Chapter 19

Anna

 

I walked slowly down the hall, still trying to think of a game plan. ‘Hey Austin, can you find a boat for me to ride into the middle of a hurricane like an idiot?’ was probably not the opener that I wanted to go with. I wasn’t even sure that was a good plan to begin with; there were too many unknown factors. How close would I have to get to the hurricane? The storm would have an effect on the ocean waves for miles. Would I even be able to get close enough by boat? The more I thought about it, the stupider my plan sounded. Even if I got close, what if I couldn’t do anything?

I trailed my hand over the railing as I made my way down the stairs. Maybe Austin and I could brainstorm together. I felt a little twinge of anger at my father. Maybe if he hadn’t hidden from me all those years, I might have a better grip on fae magic. Or maybe if he didn’t have so many enemies, I wouldn’t have to worry about protecting my pack from them. Where was Froston when I needed him? Talen had confessed to me that he didn’t have a way to contact my father, but that Froston had promised to check in ‘regularly.’ I wasn’t going to plan on having help from him anytime soon.

The house was quiet, but I could sense a good number of our pack mates still on the property. They had probably all gone out for a pack run. I perked up at the thought. There was no reason why I couldn’t join them now. The twins had been sent out on assignment and James was with Trevor’s team, but Austin and Cody were probably out with the pack.

I reached out with our pack bond for Cody first, since Austin was probably leading the excursion. I got a sense of joy from him. “Come out with us, I’ll come back to the house for you,” he told me with through the bond.

There was more bounce in my step as I made my way out to the patio and excitement rose inside of me. I loved the freedom of shifting into my wolf form and just running. Having a pack to run with just made the experience that much better. All our emotions were heightened by sharing when we were connected with pack bond in wolf form.

I had just slipped off my shoes when Cody connected with me again. “Anna, get back in the house,” he sent urgently.

I reflexively took a couple steps back, but then stopped myself. “Whatever it is, I can help.”

“Drake.” I felt his hatred reverberate through his words.

My eyes narrowed and I put my shoes back on. Our barrier hadn’t sounded an alarm to let us know that there was someone here that meant us harm. But that didn’t mean the prince was here with good intentions, just that he knew how to get past the magic in place.

There was no way that I was going to leave my pack to deal with Drake alone. I was the only one strong enough to stand up to him. I started running to where I could sense the growing fury of my pack as I worried about what he wanted. I didn’t believe that it was a coincidence that he would show up here when there was a potential fae hurricane headed for us.

The cool air blew past me as I ran through the forest, dodging bushes and leaping over felled logs. It was nowhere near as fun while I was in my human form, but I needed my human form to talk to Drake. I certainly didn’t want to shift back into a naked human in front of him.

I slowed as I heard the growl of wolves getting closer and threw a barrier around myself that should protect me from any magic he threw in my direction. I wasn’t stupid enough to think that I could take him on in an all-out magical battle; he was just as familiar with my magic as I was. I could feel Drake’s magic pulsing against my awareness before I saw him. He was casually walking down the beach in my direction while my pack dogged his footsteps, snarling and growling.

“Anna, stay back,” Austin cautioned me.

“Austin, I need you to trust me to be the magic against magic right now,” I responded. “You know I’m the best person to manage him.”

Austin reluctantly agreed, but I could tell that it was almost painful for him. He wanted to tear into Drake for what he had done to Cody and me while we were in the fae world.

“Anna,” Drake said with a nonchalant wave as if we had just randomly come across each other on a busy street instead of late at night on a deserted beach owned by a pack of wolves. “It’s a pleasure to see you again.”

I stopped a few feet away from him as Austin and Cody came to stand at my side. “Drake, what brings you to Seaside?” I asked suspiciously.

“Just stopping by to see how you’re settling in,” he said with a grin, holding out his hands for mine.

Cody growled at him, his entire body vibrating against mine. I stroked the soft hair on the top of Cody’s head to calm him, and Drake dropped his hands without comment.

