I pulled the shades closer to my dark eyes. The sun beat down on me as I maneuvered through the countryside. The top was down. Radio blasting. And I had outrun my security detail. They were ten kilometers back, maybe less. I could put more between us if I kept this speed. I never had the chance to run like this. I had to take it.

I’d catch hell later for ditching them, but if I had to go to Sangreaux, then I was going to do it on my terms. The town was in the middle of nowhere. What in the hell was I supposed to do?

My phone rang through the speakers in the expensive sports car. I quieted the music.

Damn it. It was my royal manager Julianna.

“Yes, love?” I pretended things were normal when I answered.

“Don’t love me,” she snapped.

I let my foot off the accelerator slightly as I rounded a seaside cliff. It was gorgeous here. I started to wonder why I’d never spent any time in this part of the country.

“Brion, what do you think you’re doing?”

“Driving a car,” I stated.

I could hear her sigh even with the wind whipping over the windshield. Damn, I loved to drive. I loved the speed. The thrill of seeing how fast I could go before something irreversible happened.

It was the animal inside me. I couldn’t be the man I wanted to be, so I looked for adventure in dangerous places. Today that place was inside a fast car.

“You know exactly what I mean. The Duke of Marquis shouldn’t be driving his own car. You have no security. What if something happened? What is wrong with you? Why would you do something like this?”

“No one cares that I’m headed to Sangreaux, Julianna. No one even knows. Besides, since when did you start becoming so bossy? I always thought you were one of the more laid back royal managers.”

“I have never been called laid back.”

I laughed, knowing I had struck a nerve.

“Pull over and stop driving. Let the royal guard locate you and escort you into town. It’s safer. There’s no reason to take a risk like this.”

My good mood was starting to dissipate. I didn’t like it. I had to calm my inner bear. He liked the wind. He liked the freedom behind the wheel. The last thing either of us wanted was to be told what to do.

“I’m already taking orders from the king. You aren’t on the list of people I take orders from. It’s the other way around, if I’m not mistaken. You are my royal manager. So right now, I’m driving into the village. Alone. I don’t need an escort. And I don’t need royal security. If my cousin has a problem with it, he can call.”

“You can’t be serious. Your cousin is the King of Galona. It’s my job to make sure he doesn’t find out about things like this.”

“Good. Then my adventure will give you something to do while I’m away. Keep me off his radar. Make sure he doesn’t hear about this spectacular joyride.”

There it was—the good mood, coming back into focus. I was putting more distance between myself and the crown. I could feel the chains starting to loosen. This was what freedom was supposed to feel like.

I could picture Julianna’s face frowning and fretting about how to keep my accounts out of the lodestar. The king’s daily briefing on the royal family was a detailed account of everything we royals did. I ended up in there more times than I could count.

He had a lot to keep up with. The man had to run the country, and family full of secret shifters. I was glad it was his nightmare and not mine.

Alaric didn’t care if I drove a car, but Julianna didn’t know that. She was paid to worry about this kind of shit. As a member of the royal family she was assigned to me, just like my brothers had royal managers, and the princes and princess. It was part of the title. It was her life’s duty to serve the crown.

I understood her dilemma. I was almost sympathetic, but not entirely. I didn’t need a babysitter.

For the first time I wished the road to Sangreaux was longer. “Gotta go, love. I’m almost at the hotel.”

“But, Brion. Just wait for your detail. Please. Sir.” It was only when she was desperate did she become formal with me.

I laughed. When had I ever listened to her?

“If they catch up, I’ll offer one of them a ride. All right?”

I hung up before she could fire off another mandate. I turned the radio to full blast, waving at a farmer on the side of the road as I cruised into the tiny village.

It might have only been a few hours, but a few hours of freedom tasted good.