Destiny (Shifter Royal Dynasty Book 3) by Becca Fanning (2)

“Ah, you won’t,” Olovina said, reaching to the side. A couple of the Shifters grabbed one of Korrin’s men and handed him to the large man. “If you don’t do exactly as I say, your man dies.”

“You’ll kill him, anyway.”

Olovina shrugged, saying, “You’re right. This is where it finally ends—where the Gitan reign comes to a crashing downfall. Where you and your human whore and her child… die. I’ll kill every one of your men, destroy what you’ve built, and rebuild my Kingdom from your ashes.”

The large Shifter grabbed Korrin’s man, one hand on his shoulder and the other on his head, and pushed his head to the side, exposing his neck. The Shifter bent down, opened his mouth wide, and bit down. Blood exploded from the Shifter’s neck. His screams of pain echoed in the fog as he thrashed about, trying to escape, but the other man’s grip was absolute. The sound of the Shifter feasting on the other man made Kris sick to her stomach.

Kris had hardly any time to worry about that though, because Korrin jumped into action. He took two steps forward, falling onto his hands and knees as he did so, and began to Shift. His pants were immediately shredded as his body started to expand. Kris watched as his arms and legs lengthened and his body grew larger, claws sprouting from his fingers and toes. He screamed in what sounded like pain, but it quickly became a roar. Fur exploded everywhere along his skin.

Next to him, his men were doing the same. Tawni was backing away, closer to Kris and the wagon, her eyes wary, and then she too was shifting. Kris watched as one of Korrin’s men, halfway through shifting into his bear form, was attacked by two of Olovina’s men. Their claws and fangs found his vulnerable body and killed him almost immediately.

Kris didn’t know what to do. Olovina’s men were swarming in, shifting, almost in a ravenous, bloodthirsty way. She saw many of their pelts were gray, discolored, and missing patches of fur.

Tawni was suddenly barreling past her, almost knocking her to her feet. Coward! She’s running away! But Kris’s eyes followed Tawni’s trajectory, and she was running toward the back of the wagon, where the prisoners, who were now hooting and hollering, were still manacled so tightly that they couldn’t shift. Tawni swung her paw at the first one, slicing through his throat and spraying blood everywhere. The rest of the men’s screams of joy quickly became screams of alarm as Tawni dispatched them all before they could be released and join the fight.

Kris turned back to the fray as Tawni, still on all fours, sprinted to Korrin’s side. Korrin and his men were outnumbered, but they were trained fighters. The rest of the Shifters had little to no experience fighting in situations like this, it was clear. But it isn’t going to be enough.

Korrin was at the front of the half circle of his bears. Kris watched as one of the other Shifters, eager to score a quick kill, got too close to Korrin’s bulk. He reached a claw out, raked the Shifter toward him, and he and two other bears quickly dispatched the unfortunate Shifter. As Kris continued watching, two more of Korrin’s men repeated the tactic and dragged another Shifter to his death.

But one of Korrin’s men took a large swipe in the side, so deep that Kris could see his ribs glistening in the foggy night. He roared in pain but didn’t go down. Olovina was watching, a smile on her face.

The big Shifter was nowhere to be seen. Kris glanced around nervously but didn’t see him anywhere. She glanced left… nothing. Right… nothing. She saw movement on her left, turning that way again, and there he was.

Kris was at the back of the half circle, up by the wagon, and there was a space between the last Shifter and the wagon. The man charged forward, the ground almost shaking with each one of his steps. He grinned at her, his razor-sharp teeth pale in the night air.

At the last second, though, Korrin’s man saw him coming and moved to intercept. Kris’s heart leapt in her chest— she was safe, for the time being—and quickly plummeted when the Shifter somehow picked up Korrin’s man with his massive arms, lifted him into the air, and tossed him against the wagon. The bear hit one of the wheels, shattering it in a splinter of wood, and Kris could see the man had been impaled by a spoke.

She didn’t have time to worry about that though, because the Shifter was coming straight at her. She screamed in alarm, but with all of the roars echoing already, her voice was lost. She turned, going toward the only place she could go—the wagon.

She’d made it two steps when she took a step out, felt herself trip on her shoelaces, and she went down hard. She rolled as best she could to her side, protecting her stomach, but it was all the time the Shifter needed to close the gap.

Still, Kris didn’t give up. She crawled on all fours through the mud, up the steps, and had just made it in the door when she felt a hand wrap around her ankle. She screamed in pain as his nails pierced her skin, pulling her backward out of the wagon.

Kris reached out for purchase, grabbing anything she could. She managed to grab hold of a wooden box and hoped it was heavy enough to support her weight as the Shifter pulled her backward. When she didn’t budge, she felt the Shifter’s grip slip, his claws raking down her leg, and she managed to pull free.

She scrambled to the far side of the wagon, trying to get out of the Shifter’s reach. She turned, panicked, and saw him trying to force his way into the doorway, but he was almost too big. Still, he wouldn’t give up, slavering to get in after her.

Korrin had packed his wagon chock full of expedition supplies, and Kris immediately saw something that she could use to protect herself: a hatchet used for felling small trees. It was tiny, especially when compared to the Shifter, but it would have to do. She had no time to find anything else.

Kris grabbed the hatchet, turned around, and took two steps forward and swung down. The Shifter had reached out one of his clawed hands, grabbing along the floorboards, trying to give himself purchase, and the hatchet found one of his hands. 

He let out a bestial growl as the hatchet severed four of his fingers. Blood sprayed everywhere as he pulled his hand back, putting it up to his mouth and covering his entire body in his own blood.

Kris dropped the hatchet, shaking, and collapsed against the far wall and slid down it. She expected the Shifter to retreat, to run and lick his wounds, but he suddenly turned his eyes toward her and lunged forward. Where he had failed to get in before, he succeeded then. Kris heard the doorframe splinter as he finally got into the wagon.

Letting out a scream, Kris grabbed the hatchet, trying to get to her feet. She’d just pushed herself upward when he reached her, and she swung the hatchet with all her might. Kris closed her eyes, expecting death. She heard a dull thunk, and there was suddenly a great weight pressing on her body. Kris opened her eyes, her breath pushed out of her, and saw that she’d swung the hatchet and hit the Shifter directly between his cloudy yellow eyes. Together, they collapsed on the floor of the wagon, the Shifter on top of her.

With great difficulty, Kris pushed his limp body off her and onto the floor of the wagon. She was covered from head to toe in his blood, but otherwise she was all right.

She took a few deep breaths then grabbed the handle of the hatchet and wrenched it out of his head in another spray of red blood. She could hear fighting going on outside, but by the sound of it, things were dying down.

She didn’t think that was a good thing.

Kris got to her feet and took a couple of shaky steps to the doorway. Waiting for the Shifters to swarm into the wagon to kill her wasn’t the way she wanted to die.

Behind her, she heard a moan. Kris whirled and saw that the Shifter’s eyes, which had previously been lifeless, were starting to blink. He was breathing slowly and then he started to twitch.

Oh, my God. He’s not dead.

But he’d seen her, and now he was smiling and trying to get up to her. Kris turned from him and entered the battle outside.

*

*

*

Korrin came to at the sound of Kris’s voice calling his name. He’d lost himself to a blood rage—it had been the only way to survive—but now, things were starting to come back into focus.

The first thing he noticed were his bare hands, not paws, half buried in mud, still covered With blood. He was down on his hands and knees. Bodies littered the ground around him. Before he’d shifted, there had been a ring of Shifters closing in around him and his men.

Now, almost all of those Shifters were lying dead and broken on the ground. Bodies were piled two and three high around Korrin. He glanced backward, looking for Kris and his men. Kris was stumbling to him, covered in blood.

None of his men were standing. Most were still and lifeless, though a couple moaned or coughed in pain.

“Korrin,” Kris breathed, making her way toward him, stumbling over the bodies.

“Kris!” he yelled, getting to his feet in the slick, bloody mud. He deftly made his way to her. “Are you hurt? Are you okay?”

“He’s still alive,” was all she said. Korrin looked to the wagon where the massive Shifter was making his way out. He was covered in blood, and an axe wound glimmered in the firelight. He skipped the step entirely as he came out. Even injured, Korrin knew he would be in for a fight.

He didn’t have the energy or the strength to do it. The Shifter lunged at him and Korrin twisted, grabbed a blazing log from the fire—he felt it scorch his hands—and swung it at the other Shifter. It collided with the man’s skull, erupting in a flash of embers and splintered wood. The man gasped in pain and collapsed, unconscious, into the fire.

Korrin turned and surveyed the scene. A few of the other Shifters were backing up, looking nervous. They weren’t fighters. If they were, they would have massacred Korrin and his men without a problem. He was lucky that they were afraid of him. After all, he’d just finished off their leader.

To Olovina’s credit, she was still there.

“I’ve won,” Korrin breathed, moving himself in front of Kris to make sure she was hidden from Olovina’s view. “It’s over.”

“It’s not over, Korrin. Do you think that they’ll stop here? That I’ll stop here?”

Korrin crossed the space between them in a flash. His hand snatched out and he grabbed Olovina by the throat, lifting her easily into the air. His fingers tightened and there was a sickly crunching noise. Breath wheezed out of Olovina’s throat.

I can do it. Just squeeze a little bit tighter, and it’ll all be over. She’ll be dead. After all this time, after all of the problems she’s caused, it’ll be over.

He couldn’t do it.

In his outstretched hand, Olovina started to laugh. Her laughed was pained but triumphant. “I knew you didn’t have it in you, Korrin. You’re weak. Your brother was weak… your father... your cousin. Even your mother.”

Korrin snarled, throwing her through the air. The last of the Shifters yelped and disappeared into the foggy night. Korrin could have chased them down, should have chased them down, but he let them go. Instead, he advanced on Olovina’s form. She’d struck her face on something while falling, and blood trickled down her lips. She flicked her tongue out, tasting it.

“Don’t you say anything about my family,” Korrin warned. “If you do…”

“You’ll what? Kill me? Get it over with.”

Korrin wanted to so badly, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He was trying to move his kind away from this type of behavior.

“I’ll bring you back, and you’ll spend the rest of your miserable life rotting in a cell, manacles so tight around you that you’ll never be able to move again.”

“You can’t do that either. Look at your men.”

Korrin glanced over his shoulder at his men. Most were undoubtedly dead, but a few were trying to get up. The horses whickered nervously and Kris looked uneasy.

“If you don’t get them help, they’ll die. We’re tough, us Shifters, but we can only take so much. Do you want that on your conscience, my King? Knowing that to get your revenge, you had to let your men die?”

“One day,” Korrin warned, getting up. “You’ll get yours, Olovina. And I’ll be there to stop you.”

Kris was at his side, pulling him back toward the wagon and his men. “Korrin, we do need to go. She’s right. They’re badly hurt. If we don’t get moving, they won’t survive.”

“What was all of this for?” he asked, stunned.

“We killed him,” Kris said, pointing at the Shifter lying dead in the remains of the fire. The clearing was now dreadfully dark and the fog was flowing in thicker.

“We should kill her,” a voice said from the darkness at Korrin’s side. He saw Kris noticeably jump. Tawni had materialized from the darkness. If anything, she was covered in even more blood than Korrin was. “I finished off the rest of the cowards that ran.”

“No.”

“You can’t mean to let her go,” Tawni said, looking backward at Olovina, who was sitting prone on the ground. “Are you serious, Korrin? After all she’s done, you’re just going to let her walk? At least bring her back with us and lock her up!”

“That’s just what she wants! Can’t you see? She wants to be brought back into our camp. It’s where she’ll be most useful. Who knows how many of her men are still there, in secret? I won’t bring her back.”

“But you won’t kill her.”

“I won’t kill her. Not in cold blood.”

“Then let me,” Tawni said. Korrin reached for her, but she slipped past him on her way to Olovina. Suddenly, Kris was there, blocking her path, and her hand lashed out, slapping against Tawni’s face, hard. Tawni froze, unsure of what to do, and then her face turned into a snarl and she lunged toward Kris. Korrin was there in an instant, and he grabbed Tawni and threw her back toward the wagon.

“Get our men up. All of them.”

“It’s a waste of time,” she spat, blood flying onto the ground.

“We bury our dead,” Korrin said. Then he went to one of the men who was grimacing in pain on the ground. He had a large slice down his side. Blood was spilling out everywhere.

“I’m okay, my King,” the man said, blood bubbling at his lips. “I’m okay, right? I can get up.”

Korrin held the man down. Guilt flooded his body. He’d brought this man with him and never even learned his name. Now, this man, this kid, was going to die because he’d been so ready to get out here and sacrifice himself that he’d never realized he was probably going to sacrifice everyone who came out her with him.

“Help me with him. What’s your name?” he asked, as Tawni came to lift the man. Tawni was rough, so Korrin said, “Carefully!” and Tawni complied with a grimace.

“Jal, my King.”

“Jal, call me Korrin. You’re going to make it through this. Just relax and let us get you into the wagon,” Korrin said, lying through his teeth.

The inside of the wagon was a complete mess. There was blood everywhere. Stacks of supplies were laying strewn haphazardly everywhere. Korrin and Tawni placed him as carefully as they could on a pile of blankets then went back out for the rest of the men.

The next man they checked was dead. They passed him by, looking for any more survivors. The next man was dead, as was the next. And the next. Finally, they found a man lying against a tree holding his side. Korrin had him remove his hands. The wound was large but shallow and not life threatening. Korrin slipped his arm underneath the man’s shoulders and helped him along to the wagon.

The rest were dead. Kris was standing over the body of the first man that had been killed. His throat had been ripped completely open, and his body had already turned cold. Kris looked down at him, sadness evident.

“I never expected anything like this,” she muttered. “I didn’t know this was what it would be like. I’ve seen violence before, been a part of it, but this… They were like animals. That man,” she continued, pointing at the lifeless body in the ashes of the fire. “He wasn’t a man. He was a beast. All he cared about was killing. I don’t understand. What made these people the way they are? What happened in their lives to make them cold blooded killers?”

“They didn’t have a Kingdom like ours,” Korrin answered, resolute. He felt foolish for saying it, but in his heart, he knew it was true. None of these Shifters had any real loyalty except to themselves. “They don’t follow anyone. Every day is a struggle to survive. Only the toughest and most brutal Shifters survive out here in the wilds. It’s no wonder they’re like this. Mean. Nasty. Evil. But they’re nothing like the people in our Kingdom. We’re nothing like them, and I refuse to be.”

Korrin and Kris both looked at Olovina as she slinked off into the darkness. Korrin had a feeling in his belly that told him that wouldn’t be the last time he’d have to deal with her, but he couldn’t just come out and kill her either, even if she deserved it.

