Wolf Princess Sold to the Dragon King

”You can call me Nicholas.”

He knew full well it wasn’t proper and her men were standing right there. Sure enough, six sets of warrior eyes widened by varying degrees.

Door kid wore the exact face of a boy watching a stranger ask his mom out. Confused as shit. Offended as hell. Her Beta’s eyes were screaming ’YOU’RE NOT MY DAD’ in middle of dinner at the restaurant. And the youngest one looked at Nicholas like he was meeting Mom’s latest ”friend” and deciding in real time that this fucker needed to go.

Guinevere meanwhile seemed unaware of this reaction.

Her face gave Nicholas nothing.

A scorned woman would’ve shoved his name back down his throat. He half expected it. Hell, he hoped for it. Her being mad at him beat the fuck out of this. He could work with anger.

She didn’t.

Her eyes were kind.

”Nicholas, then. Thank you for coming up here. It’s alright. I understand.”

His blood ran cold like someone just dumped a bucket of ice water over his head.

There was something wrong with their matebond. He already knew that something was blocking it. He couldn’t sense her wolf and he couldn’t feel her emotions. But he didn’t need the matebond to read her right now.

The ’I understand’ she just used was word-for-word, tone-for-tone the same shit she’d said when Maddox didn’t remember her.

No. This was not right.

Just as he opened his mouth to respond, the corridor behind him filled with bodies.

All of his men had followed. Of course they had. He’d been gone too long and at summits, that was the official ’we’re not letting you get yourself murdered or start a war without us’ protocol.

Twelve of them got to see their king standing outside her doors like a lovesick jackass. Outside of Reed, this was the crew who had sailed to Drakencrest with Nicholas. All of them knew something was off with Guinevere.

He lost her once and wasn’t going to risk a second time. So he didn’t send them away.

His Gamma, Reed, was leading because of course the bastard was. Damon was beside him because someone had to supervise the Gamma’s terrible ideas, and tonight that job was a full-time position with no benefits.

One of her wolves squared his shoulders at Reed. Reed, who had been killing men since this boy was learning to shift, looked at the squared shoulders with the mild amusement of a cat watching a mouse try to intimidate it.

Tonight was supposed to be a summit. Instead he was stuck in a doorframe with eighteen wolves, a shattered matebond, a guilt complex the size of Shadowfell, and a woman who had called him by his title and actually fucking meant it.

Six rookies. One exit. Twelve veterans were standing in it. This was the continental summit experience in its purest form.

Gavyn’s eyes moved from Nicholas to the wall of wolves behind him. His hand went to his blade with the earnest determination of a man who absolutely would draw on a king and absolutely would lose, but considered the attempt a professional obligation. Nicholas respected the commitment. Damon found it adorable.

Her other five men registered the shift and adjusted in unison, forming tighter around her.

”You’re not going anywhere tonight,” Nicholas said.

The hallway temperature dropped. The words came out before his brain approved them. His wolf had written the sentence and his mouth had delivered it without consulting management.

”That was not a threat. That was concern. I’m aware of how it sounded,” Nicholas added.

Guinevere blinked a few times. ”Our pack is vulnerable, and we need to return. We mean you no trouble.”

”Guinevere, I’ve been looking for you for two days. I need you to stay. Tonight. With me. In the building.”

Dead silence. Door kid’s jaw dropped. Her Beta’s hand went to his blade.

”That came out wrong. I meant in the council meeting. We need your input. You said you were attacked by Dark Fae.”

Damon: Nice save. The kids aren’t buying it.

Nicholas: I’m handling this.

”Alpha Shadowfell, you and I both know that is not the case. Zero of the Alphas are comfortable with me at that table. You don’t need to worry about Lunaris,” she replied.

”Call me Nicholas. And they’ll survive.”

”You seem like a fantastic Alpha and your pack is lucky to have you. But that’s not necessary.”

Nicholas Shadowfell had never been rejected by a woman in his life. His brain and his wolf rejected the experience in real-time.

Behind him, Damon and Reed smelled blood in the water.

Damon: That was a ”it’s not you, it’s me.”

Nicholas: That’s not what she meant.

Reed: You seem like you have a great personality, Alpha.

Damon: You’ll find someone someday.

Reed: We can still be allies.

Damon: I think you’re amazing but the timing isn’t right.

Reed: You’re a really great Beta, Damon. But I just need to focus on my pack right now.

Damon: Let’s just be treaty partners.

Reed: I think we should see other kingdoms.

Nicholas: Both of you shut the fuck up so I can think.

They went silent. The silence of men loading a weapon they planned to fire later repeatedly until the end of time.

”I want to continue this conversation privately in my chambers.” Nicholas’s brain heard the sentence approximately half a second after his mouth finished it.

The youngest wolf physically recoiled.

”I mean in my private chambers. Shadowfell’s private chambers. Or yours. In here could work too.”

The correction was supposed to help. Judging by the look on her face, the correction did not help.

Damon: Nick.

Nicholas: I know.

”I’m sure you’re a lovely person, Nicholas. But I am going to have to respectfully decline,” she said, voice calm.

Nicholas Shadowfell had given speeches that moved nations. He had delivered ultimatums that ended wars. He had spoken at his father’s funeral without his voice breaking. Tonight he had been rejected, friendzoned, and told he had a great personality by his fated mate, all while being roasted by his own Beta and Gamma.

The night was still young.

Six Lunaris wolves and twelve Shadowfell wolves had exactly one thing in common tonight: secondhand embarrassment for the Alpha King of Shadowfell.