Moonlight shone down on us and glimmered off the waves of the black ocean. “I wish you would have called first,” I told him with a smile. “I would have prepared better for your visit.”

The Winter Prince shrugged. “Take a walk with me? I hear a stroll on the beach is romantic.”

I sighed. “I thought we agreed there would be no romance between us.”

“It’s a woman’s prerogative to change her mind,” he said flippantly. “You might like what I have to offer you.” He held out his arm for me to take but I ignored it.

“Let’s walk,” I told him, keeping one hand on Cody’s thick coat. “But no touching.”

Drake chuckled. “Very well. I don’t suppose we could get some privacy?”

I raised an eyebrow at him in response. Was he serious right now?

“I see you still have the giant wolf by your side,” Drake said with annoyance tinging his voice. “I had hoped you would have tired of him by now. And the golden one? That’s your pack master?” he mocked me. “You shouldn’t call any wolf your master.”

“Was there something you wanted?” I asked sweetly. “Because I was hoping to go to bed early tonight.”

Drake laughed. “My sweet Anna, I’ve missed you.” His face turned serious. “I had received word from a source in Summer that the king has placed a target on you. Are you aware that he is sending an attack your way to drive you off your protected lands?”

I blinked in surprise. That was the cause of the hurricane? The Summer King needed me to leave my protective barriers so he could attack? “I’d just learned of it,” I told Drake confidently. “I’m in the process of deciding how I’m going to handle it.”

He looked at me in amusement. “Unless you have a team of powerful fae hiding somewhere on your lands, you won’t be able to stop it. Rumor has it that some of the most powerful fae in the Summer Court are in the eye of the hurricane, ready to gain favor with the king by bringing you to him.”

I paled. I had gotten lucky with the Winter King, but the Summer fae would be prepared for any tricks I might try to pull. Nausea rose in my stomach at the thought of a group of powerful fae attacking my pack. There was no way that I could win against them.

“What are you proposing?” I asked Drake limply. The only reason that he would come here to warn me about a coming attack would be because he wanted to make a deal to benefit himself.

“Don’t look so sad, Anna,” Drake crooned. “I’m here to help you.” Delight gleamed in his eyes and I could tell that he was having fun with this.

“And your price?” I asked gloomily.

“Come back to Winter and be my queen.”

I couldn’t stop the snort that came out of me. “No. What’s option two?”

Cody wasn’t the only one growling now, Austin looked like he wanted to rip Drake’s throat out. I sent them both reassuring thoughts. There was no way I was going to let Drake blackmail me into anything that I didn’t want to do. Fae didn’t lie, but I didn’t miss that Drake had said ‘a source told him’ and ‘rumor has it.’ He never directly stated facts.

Drake chuckled. “I didn’t think it would be that easy but I had to try. My brothers and I are meeting for a discussion in a couple of days, I would simply need you to stand by my side and smile. You won’t even have to speak.”

“None of you have become king yet?”

Drake scowled. “No, it turns out that we are more evenly matched than I thought.”

“And you need me?” I asked incredulously. “Surely, my father would have more influence than a half breed like me.”

“Oh, Anna,” Drake smiled like he knew a secret that I didn’t. “You’re too modest. Perhaps I want you there to blind my brothers with your beauty.”

“Perhaps you have darker ulterior motives,” I countered. “If I agree to attend the meeting-” Austin and Cody almost overwhelmed me with a mental barrage of denial and pleas. I shook my head and blocked them out as Cody stalked toward Drake.

Drake held up his hand. “I’ve tolerated your wolves’ insolence so far,” he said darkly. “But if you don’t call him back I will be forced to act.” A chill ran down my spine as I felt Drake’s death magic unfurl from him and head in Cody’s direction. I hurriedly stepped in between them and locked Drake and myself in a protective barrier.