“We should get everyone loaded up and get out of here,” Kris whispered.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Korrin asked.

“I’m fine. I’m not hurt at all. It’s not my blood.”

“I was so worried,” Korrin said, reaching out for Kris’s hand. But when his fingers touched hers, Kris shied away.

“What? Kris, what’s wrong?”

“We just need to get going,” Kris said, and she turned and made her way toward the wagon.

“Kris!” Korrin called. She stopped after a few moments. “I know that’s not all. What aren’t you telling me?”

Without turning around, she whispered, just barely loud enough to hear, “You scared me back there, Korrin. When I came out of the wagon to see what you were doing to those Shifters… I’ve never seen anything like it. It was… brutal. It scared me.”

Korrin opened his mouth to tell her that it had been so they could survive. That he had to do it. It had been either that or die to the Shifters out here and let the Kingdom crumble. He couldn’t have that.

He couldn’t let Kris or their unborn child get injured… or worse. He couldn’t, and he wouldn’t.

He wanted to tell her that it had all been for her, but he just closed his mouth as she walked off. Korrin turned his attention back to the man lying on the ground, lifeless.

What was this man’s name? Kennick? Kennas? I can’t remember. What kind of a King does that make me? I bring young men to their deaths, and I don’t even know their names.

What is wrong with me?

Korrin couldn’t answer that question. But he knew one important thing. They were alive. He was alive. Kris was still alive. Tawni and two of his men—for now, at least—were still alive. He’d done all he could. He’d done what he thought was right.

But as he climbed up onto the top of the wagon next to Kris, he didn’t feel as if he’d done the right thing. Right then, he felt as if he’d made all the mistakes in the world. He felt like somehow, somewhere down the line, he’d lost what made him him.

Am I still the same man as I was before? Before my family was murdered? Before I became King? Before I met Kris?

He was different, undoubtedly.

But am I still Korrin Gitan?

*

*

*

It had been necessary. Kris knew that much; she wasn’t stupid. But that didn’t mean she had to like what she saw. She’d seen Korrin fight before, seen him kill before. She’d helped him kill those who were trying to kill them. It was all about survival.

But seeing what he had done to those other Shifters… He’d more than just killed them. He’d ripped them limb from limb, leaving little more than ragged pieces of Shifter behind.

I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget it.

She knew that in a heartbeat any one of those Shifters would have killed her, their child, and Korrin himself. They wouldn’t have thought twice. But they weren’t prepared for Korrin and what he was willing to do to them.

The weather was still nasty. The rain had mercifully let up, but the skies were still a steel gray, threatening another downpour at any moment. The fog had retreated some, enough to let Kris take in the landscape as they made their way back to the Kingdom.

This far north, Kris had expected nothing but a barren tundra. She couldn’t have been more wrong. Waterways, hundreds of small lakes, and gnarled trees were everywhere. Kris had no idea how Tawni had managed to get them to Korrin in the first place; it was a small miracle. She had no idea how Korrin was leading them back through it either.

From her perch next to Korrin, she scanned the route she thought they would take back home. But just when she thought she had the way figured out, Korrin would angle the wagon some other direction and cross a shallow stream.

They weren’t making fast progress. The horses were running ragged, doing all they could to lug the heavy wagon back home. If it hadn’t been for the two wounded men inside the wagon being tended to by Tawni, Kris imagined that the three of them would just ride the horses back and leave the wagon to fall apart out in the blasted land.

But Korrin wouldn’t abandon his men, and Kris didn’t blame him. After what he had done for them… 

They hadn’t spoken much besides a few grunts here and there. Occasionally, Korrin would ask a question, and Kris would give him a one syllable answer.

She kept repeating to herself, you knew he was like this. He had to do it. What did you expect? But it didn’t change the fact that she’d truly witnessed a different side of Korrin, a primal side that scared her. She’d known he had that side in him, buried somewhere, but she’d never expected to see it surface.

Later in the afternoon, Kris had made her way into the wagon, but her stay inside was short-lived. She saw the Shifter’s fingers lying on the floor in a pool of blood, and her eyes would be inevitability drawn to her own fingers, where she would see the ring that Korrin had given her. Then, her eyes would look back at the fingers on the ground, and the whole process would repeat.

After nearly ten minutes of that, sitting with the dead, the wounded, and Tawni, Kris had climbed back out to the top of the wagon and sat next to Korrin, silent. She’d tried to doze off, but the rocking the wagon was experiencing was far from gentle. Plus, her nerves were still getting the better of her.

As the afternoon progressed, the landscape started to slowly change. On a ridge, Kris saw the dying sun reflected off the lake far to the south. They were making progress, though it was slow.

Evening settled in, and after that, night. But they were close to the Kingdom now, and soon scouts came out of the woods.

“My King,” the first said, looking uncomfortable. “We were told you had been killed.”

Korrin’s answer was a growl followed by, “And who leads the Kingdom, now?”

“The last surviving member of the Council. Tem, my King.”

“Last surviving?” Kris butted in. That meant… Gunari died trying to protect me. Jin and Manfri are probably dead, too. Stochelo.

“Gunari was killed by assassins, reports say. As were the twins. The last reports of Stochelo say he was wounded and stumbled off toward the lake. No one has been able to find his body. It’s also thought that Tawni is dead, as well.”

“Tawni is alive,” Korrin grunted. It was easy to tell that he had no love for the woman. “But the others. That’s terrible news.”

Korrin had halted the wagon and dropped down toward the two scouts.

“Yes, it is, my King.”

“Who are you loyal to?” he suddenly asked, changing the subject.

The two looked confused at first but answered, “You, my King,” and “Why, of course, you.”

“Then listen closely. We have wounded in the wagon. Two survivors. You’re to take the wagon back into the camp and mention nothing of seeing us. When Tem asks, you tell him that these men made it back on their own from an ambush.”

“But… My King…” one of the men muttered.

“Listen closely to me. You didn’t see us.”

“Yes, sir,” the other man said. Tawni had climbed out of the wagon and was listening intently. When she was satisfied the men had heard Korrin’s orders, she started to slink off into the night. Korrin nodded at the men, helped Kris off the wagon, and then nodded at them.

“You’re doing the right thing,” Korrin told the men. “It won’t be forgotten.”

With that, the three of them disappeared into the night, angling away from the wagon but still toward the camp. Kris wasn’t sure what they were doing, but she still wasn’t ready to talk to Korrin, so she just followed the other two Shifters as best she could.

More than once, Korrin had to tell Tawni to slow down because Kris. She did her best to keep up with the Shifters, but in her state, it was impossible.

Finally, Kris couldn’t help but ask Korrin, “Where are we going?”

“We don’t want Tem to know we survived. We’ll sneak in, just like they planned to do to us. Take him out from the inside.”

“Take him out?” Kris asked. Does he mean what I think he means? He wouldn’t kill Olovina, he said he couldn’t… But will this be different? Will he kill Tem?

“We’ll restrain him. Put him in the jail. He’s nowhere as dangerous as Olovina.”

“He’s little more than a pawn in the scheme of things. We should still kill him,” Tawni interjected from in front of them. Kris couldn’t see her in the woods and wouldn’t even have known she was there if she hadn’t had said something. She was silent, as was Korrin, she realized. If anyone gave them away, Kris knew it would be her.

Still, they made it to the edge of the camp undetected.

“No guards,” Kris said. Tawni nodded her agreement.

“He’s pulled all of the guards.”

“Is there going to be an attack tonight?” Kris asked, suddenly fearful. She’d known they were walking into danger, but she’d never expected that there would be an attack from the outside and inside at the same time.

We could die tonight.

“No,” Korrin whispered. He seemed so sure of himself, and Kris found herself raising an eyebrow. She could barely see him in the darkness, but he must have read her expression because he said, “Probably just sneaking people into our camp tonight. He’ll have more luck if he can get more of their men into the camp, for when they finally attack.”

It made sense, though Kris was still worried.

She didn’t have time to worry much longer, however, because Tawni and Korrin were suddenly slinking off into the night. She half expected Korrin to tell her to wait for him to return, but she wouldn’t have listened , so she was glad he didn’t. She wasn’t going to be left alone out here. Following as best she could in a half crouch, half waddle, she made her way into the heart of the camp.

For whatever reason, it was mostly deserted. Kris expected members of the Kingdom to be milling about, but they weren’t. Was there some kind of lockdown going on? She didn’t think something like that would be possible; most Shifters didn’t take kindly to restrictions on their lifestyle. But there was something going on.

Sudden movement in front of her brought Kris out of her thoughts. If Korrin and Tawni had been thinking the same thing as she had, they hadn’t shown it. Kris hadn’t realized that they had neared the Council chamber.

Two guards were out in front of it, standing around looking bored. One was pacing back and forth.

“Can we trust them?” Korrin muttered.

“Better not take any chances,” Tawni whispered back. They were crouched down low. The two guards were paying little attention to their duties. Sneaking up on them had been painfully easy.

“Don’t kill them,” Korrin ordered, and they moved into action. Before the guards could even let out yelps of surprise, Korrin and Tawni had their arms locked around their necks, cutting off any chance of giving them away. After a few moments, both of their limp forms dropped to the ground.

“We won’t have long,” Korrin said. He pushed open the doorway, and Tawni followed. Kris hurried across the space between her hiding spot and the Council chamber and followed them into the building.

She had expected it to be dark, but candles illuminated the room. Seated at a table was Tem, looking troubled. When he saw Korrin and Tawni come in, his eyes widened in surprise, and he said, “You! You should be dead!”

“What would your father think, Tem?”

“My father was weak, Korrin,” Tem was saying, getting out of the chair. “Just like yours. They were misled. Stupid. We should embrace our lifestyle.”

“And what do you know of that?”

“It’s what’s right. We’re Shifters, Korrin. This isn’t us,” he said, sweeping his arms wide. “Buildings? Houses? Kingdoms and civilizations? Working with humans? What have we come to?”

“It’s how we survive. Can’t you see that? Your father could. I can. We all can. Don’t do this, Tem.”

Tem was coming around the table, and Kris gasped when she saw that he had grabbed a dagger lying on it. He raised it high, striding toward Korrin, but Tem had no chance. Korrin disarmed him immediately, tossing the dagger to the side and slamming him on the table.

“Don’t do this, Tem! Don’t make this mistake! You can still come back from it! Help me, Tem. Help me defeat these Shifters. Tell me what they’re going to do—how they mean to defeat us. Please, Tem.”

Kris looked down at the dagger that had flown across the room and landed at her feet. She reached down and grabbed it for protection, holding it across her body.

“I’ll never betray my own kind, Korrin.”

“Then you’ll rot in a jail cell for the rest of your life. Do you understand that, Tem?”

“They’ll release me. When they get here, I’ll be the first they free,” Tem was saying, though Kris could see that he seemed unsure. Almost as if he didn’t know if it was true.

“They’ll fail. Just like everyone else has failed to destroy this Kingdom. Yours will be a name that’s remembered with disgust for years. Then, day by day, it’ll be forgotten from memory. In ten, twenty years, you’ll be nothing. Is that how you want to be remembered?”

“I… I… don’t…” Tem said, hesitating.

But Kris had found herself walking forward until she was right next to Korrin. Both men didn’t even notice her.

I finally understand what Korrin did. I finally understand.

With a deep breath, Kris lifted the dagger and plunged it into Tem’s chest. Blood exploded across all three of them. Tem let out a scream of pain that quickly became a gurgle.

“Kris! What are you doing?” Korrin was bellowing in her ear, and then he was dragging her away from Tem. She watched as the dagger twitched in his chest, then the movement slowed to nothing as his heart stopped and his face went blank. “He could have helped us!”

“I’ll do anything to protect my family,” Kris muttered, wiping her hands on her dirty shirt. “Anything.”

Korrin had stood stunned for a few moments before finally moving. By that time, Tawni had disappeared out into the night to take control of the camp. Kris had whispered, “I’m sorry, but it had to be done,” and then she’d left too.

Korrin waited with Tem’s lifeless body until Council guards came in and took him away. Nack had been one of Korrin’s closest allies, and he was definitely his father’s closest ally. So, how did it come to this? How did Tem fall so far and fast?

Was it something I did?

He had needed to take control of the situation, but he delegated those duties to Tawni. She looked just as exhausted as he did, but she nodded just the same. Right then, he couldn’t do it. He needed a respite, if only briefly.

Making his way through the deserted camp, Korrin wondered just how far they had come. Had he changed? Had Kris changed? And if they had, was it for the better?

Behind their house was a small homemade shower—little more than a bucket on a rope full of cold, clean water. Korrin stripped down and entered it, pulling the rope and dumping the water all over his body. He lowered it into a trough, raised it, and then dumped it again. Mud, blood, and grime flowed off him in rivulets.

Sometime recently, the hole in the house had been patched up. It was a quick job, but it was enough for the night at least. Korrin and Kris would have some privacy.

Satisfied he was as clean as he was going to get after a fourth bucket, Korrin grabbed a towel and made his way inside. There were extra guards stationed, and they nodded at him as he passed. Inside was dark. No candles lit the interior, and he didn’t see Kris anywhere.

Then, he heard her from the bathroom. He heard the splash of water and knew she was cleaning herself off. He knocked lightly. The sounds of her splashing paused, but she didn’t answer.

“Kris?”

Silence.

“Can I come in?”

Silence.

He was just about to turn away and go somewhere—the bed, or maybe even for a walk—when he heard her voice whisper, “Okay.”

Korrin cracked the door and peeked in. A wave of steam blasted him in the face, along with the smell of homemade soaps and shampoos. Bubbles were almost overflowing the rim of the tub, and still Korrin could see her pregnant belly poking through them.

“This is my third bath,” she said, her voice uncharacteristically quiet. “I think I’m finally clean. The first turned black almost instantly. There was so much blood. So much.”

“I know,” Korrin answered, moving toward the edge of the tub. “Kris, I know why…”

“Don’t,” she cut him off. “I don’t want to talk about it. I know what I did was rash. I shouldn’t have killed Tem. He could have helped us, could have tipped us off to what was going to happen. I ruined that. But when I saw him there, and I thought he was going to get away with what he’d done, I couldn’t stop myself. I couldn’t just let him go. Let him go unpunished for trying to kill us, for helping kill everyone else. You’re the King. You can’t do that. But I can. I know I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry.

“And I understand what you did out there, last night. Why you couldn’t just injure them or let them go. They would have come back. You’d be punished for being too nice, for having a heart and caring about your kind. I understand. But Korrin, I am sorry.”

