Turi stuck his head in. “King Alarick is here.”
“What?” My heart leapt into my throat. “The king? What would he be doing here?”
Turi stumbled into the room, having been pushed by his brother who rushed in, so excited he was bouncing on his toes. “He said it’s time!”
A gasp escaped Nita, her eyes going wide before she gazed up at me, a mixture of awe and concern coming onto her face. “Your quest.”
I managed to suppress a flinch. I’d known it was coming, yet somehow I was completely unprepared.
“There’s a cute guy with him,” Attie said, waggling his eyebrows, and Turi gagged.
“Ew. The king’s advisor is, like, a million years old.”
Attie rolled his eyes. “No, bees for brains, not his advisor.”
“What did I say about name-calling?” I headed for the door, my siblings trailing after me.
“Be creative?”
I managed to restrain my laughter. “I never said that. At least not about insulting your brother. Where are they?”
“Your work study,” Turi replied. I stopped suddenly, and they all bumped into me. Turning, I arched an eyebrow at them. “And where are you going?”
The twins exchanged glances before their big amber eyes stared up at me. “Not the study?”
“Correct. Go find Mom and let her know what’s going on. I’ll meet with you all once the king and his advisor have gone. No eavesdropping,” I warned, giving them a pointed look. “You know how important this is.”
I received three nods before they took off, whispering hoarsely to one another. Several emotions flooded me, and I struggled to hold on to even one. I’d waited for this day my entire life. The time had come for me to prove my worth as Prince of the Bear Shifters. Despite my years of ruling our kingdom, I feared I wasn’t ready for such a daunting task. What if I failed? Nita was sixteen and as unprepared to rule as I had been at that age.
My family and my citizens needed me. They were counting on me to be strong, just as I had been when I ascended the throne. Unlike many shifter species, mine were spread all over the world. My ambassadors looked to me for guidance, to keep our citizens safe. I wouldn’t let them down. Holding my head high, I made for the study and toward my fate.
Chapter Two
SAER
I could do this.
Maybe.
Goddess above, what if I failed miserably?
“No. Nope. I can do this. I will do this.” I nodded. “Yep. No problem.” I could totally handle this. So what if the fate of the prince and his kingdom rested on my awkward, overexcited shoulders, or that I had been personally selected by the King of All Shifters for this critical quest involving the guy I’d had a secret crush on for, like, ever? A guy who had no idea I existed, and why would he, because he was a prince, ruler of an entire shifter species, a species I was not a part of.
Prince Bernd wasn’t my prince. Gods, I wanted him to be my prince. Not my ruling prince, just mine. Who wouldn’t? The guy was everything you expected a prince to be. Tall, sleek, broad-shouldered, handsome, and regal. He had pitch-black hair, amber eyes, a chiseled jaw, and sexy muscles I desperately wanted to poke. Oh, the poking I would do. Like most princes, he was impressive, and as Prince of the Bear Shifters, he was bigger than most. Terrifying, really, but not to me. He had kindness in his eyes. Kindness and heartache. I wanted to wrap my arms around him—if they would stretch that far—and comfort him.
“Are you all right?”
“Hm?” I turned and jerked like an armadillo about to roll up into a protective little ball. It was the prince! Of course it was the prince, because if I was going to make a fool of myself, who else but the prince would be the one exposed to my ridiculousness? Gosh, he was pretty.
Stop staring at him!
“I asked if you were all right.” Prince Bernd appeared concerned. “You were… making strange noises.”
“Me?” I squeaked. Why did they even let me out in public? Clearing my throat, I tried again. “Um, I’m fine. Sorry, I didn’t know anyone was here. In the prince’s palace. Your palace. Of course you would be here. In your palace. Because you’re the prince and this is… your palace.” I laughed, and it was a little on the hysterical side, not gonna lie.
He arched a thick black eyebrow at me and nodded slowly before discreetly glancing around—most likely looking for his royal guards or planning his escape route. Sweet peppermint mocha, I was standing in front of the prince, and worse than behaving like an idiot, I’d completely forgotten how to address him. Your royalness? Regalness? Was that even a word? Your Mmm… There was an Mm in there. Majestic? Majesticalness? So not a word. Majesty! No, wait. That was the king. Not a Mm, a…
“Your Highness!” My shout made him flinch, right before I bowed so quickly and deeply, I toppled over and landed at his feet.
Wow, big boots. So clean. There was a reason my father kindly insisted I stay away from the royal family.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” Prince Bernd asked. His hands circled my biceps, and he lifted me off the ground like I didn’t weigh a hundred sixty-five pounds, but then what were a few hundred pounds to a black bear shifter prince? He placed me on my feet, head cocked to the side as he studied me. Even dressed casually in black jeans and a navy cardigan over a soft blue button-down shirt, he was mouthwatering. The kingdom’s most handsome, eligible bachelor. And so out of my league we weren’t even on the same continent.
“You look familiar. Do I know you?”
My heart leapt into my throat. Was it possible he knew? That he’d noticed me, stopped to look at me, and—
He snapped his fingers. “You’re one of the Knightguards.”
Knightguard? Standing for hours on end without moving a muscle? “I would rather gnaw my own tail off!”
Prince Bernd gaped at me, and holy shipwreck, I’d said that out loud!
“Not that being a Knightguard is bad,” I said quickly. The position was actually very prestigious and way above my pay grade. “It’s just that I’m—”
Prince Bernd sniffed the air. “A coyote shifter.”
“Um, yeah. We’re not so good at staying still for long.” In fact, the only time I was still for more than a few minutes was when I lost myself in my work, and even then, my hands were in constant motion.
“Who are you?” he asked, studying me.
I tried not to squirm under his intense scrutiny. Of course he had no idea who I was. My heart sank, and I told myself not to be too disappointed. He was a prince, and I was… no one. Knowing I’d made him happy was enough for me, even if he had no clue I was the source of that happiness, or that I’d even existed before this very moment. I didn’t do it for the recognition anyway.
“My name is Saer.”
“That doesn’t really answer my question, Saer.” He took a step toward me, and on instinct I took one back. His brows drew together. “Are you scared of me?”
Yes, but not in the way you think. I had to get over this stupid crush. When would I learn? Maybe I wasn’t the smartest guy, but Goddess above, was I really going down this path? One broken heart was enough, thanks.