Drake smiled in triumph. “I knew you were waiting to get me alone,” he said seductively. He flicked his hand, and I saw his magic merge with mine in the barrier. “Just a minor modification to make it soundproof,” he told me airily.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Drake, I appreciate your offer of help, but I don’t want to play games. Let’s get this deal done.” I could see the pack getting more agitated as they milled around the bubble we were inside. It was going to drive my guys nuts that they couldn’t hear what we were saying, but at least they could see that I was safe.

“But games are so much fun,” he purred.

I glared at him until a thought sparked and then I smiled. “If games are so fun, let’s play stop the hurricane. I’m sure you’re not going to let the Summer fae get their hands on a female you’ve expressed interest in.”

“On my future queen? Absolutely not.” Drake paused to give me a brilliant grin. “But a woman who spurned my advances on numerous occasions, killed my father, and then fled to the human world?” He shrugged. “Do you really want to gamble when the lives of your entire pack are on the line?”

I huffed out a frustrated breath. I should have known better than to think I could get the upper hand on a fae prince. He had been perfecting his manipulation for centuries. “I’ll attend the event with your brothers, and you’ll stand against the Summer fae to put a stop to the hurricane?”

Drake smiled and held out his hand.

His smile made me nervous, so I added an addendum. “Put a stop to the hurricane before it comes to land.”

Drake tilted his head. “You’re learning,” he murmured. “Come back with me now. I’ll teach you what we need to do to stop the hurricane before the meeting. With the time difference, we will have only been away from your world for four or five hours. Surely your wolves can survive that long without you?”

“But I would have to survive without them for a few days,” I pointed out. “And they need me here.”

Drake sighed. “We can take the giant wolf with us, he made quite the impression last time.”

“His name is Cody,” I said pointedly. “And I need to confer with my pack.” I dropped my barrier, and Drake let his magic dissipate.

Austin shifted to his human form and grabbed me when I came in range. “Anna-”

“I know,” I interrupted. “But hear me out. Even if I could get close enough to the hurricane to sense the magic fueling it, I’m not sure I could stop it.”

“So we evacuate,” he said calmly. “We can replace and rebuild anything we lose here.” His voice gentled. “But we can’t replace you.”

“You won’t need to,” I said confidently. “And we are talking about a category four hurricane being driven by a bunch of crazy fae. Hurricane Sandy took how many lives? There’s no guarantee that we can save all the humans in the path of the hurricane. Why should they lose their lives and their property for a fight they know nothing about? If I have a chance to stop this I have to try.”

“I give you my word that I’ll give you the full assistance of my allies in stopping the hurricane and I will return Anna to you safely,” Drake called from behind me. “I have no interest in harming her.”

“I’ll be back in four hours,” I told Austin. “With reinforcements to stop the hurricane.” I turned to Drake. “And I will require time with one of your midwives.”

His eyes widened in surprise before shooting down to my belly, which was well covered in a hoodie. I rolled my eyes. “Not for me personally, but I need a consultation.” Airmed hadn’t been interested in teaching me how to manage a fae pregnancy, but maybe I would have more luck with a midwife. I finally had my first pregnant shifter patient and I needed all the help I could get. I was hoping to blend what I knew about human medicine with what I could learn about fae magic. Wolves were a combination of the two, so I hoped that was what I needed.

“Anna, I still don’t like this,” Austin sent to me. I didn’t want the rest of the pack to hear us arguing, so I continued to use the pack bond with him.

“I don’t either,” I admitted. “I don’t like being targeted by the Summer fae, and I don’t like being blackmailed into helping Drake.” I let out a breath of frustration. “But I don’t know how to convince them to leave me alone.”

“You won’t stand alone against them,” Austin said as he gently brushed my hair out of my face.

“But maybe I should,” I said sadly. “No one in the pack asked to go to battle against the fae. The only reason why the pack is being targeted is because of me. If I wasn’t here…”

“I like to think it was fate.” I could feel the determination in Austin’s words. “You were meant to be here, with us, and I won’t give you up. If you walk away, I will follow you. Wherever you go, I will come after you.”

