by Terry Spear
Simon bowed his head to the king. He had to mate her. She could be a great help in ruling his wolf pack. She was capable of making quality leadership decisions, was in good stead with the scorpion king, and who knew how that might aid them if their pack needed a powerful fae to help them out sometime in the future. But it was more than that. She had won his people over, all except for Gia and her brothers, and that was an important consideration. And she had completely won him over, and that was the most important consideration.
Letta hugged the king. “We must leave, to ensure some wolves don’t try to take over the pack while we’re gone.”
“I can help to make sure that doesn’t happen, if you ever need my aid. You can release the humans now, Letta,” the king said, giving her a warm embrace back. "I'm glad you have done well for yourself."
Simon couldn’t believe the scorpion king would really offer to help them, though Simon had never considered needing another fae kind to assist him in dealing with the issues arising from his own pack either. He'd been thinking more in terms of aiding them against other fae.
Letta waved her hand at the five men and they slumped, looking like they were going to collapse. Then they straightened, and they looked afraid now, huddling together, eyes wide, cowering. Good. They needed to show the fae some respect.
Simon took Letta’s hand, pulled her into his arms for a hug, and kissed her. He wanted the king to know how much he really meant to protect and care for Letta. But he did wonder if she truly was the king’s daughter or not. The king looked like he was younger than her. Simon would not be averse to marrying a princess, though he supposed kissing her could backfire on him if she shoved him away in front of the king.
Her cheeks were rosy, though she kissed him back. Her people were all smiling. Sometimes he could be a little too spontaneous in his actions, but he did want to show that there was more to Letta and him than her just living among them.
“Thank you for taking care of these men,” Simon told the king, glad to get them off his hands.
“Thank you for taking care of Letta. We normally don’t have visitors or allow it, but in your case, you are welcome to return,” the king said to Simon.
“Thank you, Your Majesty. And you are welcome to visit us at any time.” Then Simon bowed, and took Letta’s hand and they left with the other wolves to return home, minus the human fae seers.
ONCE SIMON and the rest of their party had returned to the square in the village, Simon confronted Tomas and his brothers. "Tell us what you had intended to do with us," Simon said to Tomas, his brothers standing on either side of him, the whole pack looking on, having kept the men in the square all this time to stand in judgement.
Gia appeared horrified they might tell the truth. Letta and Myla and her brothers were standing together. The council members were unified also nearby.
Simon had the greatest urge to say that Letta would know if Tomas was telling the truth, but he didn't want his people to fear her.
"We were going to use the fae collars on you," Tomas said honestly.
"And then?" Simon asked. When Tomas failed to answer him quickly enough, Simon said, "To kill us then."
"No. We were going to take you someplace far way and just leave you there."
"And when we returned?" Simon asked.
Tomas glanced at his brothers, both who looked that they were headed for the noose and the hangman's tree and were afraid to say anything to make matters worse.
Tomas let out his breath. "You weren't supposed to return."
"Then you meant to kill us."
"No. You weren't supposed to find your way back for a good long while."
"Like ever. You thought fae seers would eventually catch up to us. Tomas, you knew if we returned, I'd make you pay for what you did to us. You knew we couldn't return, or we'd tell the pack what you had done to us."
Tomas looked defeated. "We wanted to pay you back for the way Letta treated Gia and you stuck up for the scorpion fae instead of one of our own."
"When one of ours is the one at fault, of course I'll stick up for the one who was not at fault. And Letta is one of ours now. You know I have every right to kill you and your brothers for what you planned to do to us. I don't believe you when you say you just wanted to send us away for a time to make a point. I could very well banish all of you, your sister included, because she knew what you were planning, might have even orchestrated the whole thing and that's why she returned to see how things were going and saw the fae seers taking you hostage. You've always been good pack members, which is the only reason you're not dead now."
Simon glanced at Gia and narrowed his eyes at her. "As to you, Gia, if any of you are involved in anything else that would harm this pack or any of its members, you will be dead. No more allowances."
Then he turned his attention back to the brothers again. "I could have left you to the fae seers who intended to drown you, then it would have been out of my hands. But as your pack leader, it's my duty to deal with your treachery in my own way."
"Spare Remington, if you would," Tomas said. "He tried to talk us out of it."
Simon folded his arms across his chest. "Yet he went with you and he didn't try to stop you at the restaurant. Letta did." Simon paused. "You have lost the ability to fae travel for a year."
Several muffled conversations took place. No one had ever had that happen to them in the pack. He could only imagine what a hardship that would be for the brothers.
"Further, you will be on probation for the entire year. Everything you say and do will be monitored the whole year. If you choose to leave the pack, you can return after a year and Letta will restore your ability to fae travel. Be forewarned, if anything should happen to her during this time and she dies—whether you were instrumental in her death or something else is—you will never be able to fae travel again." He wondered if the king of the scorpion fae could remove the effect, but he wasn't about to mention that here, not sure that he could anyway.
"That's not fair!" Gia shouted.
"If they prefer to die, that's the alternative." Simon wasn't about to change his mind on this issue.