He nodded and gave her a sad smile. It was all he could do right then. “Can I join you?” he asked, motioning to the tub. It was an older one, looted from some hamlet or village nearly 200 years ago, if the stories were true.

In response, Kris slid upward, placing her arms at the side of the tub. Korrin watched as she lifted out of the water, her breasts glistening in the soapy water. She then moved forward. Korrin dropped the towel and climbed in behind her, his body sliding against her warm back. He took a deep breath—the water was hot, but it felt good—and then they were in the tub together, Kris wrapped tightly in his arms.

They sat in silence, the warm water washing away all the aches and pains in Korrin’s body. Still, the warm water was nothing compared to having Kris in his arms. Korrin wanted to say something, tell Kris that everything was okay, that everything was going to be okay, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it.

Instead, he just said, “I love you.”

And he meant it with all his heart. He bent his head down and kissed the side of Kris’s neck ever so lightly, goosebumps immediately forming over every inch of her bare skin. She took his hands in her own underneath the water then pulled them and up over her very prominent belly.

“I love you, too,” she whispered back, and then Korrin felt their child kick against his hand. He laughed, all the problems from earlier falling away. This was what was important. This is what he was fighting for. He would do anything to protect his family, and it was evident that Kris would too.

“What are we going to name him?” Korrin asked. It was a question they hadn’t put much thought into. They’d agreed it would be best to decide when the time came, but with everything going on, Korrin thought it might be best to decide now.

Kris just shrugged her shoulders. “We’ll find out when the time is right.”

“Is the time ever going to be right?”

“Yes,” she answered, her voice quivering just slightly. He didn’t know if she believed it, and he certainly didn’t know if he believed it, but just hearing it was almost enough.

After that, silence descended onto the small, steamy bathroom. Korrin grabbed some shampoo, squirted some on his hand, and massaged it into Kris’s hair. From the sounds she was making, she was enjoying the feeling. Then, he got some soap and began lathering her shoulders, then her arms, and finally her chest.

Korrin’s lips found her neck again, and he was kissing there. He couldn’t resist. Being this close to Kris, completely naked in such an intimate setting, was too much to ignore. And Kris obviously felt the same way because she suddenly grabbed one of Korrin’s hands and put it between her legs.

Korrin’s fingers brushed against her clit, and Kris let out a moan of pleasure, sliding deeper into the hot water. Korrin slid his finger along her slit, pushing in ever so slightly, and then his fingers were moving up and down in a rapid motion, pushing in all the right places as her moans carried through the air. He could feel himself stiffening against her back, and he wanted nothing more than to take her right then.

Kris lifted her body up ever so slightly, just enough so that she could slide one of her hands behind her back and down Korrin’s stomach. He felt himself jerk forward, pleasure overtaking his body as Kris’s hand slipped over the top of his member and slid down his shaft. Her hand reached the base and she moved it back upward until it slid over the tip of his cock and then back down.

As she did this, Korrin was moving his finger up and down her slit, dipping into her one moment and then pressing on her clit the next, figuring out what worked best for her. He listened intently to her moans, repeating the motions that were bringing her the most pleasure.

“Take me,” she whispered, and Korrin felt himself stiffening even more, if such a thing were possible. Within a split second, he was pulling himself out of the bath. Water splashed all over the carpet, soaking it through, but that was the farthest thing from his mind right then. He reached down, pulling Kris up with one strong arm, and then he swept her out of the tub. Water flew everywhere as he lowered her wet body onto the carpeted floor.

He’d never seen anyone so beautiful as Kris right then. She was complete: the woman he loved pregnant with his child, and he was completely, undeniably, in love.

Kris was lying on her back, and Korrin moved between her legs. He dropped to his knees between them, shuffling up until they were pressed close to each other. Korrin felt his tip brush against Kris’s wet slit, and he knew that she was ready for him.

He lowered himself down on top of her, supporting most of his weight on one hand, and then he pushed his hips toward her and entered her. He gasped, loud, as he felt her warmth envelop him. He pushed in slowly, almost so slow that he thought he might go crazy with the anticipation, but it made it that much sweeter.

He pushed his hips against Kris, the warmth enveloping the entire length of his shaft, and then he was completely inside of her. Korrin’s moans were in tandem with Kris’s, but then she leaned up on her elbows and pressed her lips against his. They kissed deeply for a long time, lost in each other’s lips, not even working their hips against each other.

But Kris or Korrin—he couldn’t be sure just who it had been—moved, and both of them moaned again, breaking their kiss. Then Korrin was pushing into her, skipping the slowness, going as deep and fast as he could. As like last time, it felt like the last time they would make love, and he wanted to make the most of it.

Kris, to her credit, must have felt the same way, because she was pushing her hips against him, driving him as deep into her as he could go. They worked together, both pushing and pulling at all the right times, in tune with each other as only experienced lovers could be.

It was perfect.

Slowly, Korrin could feel his orgasm approaching. He never wanted this to end, but it was inevitable. He tried to focus on something, anything else but his fiancée in front of him, but it was pointless. There was no way he couldn’t not see her and realize just how much pleasure she was bringing him.

Just when he knew he couldn’t take anymore, Kris suddenly pushed herself against him, her clit sliding along his entire shaft, and she let out a moan that drowned out even his own. He knew she was going to cum, and then he realized he was going to cum, and together, they came.

He felt himself explode deep inside of her, felt her tightening around his shaft as they came, over  and over, and over again. He didn’t know how long it lasted, but finally, with a deep breath and a contented grin on his face, Korrin slowly pulled out of her. They were slick with their juices, exhausted, but they were happy.

Korrin rolled over onto his side, catching his breath for a few moments. Kris extended a hand out to him, and he took it, bringing it up to his lips and kissing it lightly.

Right now, things were okay.

He sat up, and looked over at Kris. She’s beautiful. The most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, pregnant or not.

He noticed that she had goosebumps prickling along her body, and in one swift movement, he lifted her up into his arms. She screamed in mock alarm and then laughed as he carefully lowered her back into the warm bubble bath. Then he knelt by the side of the tub, grabbed some more soap and a towel, and began cleaning off her back.

He loved her, and she loved him, and they both knew it.

*

*

*

“They’re here!” one of Korrin’s men yelled, running to his side. He could hardly breathe. Korrin recognized the man as one of his scouts from the north.

“Are you sure?” Korrin asked. He believed the man, but he had to be absolutely sure before he jumped into action. There could be no mistakes here. If they did something wrong, chances were that the Kingdom and everyone in it would perish.

He wouldn’t let that happen.

“Yes, My King.”

“Surprised it took them this long.”

Korrin turned to find Stochelo limping up to them. He’d shown up on the outskirts of camp last night. His leg had been broken and healed crooked. Kris’s father had offered to re-break it and set it, but Stochelo had declined. He didn’t want to be laid up when the other Shifters finally attacked.

It had been nearly a full day since Korrin, Kris, and the others had arrived back in the Kingdom. Korrin had finished his bath with Kris, gotten a few uneasy hours of sleep, and had gone to join Tawni in helping prepare the Kingdom for war.

He’d spent the entire day figuring out how many able-bodied Shifters they had in the camp, plus how they were going to arm them. As a rule, Shifters preferred not to use guns. It was hard to guarantee a kill from a distance on Shifters. Most preferred to fight up close and personal. But Korrin knew that was foolish. He’d seen how dangerous guns could be. He’d handpicked those he thought would be the best shots, mostly the hunters of the Kingdom who were used to using rifles to hunt rabbits and birds.

There were far fewer swords and pikes in the armory than Korrin would have wished, but he couldn’t blame Dukker. Making weapons wasn’t the man’s area of expertise, but he’d done the best he could, and it was better than nothing.

Barsali Crafter, on the other hand, had exceeded his expectations and then some. He’d made spikes that were now planted around the edge of the camp proper. They wouldn’t catch any Shifter unaware, but they would stop a charge. Korrin hoped to keep them at a distance for as long as possible, using the guns to their full effect. He’d also made a decent number of arrows for the few ancient bows they still had laying around.

He’d be leading the Council guards, and Stochelo would be leading the men that Gunari had so briefly trained.

It would be a tough fight.

“Korrin!” he heard from behind him. Korrin whirled around and saw Kris making his way through the hectic camp toward her.

“It’s time for you to leave,” he said. “You should already be gone.”

He knew his voice was hard, and he hadn’t meant for it to be, but he had ordered a wagon ready to take her and her parents far, far to the south at first light. His scouts had warned him that a large contingent of Shifters were moving in, and they had been right. He was just glad they hadn’t been ambushed.

Korrin grabbed her, pulled her close, and pressed his lips against hers in one of the most loving kisses he’d ever given her. I just hope it’s not the last.

“I already sent the wagon away,” Kris told him as she pulled away.

“What? You did what?” Korrin asked.

“I’m never leaving you again, Korrin. No matter what happens.”

Korrin wanted to argue, but he knew she was set in her ways, and he couldn’t blame her. He would have done the same exact thing, if he were in her position.

“Are you parents safe?”

“Gone. They didn’t like it any more than you did, but I convinced them it would be for the better.”

“Good. I want you to retreat to the center of the camp though. I can’t be worrying about you on the front lines. They may have guns and bows, and I can’t risk it. Please, at least do that for me.”

People were running back and forth, getting ready for the battle. The elderly and young Shifters were being moved into the center of the camp. They wanted to fight, but they would be a liability. Almost all the women were ready to fight as well.

This is going to be bad. Last time there was a war this size… Kingdoms were decimated. Hundreds of people died. Will that be what happens here? When the dust settles, will we still be alive? Will anyone remember us? Will anyone remember Korrin Gitan and his human fiancée?

Korrin growled to himself. Yes.

“Okay,” Kris said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “I love you, Korrin Gitan, and I’ll see you soon.”

“Tawni,” Korrin barked. She was a few steps away, watching the Shifters milling about far away on the tree line. From even this far away, Korrin could tell that they were weak and sickly, but they had the numbers and Olovina to push them forward. And whichever traitors are in here for them.

Some of the refugees had already assimilated into the Kingdom. Many were on the front line now, with the exception of those too sick to fight. Korrin hoped he could trust them.

“What?” Tawni growled. Korrin shot her a hard look. She knew what was coming, and she already didn’t like it, but he needed her right now.

“Go with Kris.”

“I’m more useful here!”

Korrin surged forward until he was inches from her. “Do as I say.”  His voice was hard and icy.

“Fine.”

“Tawni,” he said, easing up some. “There’s no one else around here that I trust more than you right now. I’m leaving it up to you to protect Kris and my unborn child. That’s our legacy, how we survive into the future, if we survive this. Please.”

“Okay,” she conceded, though she shot Kris an even harder look than he’d shot her previously. Looking at Kris, Korrin could tell that she wasn’t happy either, but it was something that needed to be done.

“I love you, and I’ll see you later,” he told her. He wouldn’t tell her goodbye—he couldn’t.

“I love you, too,” Kris said. Tawni rolled her eyes, but Korrin ignored her. He was only focused on Kris and her large belly. He smiled at her, and she smiled back, then she and Tawni were disappearing into the interior of the camp.

Almost immediately, Stochelo was saying, “They’re advancing.”

Korrin turned his attention back to the moving line of Shifters. He’d expected an attack in the middle of the night, not early morning, but he couldn’t complain. It was better now.

Just like Stochelo had said, the Shifters were moving forward. Most had shifted into their bear forms as they walked. Many were sickly looking, but the sheer numbers more than worried Korrin.

He was just getting ready to bellow out to ready the rifles and to nock the arrows when the sound of gunfire met his ears.

“Get down!” he yelled instead, dropping down as bullets ripped through the air around him. More than one Shifter within a few feet of Korrin collapsed screaming. Korrin glanced up and saw Stochelo had been hit, but he was still standing. Blood poured out from a wound on his neck.

“What?” he asked, glancing at Korrin as he picked himself up. Most of the other men around him were getting to their feet, taking their positions behind stacks of felled trees. “Thought I would run?”

Korrin didn’t respond to that. Instead, he asked, “Are you okay?”

“Just grazed me. Now, let’s get these men firing back.”

And then they were firing on the advancing Shifters. More of the invading Shifters fell than their own men, but they just kept coming. It was like a wave, inevitable, unceasing, and eventually they would break over the ramparts.

There was the sound of a loud horn from somewhere in the trees, far behind the line of advancing Shifters, and then they were sprinting forward, tossing their guns to the ground as they started a flat-out sprint. Those that hadn’t shifted previously were now, until there was nothing except the roar of approaching bears, hundreds in all.

Korrin had thought the spikes stabbed in the ground would deter the charge, but Korrin couldn’t have been more wrong. The front line of bears impaled themselves on the spikes, snapping them and allowing their allies to climb over them.

“They’re coming from behind us!” a scout yelled, running up from behind Korrin. Korrin whirled, trying to scan through the center of the camp, but it was impossible.

“I’ll go,” Stochelo said, and he was following the scout toward the other side of the camp, taking a small group of men with him.

“Send word on how many there are,” Korrin ordered, ducking as an arrow hit a log directly to the left of him.

“Get ready to shift,” Korrin found himself saying. He didn’t know the first thing about ordering an army to fight—no one here did anymore with Gunari dead—but he wouldn’t sit idly by while the men and women in his Kingdom died fighting.

There was a ring of Council guards tight around him. They were looking at him anxiously, and he gave the order to shift, and they were shedding their clothes and shifting before his eyes.

Korrin, on the other hand, was going to hold out for as long as possible. He needed to keep a good eye on the situation, issue orders and commands, and he couldn’t do that well if he had lost himself to the bloodlust that so often washed over Shifters.

He turned, grabbing an old pistol from his belt that had once been his cousin’s and looked at it. He missed him, no matter what he’d tried to do. He would have known exactly what to do in this situation. Damn it, Ruslo.

And then the Shifters were there, fighting and biting, roaring and charging. His own men leapt to meet them. Fangs sunk deep, claws raked along bone, and skin was shredded as they attacked. Most of his men, at least those on the front line, were stronger than the intruders. But there were so many.

There was suddenly a screaming man charging at Korrin, naked and covered in blood. Korrin rationalized he must have already shifted once and lost his clothes and then shifted back. Korrin raised the pistol, pointed it at the man’s face, and pulled the trigger without a second thought. The man collapsed in a pile, lifeless.

But then there was another Shifter coming at him: a full-grown Shifter with a sleek black pelt. Korrin hadn’t expected to see any of his enemies like this. He’d expected them all to be weak, and he realized just how stupid he had been.

