by Ava Walsh
Erdal glimpsed Ornek in combat with Gezek next, as Ornek parried his blow. Then, swiftly, he slit his throat, and Gezek dropped to the floor, dead. Erdal quietly admired the old man’s skills as he quickly made his way toward the throne, jumping over the bodies on his way. His heart thrummed in his chest, rage surging through his blood as he gripped the hilt tighter.
Zutaar got up and unsheathed his own sword. He lunged at Erdal, blindly swinging his sword at him. Erdal dodged, stepping sideways, and braced himself for another parry. He saw the gleam of madness in the king’s eyes.
“Gezek tells me the woman is a real weakling,” Zutaar smirked. “And you dare defy me for her?” He snarled as he lunged toward Erdal again.
Erdal parried the attack by holding his Light-Shard vertically in front of him. The king carried his sword clumsily, as he had not taken it up in years. But he was stronger and taller than Erdal. He came at him again as Erdal dodged, but with his other hand, Zutaar pounded him with a small club in the ribs, and then swung it again, hitting him in the face.
Erdal staggered and fell backward. His head reeled, and there was a ringing in his ears, as hot, searing pain shot up his jaw and in the side of his chest. His vision blurred for a few seconds as he tasted the warm, metallic blood in his mouth. A wave of nausea hit him.
Get up! Get up now! You can’t let him win! The voice in his head yelled as he saw the king advance toward him. The image of his mother and father lying in a pool of dark blue blood flashed across his mind as he struggled to get up. He grabbed his Light-Shard as it lay on the floor beside him and got to his feet. The king clumsily swung his sword again, and this time, as Erdal parried, the blades clashed, metal clanking against metal, as he felt the impact reverberate through his arm. Erdal had the kind of strength and agility that the other lacked. His years of experience in the arena had taught him how to survive. He stepped forward and swung his Light-Shard in a move that slashed the left arm of the king, leaving a large open gash in its wake. Dark blood gushed forth and the club fell from his grasp as he cried in pain and lunged forward, wildly swinging his sword at him. Erdal moved sideways, dodging the clumsy attack.
“This is for hurting Natalie,” he said, in a cold voice, and quick as lightning he slashed his other arm, cutting it off. More blood, dark as tar, spilled, and he kept advancing as Zutaar retreated, screaming, until he fell backward on the steps leading to the throne. Erdal was on him immediately, pointing his Katana at his heart.
“And this is for father and mother,” he said, tears glistening in his eyes, as he raised his Light-Shard and plunged the thin blade into Zutaar’s chest, severing his dark heart. The pseudo-king convulsed and breathed his last as the light went out of his cold, gray eyes. His body lay still in the ever increasing pool of dark blood.
***
Erdal found her unconscious on the dark floor. She was pale and her skin seemed gray in the dim light. Her breathing was ragged and her pulse was faint, but she was alive. He carried her in his arms to the sickbay, tears rolling down his cheeks.
Dr. Barca took her in. Kissing her forehead, Erdal left her in his care. An hour later he reported she was stable and the baby was fine. She needed breathing pills and was dehydrated. He had given her a sedative to put her at ease. She was stronger than she seemed, the doctor reassured.
Erdal heaved a sigh of relief as he gazed at the now confused and scared faces of the council members. Half an hour earlier, when he got back to the meeting room, there was chaos among the council heads. Ornek had already briefed them about the situation and showed them the documents that proved Erdal was the true heir to the throne.
They wanted some time to think it over, but as Ornek said, there was no doubt about it. They had no choice but to agree.
Epilogue
Erdal sat by the bed in the sickbay and watched her sleep. He had almost lost her, again. His chest constricted at the thought. If something had happened to her or the baby, he would not have forgiven himself.
Natalie stirred and her eyes fluttered open.
“Erdal,” she whispered his name, and he felt the familiar pull toward her.
“I’m here, my love...” he bent down and planted a kiss on her soft lips.
