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He had been of age for some years, and his alpha parents had been nagging him ceaselessly to choose a mate. But an alpha wolf’s mate was not someone he could just choose. It had to be right. It had to be a bonding of physical, mental and magical.
He hadn’t found that with any other. He didn’t care that she had already given herself to another, and that other, was the Dark Prince, Pestale. He didn’t care because he knew Eslym was the only one for him!
* * *
On the other side of the jungle, the Blue Demons had established their colony a thousand years ago. They were as a rule, sullen types. They had been unhappy with their lot in their own world, and came to Conglam all those centuries ago, looking for something more.
They loved the track of land they took as their own. They had no opposition, and were content. They were meat eaters, but at times, they needed more than the blood they got from the raw meat, and would suck a live animal dry.
However, they kept to themselves and did not mingle with the Shapeshifters as a rule. They had thrived and their colony had grown over the centuries. They lived in harmony with the land and their neighbors—except for one Blue Demon who found he could not take direction from the leader of their large, very large colony.
Sventer was an alpha Demon, and broke away from the main colony to start his own branch. He was a desirable catch, and his family had always told him that he was meant to lead. He was well past the age of reticence. It was time he took a mate. He saw her and knew she must be his. She however, had not shown an interest in him. He wanted her with every beat in his ill formed heart. She was nearly all he could think about, Eslym.
Even so, she was young, so young, and he had patiently waited and bided his time…
Until—Pestale! How he hated the Dark Prince. How it galled him to have to take orders from him in the pact they had formed, but it was the only way he might get Eslym for himself.
* * *
The war with Pestale should have ended with his and his brother’s destruction. The Seelie Fae had called for his death.
The Dark King should have allowed his wicked sons to be put to death for the mass murders of humans, in Ireland and Scotland.
However, the Dark King was loathe to destroy them. They were his creations, and he found he simply could not erase them or allow them to be killed by the Seelie Fae. He had turned to his beloved, his Crystal and she offered a solution.
With Crystal guiding him and because of her quiet wisdom, Pestale and Hordly were not left to rot in the Dark Realm. They were allowed to take some of their belongings and were transported to Conglam and given another chance to redeem themselves.
His consort, Crystal had convinced the Dark King that both Pestale and Hordly had never really had the opportunity to grow and develop into decent beings in the Dark Realm, where they had only abominations to watch, where they had been left without guidance, without help. He was above feeling guilt, but he felt pity wave through him.
If returned there, she argued, history would repeat itself. She convinced the Dark King that what his sons needed was a fresh start.
The Dark King had evolved beyond his physical form, and beyond the mundane matters of Fae and Man. Crystal always had a hold on his finer side, a side that felt, a part of him that was hers alone and could forever be drawn into her needs and wishes.
As he deposited his two wicked sons in Conglam, he recalled the immense damage these two had wrought in the human world, and with a blink, he removed many of their powers. He left them just enough magic to survive. He left them with orders to study, to remember their faults and move past them. He left them on their own for in truth, while he could not destroy them, neither could he abide to look at what was inside of them.
For six long years after they had been left to their own devices in Conglam, the Dark Prince Pestale and his brother Hordly had been living, existing, thriving and plotting in the innocent world of Conglam.
Hence. Pestale was ready to destroy his father, and take the human world for his own.
His plan, he knew would work and so he set in motion the first of the steps he had designed.
Chapter Three
“DA,” FRANKIE ROLLED her eyes. “I said I would go with ye, didn’t I? So then, I will shift with ye to Daoine, and I will dine with ye and yer friends, but I’ll not let that awful Worley of Westley make eyes at me all night, so don’t be sitting him near me.”
“He is a very pleasant young Daoine Prince,” Deimne said, displaying much shock at his daughter’s attitude. “Do you not find him attractive?”
“Noa, I don’t find him attractive and he irritates me as well with his forever preening,” Frankie said. “Da, ye have to let these things happen on their own.” She waved him out of her room, “Now shoo! If ye want me to get dressed and be on time for this dinner thing with yer friends, ye best leave me to m’self.”
“Yes, but…” her father frowned. “We need to talk about Worley. He wants to court you and has asked me for permission.”
Frankie knew she must have looked as horrified as she felt, because her father’s wings shifted at his back before he got them under control and she saw his look of surprise. For a moment, she couldn’t speak as she tried to get control of what she was going to say.
He hurriedly interjected before she could speak, “Frankie, my daughter…do you dislike him so very much?”
“What I dislike, is the fact that ye must have known this when ye accepted to dine this evening and were going to leave me unaware of the situation. Did ye never think to tell me? What I dislike is the fact, that I am being bartered like so much property, and I will not have it, Da. I will not! So, let us make it clear, I don’t want him
to court me, and I don’t give him permission to do so. If ye still want me to dine with ye tonight I will, but only as long as ye know, I’ll not have it.”