He fired the pistol until the clip was empty, but the other bear was still advancing as if he hadn’t been hit once. One of Korrin’s men tried to get in his way, but he was thrown to the side. Korrin’s protective circle had been completely and utterly broken. All around him, battle raged. It was complete chaos.

Korrin had been in fights before, fights for his life, but he’d never experienced anything like this. This… this was something else entirely.

And then the bear hit Korrin, knocking the wind out of him and throwing him back nearly ten feet. Korrin landed deftly, pushing himself even further backward with a powerful kick, but the other bear was fast, and he was on Korrin almost immediately.

Korrin glanced to his left, saw one of his men, dead, and grabbed the pike out of his hands. The other bear lunged up on its hind legs, and Korrin rushed forward then, driving the pike deep into the bear’s chest. He roared, loudly at first, but as the point sank deeper and deeper, the bear suddenly crumbled to the ground.

Korrin wrenched the pike free, saw the blood dripping from it, and looked around for his pistol. It was lying on the ground a few feet away. Korrin made his way to it, picked it up, and looked around the battle.

Standing not twenty feet away, striding forward, was Olovina.

*

*

*

Kris and Tawni had just reached the center of the camp when one of Korrin’s scouts—she knew it was one of his men by his limber body and his speed—sprinted past them. And then Kris doubled over in pain, feeling something she’d never felt before: contractions.

She’d never felt them, but she knew what they were. She was sure of it.

Please, not right now. Not right now. Anything but that, please.

Tawni gave her a look but didn’t say anything. Instead, she just waved over a few of the men around their part of the camp and ordered them to stick close in case things went bad.

And almost immediately, they did. Most of the elderly and younger Shifters had been moved to the center of the camp, protected by a ring of men. They were suddenly surging inward, almost from all sides, and from her position, Kris couldn’t see exactly why.

But she could guess.

Tawni’s nostrils were flaring and her eyes were wide.

“What is it?” Kris asked. She thought she knew what it was, but she had to know for sure.

“An attack. Not sure from where!”

“Give me a weapon,” Kris said.

“You can’t.”

“Give me a weapon,” Kris repeated. “If they’re here, I won’t let them take me down without a fight.”

Tawni requisitioned a small sword, little more than a dagger to most Shifters, and handed it to Kris. It was heavy in her hand, so she grabbed it in both hands. She’d never used one before, not seriously, but she had the general idea of what to do. Stick them with the pointy end.

Kris gave the sword a few test swings, getting a rudimentary understanding of the weight behind each movement. It wasn’t enough, but it would have to do.

“They’re here,” Tawni growled. She crouched forward, ready to shift, but then she glanced at Kris. “Don’t overdo it.”

And Tawni was right. Men and women were surging forward, and Kris suddenly realized that these weren’t the intruders, not exactly. Citizens of the Kingdom were stabbing each other, shifting, and attacking.

“It looks like we found those that infiltrated us,” Tawni roared. “I’m glad they’re here!”

And Tawni was charging in. Chaos had taken over as those who weren’t ready to fight were suddenly attacked by those they had considered friendly. Kris watched as an older Shifter with long gray hair was knocked to the ground and pinned by a mangy looking Shifter. The bear reared up, leaning back, ready to drop down and end the poor man’s life, and Kris moved into action.

She did exactly what she’d remembered. She pushed the point of the sword into the Shifter from his right side. She aimed for his heart, though she had no real idea just where that was. She felt the blade score along his ribs, and then it pierced between two of them and sunk deep. Just like that, the Shifter was dead.

But there were more where he came from. Luckily, those around Kris were starting to realize just what was going on. They were starting to fight back, grouping together with their friends and family. They wouldn’t be going down without a fight.

There was scream of alarm from behind Kris as someone went down, and Kris saw that now the other Clan had truly broken through. Members of the Kingdom that she would have previously thought allies were slinking back to the force proper, swelling their ranks. There weren’t as many Shifters here as there had been at the front, but there were more than enough to overwhelm the few Shifters designated to protect the young and elderly.

Kris raised the blade and suddenly felt another contraction. She let out a moan of pain, willing her body to hold out a little bit longer. Just until all of this is over. Please, just that long. One way or another, it won’t take too much longer.

There was a savage roar from the line of enemy Shifters, a roar so inhuman that Kris had never heard anything like it before. It chilled her to the bone, though she couldn’t say why.

The line parted—some moved out of the way, while others were pushed bodily—and Kris saw the Shifter that the roar had erupted from. Her heart plummeted in her chest just as another contraction doubled her over.

“Get to the doctor,” Tawni ordered. “I’ll have some of Korrin’s men escort you.”

“You can’t deal with him alone,” Kris said, looking at the grotesque Shifter striding in front of her. She didn’t know how he was still alive. There was a nasty gash in the middle of his forehead, which should have been enough to kill him outright. His hand was uncovered and was a sickly green color, infection rampant where he was missing his fingers.

Worst of all was the rest of his body. He strode toward Kris, Tawni, and the rest of Korrin’s men, naked except for a pair of bloody trousers, his body a mass of burnt, blackened flesh. His nose had been almost completely burned off, the skin of his neck fused almost to his chest. All of his hair had been burned away. If Kris was surprised that he had survived the hatchet wound, she had absolutely no clue how he was still walking.

“Go!” Tawni ordered, and she rushed forward. Half of the men went with her, and the rest stayed close to Kris, trying to get her to leave. But she couldn’t leave Tawni like this, not after everything she’d done for her. They’d had their rocky past, but she couldn’t just sit back and let this man kill her—because alone, he undoubtedly would.

Kris pushed past one of Korrin’s men and watched as Tawni shifted, running straight at the other Shifter. She was small, quicker than most, and ducked underneath his last remaining paws. She rammed into his side, trying to knock him down for the rest of the men to finish off, but he didn’t flinch.

One of Korrin’s men came in to attack the monster Shifter. He kicked out, one of his massive legs kicking the other Shifter away and sending him rolling along the ground.

With a roar, he shifted. If missing his fingers impacted him in any way, he didn’t show it. If any of his injuries hurt him while he shifted, Kris would never have been able to tell. His roar was constant and earth-shattering.

He was nearly twice the size of a normal Shifter, and it reminded Kris of sharks swarming a wounded fish, except this fish wasn’t wounded in the slightest. Bears darted in and out, but they never seemed to do any lasting damage. Kris screamed as Tawni took a large swipe, but she got back to her feet and rushed back in. One of Korrin’s men got too close, and the Shifter’s jaws clamped down on his throat. With a sickening crunch, the man went limp.

Kris found herself enthralled by the battle and its ebb and flow. Her focus was suddenly wrenched away when a Shifter came at her, crazed eyes evident. He was yelling in some language she didn’t understand, but she understood enough to know that he wasn’t wishing her well.

Kris raised the sword, ready to thrust it into his chest, and just as he reached her, she had another contraction. This time, it was the worst one yet. She dropped to one knee, which caused the Shifter to go flying right past her, his arms outstretched. If he had been just a little bit quicker… Kris didn’t want to think of the consequences.

Still, he was coming back at her, and Kris managed to get to her feet just as he reached her a second time. She didn’t have enough time to point her sword at him. With a wild swing, she felt the sword connect, there was a scream, and then silence as the body collapsed to the ground. Kris looked around, unsure of what she had connected with, and saw she had decapitated the man. She’d killed before, but nothing like this. Dropping to her hands and knees, Kris felt her stomach clenching, and she threw up what little breakfast she’d managed to eat onto the ground.

Suddenly, all Kris wanted to do was collapse and give up. She felt weak, worn out, and there was another contraction. She’d hoped they would stay away, but with all the commotion going on around her, there was no hope.

Her baby was on the way, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

I have to get to the doctor. He’s not that far away. But is he still alive? Is his tent still standing? She’d sent her father off, he who had been the most qualified to deliver her child, but there were still other Shifters he had trained just for this moment. What he hadn’t planned on, however, was that they would have to deliver her child in the middle of a war zone.

And Tawni’s limp form suddenly went flying past her. She’d shifted back into her human form, flopping on the ground, looking lifeless.

“Tawni!” Kris screamed. She was all Kris had right now, even if they were enemies. Tawni lifted an arm limply, trying to pull herself toward Kris.

The other Shifter was suddenly looming over Tawni, and he was no longer in his bear form. Blood was running over him, practically in streams down his body. Tawni looked up, grimaced, and waited for the inevitable.

“No!” Kris yelled, and the Shifter turned toward her. When his eyes finally fell on her, he grinned. Kris saw that his teeth had mostly been knocked out, giving him a jagged smile that she knew would haunt her dreams for the rest of her days.

“You’re next,” he said, his voice one of the worst sounds Kris had ever heard. His tongue slid along his jagged teeth, slicing it open, blood pouring down his chin. And worst of all, between his legs, she saw he was getting aroused. “After I kill.”

He turned toward Tawni and Kris sprinted forward, managing only one step before another contraction took her down. She looked up, desperate to get to Tawni. The Shifter was standing above her, one of his dirty, clawed feet on her throat, pushing down with all of his weight. Tawni’s hands were pushing upward, her feet kicking for purchase, but she was running out of time.

Kris ignored the next contraction, knowing that if she didn’t, Tawni would be killed and she would be next.

Kris grabbed the sword, lifted it up with the last of her strength, and then plunged it forward. It pierced the Shifter in his left thigh, crunching against the bone, and Kris pushed harder, feeling it shatter. He collapsed onto one knee. Kris tugged the sword free, finding a reserve of energy she didn’t know she had, and she pushed the sword forward one final time. It entered just underneath the Shifter’s skull, piercing through his spinal cord and busting out of his mouth. The last of his teeth exploded outward.

She heard him growl one more time, his arms somehow still moving, his clawed hand almost grabbing Tawni’s throat, and then he collapsed and was finally still. Kris pulled the sword free and pushed it into his back. Then she pulled it out and did it again. And again. And again.

“You… should… have… let… me… die…” Tawni said, coughing, and pausing as she tried to talk. “Gotten… yourself...to...safety...”

“I should have,” Kris agreed, then she stabbed the Shifter again for good measure.

“I think… he’s… dead...”

“I know,” Kris said, and stabbed him a final time. The fighting had died down around them. Kris felt another contraction. They were coming too fast now.

“I need to go to the doctor,” Kris said.

“Let’s go,” Tawni said, massaging her neck and begrudgingly letting Kris help her to her feet.

“Our King is injured!” a man yelled from somewhere in the battle. “Rally to him! To the front!”

Kris’s heart ran cold, and she said, “After we find Korrin.”

“Kris…”

“After we find him,” Kris said, and they started off through the battle.

*

*

*

Contraction, after contraction, after contraction wracked Kris’s body. She could hardly stand. If Tawni hadn’t gotten her strength back and helped her along, Kris would have collapsed right then and there. She kept telling Kris that they needed to find the doctor, but Kris kept refusing.

The fighting was still fierce, but Kris could see it was dying down. She knew neither side would have wanted it that way, unless the fighting was about over, but there simply weren’t enough able-bodied Shifters on either side to keep fighting for much longer. No matter who won, it would be a devastating blow to the survivors.

Tawni let go of Kris for a moment to throw a Shifter out of the way. Some of Korrin’s men—mostly Council guards, Kris could tell by their uniforms—were making their way back toward where she had last seen Korrin.

At least they’re still up. That has to count for something. But what about Korrin? Injured? What does that mean? Is he badly hurt? Or worse? Is he dead?

Is Korrin dead? Will my child never meet his father? And if he’s dead, what will happen to the rest of us? To me? To the Kingdom?

Kris tried turning off that train of thought, but she couldn’t manage to do so. She was worried, not only for Korrin, but for herself. And who could blame her?

Tawni helped her climb over a couple of bodies, stacked so high that they were almost a pile. Blood stained the ground. Smoke hung heavy in the air. In the distance, Kris saw a house burning, and she knew it couldn’t be the only one. Way off to the west, she saw the biggest blaze yet, and she knew what it was—the Council chamber.

For some reason, seeing it burn was strangely ominous, as if finally, the reign of the Council was over. Glancing at Tawni, she wouldn’t say that though.

“How much farther?” Kris asked. She should have known, should have remembered, but she was doing all she could to push the pain of the contractions away. She was just trying to focus on Korrin and what it would be like when she finally found him, pulled him into her arms, and held him tight as the fighting fell away around them.

He was okay. She told herself that, trying to trick herself into believing it.

“Just up ahead,” Tawni said, and Kris heard the sound of fierce fighting. It seemed that most of the Shifters who were still able were making their way to this area on the northern edge, whether they be Kingdom men or the intruders.

This is it. The final battle. Why am I here?

Kris knew why she was there. She had to see Korrin—had to make sure he was okay. And if he wasn’t… She had to see for herself. She had to be sure. She wouldn’t leave him lying out there, bodies piled high on top of him, dying alone. She would be there for him no matter what.

“We’ve routed the enemy to the south and east,” a voice said from behind. Kris managed to glance backward, wincing in pain, as Stochelo limped up. He had a nasty wound on the side of his neck and was drenched in blood on the side underneath it, but otherwise, he appeared unhurt. “It looks like we can push off the attack to the west as well.”

“So, we’ve won?” Kris asked, hopeful. If they’d pushed back three sides… 

“Not even close,” Stochelo said, looking troubled. “The other three pushes, and those who infiltrated us, they were little more than diversions. The fighting is the worst up here. If they manage to push through, we could still be defeated.”

Kris felt her heart drop. She had thought it would be over, had hoped it would be over. She hoped to find Korrin, alive and well, sitting on a log and waiting for her to arrive with a smile on his face. She knew that had been wishful thinking even then, but now, hearing what Stochelo was saying…

I don’t know.

“Kris?” Stochelo was asking. Kris shook her head, trying to clear it. It was becoming harder and harder to think. She didn’t know if she was just getting sidetracked or if it was the impending birth. The contractions were coming so often that she could hardly walk now.

“I’m fine. Really. I need to see Korrin.”

“It’s not safe for you here,” he was saying, and Kris gave him her best smile. She’d never trusted him, even when he’d pulled through for Korrin, but he did seem concerned. “Is she okay?”

“She’s about to go into labor,” Tawni explained.

“Let’s get her back to the medical tent. It’s packed full of injured, but it’s far away from the fighting. They’ll be able to take care of her, then we can join the spearhead.”

“No,” Kris said, her head lolling up and down. “No.”

“Kris,” Stochelo said. “You need to go. Not just for you, but for your baby.”

“Once I see Korrin.”