“Oh, Erdal!” she cried, as he took her in his arms. “I thought I would never see you again!”
“Hush,” he whispered into her hair, taking in her sweet scent. “I rule this land now, so everything will be okay.” He smiled down at her, and then kissed her deeply. “And you will be my beautiful queen,” he said pulling apart.
“You have claimed the throne?” she asked, ever so softly. “What happened to Zutaar?” She saw the side of his face was still slightly swollen, and she could only imagine what he must have endured.
With Dr. Barca’s treatment, his wounds had healed fast.
“He’s dead,” Erdal said darkly. “You don’t have to worry about him anymore.”
“Even if he’s gone, don’t you ever leave me alone...” she said.
“I promise you, I will always be at your side,” he said, as he gazed deep into her eyes. “And as my queen, I will lay the world at your feet. I will make you feel loved like no man has ever loved you. I will mark your soul with my touch so deep, you will crave for nothing more. I will ensnare you with my love, touching you in those secret hidden places you don’t even know exist. Only then will you know what it means to be my queen.”
She gasped, speechless, as her heart beat faster.
He kissed her again. “Oh, and Dr. Barca tells me that it’s a boy,” he said, smiling his gorgeous smile, as he placed his palm on her belly.
“Really? What should we name him?” she asked, smiling.
“Arion,” he said, “he will be Arion Erdal Bu’rak Urquiorra.”
***
Six months later, he stood waiting at the steps leading to the pavilion that overlooked the sea. It was draped in gold and white, with ivory flowers all around the gold columns. He wore a dark suit with dark pants, and he wore the royal cape draped over his shoulders. He gasped and couldn’t stop gazing at the beautiful woman who walked toward him.
She wore a low-cut, backless, gold silk and Chantilly gown with intricate ivory and gold designs. She held a sleek, gold staff in her hand, a tradition of their race. Her hair was swept up in a loose bun, and she wore an intricate, gold tiara on her head. She ambled up to him with a civilized grace and she gazed into his eyes. The women from the harem were the bridesmaids. They had been set free. Many of them had volunteered to work at the palace, while others left for their home planets. One of the bridesmaids held their two-month-old son as she stood by, watching.
Natalie took his hand as she stepped up and he slid a large sapphire onto her finger. They exchanged their vows and Ornek declared them man and wife.
After the ceremony, they stood alone at the far end of the pavilion, gazing at the beautiful sunset over the sea. He held her hand, and she rested her head on his shoulder, gazing at the horizon awash with golden and purple hues. He turned and gazed at her, his emerald eyes full of love and warmth, and she blushed. He could still do that to her. She bit her lower lip, and he bent down and claimed her mouth with his, his tongue demanding and wanting all of her. As always, he took her breath away, and she wondered what she had done to deserve such a man.
Their hearts beat as one, and the calm sea reflected the peace within their souls. Together they ruled their kingdom, and their people loved them, and remembered them long after they were gone.
*****
THE END
Bonus Book 35: The Shifting Boss's Prey
By: Eliza Moon
Description
A curvy office worker looking for love PLUS her hot and rich shifting boss PLUS his evil assistant who comes in between!
When Selina Kot started dating Michael Fort she was ready for fancy dates and trips to London. She’d fallen head over heels for her sexy billionaire boss and was even prepared to accept his deadly secret...
No
one knows Michael Fort’s secret. Although he’s managed to control his condition through the years, there is one exception: the night of the full moon. On those nights, he must lock himself up in his basement dungeon and pray that no one finds him.
Selina is ready to support him no matter what. But Michael’s perfect and stunning personal assistant Lois has other plans...
Lois has her sights set on the billionaire. She isn’t happy that Selina stands between her and Michael, and she’s ready and willing to do whatever it takes to get rid of Selina and claim Michael for herself.
But Lois has no idea of the beast that lurks within the billionaire...
Can Selina win the battle with her rival? What is Lois really capable of? Find out now!
