Page 82 of Kingdom of Aramis

I’m not sure his wolf is actually any better than my bear. I will have to keep a close eye on him as well as my own bear. This is going to be a fucking disaster. My anger rises again, as does the resentment I feel toward the new queen. I’m pissed off that I want her but can’t have her. I hate being denied the things I want, and I usually go out of my way to get them. This time, it just isn’t going to work out in my favor.

I shift into my bear, and he roars his own disappointment before following Brodie into the water. He’s a much better swimmer than Brodie’s wolf, able to hold his breath and swim under the rush of water. By the time we come up for air, we’ve passed him and almost come to the side of the pool. We climbout and shake off the excess water before Brodie joins us. He does the same, and then we make our way back to the palace, our animals easily keeping pace with one another. By the time we get back to the edge of the forest, my heart rate is up, and I’m feeling less hopeless about everything. I certainly have better control of my bear.

“You know, I bet Colbie’s hydra would love that pool. It’s deep enough for her to swim around in. We should take her there to shift one of these days,” he says as he pulls his clothes on.

I gather up the remains of my shredded clothes, knowing the queens will have my hide if I leave them behind, and the two of us walk toward the military barracks where we will find Bryson and the rest of our team.

“Stop, man. Let her mates do things like that for her. We are there for two reasons and two reasons only—protect her until they appear and help her get control of her shift. Romancing her is not one of those reasons.”

He huffs, frowning at me. “I wasn’t trying to romance her. I just thought it would be good if she could learn to control her body in water as well.”

I scoff. “You know that pool is a place where shifters go to fuck. That secluded area behind the falls always has aroused scents in it.”

“Not since you claimed it and chased everyone off. The only aroused scents are from you and your flavor of the month. You’re the only one fucking in that pool now, Liam,” he argues, and I can’t stop the smile from curving up my lips.

“You got that right. Chicks dig it. It’s romantic, guaranteed to get them to drop their panties, and those sheets and blankets are self-cleaning. I have a handy witch charm that does it, so they are always scent free, and it doesn’t piss off any of the women I take there. That’s also how I know that we shouldn’t be takingthe queen there,” I finish with a scowl as we enter the barracks, and I grab a pair of shorts from the bin off to the side for any shifter who needs to cover themselves. I can’t really go into a meeting with the general with my cock hanging out, even if he has been like a father to me since I joined the same bond group as his son.

“About time,” he snaps as Brodie and I join the rest of our team and Gretchin around the conference table. “We have to work out a schedule with the queen. I want you all working with her every afternoon on her shifts until she can shift on command and control whichever animal’s body she is in. Brodie, you will be able to help her with her wolf, and I suggest you go to the archives and ask Sable for information on the hydra. As for the pegasus, we don’t have any in our ranks due to the prejudice of the last few royals, so maybe she will have information on them too. It’s not as good as learning from a shifter source, but I don’t think they would willingly send one to assist us.” Bryson looks and sounds tired. The shit show with the council this morning didn’t help. I know he’s under some pressure to keep the new queen safe, especially since no mates have appeared. It is their role to provide protection for the sitting ruler. Layla, Mia, and Evie look like refined ladies, but the three of them are fierce protectors. Their cats are savage in the defense of their mate.

Suddenly, before anyone else can say anything, a rush of breath stealing magic washes through the conference room. I shudder as it caresses my skin, and my hands change to paws before slowly switching back as the magic dissipates.

“Fuck, did you feel that?” Hunter grunts, smoke drifting out of his nose, and I see scales disappear on his arms much like my hands changed.

“That felt like the same magic that was in the throne room on blessing night.” Gretchin’s eyes are still feline as she shakes her head, trying to negate the magic’s touch.

“Goddess magic,” Gem agrees, his body awash in flames as he pushes back out of his chair and steps away from anyone to prevent anything else from catching on fire. His chair smolders on the ground behind him as he wrestles his flames under control.

Gryffin runs out of the room and returns with an extinguisher, quickly dealing with the still burning flames, and Gem winces.

“Shit, sorry. I couldn’t control it all of a sudden.”

Bryson gives him an absent wave and looks toward the door. “I have no idea what that was, but maybe we should head outside and check. The troops should still be at morning formations, so let’s go and see if we have to put out any more fires. Hold on to that, some of our newer recruits may not have the same control all of you have,” he tells Gryffin and gestures to the extinguisher.

We follow him out of the conference room and to the outside exercise area. Sure enough, the area is pure chaos. There are a few shifters running around in animal form, as well as a couple on their knees, struggling to control their animal. A dragon is still on the ground, but he’s thrashing his head around, and flames are flying haphazardly across the yard.

Bryson marches up to him, puts his hands on his hips, and bellows at the recruit. “Shift before you kill someone.” The change is instant. The shifter freezes, and his body convulses before he returns to a naked, huddled male on the ground, his training uniform shredded. The rest of us round up the other animals running around like they are in a panic and use our own alpha command to get them to shift back.

“What the fuck?” one of the shifters on the ground grumbles and flops onto his back, his chest heaving with exertion. He rubs a spot on his chest above his heart. I recognize him as one of Bryson’s captains, a mer shifter who is a beast of a warrior. His long teal hair has fallen out of its tie and is spread out on theground around him, moving like it’s underwater. Scales flicker up and down his arms, and his body convulses, shredding his pants when his legs shift into a tail. Gills form on his neck, and he flops around like a fish out of water, gasping and clutching at his chest.

“Fuck, get Micah to the pool. He’s drowning on land!” Gretchin screams. Gryff continues to battle the fires from the dragon as the other four of us hurry to follow Gretchin’s instructions, lifting him and running toward the pool on the other side of the training grounds.

It takes a good couple of minutes to make our way through the barracks and to the pool, and when we get there, we slide him in. He disappears, sinking below the surface. His eyes were closed, and I’m not sure if he was breathing.

“Is he dead?” Brodie asks, not taking his eyes away from the surface of the pool.

“I don’t think so. He felt like he still had a life force,” Gem replies, his own gaze locked on the water.

“What the fuck was that?” Hunter asks and drops to his knees at the edge of the pool, breathing as heavily as I am. Micah wasn’t light. He’s a big, brawny dude in human form, but his mer form was even larger. “Why isn’t Dad worried?”

“The goddess has never done wrong by us before,” Gem murmurs thoughtfully as he turns and joins us at the side of the pool. I hear other people approaching our location, and despite the scent of smoke in the air, I can smell the general, Gretchin, and Gryff as well as Adam and another one I’m not familiar with.

“How is he?” Bryson asks, surveying the pool like he’s looking for the shifter.

“We don’t know. He hasn’t surfaced yet.” Brodie sounds worried, and I watch as the unfamiliar man who accompanied them peels off his clothes, dives into the water, and disappears.

“Elliot will check on him. He’s one of the other mer shifters we have in our military and Micah’s cousin,” Adam explains.

“I can tell he’s alive, but I’m not sure how long it will take him to heal or what was wrong with him. Micah is too old and too experienced to be shifting on land. The saltwater is the best place for him at the moment,” Gem advises the general who nods.