Stochelo sighed and nodded, though Kris hardly registered it, and they made their way to the fighting. Korrin’s men were pushing in, trying to drive a spear into a group of Shifters, though Kris wasn’t sure why. All they were doing was getting cut off from the rest of their men by breaking the line.

And then she understood. Through blurred eyes, she saw why. Korrin was surrounded by the enemy on all sides, his men cut off entirely from him. They were trying to push in, to reach him and rescue him, but they were having no luck.

Olovina was across from him, dancing in and out, lashing out at Korrin. For some reason, he seemed to be moving sluggishly. Olovina would swing in—Kris couldn’t see with what—and then Korrin would strike back, but Olovina would be gone.

“Help him,” Kris said. “You have to help him!”

“We can’t get to him yet,” Stochelo said. Then he was yelling, “Push in! Damn you, push in! Your King’s life depends on it!”

They were getting close. If they just kept pushing, they would be to Korrin’s side any moment.

Suddenly, someone broke free from the crowd surrounding Korrin and Olovina and made their way toward Korrin’s back.

“Korrin!” Kris screamed, with all her might. Korrin looked up, somehow hearing her through the noise of the battle, and saw Kris pointing behind him. He turned, just in time, to avoid the knife coming in at him, turn it around, and plunge it into the would-be assassin.

Everything was moving slowly. Kris wanted to scream again, but her voice was shot. She wanted to warn Korrin that Olovina was right behind him, but it was too late.

Olovina moved into position, and what she held finally came into focus: a dagger, nearly six inches long. She raised it high. It flashed in the light, and she plunged it deep into Korrin’s back.

“No!” Kris uttered, her voice silent in the commotion. Korrin’s men finally broke through, routing Olovina, who retreated into her line of Shifters, leaving Korrin alone between the two groups.

He had dropped down to his knees and slumped backward, the knife still jutting out of his back at a sickly angle. He wasn’t moving.

Please, don’t let him be dead. He can’t be dead. But why isn’t he moving? He should be trying to get up, trying to pull the knife out, trying to do something. Anything. Please.

Somehow, Kris found herself at his side, surrounded by his men, Tawni, and Stochelo.

“Korrin?” she said, reaching a hand out and putting it on his shoulder.

He suddenly jerked, his eyes opening, his breath coming out in a ragged gasp. Kris saw that his body was crisscrossed by too many cuts to count. Olovina had been slowly draining the fight out of him. He was almost completely covered in blood from head to toe, but those wounds hadn’t been enough to kill him.

The knife was.

He opened his mouth, trying to say something, but he couldn’t get any sound out. He swallowed hard, coughed, his mouth closed, and then he closed his eyes, as if even doing that much was hard. He tried raising an arm, but he couldn’t. Kris grabbed his hand and squeezed.

“I’m here, Korrin. I’m here.”

His eyes fluttered open, unfocused. They swept over Kris without recognition.

He’s dying. Oh, God, he’s dying.

Kris winced in pain as another contraction wracked her body, and she knew she didn’t have long until their child was born.

“Hang in there, Korrin. I’m about to have our child. He’s going to be just like you. Please, don’t go. Stay with me. Stay with us. You still have to name him, don’t you? Remember? We haven’t decided on a name, yet. Korrin, please.”

He was smiling, though it was a pained smile. All around them the battle raged, but Kris didn’t care anymore. His grip was growing weak. His eyes closed, ever so slowly, but the smile didn’t leave his face.

“Korrin?” Kris asked, and she realized she was crying. She’d been crying for minutes now, tears soaking the front of her shirt, but she hadn’t noticed. “Korrin! Korrin, damn it! Don’t leave me!”

Kris felt arms wrapping tightly around her, and Korrin’s limp grip slipped out of her hand. “Let me go! Damn it, let me go! I have to help him!”

Kris was kicking out, trying to escape the arms around her, but she was too weak.

“It’s too late, Kris. There’s nothing you can do,” Tawni was saying in her ear. Kris wanted to lash out, to hit her, to tell her she was wrong—that she could do something. She didn’t know what, but she could do something. She had to.

“She’s here,” Stochelo was bellowing, waving someone toward them. Kris looked up and saw that it was her father leading one of the men he’d been training, a stretcher between them. How? He shouldn’t still be here... “Let’s get her loaded up!”

“No,” Kris was saying, though she didn’t know if anyone could hear her. Tawni was helping load her onto the stretcher with Stochelo watching anxiously. He kept glancing around, making sure they were safe. “No! Get Korrin!”

She didn’t think anyone had heard her, but her father was leaning over her. “We can only take one of you. It has to be you.”

“Take him! He’s going to die!”

“You’re going to die if we don’t get you into the operating room! You’ve pushed yourself too far, Kris. If we don’t get this baby out of you now, you’re going to die. Kris, do you understand? If we don’t operate, you will die.”

“Then let me die. Just save Korrin, Dad. I’m begging you. Save Korrin, save our child, do whatever you have to do to keep them alive. Please. Don’t worry about me.”

“I can’t do that, honey,” her father was saying, then he was yelling and they were making their way through the crowd.

“Korrin!” Kris screamed, trying to sit up and roll out of the stretcher. But Tawni was walking beside her, a hand on her shoulder, holding her easily in place against the stretcher. “Please!” she sobbed. “Save him!”

Kris managed to lift her head just enough to look backward. Korrin was still on his knees, lifeless, slouched forward. His chin rested against his chest. With the battle raging on around him, he almost looked peaceful.

Kris’s tears came harder than ever.

Korrin Gitan, the last of his family, King of the Shifters and leader of the Kingdom, her soon-to-be husband and father of their unborn son, was dead.

*

*

*

The inside of the medical tent was chaotic. Kris’s father had trained a few other Shifters, most with basic first aid, and many of these Shifters in the tent were outside their realm of expertise. Kris was barely able to think with the pain going through her body, but she could tell enough to know that many of these Shifters would die. Some were missing limbs, others had deep gashes all along their bodies, and a small number were already dead. But Shifters were hardy, she knew that much. There was hope for some of them yet, especially with care.

But there’s no hope for Korrin. They let him die. They could have saved him, but they let him die. Her thoughts about Korrin were starkly different from her others, clear and insistent.

“We’re going to have to perform a C-section,” she heard her father say from somewhere above her.

“No,” Kris found herself saying. “I want a natural birth.”

“Kris, you have a placental abruption,” she heard her father say. “Do you know what that means?”

She shook her head, realizing she was clenching her teeth through the pain, tears rolling down her face.

“If you’ve suffered some trauma, your placental wall can detach. If it’s not treated, you and your baby can die. We have to do it this way.”

She didn’t know what had caused it, or even if it was true, but she nodded just the same.

“Okay, Tawni, I need your help.”

“I don’t know anything about this.”

“You won’t have to. I just need you to wash your hands and hand me the tools as I ask for them. If we don’t act quickly, we’ll lose them both.”

Kris noticed Tawni’s presence retreating. Her father had done the same, then he came back to her with a very large needle.

“Kris, we lost some of our medical supplies in the attack. We have some local anesthetic. It’s not what I want to use, but it’s the only one we have left.”

“Is it going to hurt?” she asked.

He nodded.

“Okay,” she whispered. “It hurts so much already.”

“Tawni! Hurry up!” he yelled over her, and then Kris could tell that she was back. “Shandor! Get some bandages on that man!”

Kris smiled up at her dad. He was back in his natural habitat. And where did that leave her? Without Korrin, without her closest friend, where did she belong?

“Kris?” he asked. “This is going to hurt.”

Kris felt the needle prick, but it was nothing compared to the pain she was feeling in her abdomen. She knew enough to know something wasn’t right and that she had pushed herself too hard these last few days. If something happens to my son, all because of what I’ve done… I’ll never be able to forgive myself.

And then there was a sharp pain, somewhere in the lower half of her body—she couldn’t be sure where, exactly—and she screamed. She felt the pain overwhelming her. Her vision was growing dim, as if she was disappearing into a very deep and very long tunnel. Her father’s voice, which had previously been so clear to her, was fading away. She heard Tawni’s voice and thought it sounded panicked, but couldn’t be sure.

She felt like someone was sticking their hands deep into her and she sat up, alarmed, and saw that someone actually was. It didn’t make much sense, how could someone be doing that, and how would she still be alive? But unless she was hallucinating… 

And then she heard crying from far, far away. It seemed so loud, so insistent, and Kris couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was. Then the hands were pulling something out of her stomach—she was still in disbelief—and she realized it was a baby.

My baby. The thought cut through the pain, the haze, and she realized that she’d just given birth to her son. Korrin’s son.

“Kris, it’s a healthy baby boy,” her father was saying, and his voice was no longer so far away. Kris wanted to reach out and grab him, but she was too weak. Instead, he handed him to Tawni, who wrapped him up tightly in a towel. “Now, I’m going to get you put back together.”

Kris opened her mouth to tell her father that his bedside manner was seriously lacking, but another fresh wave of pain washed over her and everything started to go black.

She wasn’t sure how long she was half-conscious, or even if she’d been awake the entire time or not, but things were finally starting to come back into focus. Her eyes were closed, but the first thing she noticed was the infernal racket all around her. There was yelling, talking, screaming, and the heavy footfalls of Shifters running back and forth. Occasionally there was the sound of metal on metal.

She realized she could breathe then, and she took a deep breath. Her nostrils were flooded with the sharp smells of blood, bile, and worse. Kris couldn’t remember exactly where she was at first, but after thinking hard, she remembered she was in the medical tent.

She opened her eyes, ever so slowly, but there wasn’t much difference. All she saw was the roof of the tent, almost pitch black. She looked left, her neck creaking painfully, and saw Shifters everywhere in the tent—standing up, laying down, even a few sitting on the dirty floor. A couple of candles lit the tent, but it wasn’t enough to see anyone.

Where’s Tawni? She was here, right? And… Where’s my Dad? He came back! He should have never come back! 

The memories were flooding back.

I gave birth to a baby boy. Where is he? Where’s Korrin?

And the realization hit her like a ton of bricks. She felt breath escape her lungs, almost as if someone had pressed down on her diaphragm and pushed all the air out of her. She panicked for a few moments, sure she was going to suffocate on the table she was lying on, but sweet oxygen finally started flowing.

Korrin. He’s… He’s… Korrin is dead.

From somewhere in the tent, she heard a voice ask, “Is she okay?”

She couldn’t hear the reply.

And then: “That’s him? He’s beautiful. No, I’ll be back in a few minutes. Keep them safe while I’m away.”

Another reply she couldn’t make out. Kris twisted her head to try to see who was talking and who they were talking about.

Are they talking about me? And my son? Maybe I can ask them where my Dad is. I’d even take Tawni right now. Stochelo?

“Okay, I’ll be back. Keep her safe, no matter what. There’s something I have to do first.”

She finally heard the other man ask, “And what is that?”

“Olovina. She’s locked up, but I need to make sure she won’t do any more harm. The rest of her army has been driven off or destroyed, but she’s still a threat.”

“Is that necessary? Can’t it wait?”

“I won’t let them be put in danger any longer. Not after everything they’ve been through today. I have to do this for them—for him.”

“Okay.”

She finally recognized her father as the second man. She wanted to call him or Stochelo over and tell them that she wanted to see Korrin’s body, that she wanted Olovina for herself. She’d never experienced hatred for someone like she felt for Olovina at that moment.

Stochelo’s—who else could it be?—and her father’s conversation died off, and Kris knew she was mostly alone. And she knew what she had to do.

She took a deep breath and sat up, fighting through the pain. Her abdomen felt like it was going to split open, tear in two, but she ignored it as best she could.

In the corner, she saw Tawni sitting clutching her and Korrin’s son. Kris felt an intense instant of jealousy—that should be me! —but she ignored it. There would be all the time in the world for that. To keep her child safe, there was one thing she had to do first.

I have to kill Olovina. It’s not enough that she’s locked up for the rest of her life. She’s dangerous, she killed Korrin, and she deserves to die.

Kris waited until Tawni was looking the other way, and then she slipped off the table and slunk through the medical tent. Within seconds, she’d disappeared into the bustle, thankful that there was so much activity in the tent. If there hadn’t been, Kris would never have been able to move fast enough to slip out.

The night was dark and surprisingly warm. Kris hobbled through the camp. It didn’t look that different from before, except there were fewer Shifters milling about. The smells were different, the sounds strangely subdued, but right then, if she hadn’t known there had been a battle going on only hours ago, she would never have expected it.

We’ve won. But why doesn’t it feel like that?

She grabbed a long pike that was leaning up against a pile of wood. The reach would let her stick Olovina like a pig through the bars. She wasn’t going to make it quick and painless. She was going to draw Olovina’s death out, make her suffer, just like she’d made Korrin suffer. Just like she’s made me suffer.

She reached the jail. It was deserted, though Kris couldn’t figure out why. She looked around in the darkness, expecting to see the remaining guards all around Olovina, but there was no one. But that was okay. Things would be easier.

The door to the jail was open, which was odd. Kris paused outside, fighting off the pain and steeling herself for what she was about to do. She’d never been a cold-blooded killer. Even with Tem, she’d made it quick. It had needed to be done.

And this does too. But I’m going to enjoy this.

She winced as she took another step forward, and then a shape materialized out of the doorway. Kris raised the spear, unsure of who it was, and Stochelo walked forward.

“You’re too late,” he said. “She’s gone.”

Kris immediately raised the pike, aiming it directly at Stochelo’s chest. Too late? Gone? “You bastard! I knew we should never have trusted you!”

She pushed inward. Stochelo had been injured in the fighting, but he was still quick, and he rolled to the side, grabbing the pike and tossing it onto the ground. Kris felt her head swimming, and she knew she was going to fall, but Stochelo grabbed her and held her up.

“Let me go,” she growled. “I’ll kill you for what you’ve done.”

“I didn’t let her go,” he said, slowly pushing her away, still unsure if she was going to attack. “She’s gone. I took care of her. You don’t need that blood on your hands.”

Kris took a few deep breaths, stumbled into the jail, and looked in. It was dark, but she could see enough. Blood had been splashed everywhere, and Olovina’s lifeless corpse was on the ground.

“I wanted it on my hands. For what she did to me. For what she did to Korrin. To our child. I wanted to kill her, and you deprived me of that.”

“You’ll thank me one day. And now, I think it’s time we made our way back to the medical tent. I think I’d like to meet your son.”

Meet? “But you’ve…  You’ve already been there.”

Stochelo looked puzzled and then he shook his head. “I thought this was the priority, as did you, obviously. And I can’t say I blame you.”

“But… I heard you in the medical tent. Saying you needed to come here.”

Stochelo just shook his head again.

