggle to swim against the current. It takes all my strength to keep my head above water, and when I climb up to the bank, I hiss and growl my displeasure as I shake off my paws. “What was that for, you insufferable rabbit?”

  “Who looks terrible now, Devon?” He smirks.

  I lift my paw to swipe at him, but Kai darts down and lights in front of me. He gives us each a stern look. His blue eyes blazing with anger. “Stop it, you two. You need to get along. It will not look good to be fighting in front of our female when we reach her. We must appear to be united.”

  Nyx purses his lips. “We are, Kai.”

  “Yes,” I agree, smirking as I eye Nyx with the promise of revenge. “We were just having a bit of fun. Weren’t we, Nyx?”

  In this, we are a team. We hate being scolded by our leader and try to pass off our fighting as friendly play, even if it isn’t always so.

  “Yes,” Nyx clips.

  Kai narrows his eyes and nods before taking to the air once more. “Let us hurry then. We’re almost there.”

  Drawn to our brothers, Cash and Finn, it does not take long to locate them using the bond between us. We are still not in range to speak in their minds, but I know they are close.

  “There.” I point ahead to the large estate in the distance.

  It is a well-known landmark among our kind for it sits at the edge of the forest, near our kingdom. Everyone knows that in it resides the descendant of the line that can speak to our kind in animal form—she who was foretold in the ancient prophecy. Ella: The Chosen One.

  The entire structure is palatial. Nearly rivaling the size of a castle. It seems our female is one that lives in comfort. I wonder if she will be like the royalty of our world: pampered and selfish. Hopefully not, but even if she is, it will be our duty to see she is well, comfortable, protected, and safe.

  I study the building. Four levels full of
floor to ceiling windows look out onto a large garden of trees and various flowering plants. Bright blooms of blues, yellows, and reds fill the entire space. Vines wind up a trellis continuing up the side of the main house, blanketing it in a beautiful carpet of green. Despite its beauty, the structure was certainly not built for any defense, and I wonder how we can fortify it a bit more in case of attack.

  There are rumors that some of our kind want to kill the Chosen One to prevent the prophecy from being fulfilled. There are even rumblings that the Wolf Queen is among them.

  Many shifters detest the humans completely. They’re angered at the mere thought of our kingdoms uniting once more as they were in the days of old because they do not trust the humans. Too much blood was spilled between us before the Elders finally erected the magical Veil, concealing our kingdom from them to keep our people safe from being hunted.

  Humans hunted and killed shifters in droves only a few generations ago, before we convinced their kind that we were simply myths and legends. The veiled barrier of magic between our two kingdoms has protected us since then, but our people have long lives, and many still harbor anger toward humans.

  It is forbidden to take a human through the Veil, and we are warned from the time we are children that it is not wise to live among the humans. Yet, many still do, hiding what they are by making sure never to shift into their animal forms. As I think on all the stories I heard as a child of humans killing our kind, I can hardly believe that some shifters take this risk and make their homes and livelihoods in the human world.

  My father says that when I was born, my mother cried herself to sleep for many nights, lamenting that the mark was upon my skin. It designated me as a guard of the Chosen One and meant that I would have to one day go to the human world.

  Closing my eyes, I think back on her tears as I left with my bond brothers to cross the Veil. She does not believe I will ever make it back home again, despite all my assurances.

  “Devon?” Kai whispers, snapping me back from my troubled thoughts. “What do you think?”

  I allow my gaze to travel over the entire estate. A tall tower on one side is where I feel pulled to the strongest, and I stare at it curiously. I wonder why our female would choose to be up there. In comparison to the main house, this appears a bit run down. As if it has fallen into a state of disrepair from the rest of the immaculately kept structure.

  As we make our way cautiously through the garden, I note all the vegetables that appear to be growing here. It’s strange how everything here seems to be flourishing while the area around the estate looks so dry; even much of the fields and grass are brown.

  There is a great myth among our people about the Chosen One’s family line. It is said that her ancestor saved the life of one of the shifter queens of old. In thanks for saving her, the queen blessed them with the gift of magic. She also gave them the ability to understand our mind speech. This ability was then passed down to their ancestors.

  The prophecy states that the Chosen One will possess the ability to speak to our kind in her mind and the power to heal the land. The Elders believe she may have inherited the magic that was bestowed upon her ancestor by the ancient queen. Seeing how prosperous the estate’s grounds are, compared to everywhere else, I think there may be truth to this story. The land here appears healthier, more vibrant, and green than it does throughout the rest of the kingdom.

  But the Elders are uncertain what type of power she possesses to heal the land in such a way, believing it may be mastery of one of the elements. They only know for certain that as it grows stronger, so does her inner light. Many will be drawn to it, able to recognize her for who and what she is.

  This includes her enemies—the ones who do not want peace with the humans and the ones who believe that the Chosen One is an abomination. Many shifters study magic in various forms, but it is rare for any of them to be able to influence the elements in any way. So, many of my kind think it wrong for a human to possess the power of magic—especially that of the elements.

