His declaration had Winnie’s little head poking up. She struggled back from our hug to see the bear king better. “Hawaii?” she practically shrieked, her tears drying up.
Kade laughed, the rich sound echoing across the garden. Ever since Winnie saw a brochure for Hawaii with pineapples, hula dancing, and the whole relaxed beachy vibe, she’d been begging to go. As he pulled back and I could see clearer, I noticed that Violet and Blaine were no longer close by. They had moved about fifty yards away and were talking to Gerald and Bianca, the Boston alpha. All four of them were part of the new combined bear-wolf council.
“Hawaii is a definite.” Kade brought my attention back to him and Winnie. “Wherever my girls want to go, then we will go.”
His girls. Two very simple words, but they meant so much. Not just to me, but Winnie also. Neither of us had parents anymore, all we had were each other. We were a family now. A true family like so many others I used to watch with envy.
“Yay! You’re the best, K. I love you,” Winnie was still shrieking as she turned to me. “I’m ready to go now.”
The heavy pressure in my chest increased then, and I found myself locking eyes with Kade.
I don’t want her to go, I sobbed through our bond, keeping the grief internal. What if we never see her again?
Her safety has to come first, Ari. I don’t want to send her away either. I want our family together in the same den. But until we deal with the fae…
He was right. We both knew it. But that didn’t make the decision any easier. It didn’t help the ache in my heart, which seemed to be increasing dramatically.
All I knew was that the fae had messed with our lives for too long. I was done. If they didn’t come to Earth soon, I was going to take my army to the Otherworld and take them out first.
That was a promise.
I stood and wiped my eyes, giving Winnie one last hug before she ran off to play pirates. “Can you watch her for me for a minute?” I asked Kade. “I’ll be right back.”
He brushed a hand across my cheek, before pressing his lips to my forehead. I closed my eyes briefly at the pure perfection of him, opening them again as he pulled back.
“We’ll be right here waiting for you,” he said, and he took off after a screaming Winnie.
Traipsing through the backyard to the mansion, I stepped inside to find my soon-to-be mother-in-law Annette in the living room, sitting in a chair at the window, holding her tea and looking out into the garden at Kade and Winnie.
She turned to me. “Hello, daughter.” She’d already accepted me as family and it was one more thing to bring tears to my eyes.
“I need a favor,” I told her. I knew she was more than capable of staying behind and fighting this war with us, but I had heaviness in my heart for the future of my kind and she could ease my burden if she agreed.
“Anything,” she replied, straightening and setting her tea down.
I smiled weakly. She was too good to me. What did I do to deserve such love?
“I’m sending the queen heirs off to California to remain safe and continue their studies. I know we haven’t decided how the future monarchs will be chosen…”
There was a world of possibilities now. Would it still be a male bear who accepted the crown from Kade, and a female wolf heir who fought her way through the Summit? Or maybe a vote from the people?
“And I know we have decades to decide, but I want to protect the heirs and teach them the ways of the bear so that in the future it will always be us working together.”
I finished my speech in a ramble and Annette nodded. “You want me to go with them to California and teach your heirs how we do things? To protect them and help in the event that…” She left it open but we both knew what words would come next.
I nodded. “Yes, in the event I die, I want the next queen heir to be a friend of the bears.” I knew it was impossible to not fall in love with Annette, and that my fellow heirs would respect and bond with her, allowing for any future ruler to be as closely aligned with my way of ruling as possible. “Will you?”
She grinned. “Of course. I’d be honored.”
She stood and wrapped me up in one of her trademark bear hugs. As we embraced, a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. If this war came to pass — and I suspected there was no way now to avoid it — and I didn’t make it out, then Winnie would be okay, my people would be okay, and the new wolf leader would have a soft spot in her heart for the bears.
That afternoon, after Winnie and Annette were safely on their way to California, Violet found me in the kitchen of our Staten Island home. I was just about to leave to take a vortex to Manhattan.
“I did it!” she shrieked, coming in from the garden.
“Did what?” I asked as Violet tugged at my arm, dragging me out to the back yard before I could say anything more.
I saw Blaine and Monica standing at the water’s edge. They were on guard duty today while Kade and Victor were preparing our land in Upstate New York for the final run with all the shifters today. I wanted one last run as a wolf with my people before I had to fight like hell to keep our home safe.
Jen had gone to transport Winnie, making sure she made it safely, and then would return to me. That left my inner circle of dominants — that was once six — down to two. At least for today.
I was truly mystified as to what Violet was talking about until we got closer to the water’s edge. Then it dawned on me why they would all be crowding around here.
“The summer fae?” I asked her, peeking over into the water, and sure enough, in the reflection I saw a wooden grove and those bright bursts of flowers that were distinctly Summer Court. It was as if she had opened a mini portal to the Otherworld.
“I’ve connected with one of the water fountains in the summer castle’s courtyard,” Violet told me. “It took a while to get anyone’s attention, but finally a guard came over. He’s run to get the prince.”
I sat up straighter and smoothed my hair. I’d been waiting for this moment since Dalia fell into my lap two weeks ago. Movement in the back of the fountain caught my eye, and I recognized the stunning fae jogging toward us.
Violet leaned into me. “I’m not sure how long the magic will last, and you might have to scream to be heard over the bubbling water fountain on their side.”
I nodded as Prince Caspien stepped fully into view. He was breathing faster than normal but hardly winded. “Queen Arianna, I’ve been meaning to make contact but we’ve had our hands full and there was no chance for me to leave our lands. I’m so glad Violet found a way.”