"It's fair," Tomas quickly said, though he didn't look happy in the least about the prospect. But at least he and his brothers were alive and given another chance to do right by them.
His brothers appeared relieved to be allowed to live, but likewise, they didn't seem happy about the fae travel bit.
The brothers could be real hotheads, and Simon suspected that they hadn't really thought out the plan that well. That it was devised on the spur of the moment in an act of desperation to punish Simon and Letta. It had to have been a last-minute plan because Simon hadn't told anyone, not even Letta, that he was taking her to the restaurant until right before they dressed to leave. Of course, when anyone saw them dressed for the human world and Letta was wearing the little black dress, they could have assumed they were going on a date there.
Simon didn’t think there was anything worse that he could have done to them, but take away their ability to fae travel, and let them live with the shame of what they’d tried to do. They'd hate to be watched all year as if they were trouble for the pack, which they now were. He suspected they wouldn’t last with the pack, but they might attempt to hold out until they could have their ability to fae travel returned.
Once he had told them what their punishment was in front of the pack, he retired to the cottage with Letta and Myla.
"I can't believe they planned to kill you," Myla said. "And all because of Gia."
"I believe it also has to do with the fact she won't be my mate and they thought their positions would be elevated if she was, so they're furious about Letta messing things up. Not that she has. I would never have taken Gia for my mate, but I'm sure she's convinced them that she was going to be." Simon turned to Letta. “What else can you do with your magic?”
Myla served up chocolate cream pie. Simon set the table.
Letta poured cups of tea for them. �
�That’s a secret. If I need to use my abilities, I will. But for now, it’s best to pretend I don’t have them. It helps to put my enemies on edge. Now they know of three things I can do: zap them with a charge, take away their transportation, and freeze them. Their imaginations could run wild with speculation. It’s like a secret weapon.”
“My mind runs wild with speculation,” Simon said, as they all took their seats to eat.
Myla smiled. “Mine too. But if it helps Simon to stay in power, and it helps the pack to win its battles, I’m all for it, whatever the power is. While you were gone, the whole pack was talking about what Tomas and his brothers did. They said they knew that Gia was just as much behind the plot. I'm worried your ruling might not be enough.”
13
Ena and Brett met with their staff in the great hall. "Okay," Ena said, "each of you have asked if we would turn into dragons and bite you. Except for Ryker and Jacob. Of course, neither Mark nor Bryan have either. No, we will not shift and bite any of you. What if we seriously injured you and that was the only result? So no. You are all dragon fae and you should be happy and proud of who you are."
"Ena's right," Brett said.
Muriel frowned. "But from what everyone's said, don't you want to even test the theory?"
"No. You know what we do as dragons. What if all the dragon fae were shifters? Then there'd be no one who needed us for special missions."
"Besides," Brett said, "the queen has heard of all this nonsense and has issued an edict that if any dragon bites a fae with the intent to change the fae, both will be banished from the kingdom. It is said she is afraid that all her people will want to be dragons, and she will be the only one in the kingdom who isn't a shifter."
Everyone reluctantly agreed. Even those who hadn't wanted to "test" the theory nodded also.
"Let's get back to work then," Ena said.
Bryan left then to see the queen and Mark returned to the gardens out back, while her maids hurried outside to see to the prized goat and the mischief it was getting into.
Ena was grateful to have Mark working on her water gardens again, while Bryan went to work for the queen to pay off his debt for his short hospital stay. He was honored, but he still preferred being with his friends, Brett and Bryan, and Ena and all her staff. They’d all grown on each other. But she suspected the two men would like to return to the wolf pack now that they were wolf shifters, once they were finished with their jobs at the two castles. They had talked nonstop about all the fun they'd had in fighting with the other wolves.
The prized goat she and Brett had found for a client was now running around their courtyard, eating any plant in plain sight that it could reach. In the beginning, before Bryan and Mark had become her wards, her courtyard had been almost all paving stones, with some shrubs growing at the base of the protective red-stone walls, but after Mark and Bryan had finished creating the gardens out back, they had started on the front. She now had climbing roses growing over trellises, daffodils, daylilies, and several other flowering plants that rivaled the queen’s.
The goat was a pretty blond with black boots and a white patch down its nose. Ena had to admit she’d come out to pet it when no one was around to see her do so. But she couldn’t abide it eating her plants.
Two of Ena’s maids chased the goat off. He might be a prized goat by someone, but he was a real nuisance here, Ena thought.
Ena folded her arms and watched the antics of the women chasing the bleating goat off. Brett joined Ena and slipped his arm around her waist.
“Do you think the man who owned her will pay up?” Brett asked.
“Nope. And it’s too late for that now. He said she was being replaced with a new prized goat. I’m giving her as a gift to the queen for helping us with Bryan’s hospitalization. It never hurts to do something special to stay in the queen’s favor. And I’d rather the goat eat her plants, not mine.” Then she smiled. “That didn’t sound quite right. The queen loves goats and said she would make the previous owner envious when she entered this goat in the competition and wins.”
