The Scholar Queen

by Renee Carr

  The Scholar Queen

  Made for Each Other: The Dragon Shifters

  (Book 2)

  By

  Renee Carr

  © Copyright 2019 by Renee Carr - All rights reserved.

  In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document by either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved.

  Respective author owns all copyrights not held by the publisher.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Author’s Note

  Preview of The Dragon and the Singer

  Prologue

  At first, there was just darkness. The tunnels weren’t well lit, and their eyes took a moment to adjust. The creature took a step forward and then another and another.

  Eventually, when they were far enough into the darkness that they couldn’t be seen, they pushed back from their animalistic ways, and into their human forms.

  “How many damn tunnels are under this place?” one growled. “I’m not even sure this one leads to the palace.”

  “It may not,” the other said. “But they have to lead somewhere and eventually, we will find the palace.”

  “And then what? We don’t have a plan, we aren’t ready.”

  “We will be ready,” said another figure, shrouded in darkness. He had mostly kept his face hidden from the others, but they all knew who it was. “When it’s time.”

  “When will it be time, though? We’ve been preparing for this for...”

  “It’ll be time when I say it’s time,” snapped the figure. “And not before. Trust me, when we finally move, the dragons won’t know what hit them.”

  “And if we fail?”

  “We die,” he said simply.

  “You don’t think the dragons would show us mercy? They...”

  The argument had been made half a hundred times before. It almost seemed that those who were fighting for the cause didn’t believe in it themselves. Or maybe they were just too afraid, after hundreds of years of dragon rule, to finally inspire change.

  It certainly wasn’t easy to look for a way to defeat them. Dragons were stronger, faster, and more agile. They were larger, and they had fire to use as a weapon at their disposal. The dragons ruled the other shifters because they could so with little effort. Those in previous rebellions did not often live to tell the tale of their attempts.

  “I hope they don’t,” said the wolf, in human form. “There is no fail. We will not accept failure. We will die before they belittle us with mercy.”

  “Aye aye, my lord,” said one, slipping up with his title.

  “What did you call me?” the man stepped forward. “What did you just call me?”

  “I—I... I’m sorry. I forgot.”

  “You will not forget again,” said the man, and then turned back into the darkness. “Kill him.”

  That settled the others and there was silence.

  “But—”

  “Kill him, now. Do you really think he will be the only casualty of this? He should be grateful to think that he’s first.”

  “Please,” the offender said. “Please, please do not...”

  “We cannot have those who are sloppy in this,” he said. “Because never before has anyone ever succeeded in bringing the dragons down. We will be the first and we will succeed. Kill him now.”

  The man then turned and walked farther down the tunnel. The ones who remained knew that they had absolutely no choice. They had to listen to him.

  ‘Yes, sir,” they said, and then turned to the offender. His screams echoed down the tunnels, but there was no one who would hear them. These tunnels didn’t lead to the palace, but they crossed between the wolf territory and the dragon territory. Eventually, they would find what they were looking for. And when they did, the dragons would be finished.

  Chapter 1

  “Well, this is interesting,” Nathan muttered as the two of them pored over all the documents. “Apparently the longest-serving Alpha shifter ruled for 56 years and 3 days. So I was right.”

  “So Father is at...”

  “He’s about a month short,” Nathan said as he quickly scribbled some numbers for his older brother. John pulled his knee up as he shifted in his chair, looking down at the documents.

  “I wonder if he’ll make it,” John said, and Nathan looked up in alarm. Neither of them had said anything about the fact that their father, the current Dragon King, Michael, was getting on in years. They also didn’t acknowledge the fact that since the recent rebellions with the wolf shifters, Michael was looking even more fragile as the days went on.

  “What a thing to say,” Nathan mentioned, quietly, to John, although they were both thinking it. John shrugged one strong shoulder, saying nothing.

  As the Crown Prince of Knorpp, John had been taught since birth to prepare for the day when he would take over the throne from his father. With three younger brothers, John had spent his days a bit differently from them. He had been taken away most afternoons for lessons that had to do with inheriting the crown, while his brothers continued with their general education. As they got older, they started to specialize in their courses. Nathan was going to be John’s assistant when he took the throne, and his crown prince until John had a son. Joshua, their middle brother, moved from general education into physical training, as he planned to take over as captain of the guards, protecting his brothers. The last brother, Cory, was the youngest and considered, in terms of the crown, the last hope. Cory seemed to be left to his own devices as far as John was concerned. Cory did a lot of publicity meetings, and tended to travel the most whenever they needed a representative of the royal family at a ribbon-cutting or other official business.