And then there was movement from in front of them: a huge Shifter, stumbling toward them.

“Do neither of you listen to doctor’s orders?” Stochelo asked. He faded away into the night, limping as he did so.

Kris turned to find Korrin walking right toward her. He was moving slowly and was bandaged head to foot, looking extremely pained. But he saw Kris and smiled.

“How?” was all she said. “I saw you die. This can’t be real.”  And she realized she was crying.

“I will never leave you or Kaven ever again,” Korrin said, coming close to Kris. He ran one finger along her cheek, wiping away a single tear. He leaned down, grimacing, and pressed his cracked lips against Kris’s. They kissed for a moment. “Now, let’s go meet our son.”

“Kaven? I like that.”

And together, leaning against each other for support, they went to finally see their son, finally safe.

*

*

*

When the sun rose, Kris saw the true extent of the destruction. Limping through the camp, vengeance on her mind the night before, she hadn’t seen how bad the battle truly had been. The bodies had been cleared, though occasionally a splash of blood or a weapon lying on the ground reminded Kris just how deadly this battle had been.

But despite all that, her eyes weren’t on the wreckage, and her mind wasn’t focused on what had happened.

She was focused on Kaven, cuddled tightly in a blanket, wrapped in her arms. She was sitting in an ancient wheelchair—she had no idea where Korrin had found it—and he was behind the chair, pushing her slowly. Her stomach still hurt where she’d ripped two stitches last night, but she hardly cared.

Kaven was perfect. He already had a thick head of hair promising to be the same color as Korrin’s. His eyes were a light, golden hue, much, much lighter than an adult Shifter’s, but enough to remind anyone of his parentage. Where he looked more like Korrin, his personality was more like Kris’s. She could already tell he had the same no-nonsense attitude she had. So far, he had been good, but she knew he would soon be fussy. She couldn’t wait.

“Korrin!” Kris warned, and Korrin turned the wheelchair to avoid a fallen wooden beam.

“Sorry,” he apologized, “I was looking at him.”

Kris couldn’t blame him. Their child was everything she had ever wanted. She hadn’t known it before, but she suddenly felt as if her life was complete.

“You guys should head back and get some rest,” her father said as they passed her parent’s house. He was out front, scrubbing off the grime from the night before, looking exhausted. Her mother, who Kris had had to physically push away from Kaven an hour earlier, was watching with a smile on her face.

“Thank you again, Brent,” Korrin said, pausing in front of their house. “I… I don’t know how any of us would have survived if you hadn’t come back.”

“Anything for family,” he said with a smile. Then his smile faded, and he said, “And you need rest most of all. We didn’t think you would pull through for a while there.”

“I know, I know,” Korrin conceded, and Kris could hear the grin in his voice. “We’re heading back home now.”

Kris had initially been skeptical about leaving the medical tent so soon with Kaven in her arms, but with her father watching over her, the disarray of the medical tent in general, and Korrin’s insistence that Shifters were naturally hardy, she’d given in. Plus, she wanted to be nowhere else but her home, with Korrin and Kaven to keep her company.

Making their way through the camp was slow going. They were stopped more times than Kris could count by Shifters wanting to see their King’s child. Korrin was initially reluctant and protective, but after a seeing few of his people fawning over his child, he gave in.

There were still guards posted outside of their house, but even they too paused to admire Kaven. Kris couldn’t help but smile as Korrin wheeled them inside the house.

It wasn’t much, but it was home. There were still a couple of hastily nailed boards closing the hole in the wall, but other than that, it was perfect. Kaven’s crib, the one Korrin had so lovingly built, was up against the wall nearest to the bed. Korrin wheeled them over to it. Kris carefully lifted herself out of the wheelchair and lay Kaven, who was slumbering peacefully, in the crib.

I know this isn’t going to last. She hadn’t gotten good sleep recently, and she knew she wouldn’t in the coming days. But it’s okay. I want this.

She ran a finger along Kaven’s perfect face then lowered herself to the bed and just watched. Korrin sat down next to her, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her close.

She’d once thought that life was good out here, before the war with the Shifters had threatened to tear her world apart, but it was nothing compared to this. Even aching, worn out, and frazzled, life was good.

“What happens next?” she asked.

“We rebuild. Start our life as parents.”

“Do you think we’re ready?” Kris asked. Truthfully, it didn’t matter anymore. It was too late to prepare for it. Kris felt like she’d hardly had time to breathe, let alone prepare for what it would be like when Kaven was finally born. And now that he was here, she was more than a little unsure if she was ready…

“Of course,” Korrin answered, and his cheerful attitude said nothing less. Kris couldn’t help but smile as she leaned into his warm body, then she turned and kissed him carefully on the cheek. He winced at that, his face a mass of bruises and black eyes. His body was even worse. Kris didn’t think all his scars would ever fade.

“How close were you, Korrin?”

He paused a moment before asking, “How close to what?”

She knew he knew what she meant, but she had to know. It had been in the back of her mind since she’d seen him alive. How close was he to leaving me a widow and Kaven fatherless? Still, she couldn’t ask the question. How close were you to dying?

As the silence progressed, he finally said, “A fraction of an inch. If Olovina’s knife had moved any to the left, she would have hit my spinal cord. If it had gone any deeper, she would have pierced my lung, and even Shifters can’t recover from something like that. Maybe your father could have… Maybe he could have saved me, but I don’t think they would have gotten me to him in time.”

“Don’t ever do that to me again. Please.”

“Kris… You know what life is like out here. How dangerous it is…”

“Korrin,” she cut him off. “Don’t. I know how dangerous it is. I’ve lived it with you. I’ve seen it all and then some. I know life out here is dangerous, but I’m begging you to do everything in your power to never put yourself in that situation ever again. It’s different now.”

Korrin rose off the bed and leaned over Kaven’s crib. “I know, Kris. I know it is. It’s not just us—not just me—and it hasn’t been for a long time. I know that, I knew that, but I still took risks I shouldn’t have. I’ll never do that again. I can’t leave you and Kaven alone. I won’t. Everything I’ve done is to ensure our future. And we have it. Now, we just need to live it, me, you, and Kaven.”

Kris got up from the bed and watched Korrin and Kaven. They were her life. She realized she couldn’t live without either one of them. She would still do anything for either one of them. She just hoped it would never come to that again. She didn’t want to fight, didn’t want to worry, didn’t want to kill.

I just want to live.

There was a knock at the door, and Kris reluctantly pulled herself away from the crib and went to answer it. Of course, it was one of the guards, and standing behind him were her parents.

“Couldn’t stay away?” she asked, grinning. Her mother immediately moved past her to the crib and started crooning over Kaven, making little quiet noises while he slept peacefully. Her father still looked as tired as ever, but he came and sat down at the table.

“Can I get you anything to drink?” Korrin asked.

“Just water, please,” her father answered. He took the mug thankfully and took a few deep, slow swallows.

“Is something wrong?” Kris asked, looking at his face. He looked somber, almost a little sad, and then she realized what was going on.

“We’re going to go back, soon,” he said and gave her a sad smile. “This isn’t our place, though we’ve loved being here more than you could ever know. It’s nice out here, but it’s time for us to go back, to let you live your own lives.”

“Mom, Dad,” Kris said, watching both of them anxiously. “You don’t have to, really.”

“I know we don’t have to,” her mother said. “But we want to. Not for us, but for you.”  She came over and hugged Kris so hard that it hurt, though it didn’t take much doing what with Kris’s battered body. “You’re going to do fine out here. We know it.”

“Don’t you want to stay and keep me safe?” Kris said, tearing up. She wanted them to stay more than almost anything.

“You have Korrin for that, dear,” she said. “We know he’ll keep you safe.”

Tears were running down Kris’s face. She’d been so reluctant to bring her parents back here all those months ago, but now, she almost couldn’t imagine life without them. They’d been there for her throughout everything. Along with Korrin, they had kept her level.

And now, they’re leaving me.

But I won’t be alone.

Kris was blubbering now. Her mother just held her while Korrin and her father watched. Finally, she managed to get her emotions under control and said, “Okay. Okay. When are you leaving?”

Her father shrugged and said, “Once I get some rest and I make sure that those I’m leaving here to practice medicine have things under control. They performed really well, Korrin. I think you’ll be proud of what they’re capable of.”

“Glad to hear that, Brent. But honestly, you don’t have to leave. There’s no ill will toward you—toward humans. Our way of life is changing, and you can be here for it.”

“I appreciate it. We appreciate it. We really do. But our place isn’t here. It’s back in the States, at my hospital, doing what I can there. You do know that they make these things called cell phones, Kris,” he said, looking at her and raising his eyebrows. “I seem to remember trying to call you almost nine months ago and not being able to find you.”

“I know,” she said, another sob wracking her body. “I’m sorry, Dad, Mom, for all I did. For not letting you know where I was and what I was doing. I was just so scared that you would never want to talk to me again after you found out I was pregnant. I couldn’t risk losing you. And I’m so sorry I almost turned you away when you wanted to come here. Please forgive me.”

“We were never mad,” her mother said and gave her another hug.

“We’re going to go get some rest and start packing up,” her father said. Kris watched as Korrin held out a hand, unsure of exactly what to do, but her father grabbed him in a big hug and Korrin returned it. Then her mother did the same, and now she too was tearing up, until both she and Kris were crying again.

“Don’t wake the baby,” her father was saying, watching over the crib. “Come on, Gina, let’s get out of here and let them get some rest.”

“Okay.”

“See you tomorrow,” Kris was telling her parents.

“I’ll talk to someone about arranging passage back to the city,” Korrin said, walking them to the door.

Once there, her parents turned around. “Thank you, Korrin,” her father said. “You’re like a son to us,” her mother said. Then, they said their goodbyes, and Korrin softly shut the door behind them.

He collapsed on the bed, exhaustion finally catching up to him. Kris made her way over to him, and lay down and cuddled up next to him. It felt amazing just to finally lie down, relax, and decompress.

“I can’t believe Kaven didn’t wake up,” Korrin said, breathing a sigh of relief.

“Korrin!” Kris said.

“What?”

“You’re going to jinx us!”

And right on cue, Kaven started crying. Kris closed her eyes, smiled, and got out of bed, ready to take care of her child.

*

*

*

The limp was still there, but Stochelo was managing to keep up with Korrin. Watching carefully, Korrin didn’t think Stochelo would ever be back to his old self, but there was no reason it should matter. The war was over, and by the sound of it, they had little reason to worry anymore.

The new Council chamber—if it could even be called that—was little more than a gigantic, round rug found stashed away for years, a round table, and chairs sitting around it in a clearing in the camp. Tawni had been against the idea, saying there was no privacy, but that didn’t matter anymore either. What the surviving members of the Council had to talk about wasn’t much of a secret.

Korrin and Stochelo were the last to arrive. Only five seats remained. Tawni, of course, was already there, and Korrin couldn’t help but smile when he saw that both Jin and Manfri were seated around the table as well. When they saw him arrive, they both jumped out of their chairs and embraced him in hugs.

“It’s good to see you both,” he told them, his grin taking up his entire face. He’d heard they both had arrived, by coincidence, in the camp last night, but seeing them somehow made it real. He’d thought they were dead, and thinking that hurt him more than he would ever have admitted.

“Sorry we missed out,” Jin was saying. “If I would have known there was a fight brewing, I would have come back sooner,” Manfri said, but Korrin waved them away.

“It’s good you weren’t here. Who knows how things would have gone? It’s over now. That’s the important thing. Let’s hear what you two have to say.”

The twins sat back down, and Korrin and Stochelo pulled up a chair and did the same. Korrin listened thoughtfully at Jin’s and Manfri’s reports. Their human allies were concerned with a brewing war, but now Korrin could let them know that all was well. He also learned that truthfully, the other Kingdoms had been decimated. There were hundreds of survivors, renegades, those who had fled their would-be conquerors.

“But that only leaves our Kingdom,” Korrin said, leaning forward and thinking hard. “It leaves a void of power. More wars could break out. Those with a thirst for power could raise trouble.”

“I think that unlikely,” Stochelo said, leaning back in his chair and stretching his bad leg out. Korrin had expected him to turn tail and run, or to outright betray him in their darkest hour, but Stochelo had remained true to him throughout everything. Korrin knew he could finally trust the man.

Looking around the table, he knew he could trust the others as well. Jin and Manfri would never betray him, and though Tawni was on shaky ground with both him and Kris, he knew she was trustworthy. She’d put her life on the line more times than he could count to save them. She’d even gone out of her way to help Kris give birth, which was something that had surprised even Korrin.

“And why’s that?” Korrin asked.

“Most of them have just survived a war. Those memories are still fresh in their minds. Those who wanted to fight, to truly fight, are probably dead. There’s those who refused to bend the knee, or made raids against the others, but they only did that out of necessity.”

“What if someone rises up? Even worse than before?” Tawni asked. She paused for a second, looking around at those seated around the table, and said, “I know. It’s not probable, but it’s something to think about.”

“That’s true,” Jin said. “What if? What do we do then? Another war?”

Korrin leaned back in his chair. “What’s our strength like?”

“We lost a little less than half of our soldiers,” Stochelo answered. He looked troubled, and Korrin could see why. Half of their men… That was a devastating blow to the Kingdom, not just for their strength, but also for Shifter life.

How many people are sleeping alone in beds now? How many children will have to grow up without parents? How many parents just buried their children?

Thinking about it made Korrin feel sick, especially with Kaven home snuggled up with Kris. If something had happened to either one of them… Korrin couldn’t bare thinking about it. He wouldn’t.

“No more wars.”

“But…” Tawni began.

“We’ll do it some other way. We’ll solve things peacefully, even if it’s not in our nature. I can’t bear to see any more dead because of our decisions. It’s too much. I can’t do it.”

“We could reach out,” Manfri offered. “Bring those who want to into our Kingdom.”

“It didn’t work before,” Tawni cut in. “We had betrayers sneak into our camp. It could have brought the entire Kingdom down.”

“We’ll do it. Like Stochelo said, most of those out there aren’t looking for a fight, and there were few survivors of our battle. Their leader, whoever he was, is dead. Olovina is dead. Tem is dead, as are all the other leaders. There’s no one to lead anyone out there except for us.”

Korrin paused for a moment and let that sink in. He hadn’t even realized he was going to say it. What does that mean for us?

“Are you two up for one more outing?” Korrin asked. “I hate to ask, but we do need to act fast.”

“Absolutely,” Manfri and Jin echoed immediately. “Just tell us what we need to do, Korrin.”

