Page 87 of Kingdom of Aramis

“But she also invited the equine shifters as well, so why wasn’t it nine mates instead of eight?” Mia argues, and Colbie puts her fork down.

“Actually, I think I have the answer to that.” She looks like she’s running some things around in her mind before she nods. “When I was first marked, I thought I could run away. I didn’t want to be the shifter queen and thought that if I didn’t appear, the magic would choose someone else.” My heart sinks at the thought that our mate doesn’t want to be here. “But the goddess quickly took care of that when she appeared on the beach and basically told me to suck it up. Shortly after that, I ran into a man who offered me shelter from a storm.” She blushes again, and it doesn’t take a genius to work out something happened between them.

My dragon roars inside me, and I bend the fork in my hand in my rage. Some other man had his hands on our mate. Growls and snarls echo from Brodie, Liam, and Gryff, while Gem’s entire body lights on fire again. He swears and jumps back from the table again so he doesn’t set anything alight. He stands there, staring at our mate with a look of betrayal.

Her eyes widen, and she stands as well, holding her hands up in a placating manner. “He had the same mark on his chest that the five of you do,” she says in a hurry. “But at the time, I just assumed it was a tattoo. He told me it was from a former life, and I had the feeling he didn’t want to talk about it, so I didn’t push. He’s the one who gave me this.” Her hand goes to the pendant around her neck. “He had a matching one, and I’m assuming he was hiding the fact that he was a shifter. Before I got to the palace, I just assumed he was human, but too many things have happened for him not to be one and a part of your bond group.”

“But why wouldn’t he present himself to the bond center to find his group?” Gryff sounds bewildered, his snarling cutting off with her explanation. “I’ve been searching for him for years. I didn’t look in the human zone because shifters aren’t allowed to live there, so I thought there was no point.” He sounds crushed.

Colbie shrugs helplessly. “I don’t know, but I do know where to find him and will show you as soon as we can,” she promises.

“He obviously doesn’t want anything to do with us.” Liam sits down and crosses his arms, a stubborn set to his jaw. Liam won’t understand because being in a bond group was a blessing for him. His family members are assholes, and it gave him the means to get away from them. Most shifters see being part of a bond group as a blessing, and we are stronger as a group because of it, so why wouldn’t this stranger feel the same way?

“Well, he’s not going to have a choice. Colbie can’t be crowned without him,” Dad points out, and Colbie winces.

“I don’t want to force anyone to do anything they don’t want to do. Nox has an underlying sense of sadness, but if I had to guess, I’d say he’s been hurt by something or someone, and if we are going with the assumption that my other mate must be an equine shifter, it would explain why he’s reluctant to join a bond group. You said they were treated as lesser because they aren’t predators.”

“That would also explain why you can shift into a pegasus. He must be one,” Violet blurts with excitement.

My mother nods, a look of understanding crossing her face. “That actually makes sense. Equine shifters, even the mythical ones, have always been looked down on, and some of the shifter towns have made their equines feel very unwanted. Most of them have banded together in Zalfari to escape persecution.”

Gryffin looks startled at this information, and his lips purse as he frowns. He’s about to say something, but Mom looks at Colbie with intense scrutiny.

“If he is a pegasus, that means you can shift into two of your mates’ forms.” She nods at Brodie. “Brodie is a wolf, and Nox is a pegasus. I wonder if you can actually shift into all your mates’ forms. When you practice this afternoon, you should try one of the others as well. If it doesn’t work, it’s not a big deal, but if it does, it would be incredible.”

Lucas growls and slams his fist down on the table. “I tried to put a stop to the way the equines were treated, but the council wouldn’t let me. They insisted that shifters are a hierarchical species and if the equines couldn’t fight back, then they deserved what they got. Even with the equine mythical species, most of their magic is passive—tracking, healing, illusions, and weather manipulation—so not much in the way of attack magic, and they were run out of towns.”

Evie reaches over and grabs his hand, giving it a squeeze. “Don’t beat yourself up. Colbie is going to fix everything that is wrong with our society, I just know it.”

Colbie winces and looks unconvinced but gives Evie a small nod. “I’m certainly going to try my best,” she promises.

“I was just at Zalfari, and I didn’t see any sign of equine shifters. It was weird, actually, The village alpha was shifty as fuck and gave off distrustful vibes. He wouldn’t let me question anyone except a few people selected specifically by him. Heclaimed that because they lived at the base of the Aramis Rift, a curfew was in place due to the ferals that occasionally wandered into town. It certainly wasn’t the equine haven you make it sound like,” he tells my mother, and she exchanges a worried glance with my father and the king.

“So where are the equines then? And if the feral problem in Zalfari is so bad, then why haven’t they called in the armed forces?” Dad growls, and I know the alpha of Zalfari is going to get a visit he probably doesn’t want.

Chapter

Eleven

Colbie

“You need to take us to that shifter,” Gryff blurts all of a sudden. “He shouldn’t have to be alone anymore.”

My heart melts. The prince is such a softie. I remember him being like that when we were small as well. He hated seeing me cry and would do anything to fix it. The throb inside me now that the bond has been acknowledged is constant. All I want to do is run my hands over their bodies and grind against them, but I need to focus on other things first, so I shake the fog of lust out of my mind and try to concentrate on what everyone is talking about.

“First, Colbie needs to get a handle on her shift. If she can’t control it, then we can’t allow her to go into the human only zone. We are going to reach out to the human authorities to get permission for her to visit her grandparents as a cover story, and then you can find that shifter,” Lucas explains. “Gracelin already sent the message when you went to change.” He turns his attention to me. “It might be a couple of days before we get aresponse, so you six can take the time you need to work on your shift.”

“We can also tell the council about this so it will get them off your back.” Layla sounds thrilled by this. “Man, are they going to be shocked. I can’t wait to see Sophia’s and Vallen’s faces when they learn you are mated to the group they both wanted for their daughters.”

“Pfft, if you thought Gianna was bad before, she’s going to be livid that all of her dreams have gone up in smoke.” Gracelin sounds gleeful as well. I would kind of feel sorry for the girl if I didn’t know she’s had her hands all over one of my mates. I can’t control the glare I aim in Liam’s direction.

“Hey, if you think they are the only two who are going to be disappointed, then you’re sadly mistaken.” He gestures to the rest of my mates. “None of us were angels in the past.” He sounds defensive.

“You know what? I think we should give you some privacy,” Sable announces, pushing her chair back from the table, and the other parents follow suit. “You all have a lot to work out. Shall we continue these plans at dinner?” She looks at the king and queens for approval.

“Yes indeed. Come on, girls,” Lucas says to Gretchin, Gracelin, and Violet. “Let’s leave them to bond.” The king grabs onto Sable’s suggestion like it’s a life preserver and he’s drowning in an endless sea. His wives laugh, and the girls grumble.

“But this was just starting to get good,” Gracelin complains, but she does as Sable suggested, taking her plate of food with her.