  When we step through the tower door from the garden, I lift my gaze to the spiraling wooden staircase above us. A cold draft blows through the space, and I shiver slightly. Why on earth would she choose a place like this when the rest of the house is so grand?

  I turn to find Nyx and Kai studying the structure, and I don’t have to read their minds to know that they’re thinking the same thing. Nyx turns to me in confusion. “Why this place?”

  “Yes,” Kai adds. “I was wondering the same thing.”

  I shrug. “I suppose we’ll find out. First, let’s find Cash and Finn. Maybe they can fill us in. After all, they’ve been watching over her since yesterday.”

  Quietly, Nyx and I ascend the staircase. Kai does not have to take as much care since he can simply fly alongside us. Sometimes I envy him his ability to fly, but then again, I do feel that my form is superior in many ways. For instance, I dart a glance at Nyx, clumsily making his way up the stairs. It is much easier to move with stealth in a cat form versus that of a rabbit.

  He narrows his eyes at me. “Why do I feel like you’re judging me?”

  A sly grin crests my lips. “I would never...”

  He rolls his eyes and shifts.

  Kai swirls around and gapes at him. “What are you doing?”

  Nyx stands before him, unapologetically, in his human form. He rakes a hand through his short chestnut hair as his brown eyes meet Kai’s evenly. “I cannot move as quietly as a rabbit up those steps. This way is much easier.”

  “But she might see you and get scared,” Kai projects so loudly in my thoughts it’s as if my brain is ringing with alarms.

  “If I hear any indication of someone approaching, I’ll shift back,” he reassures Kai.

  Kai says nothing, so feeling rebellious, I shift as well.

  Kai spins back. “You too?” he asks accusingly.

  I comb my fingers through my still damp black hair, smoothing it back from my forehead before I gesture to my bond brother. “If Nyx can, why can’t I?”

  Kai sighs heavily and shifts as well. His golden hair reflects the soft moonlight that spills in through a broken window as his sharp blue eyes meet ours.

  I arch a brow, and he shrugs. “We’ll just have to shift back quickly if we hear anyone approach.”

  It feels like forever before we reach the top of the stairs. When we do, a small light under the door gives us pause.

  Cautiously, since I am the one with cat’s feet, I quietly move to the opening and carefully push it back just enough to peer inside.

  My jaw drops when I see Cash and Finn both in human form with a female between them. I blink several times in shock before spinning back to Kai and Nyx.

  “What is it?” Kai asks.

  “Yes, what did you see?” Nyx’s brown eyes search mine.

  I struggle to come up with an answer, something that will not get my bond brothers in trouble.

  Despite his charming and normally easy-going nature, Kai can be a stern leader. He demands that we obey the decisions he makes for our group. We chose him because he is wise and we all respect him.

  Cash and Finn have always been rather impulsive and prone to mischief, but I’m shocked that they blatantly disregarded Kai’s order that we not reveal our human forms to our female yet. Kai will be furious if he sees them like this.

  I cannot send them a thought communication, warning them we are here, without risking that Kai and Nyx would pick up on it as well. What on earth would possess them to be sleeping in human form with the female we’re only supposed to be guarding from the shadows?

  Kai pushes past me, and I grab his arm. “Don’t!”

  His blue eyes snap to me. “What are you doing? What’s going on? Why are you acting so strange?”

  “Just... give it a minute,” I tell him.

  “Why?”

  I push the door, hoping the small creak will alert Cash and Finn so they can change forms before Kai and Nyx see them.

  �
�She’s unclothed,” I explain, cringing from my poor excuse. “And you know how humans are about nudity. It is rude to look upon them in such a bare state.”

  Kai frowns but then nods and stays where he is. I notice Nyx, however, carefully edging closer to the opening, trying to look inside.

  “Stop!” I tell him. “What are you doing?”

  He narrows his eyes. “You are stalling.”

  “No, I am not,” I snap.

  “Yes, you are. I know you. Besides, if she is unclothed, why should it matter?” he says as he tries to pass me. “It’s not as if nudity is wrong.”

  “It is for humans,” I glare at him. “You know it’s true. We aren’t in a shifter village anymore. Humans are always fully clothed.”

  Crossing his arms over his chest, he purses his lips. “Fine. We will wait a moment for her to dress.”

  Nyx is second in command behind Kai. When we were deciding who would lead us, he was the only other consideration. Kai was ultimately chosen because of his innate ability to put others at ease. He is charismatic and able to get along with almost anyone.

  Whereas, Nyx tends to be stern and unmovable. When he decides upon something there is very little that can change his mind once it’s made up. He respects Kai and they are very close, but he often dislikes being told what to do. Especially by me.

  And now that we’re so close to the Chosen One—she whom we have trained our entire lives to protect, Nyx is impatient to see her. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to stall him.

  I know he has dreamed of her many times, but he is hesitant when he speaks of it. We’ve been bond brothers long enough that I know when Nyx does not discuss the details of his dreams, it is for one of two reasons: Either he has had a vision of the future, or a warning.

  He was more agitated than usual on our journey here today, and I believe it was because he knew we were finally going to see her. I only hope that whatever Nyx saw of her in his dreams, that it was something favorable and not terrible.