“Go out and find anyone you can. Let them know the threat is over and that the Gitan Kingdom is strong and resolute. Tell them that there’s a place for them here if they want, or if not, they’re free to do as they please. We’ll provide them with safety, and they can always change their minds. Tell them that I’m here for them, and I won’t let another reign of tyranny destroy families again. Tell them… Tell them that it’s safe.”

Korrin leaned forward, putting his elbows on the table and taking a deep breath of the warm air. He could smell Shifters, cook fires, livestock, an honest lifestyle. It was all around him. He wasn’t sure if this place was home, but he felt like it. He had his entire Kingdom laid out before him with Kris and Kaven to keep him company.

Manfri and Jin left almost immediately, leaving Korrin, Tawni, and Stochelo to discuss remaining matters. There wasn’t much to talk about that he hadn’t already heard. The battle had been bad, but they were going to rebuild.

There were only two matters Korrin needed to discuss before the meeting ended.

“There’s a few more things I’d like to talk about before we wrap this up,” he told the other two.

“Should we wait for Manfri and Jin to return before deciding on anything?” Tawni asked.

“No. This doesn’t require their input, or even yours, but I wanted you two to know,” Korrin began. He took a deep breath, thinking carefully. He’d been mulling over the two problems all morning, and truthfully, he’d yet to come to any definitive conclusions. “The first is about what we’re going to do. With the Kingdom. If we are going to keep command of this land, we can’t move around. Not with the other Kingdoms gone. We’ll need to stay put to keep the Kingdom stable.”

Stochelo nodded. “That makes sense.”

“I haven’t decided where we’ll end up, or even if we’ll move from here, but know that if we do decide to move again, it’ll be for the last time.”

“And the other thing?”

Korrin slowly stood up, taking in the other two Shifters. “The Council. I’ve decided that it’s finally time for it to be disbanded.”

There was stunned silence from the other two, and then Stochelo suddenly started laughing. Korrin couldn’t help but smile at the other man.

“That’s good to hear, Korrin,” he said. He got up, carefully, making sure to watch his leg, and then he pushed his chair over onto the carpeted ground. “Finally.”

Stochelo started to move off, but then he said, “But if you ever need any advice…”

“I know where to find you,” Korrin finished. “Thank you for everything, friend.”

Tawni sat in her chair, watching Stochelo disappear through the tents.

“Tawni?”

“So, this is it? The end of the Council?” she asked, looking troubled.

“It is.”

“The Council has been around for hundreds of years,” she began, and Korrin grimaced. He knew where this was going. Tawni always supported the old ways, and he knew that this decision would be no different. It was half of the reason why he’d decided to make the decision himself without any input from the other Council members. “And it’s going to be gone.”

“That’s right.”

“Another change,” she said, staring down at the table. Then she slowly looked up, her golden eyes meeting Korrin’s. “I think this one might be for the better.”

Korrin grinned at her, though Tawni didn’t return it.

“Goodbye, Korrin,” she said, getting up, slowly. “And if you need any help, don’t come looking to me for it.”

Korrin leaned against the table and watched her disappear through the camp until he was completely alone. He knew his mind should have been racing a million miles per minute, but right then, it wasn’t. He was at peace with what he’d done.

Things had been changing ever since Korrin had come into power, and they would continue to do so. He took a deep breath.

Things are going to be okay.

With that, he left the Council table and moved into the camp.

His first stop was at Dukker’s place. He knocked once and leaned in, seeing the old man smiling.

“Everything okay in here, Dukker?”

“Yes, yes, my King.”

“Korrin.”

“Mhmm, Korrin,” the old man said. “Well?”

“She loved it, Dukker, really,” Korrin told the man. “Honestly, I don’t even know how to explain how much she loved it. Thank you, again.”

“Anytime, Korrin,” Dukker said, shaking Korrin’s hand.

With that, Korrin moved deeper into the camp, smiling. He’d never let the old man know just how much Kris had loved the ring, and it was way past time.

“Korrin!”

Korrin raised his hand, grabbing Barsali’s in his own. The man had been injured in the fighting, but looking at him now, you would have never known it. His building had been burned down, but he was working out of a little fenced-in backyard at the back of his house. He’d truly embraced his lifestyle.

“Rock solid, I presume?” he asked.

“Absolutely. Kaven loves it. Well, as much as he can, anyway.”

“And you had no problem putting it together?”

“None whatsoever,” Korrin lied, remembering just how much trouble he’d had putting the crib together. It had seemed so long ago, but how long ago had it been, truly? A week? If that?

“Good,” Barsali said, his eyes twinkling, and they both knew that Korrin was lying. “You do a much better job leading than putting together a crib, I know that much.”

They shared a laugh and talked a little bit, and then it was time for Korrin to head off. He made his way through the camp slowly, though he was dying to get home. He wanted nothing more than to hold Kaven, wrap Kris in his arms, and relax.

But this was his Kingdom, so he took his time making sure that everyone he met was doing as well as they could. He saw some downcast faces, eyes wet with tears, though he saw more smiling faces than not. Things weren’t perfect, and he didn’t know if they ever would be, but they were getting better.

Korrin took his time going home, and soon the sun was descending low on the horizon. The Kingdom was the most important thing to Shifters.

He reached his home, nodded at the guard, and smiled. He opened the door and walked in, smiling at the two most important things in his life.

Life in the Kingdom may not have been perfect, but his was.

*

*

*

Kris woke slowly, sunlight streaming in through a window. She stretched out, feeling for Korrin, but of course he was already gone. He would have been up before the sun came up, ready to take on another day worth of new problems, concerns, and solutions. She would have loved for him to be here, curled up and keeping her warm, but she understood.

He’s the King. And what does that make me? The Queen?

It was an odd thought. She could have never prepared herself for it.

The blankets were thick and heavy against her body, and she rolled over, dreading getting out of bed. Finally, mustering all the courage she could, she flung the blankets off her body. Buffeted by the cold air around her, she shivered when her bare feet touched the freezing stone of the chamber. Kris looked down, saw her slippers, and quickly slipped them onto her feet.

Next, she crossed the chamber and went to the fire, stoking it and adding a couple of thick, round logs. Convinced the fire would take, she then went to the rack and grabbed her robe, pulled it over her shivering body, and went to make breakfast. She left her bedroom, thankful that Korrin had started a fire in the main room before leaving. She added more logs to this one too.

Breakfast was quick and easy. It wasn’t much—a few eggs, a hunk of cheese, some tea—but it was better than nothing. She served it onto the plates, put them on the table, and crossed the chamber. The room was warming up now, filling with heat from the roaring fire.

The door to the next chamber had been closed tightly, and Kris still couldn’t understand why, but she didn’t question it. She knocked lightly, waited for the, “Good morning,” and entered the room. It was even colder than her chamber had been, but then, she had to remember that she was more susceptible to the cold than Shifters.

“Good morning, Kaven,” she told her son. He was sitting up in his small bed, covers at his waist, seemingly unaffected by the winter air. “How’d you sleep?”

“Good, Mom,” he told her. “Is Dad home?”

“He’s working, honey,” Kris said, crossing the chamber and sitting down next to him. He was looking more and more like his father every day. From the increasingly deepening golden eyes to the thick brown hair covering his head, he was Korrin’s son through and through. But he was also smart, no nonsense, and intent, just like Kris herself. “Are you hungry?”

He nodded his head vigorously. Kaven was like a bottomless pit. It was a task in and of itself just to keep him fed. But Korrin had told her that was normal. It didn’t seem normal to Kris, but then again, she wasn’t a Shifter.

Together, they got out of bed and went to eat breakfast. Kaven immediately dug in, scarfing down all the food Kris had laid out for him and then even some of her own. She sat back, watching her son intently, always trying to learn something new about him.

After he had finished, Kris picked up the plates and set them to the side. “Are you ready to go see your friends?” she asked.

Kaven told her he was, and she helped him get dressed, pulling a big coat onto him. The castle was cold this time of year, and there was no need for him to suffer in it, whether he would admit it or not. He took her hand in his own, and together they left their chamber.

The castle was different, now. The first time Kris had come here, she had been running for her life. She’d almost died here. It’s where she and Korrin had spent their first real night together, however bad it may have been. There was history here for Korrin, as well, but he didn’t seem to dwell on it.

It had taken a lot of work to get the castle habitable, but it was. Nearly two hundred Shifters lived in it, one way or another. Workers, whom Korrin paid a good wage, kept the place clean and the fires going, and did everything else that needed doing. There were chefs who lived down by the kitchens where Kris and Korrin had escaped so many years before.

There was even a sort of daycare on one of the upper levels, a gigantic room furnished with toys, posters, and play mats. Kris brought Kaven here for a few hours every day, both to give herself some breathing room and to let him enjoy time with his friends.

The walk was slow, but it was good. She passed guards, people working, and even a few of the castle inhabitants just out for a stroll. She glanced out one of the massive windows at the sprawling village down below, columns of smoke rising up from fires as Shifters, little more than dots, made their way through their day.

Finally, Kris turned a corner, Kaven itching to run away from her and get to their destination, and she saw Tawni.

“Morning,” Kris told her, mustering her best smile.

“Morning,” Tawni repeated because she knew she had to.

“Good morning!” Kaven said, but he wasn’t talking to Tawni. Instead, he was talking to Tawni’s daughter, Esma, who was hiding behind Tawni’s legs, one eye peeking out.

“Tell Kaven good morning,” Tawni warned.

“Good morning, Kaven,” Esma said, more than a little shyly. Together, the two children ran off into the room, Kaven screaming and laughing as he saw his other friends. Esma followed a bit more reservedly.

“She’s getting better, opening up more,” Kris observed.

“Yeah, she is,” Tawni said, watching her daughter disappear into the room.

They stood awkwardly for a few moments until Kris said, “It was good seeing you.”  Tawni grunted, though Kris knew it wasn’t in agreement. Tawni disappeared down the hallway, leaving Kris alone. Kris took a few deep breaths and then made her way toward the King’s chamber.

Kris and Tawni’s relationship had never truly recovered from the events of years past. Tawni had come through for her and Korrin, even helping Kris give birth, but she had done that out of necessity, not care. Kris had hoped that once the threat had passed, their relationship would improve, but it never did.

Kris sighed. Tawni had been a good friend once, but that time was long past, and Kris had accepted it the best she could. She had made plenty of other friends in her years in the Kingdom, but it wasn’t the same. Tawni had been her first friend out here besides Korrin, and she could never get her back.

But she had Korrin, and she had Kaven, and she had a life here. And that was enough.

Kris passed the guards in the King’s chamber, nodding and talking for a few moments as she passed. They were good men and had been with Korrin for years. She’d grown to like them almost immediately, and her affection for them had continued to grow. Kris was glad that Korrin had people around him he could truly trust.

Korrin was seated on the King’s throne, something he absolutely hated, but he did it because he knew it was what was expected of him. Kris hung back in the back of the room as Korrin talked to a few people. She was too far away to hear what was going on, and she was glad of it. She didn’t want to get involved in any of Korrin’s politics unless he asked. Korrin was always bringing her problems or questions, looking for answers, and Kris helped as best she could. She loved that he trusted her judgment enough to come to her, even if it felt overwhelming at times.

Korrin’s throne was placed at the far side of the chamber, four round pillars of stone on either side of the chamber leading up to it. A red rug ran the entire length of the chamber, and as Kris watched, the two Shifters Korrin had been talking to nodded and dropped to a knee. Korrin immediately got out of the chair, pulled them up, and shook their hands. Then she watched as they made their way slowly down the chamber, passing Kris at the door with a smile.

Finally, Kris made her way down the entire length of the King’s chambers. Either side of the chamber housed massive windows, letting the low winter sunlight stream in through them, lighting the chamber naturally. Korrin smiled, still standing, as Kris walked down the middle of the room.

“And what can I do for a subject as beautiful as yourself?” he asked when she was within earshot.

Unable to suppress a grin, Kris said, “Oh, My King, I have troubles unending.”

“And what are they, my loyal subject?”

Kris had reached Korrin by then, and they were standing inches apart. “My husband, you see, he’s too focused on his work. He’s always leaving before the sun is up, and some nights he doesn’t get home until the sun is far gone. How do I get him to stay home? It’s time for him to do his fair share of cleaning, after all.”

There was always some variation of this, some teasing, that neither could resist. Korrin opened his mouth to reply, couldn’t think of just what to say, and then they both busted up laughing. It was true Korrin was often busy, but Kris didn’t hold it against him.

He took her hand in his own, led her to the King’s chair, sat down, and then pulled her on top of him.

“Once the winter passes, things will slow down. They always do. The Gladwin’s grain stores were ruined when their granary collapsed last night.”

“And what did you tell them?”

“They can have some of the Kingdom’s grain. Enough to see them through the winter, then I’ll have Barsali and his workers help create them a new granary.”

“Is that going to cut your grain stores short?”

“I’ll need to talk to Stochelo, but it shouldn’t,” Korrin said. “Not too much, anyway.”

Kris couldn’t help but smile. Korrin was the kind of ruler that would do everything in his power to help those in need, and she didn’t see how he always managed to do such a good job. The Kingdom had grown in numbers after the war years ago. Most of the refugee Shifters, or those who had fought back against the other Clan, had eventually joined up with Korrin’s Kingdom. The Kingdom was no longer just a small camp with a few outposts. Now, it was a massive village at the base of the castle, plus other small settlements all across the wilds. Both Jin and Manfri helped rule these small settlements, trading with each other and humans alike.

And somehow, Korrin kept it all under control, and Kris did her best to help him.

“How’s Kaven today?”

“He’s eating more and more. He even ate some of my breakfast.”

“That’s my boy,” Korrin said, a grin on his face. “And how’s Kris today?”

“I saw Tawni, dropping her daughter off.”

“And?” he asked, and when Kris didn’t say anything, he continued, “Still no better than before?”  Kris shook her head, and Korrin shrugged. “She made her own choices in life. There’s nothing you or I can do to stop that. If she wants nothing to do with helping rule the Kingdom, can you blame her? It’s not an easy life.”

“You can say that again,” Kris said. “Do you know how anyone puts up with the guy they call the King around here?”

Korrin’s hands found her stomach, and then he was tickling her, and they were both laughing. Kris leaned back in Korrin’s lap until she was supported only by one of his strong arms. He pulled her up, ever so slowly, and pressed his lips against her own.

Like always, Kris couldn’t help but lose herself in those lips. They were so tender, just like the man they belonged to, though one would never have guessed it. Kris and Korrin kissed for minutes, uncaring about Tawni or the stresses of running a Kingdom or anything else.

It was just her and Korrin.

She felt his hand, strangely warm, pulling up her shirt and resting on her stomach.