  “Well, it’ll be a reality one day, won’t it?” John asked. Their father dying was more of a reality for him than it was for the rest of them, as he had been taught about it from a young age. It wasn’t that he wasn’t bothered by it. It was just that he knew that one day, he would be king, and the only way to do that was through Michael dying.

  “It will,” Nathan said. “I think we should plan something for it, though, as I’m sure he will reach that mark.”

  “If you have the time, brother,” John said to him. “Father has asked me to sit in with the next generation of shifter Alphas this afternoon, to talk through some issues we foresee in the long term.”

  “Well, we can talk about it later, then,” Nathan said, shutting off the tablet. “I think we’ve gotten through most of our work.”

  “I believe so,” John said, and then changed topics. “How are you making out with the Tamarack dragon girl?”

  “Oh, pfft,” Nathan shook his head. “That wasn’t anything serious.”

  “No?” John asked. “It seemed like it could have been something.”

  “Perhaps, if she had a title,” Nathan said. “But she was so far diluted that I didn’t even att
empt to consider it something that was serious.”

  “The lack of title would be a problem,” John allowed. The Dragon Princes had always been taught that they needed to marry a female dragon with a title. The further down the line they were, the less important a high-ranking title was. Cory would not be expected to marry anyone above a baroness. He might even get away with just the daughter of a baron who wasn’t going to inherit any title. Further up the line, they would be expected to find a mate of a title more equal to them, if their parents didn’t find one for them. “But we could have made it work.”

  “How progressive of you,” Nathan said with a smile. “Are you telling me, when you are Alpha, that I could marry some human plebeian?”

  John smirked, teasing him.

  “Maybe—if she was your mate,” he said and Nathan rolled his eyes.

  “Yes, I’m sure that is going to happen,” Nathan replied.

  The concept of dragon mates was one that they accepted, although it seemed impossible some days to find one. A dragon mate was something that one couldn’t deny if they met. There was no guarantee one would meet their mate, but if they did, they wouldn’t be able to avoid them ever again. They would be fated to spend the rest of their life with that person, and unable to part from them once they locked eyes. Their parents were fated mates, and despite the fact that they were very different, they couldn’t be apart and had raised a successful family and governed the kingdom effectively.

  “You never know,” John said, although he had rarely heard of fated mates being of different races.

  “Why all the talk of mates?” Nathan asked. John sighed.

  “Oh, Father was talking about it recently,” he replied. “He was talking about how important it was to have sons and heirs to secure the throne. And of course, I know that, but...”

  “But you haven’t found yours yet,” Nathan said. “And that is no concern. Until you do, I will stand strong as your heir.”

  “Appreciate it, brother,” John said as he stood up. “I’ll see you at supper?”

  “There is one more thing...” Nathan said, and John paused.

  “What could it be? We’ve gone over everything.”

  “We have, mostly,” Nathan said. “Except for the subject of the werewolves.”

  “Oh, Creator,” John muttered. “That topic has been beaten half to death. The werewolves are rebelling; they have always been rebelling and they always will be. Always. I don’t know what anyone would expect to do about it.”

  “Joshua has expressed that the situation has been getting critical,” Nathan said with a sigh. “I know we’ve talked about it half a hundred times... I just sometimes don’t know how to approach it anymore.”

  “Look,” John said. “I am not Father, so obviously I am not going to call the final shots. But, from all that I have learned about rebellions and history, it is their leader that they are unhappy with. Stanley is a horrible Alpha, we all know that. They will continue to have small mutinies until eventually they’ll eat him alive and put Devon on the throne. After that, nothing will matter.”

  “You think?” Nathan asked hopefully.

  “I’m sure of it,” John said. “It’s happened a hundred times through history, and it’ll happen again.”

  He stared off into the distance for a moment, and Nathan recognized the clouding of his brother’s vision.

  “John?” he asked carefully.

  “I suppose that’s what we are all fated to be,” John turned to his brother. “Doomed to repeat whatever history was before us.”

  “Not necessarily,” Nathan said, quietly and calmly. John gazed at him a moment and then shook his head, the cloudiness leaving his vision.

  “Right,” Nathan said, and John clapped him on the shoulder.

  “It’ll be fine,” his older brother said. “Now, I’ll see you at supper.”

  “See you at supper,” Nathan echoed as John picked up the tablet and strolled down the hall.

  John was older than the average marrying age of most heirs, and the idea of finding a mate was as much on his mind as it was on his father’s. He wasn’t willing to settle for anyone less than the perfect queen to run his kingdom with, and he had a very strong idea of what that looked like.

  The perfect queen was regal and strong, and one who shared every tidbit of his morals and values. She would have an unshakable constitution and work ethic, and she would prefer to be by his side rather than anywhere else in the world.

  He didn’t think it was a particularly long list, but so far, based on the women he had been introduced to, it seemed absolutely impossible.

