A Queen of Ruin (Deliciously Dark Fairytales 4)

“I will send for you,” he said indifferently. He panned his gaze over the crowd gathered before him. “You’ve all fought and won a hard battle. Those of you joining us from outside my kingdom, welcome. I apologize that we don’t have more to offer you, but we will at least organize warm beds and offer you what food we have. Those of you who have returned after imprisonment in the demon kingdom, I will hear your stories, one and all. You will be avenged, that I promise. And lastly, those of you who rose up against the demons, congratulations! It was a battle well fought. You clinched our victory today. Be proud of yourselves. We’ve taken our kingdom back!”

A cheer went up from the periphery of those gathered, those mediocre fuckers feeling the glow of our win.

“Hadriel,” the prince said, wiping the smile off my face immediately. I hated when he zeroed in on me. “Get everyone settled. We’ll all take a rest to get our bearings, and then we have much to do. We’re still weak as a kingdom, but I mean to rectify that issue as quickly as possible. After you get everyone settled, see me for a list of those I need to meet with and when.”

Power rode the prince’s rapid-fire commands. My wolf thrashed within me, not wanting me to bend to the dragon. My wolf only wanted to recognize commands that came from his alpha.

I grimaced, hesitating, not able to stop from glancing back at Weston. If this were a normal situation, he’d take grave offense to an outsider telling his pack wolf what to do. It would be seen as a challenge. Then again, the prince probably wouldn’t take kindly to Weston snagging the loyalty of his people. What a clusterfuck.

I opened my mouth to speak, still not really sure what I planned to say, when understanding dawned in the prince’s eyes. His gaze turned hard as it flicked to Weston.

“I can sever the connection at any time,” Weston said, his tone as hard as the look the prince was giving him. “His wolf doesn’t wish it. None of them do.”

A wave of power washed over us again, the prince not liking what he’d just heard. My wolf clearly wasn’t the only one who’d responded to Weston. Other villagers had been drawn to him too. After such turbulent times, the feeling of safety and unity offered by a pack led by a powerful, balanced wolf alpha was beyond enticing.

The prince and Weston stared at each other for a long beat, the dragon power pounding around us and the wolf power throbbing in our middles. Weston held steady. It felt like the two alphas were gearing up for an explosion, and we’d all be slammed in the process.

That wasn’t what was tearing me apart, though.

Finley was looking at me with sudden understanding. Sorrow lined her features.

“Your wolf wants to join his pack, is that it?” she asked me quietly. Each word was like a nail hammered into my heart. I’d wanted to do this differently. I’d wanted to explain.

Everyone waited quietly for me to answer.

I nodded mutely. “I tried to resist, but I saw the queen fly overhead, freaked out a little, and accidentally let down my defenses. My wolf…took over.”

A breath left her parted lips. She reached out and hooked her hand around Nyfain’s scarred forearm, seeking support.

He shifted his attention to her.

“We’ll talk about this later,” she told him, her gaze still on me. When she finally ripped it away, it came to rest on Weston. “We’ll need to talk this through. I want to better understand how wolf shifters work. But this isn’t the time. We have a lot of tired people that are due a rest. We need to get everything organized, as Nyfain said, and to do that, we need our people. All of them. Can you…release them or whatever you do for long enough for that to happen? It’ll help all of us in the long run. After that…we’ll figure out what happens next. Is that a good enough compromise?”

Nyfain wrapped his arm around her waist possessively, hooking it on her hip. He didn’t comment, just watched Weston quietly. Despite being his mate, she wasn’t technically the princess yet, and in this kingdom the queen had never shared the full weight of the throne’s power. That was the way it had always been. It was clear the prince didn’t care, though. He clearly intended to treat her as his equal in all things, including leading his kingdom. He had always made way for Finley, respected her, even when he wanted to throttle her.

If he wasn’t so fucking terrifying, I’d pat him on the back for being better than the king before him, even now, on the doorstep of hell. I’d praise him for putting his faith in Finley.