Tears filled my eyes and threatened to spill onto my cheeks. I hid my face against Austin’s chest so no one else could see while I reigned in my emotions.

“Time is slipping through our fingers,” Drake called out. “We’ve already lost half a day in my world.”

“Do you trust me?” I whispered to Austin.

I saw the struggle in his eyes.

“Trust that I will come back to you,” I told him. “James has something that will help, and Drake is willing to let me take Cody.” I glanced down at Cody. “If he’s willing.”

“Of course.” Cody sounded almost insulted that I would ask.

“I can-” Austin started.

“The pack needs you,” I said quietly.

Austin lowered his head and looked at me with blazing eyes. “I will never stop you from doing what you think is right. I respect you as my equal. And I’m not the type of male who would ever forbid his female from standing in battle beside him. I’ll never lock you up or trap you, but if you aren’t back in four hours I will follow you, I will find a way and I will come for you.”

I nodded. “I swear I’ll be back.”

“James is going to shit a brick,” Cody pointed out.

“That’s one reason why I need Austin here,” I answered. “As much as I love James, I don’t think it would be a good idea for all three of us to disappear and leave him with the pack in the middle of a crisis. Austin is a master at managing the pack in times like this.”

Austin straightened, and I could see him pull the mantle of pack master back on. “We’ll continue with hurricane preparations here while you find a magical solution.”

Austin and I shared a kiss, and as we pulled apart the look in his eyes almost broke my heart. I wanted to tell Drake to go fuck himself and destroy the hurricane myself, but instead I simply said my goodbyes and walked away from my pack.

I walked back up the beach in the direction Drake had come from originally but felt a disturbance that reminded me of the inverted magic Talen had been trying to teach me. I had a momentary flash of pride for successfully using my magical radar, but that quickly faded to worry. Just what was Drake hiding?

I shot him a nervous look, but he waved his hand. “That’s just our portal back. Your father wasn’t available, so I had to have Shika open one for us. He doesn’t like to interact with earthen creatures, so he’s holding the portal open on the other side.”

Drake dropped the magic that had been hiding the portal from us and dread shot through me. Nothing good had ever happened after I stepped through one of these. I held on tightly to Cody’s fur and he nuzzled me. “We don’t have to do this, we can find another way.”

“We’re doing the right thing,” I told him. I wrapped Cody and myself in the protective barriers that would shield us from the harsh conditions of the Arctic that we needed to pass through before stepping into the second portal that would bring us into the fae world.

There was a tall man with ebony skin and dark eyes waiting for us in the fae world; I was guessing this was Shika. I gave him a nod in greeting but he ignored me completely. “If that’s all, my prince?” he said in a deep voice.

“Yes, thank you,” Drake replied. “You’ll find payment waiting for you with my steward upon your return to the castle.”

Shika left through another portal and I looked around our surroundings. We had been left in front of a large mansion with ski resort vibes to it. I had been expecting to visit either my father’s castle or the former king’s. “Where are we?” I asked Drake cautiously.

He walked to the front steps. “My hunting lodge; it’s very modern. I had it modeled after one of the homes I own in your world. I thought you would be more comfortable here since we’ll have more privacy.”

Two of Drake’s guards lingered by the front door, and I could sense more over the expanse of the property. I guess that was as private as it got for the prince though.

“Cody is going to need clothes,” I informed the prince.

“Of course,” he agreed. “I had a room prepared for the two of you. You’ll find plenty of clothing and other items the two of you might need.”

I looked at him in surprise. I didn’t understand how he could be asking me to be his queen one moment and then preparing a room for myself and a man that he knew was my lover the next.

“Your wolf pleases you, why would I begrudge you that?” Drake smiled at me. “And I know wolves aren’t meant to be solitary creatures. If you were my queen, I wouldn’t have any issue with letting you keep him.”

“I thought we were past that?”

“Never, my darling,” Drake murmured. “You’ll change your mind eventually. Perhaps in a few centuries when you’ve outlived your current batch of wolves?”