“And how is she doing?”

Kris smiled, and felt their daughter kick against Korrin’s hand. In only a few short months, Kaven would have a baby sister.

“Good,” Kris whispered, smiling. “Perfect. Everything is perfect.”

*

*

*

Kris was already in bed by the time that Korrin opened the door and came into their bedroom. She put down the book she was reading—a romance novel by her favorite author, brought in from the city weeks ago, courtesy of Manfri—and smiled up at Korrin.

“Kaven asleep?” he asked, taking off his coat and hanging it up on the rack.

“He went to bed about an hour ago,” Kris told him.

“Weird, because I could have sworn I heard him in the room reading to himself,” Korrin said, with a sly grin.

“I told him lights out! He gets it from you, you know,” Kris found herself saying, getting out of bed to go tell Kaven to put away his book, blow out the candle, and go to bed.

“Let him read,” Korrin said, intercepting her and easily lifting her into the air, carrying her back to bed. She wanted to retaliate, but there was no way she could say no while in Korrin’s arms. “Reading is good. Let him enjoy his late nights with a good book.”

“But…” Kris managed as Korrin finally lowered her back into bed.

“What would you have done if your parents took away your books while you were trying to read?”

“Fine.”  Korrin had a point. He often did, though she didn’t like to admit it. “Long day?”

“Yeah,” Korrin said. He sat down on the foot of the bed and started taking off his clothes, starting with his boots, then his socks, and then he was pulling off his shirt. “It wasn’t hard, though. Just long.”

“Here, let me,” Kris said, crawling across the bed and lifting the shirt over his head. She set it next to her and then started to massage his back. Korrin let out a low moan of pleasure as her hands moved from his back to his shoulders then back down again, rubbing and pushing in the right places.

“That feels amazing,” he whispered. Kris massaged him for a few more minutes, then his hand came up and grabbed her own while she was massaging his shoulders again. He grabbed it tightly, then turned, and moved toward her. His lips found her own, kissing slowly. Kris felt his tongue press against her lips, sliding between them and pressing against her own.

Korrin’s firm hands moved over her body, and then he was pushing her down onto their soft bed. Kris let herself fall backward as he leaned over her, his lips on her neck. She felt his fingers pull her nightgown to the side, kissing her bared shoulder. His lips were moving over her bare skin. Korrin’s lips finally pulled away from her, leaving her breathless.

But instead of coming back up to kiss her, he moved downward, between her legs. His lips started kissing on her big toe, then moved up to her shin, her knee, and finally her thigh. He kissed the inside of one thigh ever so lightly, then he repeated the process with the other. Kris found herself hot with anticipation. She grabbed one of their pillows and squeezed as his lips moved back to the inside of her thigh.

She wasn’t wearing anything underneath her gown, so when Korrin pulled it up, he was greeted by nothing but her wetness. Kris was so turned on that it almost hurt, and she squirmed in delight as one of Korrin’s fingers brushed over her slit ever so carefully. She wanted to grab his hand, push it between her legs, but she just squeezed the pillow even tighter than before as his lips moved closer and closer to the inside of her legs.

Finally, Kris felt his tongue slide against her wetness, though it was only for the briefest of moments, so quick that Kris hardly knew it had happened. She said, “Korrin, please…”  She looked down at him and saw he was grinning: he knew he was teasing her, drawing it out, and he was enjoying it. She opened her mouth to beg one more time, but that train of thought cut off as she felt his tongue slide into her.

Kris immediately arched her back, grabbing the pillow tightly and putting it over her face to muffle a cry of pleasure as his tongue pushed deeper and deeper into her. His lips kissed wetly, and then she felt his tongue sliding out, pushing against her clit, and she let out another cry. Korrin’s lips and tongue kept moving all over her, kissing, sucking, and licking. He would dance over her clit one second, then kiss the inside of her thighs, and then his tongue would dive deep into her. Every second was pure, undeniable bliss.

Kris’s moans were becoming closer together—and were much louder, though the pillow did much to muffle them—the more Korrin worked her. He was hitting all the right places at exactly the right time, listening to her and seeing just how she was moving her body in response to each little kiss.

Deep within her, growing between her legs, Kris felt a small pinpoint of heat. She knew she was going to cum soon, and second by second, her orgasm was rapidly approaching. She tried thinking of anything else, tried to push it away, to hold out against it for as long as she could, but she could think of nothing but Korrin, her love for him, and just how great everything felt. There was nothing she could do, so she resigned herself to letting it wash over her.

She could feel her orgasm building, growing to a crescendo, building up to a massive peak, and finally, when it rose to a point she could no longer fight back, she wrapped her thighs tightly around Korrin’s head and let it explode throughout her body. She screamed into the pillow, moaning, feeling her orgasm wrack her body with pleasure. She felt herself going weak. Her thighs loosened and the pillow almost fell away, but Korrin never stopped pressing his lips and tongue against her clit until she had completely finished cumming, which seemed to have taken minutes.

Exhausted, flushed, and breathing heavily, Kris tossed the pillow onto the other side of the bed. Her entire body was hot and red, and her nipples were hard, poking through the fabric of her nightgown. What Korrin had done was completely amazing.

“How was it?” he asked from down below.

“You know how it was. Wonderful,” Kris said, still breathing heavily. She lifted herself up on her elbows and watched as Korrin climbed out of bed, stripped off his pants, and then climbed back in, clad only in his underwear. He climbed up right next to her. Kris shuddered at feeling his hot body pressing up against her own. Between her own flushed body and his, they were doing their best to fight off the chill in the castle.

His hot body wasn’t all she felt next to her. Between his legs, underneath the fabric of his underwear, she could feel his stiffness pressing against her. Though she was still worn and exhausted from only moments before, Kris found herself sliding down the bed, peeling off his underwear as she did so.

Korrin was laid out completely naked next to her, and she pushed him over, rolling him onto his back. Kris took the bottom of his shaft in one of her hands. Barely able to wrap her hand entirely around it, she angled it up toward her mouth. She extended her tongue and slid it from the base of his shaft up to the head and then back down, as slowly as she could manage.

“Okay… I’m… sorry,” he breathed. He hadn’t been expecting Kris to tease him in the same way he’d just done to her, but that was enough for her. She’d taught him his lesson for the night. She opened her mouth wide, her lips stretched, and put him into her mouth. The head of his penis slipped into her mouth, sliding against her wet tongue and moving toward the back of her throat. She took him into her mouth as much as she could, then she slid him back out just as slowly as she had put him in.

She continued this process, a bit faster the next time, and when he was completely out of her mouth, she ran her hand up and down his shaft, along his head, and then put it back into her mouth. Kris couldn’t help but mix it up; Korrin never knew what was coming next. His eyes were closed, one hand gripping the bed and the other sliding through her hair, and Kris knew if she continued much longer, he would cum.

And I don’t want that. Not yet, anyway.

Kris slid him out of her mouth one last time and then lifted herself up and crawled up on top of him. She kissed him on the lips and lowered her body down over his. With one hand, Kris grabbed his cock and angled it up toward her body. And then slowly, she lowered herself onto him.

The feeling was the best she’d ever experienced in her life, even if she had felt it countless times before. The head of his cock was spreading her wide, and she gasped as he pushed into her wetness. There was resistance from her tightness for a few moments, an unsureness that he wouldn’t fit inside her this time, but then she lowered herself and he entered her.

Both Kris and Korrin found themselves gasping as he sank deeper and deeper into her until his entire length was buried inside of her warmth. Korrin’s hands wandered up her body, grabbing her breasts through her nightgown, squeezing and playing with her nipples. Ever so slowly, she lifted herself back up, then pushed back down once he was almost entirely out of her.

They settled into a rhythm: Kris would lift herself up, he would push into her, and they would repeat the process, grinding against each other. She was unsure how much time was passing, but it simultaneously felt endless and like it would never last long enough.

Korrin’s hands were on her chest, and then suddenly, he was grabbing the neckline of her nightgown. With one swift movement, he ripped it straight down the middle, tossing it away in a fit of passion. Kris gasped. She’d never seen him do anything like that before, but she found it turned her on. His lips immediately found her breasts, sucking every inch of them, focusing on her nipples and pulling them into his mouth.

Kris found herself moaning again. With every stroke, Korrin’s cock brushed against her clit, and it was becoming too much to bear. In response, she started grinding against his body even more than before, and then he, too, was moaning, his lips still wrapped around one of her hard nipples.

Her second orgasm came much quicker than the first, and she didn’t even consider letting this one linger. She said, “I’m… going… to… cum…” and finally, it washed over her. She felt her entire body go hot again, felt herself tightening around Korrin’s thickness inside of her, felt herself gushing and cumming, and loving everything about Korrin.

And then he was cumming. She could tell by his breathing, the way he was moving his body, his hands on her hips holding her just where he wanted. She could feel his cock jumping inside of her, load after load of his hot seed being shot deep inside of her. Their orgasms intertwined and seemed to last minutes, and eventually, exhausted again, Kris pulled herself off of Korrin. She could feel his seed leaking out of her, could see their wetness covering him, sweat heavy on both of their bodies.

Korrin’s thick arm grabbed her, pulling her close, both silent except for their heavy breathing.

There was no need for words. Together, they were perfect.

*

*

*

Kris and Korrin lay there for nearly an hour, his fingers stroking her hair. Kris was tired, but she didn’t want the moment to end. She kissed his neck lightly, nuzzling into his warmth.

“Who would have that that all those years ago, on our first night in this castle together, this is where we’d end up?” Korrin asked. Kris smiled. He could have thought of any of the other things that had happened in this castle. The terrible things. His father’s death. His brother’s death. His own cousin betraying him. Us fleeing for our lives…

But instead, he focuses on the good.

Because he is good.

“This is a bit nicer,” Kris said. “And a little less scary.”

“But less fun,” Korrin said, and she knew he was grinning.

“I won’t agree to that. I guess our definitions of fun are just a little bit different.”

He chuckled then and slowly pulled away from Kris. “I’m going to get a glass of water,” he said, getting out from under the covers and walking to the nightstand to grab some clothes. “Do you want one?”

“Please,” Kris said. She hadn’t realized just how parched she was from their fun earlier. As he was pouring them glasses of water from a metal pitcher, she crossed the room and pulled on another nightgown. “You owe me a new nightgown, you know.”

“Gladly,” he told her, handing her the cup of water as they climbed back into bed.

“You’re right, though. Who would have thought that this was where we would end up? Not just in the castle, I mean. But here. Us. With Kaven and another on the way. You know, when I first found out I was pregnant, I thought my life was over.”

“And I bet you thought it was over again when you thought I was kidnapping you.”

Kris smiled in a rueful way. It wasn’t a good memory, exactly. She still remembered the terror she had felt, tied up in the back of Korrin’s van. But it had brought them together, and that counted for something. She set the glass down on the nightstand.

“I thought I was going to die that night—more than once. And I thought I was going to die many times after that. It’s been a wild ride.”

“But it’s over now,” Korrin said, sitting down his own glass and pulling her close again. “I won’t let anything like that happen ever again. Remember me telling you that? After the war?”  She nodded. “And I wasn’t lying, was I?”

“No,” she said, smiling. “You were right. You are always right.”

“I know,” Korrin laughed. Kris tried to break free to try to playfully attack him, but he wouldn’t let her go. “I’m always right.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” she said, finally managing to break free and turn around, pushing him onto the bed. She pressed her lips against his. “But sometimes you are.”

Kris could hardly remember everything they’d been through. They’d only been together for around five years, if that, but it seemed like they had lived a lifetime together—a lifetime of danger, threats, and too much action for Kris’s liking.

But it was okay. It was all okay. It had led Kris to Korrin, and they’d triumphed over everything that had been thrown at them. Kris didn’t know if the future would be like that or not, but she found that she didn’t care. She wasn’t worried.

She wasn’t the same woman who had slept with Korrin all those years ago while lost in college. She wasn’t the same woman who had been afraid of disappointing her parents. Of failing. She wasn’t the same woman at all.

Living here with Korrin was the best thing that had ever happened to her. She was stronger than she’d ever been, more resourceful, and smarter.

And most importantly, she had a family now.

She smiled to herself.

“I love you, Korrin,” she whispered. “I know I tell you every day, but I truly do. More than anything else in this world. You made me a better person, and I’m lucky to have met you.”

“Kris…”

“I just want you to know that.”

“I do. I know, Kris. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

She nuzzled up against him again, happy to be in his arms, every other worry gone. All that mattered was Korrin and Kaven.

At that moment, there was a knock at the door. Without waiting for a reply, the door cracked open, and Kaven stood in the doorway, peering in looking sheepish.

“I had a nightmare. I couldn’t sleep. Can I sleep in here tonight?”

“Come on in,” Kris said. Korrin crossed the room, climbed into bed, and curled up between Kris and Korrin.

“You all right, bud?” Korrin asked.

“Just scared.”

“It’s okay to be scared,” Korrin said, lowering himself so he could look into Kaven’s eyes. “I’m scared all the time.”

“You are? But you’re the King, Dad. You don’t have anything to be scared of.”

“I know, but I still get scared. Just know that it’s okay if you’re afraid. All you need to do is remember that everything will be okay, and then you come and talk to me or your mom, okay?”

“Okay,” he said. Korrin wrapped his arm around Kaven, holding him tight. They pulled the covers up, all three of them snuggling together.

It felt right. It felt perfect. Kris knew she wouldn’t trade these moments for anything else in the world.

“When am I going to be a big brother?”

“In a few months,” Kris answered, laughing. He’d been pestering her about it since the day they had told him the big news.

“That’s too far away.”

“I know,” Korrin said. “But we have to be patient. It’ll be worth the wait.”

“If you say so, Dad,” Kaven said, and then he yawned. Kris could tell that he was getting tired now. Sleep wouldn’t be far off. And then she yawned, too.

She glanced over at Korrin, who was looking at her over the top of Kaven’s head, and he was smiling. She smiled too. Kaven started to nod off between them.

“I love you, Mom. I love you, Dad,” he said.

“We love you, too,” they echoed together, looking down at him.

“I love you, Korrin Gitan,” Kris told him. “And I’m so glad I met you.”

“I am too. You and Kaven are the best things that ever happened to me. You’re the most important parts of my life,” he said, looking deep into her eyes. “I love you, Kris Gitan.”

Kris smiled. She still wasn’t completely used to that, but she loved the way it sounded.

Kris Gitan. Married to Korrin Gitan, leader of the Shifter Kingdom. Who would have thought my life would have ended up this way?

Together with Kaven lodged between them, Kris took Korrin’s hand, and they fell asleep.

THE END