Page 127 of Kingdom of Aramis

Lena’s eyes soften, and she exchanges a glance with her mates who all give her nods of encouragement. She sighs. “Do you promise that you will accept an equine onto the council?” she asks me, and I decide to be honest.

“As long as they are willing to work with me and not be outwardly petty because of their previous treatment. I won’t work with someone who is going to hold your past against me. That was out of my control, and I need someone open to the changes I wish to make,” I warn her.

“Yes, I have a person in mind—someone who suffered greatly in the town they were born in before we all moved to Zalfari. They would work hard to make sure the equines have fair representation and to ensure none of the newer generations have to suffer the same kind of bullying.”

I have a feeling she’s talking about Nox, and I know it’s time to come clean about him, but I hold my tongue a little longer. Tomorrow is soon enough to ask for his whereabouts. I’m worried because I didn’t see him amongst the crowd earlier. If he isn’t here, then where is he?

“I’m sure we can come to an agreeable arrangement for everyone,” I say vaguely, knowing Nox will not be able to take a council position because he is my mate, but I need the children and the book found.

“Then yes, I will track the children. I will start first thing tomorrow morning. I need to go home and eat some decent food and get a real night’s sleep in a comfortable bed. If you have something belonging to the children, it will help immensely. I will do a locator spell, and my mates and I will find the missing children for you,” she says.

Thankfully the guys thought to bring an item from each of the children that Bryson had on hand. It’s protected by plastic, so the scents remain.

“It’s getting late, and we need to get home before the ferals start flooding into the village. The seven of you can use the upstairs living quarters. Make sure you stay inside though. I don’t want to be held responsible for the queen getting hurt in our village.” She stands up, and I know I should talk to her about Nox, but I’m going to wait until the morning when she’s not still enraged about what happened here.

“We can’t thank you enough for getting rid of the alpha,” Christos tells us. “We tried, since his power levels weren’t all thatstrong, but he threatened the children of the village, and none of us were willing to take a chance that he’d hurt one of them.”

“And we understand that completely. He made a mistake coming after the queen and didn’t live to regret it. Trust me, he suffered in the end.” Liam grins evilly, and I roll my eyes, but Lena and her mates seem just as pleased to hear of his demise.

“Isn’t the alpha space upstairs yours?” Brodie asks. “You are the alpha of this village, right?”

“I am. The top level is our space, and I will be glad to get it back and clear out his stench, but the second story, which he took over for his men, was always guest quarters for any visiting shifters. There is plenty of space for all of you, though I am afraid we don’t have a swimming pool for you.” She turns her attention to Micah. “We haven’t had the need to accommodate a mer before.”

“That’s fine. I don’t have the need to slumber beneath the waves like a lot of our people do. I will be just fine in a bed,” he tells her appreciatively.

“Then we will see you in the morning.” Her aggression seems to have receded, but she still has her reservations, which is understandable. With a polite good night, they leave the room.

We seem to pause as we listen to their footsteps fade away, then we wait a little longer until we are sure they are completely out of hearing range. Finally, Gem can’t wait any longer, and he explodes.

“Fucking hell. She is going to lose her shit when she finds out her son is the queen’s mate.” He grimaces, and I wince.

“You aren’t wrong,” I grumble, not exactly thrilled to have her as my mother-in-law, but where is Nox?

Chapter

Twenty-Eight

Colbie

“Ineed to speak to my dad and tell him what happened here and let General Bryson know that he needs to investigate that sergeant. We can’t wait. He’s going to figure out his uncle is dead when he doesn’t hear from him soon,” Gryffin says and stands up, stretching.

“Your phone is in one of the backpacks, which are by the door of the assembly room,” Micah tells him.

“I should speak to them too,” Hunter says, but he’s staring at me. His eyes are glowing, and smoke drifts from his nose. My core clenches, and I gasp at the pain mixing with heat and need now that there is nothing to distract me. “But my dragon is insisting on finishing the mating bond. He’s scratching at my brain and clawing at my insides.” He grits his teeth and clenches his fists like he wants to reach for me but is restraining himself from leaping over the table.

Brodie claps him on the shoulder, and Hunter snaps at him with his teeth. Brodie snatches his hand back and grins. “Go,we’ve got this. Take our queen and show her all your pretties, and I’m not just talking about your cock.”

Liam rolls his eyes at his bond mate, and Gem chuckles. Micah looks as confused as I do. “Hunter’s dragon hoard is somewhere in the mountains here. Dragons like to hoard pretty things. I have no idea where he gets them all from. Thankfully there aren’t thousands of dragons, because all the kingdoms would be poor.”

“Dragons bequeath their hoards to family members when they pass on. My family can trace our ancestry back thousands of years,” Hunter mutters, not taking his eyes off me.

Something inside me opens its eyes and stretches languidly. There’s a flash of scales and the taste of ash in my mouth. This must be my own dragon form, whom I haven’t met yet. She stares back at Hunter with no small amount of interest. My throat tickles, and I can’t stop the cough that comes from nowhere. Smoke drifts out of my mouth and nose as my eyes water.

“I can see you, my pretty. I can’t wait to meet you.” Hunter’s voice is rough and growly, and it makes goosebumps erupt across my flesh and my panties get even damper.

“Gryffin and I will deal with your dads,” Gem assures him. “Take good care of our mate.”

“I also think before we leave, it would be a good idea for Colbie to shift into her dragon and phoenix forms. There’s enough snow around, so we wouldn’t have to worry about her setting anything alight if she loses control. There is also that large expanse of plain so if she’s going to crash, she won’t damage anything but herself.” Liam approaches and gives me a kiss before leaning in and whispering, “Have fun. My bear is having a tantrum that we’re not going to share your bed again tonight, but he can play nicely for his bond mate’s sake. When this is all settled, we’re going to lock ourselves away in our roomfor at least a week and show you what having eight mates is all about.”