Royal Wolf Box Set by Haley Weir

 

Chapter One

The air bothered Cassandra most – stagnant and overly perfumed. She yearned for the fresh, crisp air that hinted of pine and wet leaves. The air inside the castle made her feel confined, and for a wolf-shifter, confinement was akin to torture. Queen or not, she only wanted to be free, and the newly placed crown on her head felt more like a shackle than a decoration.

“It will take some getting used to, I know,” her husband, Aeron, said gently when he saw the look of displeasure on Cassandra’s face.

He pulled the heavy velvet drapes from over the giant window so that his wife could gaze out at the forests surrounding the city. He hadn’t wanted to be king either, at least not king of a human city. He had been quite content being the alpha of the most powerful wolf-shifter pack in Grenvich. But royal bloodlines had always run through his family’s ancestry, and when his brother had met with an untimely death, Aeron had no choice but to assume the crown or watch the human city fall into chaos.

Chaos was never good, especially for humans. So, he had moved his wife and young son Theo into the castle to assume the role of the royal family. They were still shifters, and they would still spend every chance they got running through the forest on four padded paws. But now they would also have to play at being humans. Before today, they had spent about equal time being human as they did wolf. Now they would need to get more comfortable in their human skin because only a select few knew of the royal family’s true nature. For the rest of the kingdom, their shifter forms needed to remain a carefully guarded secret.

“I just think that putting ourselves right inside a whole city of them is a dangerous idea,” Cassandra sighed, gazing out the window longingly. “It hasn’t been that many years since the humans hunted our kind.”

“Since when have you been afraid of a little danger, my love?” Aeron teased his wife.

Cassandra’s chest filled with pride and then sank back down again. Her face crumpled. He was right; she was one of the strongest women that he knew and fiercely protective of her family. She had never been afraid of danger; in fact, in most cases, it thrilled her. He knew that it was the confinement of being inside the city that scared her the most.

“And what of Theo?” she continued. “How will he fare here among the humans and away from the young wolves of his pack?

“Look outside, Cassandra,” Aeron said as he stood beside her and ran his fingers through her long, dark hair. “The forest is still within a few quick strides. We can live between the two places with no trouble. We’ll just need to be a little more careful of the eyes around us.”

She huffed, and her brilliant blue eyes flashed with the pain of disappointment. She had hoped she could talk her husband out of it, but realistically, she knew it was too late. They were the new royal family, and they would be staying, despite how much it broke her heart.

“Your Majesty,” a woman said as she stepped into the doorway.

Aeron and Cassandra turned around and he waved the woman inside the chamber.

“Please,” he said. “Come in.”

The servant woman walked slowly over to them and bowed her head when she met with Cassandra’s eyes. There had been rumors that the royal family was comprised of witches since they had suddenly appeared at the death of the last king and claimed the right to the throne. Most of the townspeople didn’t believe the rumors, but it was difficult not to think that there might be something supernatural about them when you locked gazes with them. The servant woman had a hard time not becoming mesmerized by the tiny flecks of gold that dotted the striking cerulean of Cassandra’s eyes. They looked like a sparkling ocean that reflected the golden light of the sun.

“This woman will be at the castle to help with Theo,” Aeron said to his wife.

Cassandra looked over the woman as she lifted her head and stood before her. The castle was a giant place, and Theo was used to being allowed to explore the woods freely with the other young ones in his pack, so having help watching over him here wasn’t an entirely bad idea. As if on cue, Theo came bounding into the room, looking deceivingly like a normal eight-year-old boy.

“Can we go play?” he asked the servant woman as soon as he heard that it was her job to keep track of him.

“What would you like to play?” she asked.

“I want to run,” Theo said with a wide grin.

He took off running through the castle corridor as fast as his human legs would carry him, sending the middle-aged woman on a frenzied scurry to keep up with the child.

Aeron laughed as he watched them go and then turned to look back at his wife, who had gone right back to looking out the window at the gray and misty sky that hung in the air like a mournful watercolor.

“My love,” he said as he touched his hand to her jaw and traced over her lips with his fingertips.

He leaned forward and kissed her. Although, at first, Cassandra was stubbornly resisting his affections out of protest, she couldn’t resist the slow slide of his tongue through her slightly parted lips. She kissed him back and ran her hand up beneath the side of his shirt, letting her hand trail up the thick scar that ran the length of his torso. They had been through a lot together, the two of them, including the battle between packs that left him with that scar and made him the most powerful alpha in the land. They could get through this together, too – she was sure of it.

When their kiss ended, and their mouths pulled slowly apart, Cassandra looked into her husband’s dark eyes and smiled.

“Are you done being angry with me now?” he teased with a boyish grin.

“Oh no,” she teased right back. “I intend to be angry for quite a while longer.”

“What can I do to make you happy, my beautiful mate?” Aeron asked her. His question was playful but serious. He loved Cassandra so much that he would do anything in the world to make her happy and content. She knew that, and it was one of the many things that she loved about him too.

“Well,” she said as she slowly stepped backward away from the window, wrapping her fingers in the top of his waistband and pulling his body along with her. “You can start by making love to me in this ridiculously high bed that is covered with more pillows than any one human should possibly have. And then, you can take me to the forest and make love to me there too.”

Aeron smiled and reached forward to lift Cassandra up in his arms. Just as he was about to lay her down on the bed, Theo came crashing through the door and pummeled into the two of them.

“Where’s the woman?” Aeron asked his son.

“I don’t know. I think I lost her downstairs somewhere. She’s not very fast, even for a human,” Theo answered.

Aeron set Cassandra back down on her feet. Their intimacy would have to wait for the moonlit hours.

“Theo,” he said as he bent down to look at his son at eye-level. Do you remember what we said about making sure we keep our secret while we are here?”

“Yes,” Theo said as obediently as he could muster.

“It’s important, son,” Aeron said with a layer of severity to his tone. “No one here can know who you really are. If they find out that we are shifters, it will put not only you in danger, but your mother and I as well.”

Aeron knew how much Theo adored Cassandra. He was reckless, but he cared about her Theo looked back up at them both and he nodded, this time with full understanding and complete obedience.

“I will be more careful,” Theo said.

“Good boy,” Aeron said as he ruffled Theo’s rich brown hair. “Now, I have to attend to some things in the meeting hall. What will you two be up to today?”

“Can we go explore the city?” Theo asked his mother.

Cassandra was ready to go anywhere that wasn’t within the constricting walls of the castle, so she agreed. She reached down for her son’s hand and kissed her husband on the cheek before heading out of the room.

“Come on,” she said to Theo with a mischievous smile that she knew would excite him. “Let’s go see what kind of trouble we can get into.”