AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My cock stiffened.
“Or at least until I die.” She chuckled, taking a larger sip.
“Not going to happen,” I replied, my voice terser than it should have been. She arched one thick eyebrow while cutting into her saltimbocca.
“Shifters don’t have the same lifespans as vampires.”
“You’re not simply a shifter.”
She snorted. “Being unable to shift means I don’t have the same rapid healing. Sure, it’s faster, but without a wolf form, it’s unlikely I’ll slow down in aging. I don’t consider myself as lesser, but there is a reason Fire and Fluorite did.”
“I was referring to you being my queen,” I said lightly, having to set the crystal glass aside so I didn’t grip it too tightly. Aging. I hadn’t thought about that in a time. Vampires went through a form of second puberty in their mid-twenties where they essentially stopped aging as they came into their full powers. Shifters were similar, but certainly not the same. They had their wolves through childhood, and both went through puberty in their twenties—at the mating age.
Dannika was not a normal shifter, however, which meant it stood to reason everything I knew about them wouldn’t necessarily be relevant.
“That’s the thing about time,” she murmured. “It waits for no one. King. Queen. Alpha. Empress. We’re all equal in that. When my day comes, there’s not much you or anyone else will be able to do about it.” She set her fork down, staring intently at the wine in her glass, then smiled. I didn’t bother telling her that wasn’t true. Something in her tone told me we had gone beyond talking about her. “Debbie Downer, remember?”
It wasn’t a vampire gesture, to ease over any awkwardness by self-deprecation. I wasn’t entirely sure it was a shifter thing, either. It was more human.
“I get the feeling you were thinking of someone in particular.”
“My dad,” she said. “He died in the Great Sacrifice. My mom always told me what an amazing leader he was. Everyone liked him. Respected him. Fought by his side. Didn’t stop that night from taking him.” She twisted her noodles and pushed the pieces of veal around in the sauce. It was a thoughtful habit I’d picked up on; she did it when thinking.
“I had a sister. Claudette. I lost her shortly before the war started.” I wasn’t sure how much to say. How much I could bring myself to say. “We were close despite her being eighty years my senior. She was actually the heir, but she gave it up because she wanted to focus on philanthropic efforts that being the queen of a House wouldn’t allow. We were in the process of negotiating a peace treaty with Fire and Fluorite when she died.”
Dannika’s gaze shifted, softening. “I’m so sorry to hear that.” Her eyes pulled me in. Deep. Soulful.
“Her death was part of what led to my decision to enter the war,” I said slowly. “I was devastated, and in my own grief, I made a horrible decision that affected so many.”
She tilted her head. “Grief makes us strangers even to ourselves.”
It wasn’t forgiveness. Nor was it blame. It was understanding. I shook my head. I’d expected condemnation or for her to offer weak platitudes about it being okay. She’d chosen neither. As usual, she never ceased to surprise me.
“How old were you when he died?” I asked, swallowing harder than I should have on a small bite. What should have been a savory meal was turning in my stomach.
“It was the day I was born.”
My lips parted. Fuck.
How? How was she this stoic? This calm? I struggled to grapple with the understanding of her age. I suspected she was younger than me by a good bit, but gods above. She’d never known him, yet she spoke like she missed him. Grieved him.
While I struggled with words, Dannika seemed to have them. “My mother went into labor the night of the Great Sacrifice, and it was a few weeks earlier than expected. My dad had already left to fight, and she had no way to tell him. So she shifted and went into the woods to search for him.” Not the most logical thing, but who was I to criticize a pregnant werewolf who’d been alone and was having contractions? “She found his body amongst other dead shifters. There was an orphaned baby there too. Adora. The grief took over, and she gave birth right there. So I was born the night he died—hence the whole cursed thing.” She motioned with her hand. “Later, when they learned I couldn’t shift, the notion of being cursed stuck pretty hard.”
“Your mother didn’t birth you and Nova?” I clarified.
Dannika’s mouth twisted, clearly amused. “If you’re curious about how she came to be, you know you can just ask. It’s not like I have any reason to hide it. Most of my pack knew at least some version of it.”
“I am curious,” I admitted. “But I thought your mother had both of you. It seemed the only explanation for how you could have a wolf, but not shift.”
She nodded, taking a bite of Brussels sprouts and surveying the side dish with pleasant surprise. “My mother was sick of me being bullied. I used to come home from school and beg her to just teach me at home—not that Mathis would have allowed it. So she focused on what she could control. I had a wolf. They could sense it. I just wasn’t able to let her out. Mom took me to a witch when I was eight. Made a bargain and got her to do a spell to release my wolf.” Her eyes slid sideways to Nova, who looked back at her right then. Two halves of one whole. “It worked. Just not the way my mom had expected.” She smiled wryly.
“What did the witch want in return?”
“I don’t know.”
“You didn’t ask?”
“I was eight.”