I looked at him in horror. It had never occurred to me that I would live longer than Austin and the rest of the guys in the pack. I had just assumed that my lifespan would be the same as any wolf.

Drake raised an eyebrow. “Surely, you must have realized that the amount of power you hold shows that you are truly fae? The wolves only have shorter lives because of how they mingled their DNA with humans. The small amount of magic they have doesn’t sustain them for the long term.”

“DNA? I wouldn’t have thought the fae were interested in human science.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about my interests,” Drake said quietly. He turned to face me with a serious look. “But I hope to show you.” I searched his eyes but saw only honesty there. Was this a rare moment when I was seeing the real Drake? Or was this merely another act? Another manipulation?

“Drake, how much do I need to worry about one of the fae at the meeting retaliating against me for the death of the king?”

“Not at all,” he said lightly. “There were hundreds of plots over the years to remove him from power. You were simply the one to succeed. He never let his guard down near any of us, who knew that you would be the key?”

I let out a sigh. I doubted it would be that easy. Surely there was someone who had loved the king even if his sons didn’t.

Drake excused himself after asking the housekeeper to show us upstairs. She led us to our room with a warm smile and a curtsey, and I found myself missing Caley. I wondered how she had been doing all this time. Weeks in the human world would have translated into months here.

Cody shifted back to his human form once we were alone and despite the stress of the situation, I couldn’t keep my eyes off his naked body. He flashed a grin at me but turned to the wardrobe in search of clothes. I didn’t mind the view from the rear either - that man was built.

“Does this feel like déjà vu to you?” Cody asked as he tugged on a pair of pants.

“Not really,” I answered with a grin as I flung myself down on the bed. “This trip is delightfully lacking in kidnapping.”

Cody laughed out loud. “I meant you and me, alone in the fae world.” He pulled on a shirt, and I thought about what he had said.

This trip was much different than the last. Last time I was taken here against my will, tormented by Morpheus, and spent my time desperately hoping for a way home. “We’re not alone since we have each other,” I said quietly. “And I’m pretty confident that I can keep you safe and get you back to our world this time.”

Cody flopped on the bed next to me. “I am glad they have clothes to fit me this time.”

I turned on my side to face Cody and fluffed up my pillow before plopping down on it. “It bothers me that Drake was so confident that you and I would be back here that he stocked a closet specifically for us.”

Cody frowned. “I think being an arrogant, presumptuous asshat is probably a requirement for fae princes.”

I smiled. “You’re probably right. He does have to out-asshole all the other assholes in the fae realm.”

Cody chuckled. “So you’re saying I don’t have to worry about you running off to become a fae princess?”

“Ugh, no. Can you imagine?”

Cody looked at me thoughtfully. “I can imagine you as a princess.” He moved closer to me. “You’re so pretty and sweet; you would fit right into the Disney princess lineup.”

I snorted. “A clumsy wolf shifter princess with all of my issues? I doubt parents would be lining up to take their kids to that movie.” I leaned a little closer so I could tease him. “Plus, I doubt most of America would approve of my six wolf princes.”

“Fuck them,” Cody laughed. “You’re perfect for me.” Cody pulled me towards him so that I was flush with his body. I took the opportunity to lean forward for a kiss, and Cody’s lips met mine softly.

A knock sounded at the door and I groaned as I pulled away. “Yes?”

“Lady Anna, the prince requests your presence for dinner, which will be served shortly.”

“Thank you,” I replied. Footsteps retreated from the door, so I assumed that was an acceptable answer. I rolled off the bed and opened the wardrobe to see if there were any dresses in there that I would feel comfortable wearing. Since I didn’t have Caley to help me I simply wound my hair in a bun after slipping into a midnight blue dress that was as soft as it was pretty. Cody found boots that were shockingly large enough to fit him, but my shoe selection was limited to thin slippers to match my dress.

I glanced at the pair of us in the large mirror as we passed. Cody looked so tall and handsome; he could probably pass for a Disney prince. However, I still had a long way to go….