Brett smiled. “Do you want me to take the goat to her, and then I can check on Bryan’s progress in the queen’s gardens? I wanted to see how he was doing, as far as whether he is having trouble with shifting or not. I didn't have time to ask earlier.”
“Sure. I’m going out back to see how Mark is doing with our gardens.”
Brett kissed her, then shifted, and as a dragon, swooped down, grabbed the startled goat up in his talons and carried her to the queen’s castle.
Ena couldn’t be gladder that the goat was gone, and her maids could get back to dusting, or whatever they were supposed to be doing. They both looked exhausted, but relieved not to have to be chasing after the goat the rest of the day.
Ena headed for the gardens out back and found Mark and Jacob working on the flow of water for a waterfall. It was just amazing and she was thrilled Mark had returned to finish his work.
“The pond will be filled with koi and the waterfall will help aerate the water. After we have it completely operational, I needed to know if you have any place in this world that has koi?” Mark asked. “I guess I should have asked that first.”
“Uh, no. We’ll have to transport some here. When will you be ready for them?”
“In a couple of days.”
“All right. We’ll make a trip to the human world then and pick some up. You’re doing a great job.”
“Thanks, I love doing this. I never thought I would. I had to mow the grass back home and I hated it.”
“I’m glad that you enjoy it here and you have done a miraculous job.” Because Ena had really, really needed a gardener. But what Mark and Bryan had done with her gardens was nothing short of a miracle. “How are you feeling, wolf-wise?”
“I’m fine now. I wasn’t happy about it at first because of how sick I felt to begin with. And then to be locked up in the cage was humiliating. Having little control over my shifting was exasperating. I always thought it would be cool if Bryan and I could shift like you and Brett into dragons. Of course, I was thinking of dragons or falcons even, not wolves. But I think they’re really cool and I like being one.”
“Did you meet any she-wolves you really liked in Simon’s pack?”
“Yeah, but they didn’t like us because we had been fae seers and also because, if we do come into our true fae kind, who knows what we’ll be.”
“Maybe you’ll still get your chance of being a dragon or a falcon. Two fae shifter types then,” Ena said, smiling.
“As long as I don’t become both at the same time.”
Ena could imagine what a mess that would be. A half-furry dragon, or a wolf with dragon wings.
“Hey, after Bryan and I got changed from a bite, I was wondering if a dragon shifter really could change a fae that way. I know everyone's talking about it and I know you don't want to test it out, but I just wondered.”
“I’ve never heard of that happening.” Then again, she’d never heard of a dragon biting anyone. They normally just used their flame to deal with problem people or monstrous creatures.
Then she let Mark get back to work. She needed to locate a place that sold koi, but they had no way of knowing where they could pick up some until they visited the human world. No internet here, and even if they had it, they couldn’t connect to the human world. That was an interesting idea though.
She had to thank Simon for returning Mark and Bryan to them also. She hoped Hannah was minding her manners, but Ena was glad she didn’t have responsibility for the woman any longer.
Ena didn’t have any other mission right now, the other dragons taking care of them so they could earn the treasure. She paced for a few minutes around the great hall. Brett would probably be some time while visiting with Bryan, so she decided to just go to Wolf Mountain on her own. She was so used to doing whatever she needed to do without worrying about getting anyone’s approval. She was a great dragon shifter and had been unmated all this time. It
annoyed her to realize she even had to consider whether or not Brett would approve. It wasn’t his business to do so.
Then she took a deep breath. It wasn’t so much that he wouldn’t approve, she reminded herself, but that he might want to go with her. But waiting around when everyone else in the household was busy wasn’t her thing.
She noticed her butler watching her. “Ryker, I’m going to Wolf Mountain.” She almost told him why she was going, and then curbed the inclination. She was the head of this household, along with Brett now, and her butler didn’t need to know what business she had.
“Does Brett—”
She raised her hand to silence Ryker at once. She wasn’t about to allow her staff to question her actions.
“I’ll be home shortly. Maybe even before Brett returns. If he does, and I’m still not back, just tell him where I’ve gone.”
Ryker frowned, but inclined his head in agreement.
Then she left the castle, shifted, and flew off as a dragon back to Wolf Mountain. She rarely went there. She couldn’t believe she’d be returning again so soon.
When she arrived, she landed in a clearing near the village, then shifted. She trekked to the commons area where there was a squabble going on, and she thought Hannah was causing the trouble. Hannah was standing off to one side, arms folded, headed cocked, smirking, as if she was amused that the wolves weren’t getting along. From what Ena could gather, Tomas and his brothers had tried to collar Letta and Simon in the human world and leave them to their fate, or kill them. And several of the wolves there didn’t like that Simon was allowing them to live.
Simon’s brother, Ronan, saw her and came over to greet her. “Sorry you had to witness the trouble we’re having.”
“If I can be of any assistance to you and your family, just let me know. I wanted to thank Simon for sending Mark and Bryan back to the dragon fae kingdom.”
“He’s at the cottage. I’ll escort you there. Are either of them having any trouble with shifting?” Ronan walked her back to the cottage.