Chapter One
It was almost four o’clock. Outside, the shadows were getting longer. Sunset was at 6:12. A few months ago, Selina never thought about when the sun set and rose. It was unimportant information, trivia and nothing more. Now, it was everything. Knowing when the sun set and rose meant life or death for Selina Kot.
She had been plugging away at paperwork all day. Filling out forms, submitting documents, distracting herself from what was coming. It worked. With her head down, she had worked the entire day away. Now night was almost here and she didn’t feel ready. She looked down at the form in front of her but suddenly it seemed to make no sense. The long empty lines mocked her. HSA, FSA, FMLA—it was all meaningless.
It was five minutes after four. Almost ten minutes had passed and she had done nothing but stare at the paper in front of her. It was as if a switch had gone off. A few moments ago she had been a hard working machine, but now she was a mess. Shaking her head, she closed the file in front of her. There was no point now, she couldn’t focus. She should probably just go home.
Home used to mean a small two-bedroom walk-up apartment in the not-so-nice part of town. Now, it was a mansion. The word still sounded so strange in her mind. She could barely bring herself to say it out loud. It was the same thing with her new Lexus. She had driven a reliable Honda around for ten years. But a few months ago, after returning from a trip to London, Selina had come home to find her car destroyed. It looked like someone had taken a baseball bat to it. The windows were smashed in, the exterior dented, the interior slashed to ribbons. The police had no leads on a suspect. They told Selina it had probably been a bunch of bored teenagers. In the aftermath of her Honda’s destruction, Michael had bought her the Lexus. She had tried to resist it, tried to give it back. But he wouldn’t hear of it.
She still couldn’t quite believe that she had landed a man like Michael Fort. Out of all the women in the world, and he could have anyone he wanted, he chose her. They had been dating for nine months and had moved in together three weeks ago. It was going well. No, it was perfect. She had always heard people talk about just “clicking” with someone, but that had never applied to her. She had dated a lot, kissed a few frogs, but she had never been in love. Then she met Michael and everything changed.
“Knock knock,” a low, sultry voice called from the doorway. Selina whipped her head around and saw Michael’s painfully beautiful assistant Lois standing in the doorway.
Selina threw her shoulders back and kept her head held high. Lois Loss was beautiful. She was beyond stunning. She had over twenty-thousand Instagram followers. Her long dark hair was blown out into beautiful, shining, bouncing curls. She was wearing a tight dress that lay flat and unwrinkled on her perfectly toned body. It stopped a few inches above her knees, showing off her long legs. Her makeup was perfect and she was wearing a pair of sky-high black stilettos.
Refusing to feel inferior, Selina smiled up at Lois and said, “Lois, I was just about to leave, but is there something I can help you with?”
“Just some paperwork for some freelancers we’ve brought for the HAL project.” She walked into the room, as always walking like a model. It was as if she lived on a runaway, hands on hips, putting one foot in front of the other. She dumped a huge, messy looking manila folder on Selina’s desk. “I have no idea how you do all this paperwork. It just seems so boring to me. I would pull my hair out if I had to sit behind a desk and fill out forms all day.”
“Well, there’s a little more to it than that,” Selina said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She had taken the time to do her hair and makeup that morning, but now she almost wished she hadn’t bothered. Lois was so beautiful, tall and thin. There was no way for Selina to compete.
It’s not a competition. Those were Michael's own words. Lois is my assistant, we work together, nothing more. You’re my girlfriend. I love you. You don’t ever have to worry about anyone else.
If only Lois hadn’t been so beautiful and put together.
“Plans tonight?” Lois asked cheerfully. But the question put Selina off. She did have plans that night, but none she could talk about. Besides, she still remembered the last time she had told Lois the location where she and Michael were planning to have dinner. Lois had shown up. She claimed that hearing Selina talk about the restaurant had made her crave sushi and she just had to try Nakamura Sushi Restaurant.
