“The mark!” Devon’s voice cries out in our minds.
I look at them both and realize the other one is missing the mating mark from Devon.
Cash, Kai, Nyx, and Devon growl and tear into her. She releases a pained cry as she twists away from their grasp. When she spins back to face them, she’s wielding a knife that she must have summoned with her magic.
With the blade raised before her, she rushes toward Ella in a blur of speed. Time slows, almost standing still as the prince jumps in front of her, taking the impact.
He cries out as the queen buries the knife deep into his side.
She climbs over him to reach Ella, and I watch in shock as Ella pulls the blade from the prince’s torso and sinks it deep into the queen’s chest.
Her eyes go wide in shock as she stares down at the blade’s handle. She grips it firmly and pulls it from her chest. Blood gushes down her front and pools at her feet.
The queen drops to her knees then collapses on the floor.
A great howling cry comes from the door, followed by several others.
“What are they doing?” Ella asks.
Two of the wolf shifters enter and drop before her on one knee. “Long live the queen,” he says solemnly to Ella.
We watch in awe as each of them bows to her, pledging fealty. It is an old law among our kind. If our ruler falls in battle, the crown goes to the victor.
The Elders said the prophecy showed them it would be the prince who would do this—but instead, it is Ella. She is the rightful queen of our people now. To unite the two kingdoms, she must marry the prince.
I turn to my brothers, their eyes full of sadness, and I realize they must have reached the same conclusion as me.
We look at Ella. She is holding the prince’s head in her lap as he stares up at her, his eyelids fluttering open and closed. She takes his hand. “Don’t worry,” she says. “We are going to save you, my prince.”
Chapter 38
Ella
The same healing balm that was used on my injuries works for the prince as well. I watch in awe as Finn spreads it over his wound, and the tissue begins to knit back together. As soon as it’s finished, Devon transforms so that he can carry the prince on his back and return him to the castle.
Everyone is quiet as we make our way there. It still has not fully hit me yet that I am now the queen of the shifter kingdom. I left instructions with one of the wolves to inform everyone that the old queen is dead.
He bowed low, crossing his arm over his chest before leaving.
“Do you think we can trust them?” I asked Kai.
He nodded. “It is the law. They must obey. The magic binds them to the crown, regardless of who wears it.”
He gives me a pained smile, and I reach out and cup his cheek. “What is wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?”
A tear slips down his cheek. “Whatever happens, we will always remain your guards, Ella.”
I stare up at him in confusion. “What do you mean? What are you talking about?”
He opens his mouth to answer but stops when one of the king’s guards steps forward. His eyes go wide as soon as he sees the prince on Devon’s back.
“The prince has returned!” he calls out, and nearby guards behind him surround the prince as a servant rushes back toward the palace to inform the king and queen.
When we reach the throne room, the queen rushes forward and embraces her son. “My son! You are alive!” she cries out. “Thank the heavens!”
I step forward. “Your son has been returned to you as promised. Now, I ask of you: Will we now have peace with the shifters?”
The king stands. “We will discuss it with their ruler.”
“You already are,” Kai says, gesturing to me. He bows low. “Ella killed the wolf queen to save your son. Now she is the ruler of our kingdom.”
The king studies me a moment then nods. “Then let us cement an alliance through marriage.” He gestures to his son. “Alexander, are you willing to take Ella as your wife?”
Alexander looks to me, his eyes wide. “Without hesitation.” He smiles and holds his hand out to me. “For the betterment of the people of the kingdom.”
I notice that Kai and the rest of my mates stand beside me in silence, offering nothing in the way of protest. It hurts. Deeply. I thought that they loved me. Why are they silent now?
I give the king a hesitant look. “No offense to the prince, but what if I do not want to be married?”
His expression grows stern. “This is how alliances are cemented. A treaty forged only on parchment rarely lasts very long.”
He is right. Everyone knows this. Treaties and alliances not bound by marriage fail all the time; it has happened in many other kingdoms abroad. I look back at my mates. I have to think of my people now that I am the queen of the shifter kingdom. Can I condemn them to a life of constant war and hate between the humans and us?
I think of the wolf shifter from the shop. He was willing to risk everything for peace just so that his pack could live without fear. Is that not what a queen does? Sacrifice herself and what she wants for the good of her people?
I look once more at my mates, wondering if any of them will protest, but they remain silent.
I take the prince’s hand. “Very well,” I tell him. “Let us secure peace between our two kingdoms through marriage.”
Chapter 39
Cash
Her words hit me like a physical blow. I look to my bond brothers, and it is easy to read the devastation
