Page 7 of Princess

It was a small shift, but a telling one, and exactly what I needed to hear.

I’d made it crystal clear that if the Warriors didn’t respect the people who kept them in food and comfort, I would start assigning them to the duties they didn’t appreciate.The lack of respect had been one of the women’s biggest complaints.The other had been the absence of a clear leader among them.

To fix that, I’d had them vote by private ballot.All but one chose Beatriz.I strongly suspected she had been the lone dissenting vote.

“Are your supplies up to the standards you need in case of a siege?”I asked next.

“We are prepared for anything,” Beatriz said proudly, lifting her chin.

“Good.”I nodded.“Is there anything else you’d like to discuss?”

Our weekly meetings were a chance for them to voice grievances and keep me informed of things they thought I should know.My mate was a brilliant commander when it came to his men, but he had no idea how to handle women.They had been too afraid of him to say anything.The responsibility of leading the Warriors and working out the problems with the women fell on my shoulders now.

It had been a steep learning curve.I was adjusting to life as a Shadow Warrior, commanding our Warriors, and being mate to King all at once.The new changes that I’d implemented with staff had only been in effect for a few months, and Beatriz had been invaluable in helping me gain the trust of the women.

Beatriz’s eyes flicked toward Yamila, a pretty young woman who never quite met my gaze.Shy, I assumed.

“Señor Alden would like to court Yamila,” Beatriz said.

Yamila’s face turned crimson.Her English had improved enough to follow the conversation, and she clearly hadn’t expected to be the topic of discussion.

I kept my tone careful.“Does that pose a problem?”

“Yamila’s parents are dead, and I am acting as her guardian,” Beatriz explained.“We would like to know more about this man.”

I understood.“He is one of my personal guards,” I said simply.“He wouldn’t hold that position if I didn’t trust him.And if he ever disrespected any woman on this island, I would personally ensure he regretted it.”

Beatriz nodded, but the young woman still looked uncertain.

“Yamila is afraid of his beast side,” Beatriz added.

I understood this too.“It is scary,” I admitted honestly.“But this is Yamila’s decision, and Alden will respect her wishes.”

Before I knew I was a Shadow Warrior, they had terrified me too.Their beasts looked like something out of a nightmare.Think fictional werewolves on steroids: raw power, sharp edges, and barely contained violence.Add teeth and claws, and we were hairy and scary.

Yamila nodded slowly, then finally lifted her gaze to mine.“I like him,” she said in English.

A small smile tugged at the corner of my lips.That had taken courage.

I turned to Beatriz.“They have my blessing, if you are willing to give yours.I hope it works out.”

I had learned that the women preferred decisiveness.They didn’t want hesitation or drawn-out discussions.As long as I was fair and honest with them, we were all happy.Taking care of the needs at the citadel was an endless job, and comfort would fall apart if it were left to the Shadow Warriors.It almost had.

The meeting wrapped up, and as I stood to leave, Beatriz handed me a small bowl of guava with a promise that a full meal would be waiting in my room when I finished my morning rounds.

I took the fruit with a nod of thanks, then made my way toward the practice area to see what King was up to.

Chapter Four

King

I stood on the wide training field, watching as Shadow Warriors and human islanders sparred side by side.Marinah had ordered us to integrate and train as a seamless unit, learning each other’s strengths and weaknesses.We had done this in small, controlled groups before.Now it was entirely different.

It wasn’t how I had done things, but the camaraderie was needed, and it worked.

Eventually, many of the Shadow Warriors would leave the island, turning its defenses over to the humans who lived here.Marinah wanted that day to come soon.Whether that was realistic or not, I wasn’t sure.

To prepare for that future, we had a team working on a serum to protect humans from the toxin in hellhound bites and scratches.As it stood, any human who was wounded by a hellhound died.And worse, if the remains weren’t burned, their body, though it would take years, would eventually come back as one of the monsters that had nearly wiped us out.

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