Selina had never felt worse about herself. Lois and her friend had shown up looking like they had stepped out of a fashion magazine. Big hair, short dresses, tall heels, tons of makeup. Heads had literally turned when they entered. But Michael hadn’t seemed to even notice Lois. He smiled politely when she came over and made some conversation, and then once their table was ready he left her behind.
Later that night, when Selina had melted into a puddle of tears on the drive home, Michael pulled the car over and dried her tears with his thumb.
“If I wanted to be with Lois, I would be with Lois,” he said. He had been looking right into her eyes, speaking with an intensity that surprised her. “I love you, Selina. I want to be with you. You are beautiful and from here on out, you’re not allowed to think that Lois is better than you in any way, because she isn’t.”
It was easier said than done.
“Hello? Earth to Selina?” Lois said.
“What? Yes, sorry,” Selina said, shaking her head. “We’re just gonna stay in tonight. Keep it simple.”
“We?” A confused expression came over her perfectly made-up face. “Oh, you and Michael. I keep forgetting you two are still together.”
There it is, Selina thought. Lois was the queen of tiny hurtful little comments. Selina could never really explain Lois to other people. Whenever she repeated her mean comments, they sounded silly, like Selina was over-reacting.
“Still going strong,” Selina said forcing a smile on her face. “As his personal assistant, I would think that you would have known.”
“I guess you just don’t come up much in conversation,” Lois said.
Under her desk Selina balled her hands into fists and then imagined smashing those fists into Lois’ perfect little face. But she held herself back and kept the smile on her face.
“Well, I’m actually about to head out. I’ll see you on Monday,” Selina said.
With a flip of her hair, Lois swanned out of the room. Selina could hear her heels clicking on the hardwood floor and waited for the sound to fade before she got up and reached for her coat.
She buttoned her coat up and tried not to let Lois’ visit get her down. Selina wasn’t a stick-figure model type. But that didn’t mean she was some hideous bridge troll. She was curvy, a size fourteen, but she dressed well, cute A-line dresses, blouses and skinny jeans. She worked out at the gym three times a week and did her best to eat healthily, with the occasional indulgence. She was just bigger than Lois, but that didn’t make her less than the other woman.
She locked her door and walked slowly to her new Lexus. She allowed herself one minute to remember when Michael had bought it for her. She had sixty seconds to imagine exactly how jealous Lois had been when she heard the news. A smile spread across her face as she allowed herself one wicked moment to appreciate the fact that Michael had chosen her.
&
nbsp; The drive home was easy. She had worried about traffic, or getting into an accident, but traffic flowed smoothly and she was home within twenty minutes. This was it. Tonight was the night. She had seen Michael change before, but never on the full moon. Tonight he wouldn’t be a shifter in control, he would be a wild animal. He wouldn't recognize her. He would rip out her throat if he got the chance.
Don’t think like that, she chided herself. He had been doing this for a long time. He would be locked up; she would be safe. He had confided in her, trusted her, and now he needed her. She was going to be there for him. She was going to make this as pleasant as possible for him. Her love for Michael was the real thing. It was more than the money and the cars and the mansion. The love was for him and him alone. She loved him and she was going to be strong and do this thing for him.
Chapter Two
The house rose in front of her eyes. It was on the outskirts of the city, away from the bright lights and hustle and bustle of Seattle where the offices of Michael’s company were located. The mansion sat high on a hill with a stunning view of the bay. Past the perfectly manicured lawns was a thick forest that stretched for miles, giving Michael a place to run when he transformed.
She took the hill slowly, driving up the twisting and turning driveway towards the gate, appreciating the view of the water on her left. Her car had a sensor installed and when she arrived, the gate swung open silently and she drove through, watching it close behind her in her rearview mirror.
The house was stately, modern and huge. The exterior walls were made of a dark stone, with white window frames and shutters. It was four stories tall with an east and west wing and tall spiral towers topped with widow walks. A huge, green lawn surrounded the property. There was an Olympic size swimming pool, tennis courts and a gazebo in the back.