  His parents were kind, preferring to let him choose his queen rather than forcing him into a marriage he didn’t want. However, he wondered how long that generosity was going to last, given his age. If he didn’t marry soon, especially with his father growing older, he had a feeling he wouldn't be able to avoid a forced marriage.

  The meeting with the other Alpha heirs almost put him to sleep. He had been meeting with them every few months with them since he was half-grown, and he knew the faces well. There had been a few changes over the years, as civil wars took over the thrones and a few titles changed hands. Currently, the meetings were tense, since the wolf shifters were in revolt. The wolf shifter Alpha seemed to encourage the revolts, especially when they were against other shifters. John was surprised that meetings didn’t end in fistfights these days or all-out interspecies wars. He knew that it wasn’t his place to declare war, but by the time he made it to supper, his blood was boiling.

  “You have to never let them see you blink,” Michael said to John, as soon as he walked into the room. “If they see that they are breaking you, they will go after every weakness until there is nothing left of you.”

  “I don’t think it’s that dramatic,” John said. “But the wolf shifter heir, Devon, seems to think that peace is easy to achieve. As if we are not trying hard enough, or choose not to. I almost burned him down.”

  “That may be so,” Michael said. “But we don’t need to show our hand.”

  “I... didn’t,” John said through gritted teeth as he sat down.

  “John has always been good at controlling his emotions,” Nathan boomed to placate his father. “We are family, he feels he can vent to us with no consequences.”

  “Thank you, Nathan, but I can speak for myself,” John replied tersely as Cory and Joshua came in.

  “What happened?” Cory looked at everyone’s solemn faces. “You all look like someone died.”

  “Humor died,” Joshua said, which made John roll his eyes.

  “I’m glad to hear you finished the meeting with no blows,” Michael said as the other two joined them at the large dining room table. “Because I need you to go up north tomorrow, and that won’t work if there were complications with the other heirs.”

  “Up north?” John answered in surprise. “What’s up north?”

  “I need you to visit Fairtrade University,” Michael said. “To give a speech on battle tactics. Since you have been taught the old ways of battle since birth, you will be able to speak with accuracy.”

  “Hey,” Cory interjected. “Isn’t that my job?”

  “This seems like actual business, Cory,” John said. “Not just a place to party afterward.”

  In response, Cory threatened to launch his food at John. John was above food fights, but it didn’t mean he didn’t consider attaching Cory to the ceiling.

  “Yeah, but the Beckwiths send their girls there, and they are smoking,” Cory winked at Joshua, who snickered.

  “The Beckwiths have three noble titles, don’t they?” Nathan said. He had always been valuable in providing John with the finer details of each meeting. Nathan could memorize numbers, names, and dates, whereas John excelled at negotiation. “They have an old dukedom that has been inactive for three generations, the parents are currently earls, and then I think the daughters are all ladies, aren’t they?”

  “No male heirs?” John as
ked and Nathan shook his head as he ate some food off his steaming hot plate. A dragon’s appetite never seemed to be satisfied, no matter how much they ate.

  “Not as far as I know,” Nathan answered. “So the titles will eventually die out because they are older ones, and they don’t have the female equality clause in them.”

  “Interesting,” John said.

  “Why can’t I go?” Cory asked, and John was tempted to throw something at him.

  “Because this requires actual intelligence and not just standing there,” John repeated to him for the second time.

  “Boys, you are not giving me confidence for the future of my kingdom right now,” Michael growled and all of them quieted down.

  “I’m not opposed to a trip,” John said. “It’ll give me time to think before the next heirs’ meeting. Obviously, Father, you have taught me that problems like this need to be squashed before they arise.”

  “Exactly,” Michael said. “So making peace with the heirs is the best thing you could do.”

  “Let us know if we can support you in any way,” Nathan offered, and John nodded. If anything, this trip would give the crown prince a chance to clear his mind and think without his father giving him constant advice.

  Besides, the fact that Cory had told him there were noble dragon ladies made him at least mildly interested in meeting them. If anything, maybe he’d have a few pleasant encounters, and get back to the palace in a much better mood.

  “I’ll get you all the paperwork,” Michael said. “And I’ll expect your full report each day.”

  “Of course, My King,” John said as he finished the food on his plate and reached to get more. “It would be my honor.”

  He watched his father push his own plate away, with only half the food eaten. John briefly wondered what times would be like when he sat in his father’s place, and whom he would be surrounded by when he was Michael’s age. Only time would tell, and John felt like he had been waiting for time to move forward forever.

  Chapter 2

  “They are sending the crown prince for the speech at your university, ladies,” Earl Henry said at breakfast that morning. Sarah and her sisters, Mary and Edith, looked up from their breakfasts.