Page 26 of The Wolf's Prince
They all exchanged looks.
“What is it?” Nikolai asked in trepidation. What if something had happened to Soren?
“Shifters of any sort are hard to reach, love,” his mother said.
Nikolai stared at her.
“They can't bethatelusive. The ball was full of shifters. Andrey, tell them.”
“Yes, but the Tasnian carrier birds kept being eaten, Nikolai,” Viktor jumped in, voice full of irritation. “Nikolai we all laughed about it. Remember? They had to send messengers out into the wilderness to invite them properly.”
The story came back to Nikolai. He remembered finding it hilarious at the time. The thought of getting to meet beings so different from humans had thrilled him. He'd been so happy that the others had made prior engagements. He would have begged to be at that ball if he hadn't been sure he was going. He'd wanted to meet the different races, to see how they interacted and spoke, and yes, even how they fucked. Although he'd been hoping for more than one such excursion seeing as they were supposed to be there for two full days, but that thought felt strange now.
How could he have peeled himself away from Soren if they had stayed longer?
“I will call for the doctor,” his father said. “We will find another way for this to leave your system.”
“No,” Nikolai found himself whispering. “There is no other way... Their bonds use magic, Father. You know what happened to Prince Nemir.”
“He was mated to an oaf,” his father argued. “They use elf magic. The shifters are hardly casting spells.”
“True, but we don't know how their bonds work.”
“Go to him,” his mother said, agreeing with his unspoken words. “Andrey will keep you company, won't you Andrey?”
She placed a hand on his arm, giving him the hopeful, motherly look that no one could say no to.
Andrey sighed heavily and didn't argue.
“Doesn't it make more sense to send someone to fetch Nik's shifter?” Viktor interjected. “Why would they go there? They may not be greeted with open arms. After all, Nikolai mated with the man and thenran.”
Although Nikolai had been holding it together through this meeting, and although, the idea of traveling anywhere but to his bed made him feel like he was going to cry, he shook his head.
He looked at each of them, hoping they saw the sincerity and desperation in his eyes before he spoke.
“I can’t wait that long.”
* * *
SOREN
Soren stalkedacross the plateau of the pack square, lost in thought.
“You should be out hunting with the others,” Anzu said, drawing his attention back to the real world. “Or, at the very least, you should go for a run.”
Soren looked down at the omega. She was heavily pregnant, sitting with the other omegas around the fire, working on small projects while lunch was cooked.
“I wish I could,” Soren said.
“Why can't you?” she asked, piercing him with a look.
Soren glanced up the mountain walls behind them. He could just see the entrance to Alpha Jin's dwelling.
Jin would be safe. Most of the pack's alphas were currently bounding through the trees, stretching their limbs or hunting for food.
Soren looked out over the view. Below, mountains and valleys stretched, trees reaching high. Now that they were past winter, the chill in the air growing milder by the day, the trees were regaining their leaves and the entire land appeared to be blossoming. It was like the very earth was waking up. He'd always loved this season. Normally, it filled him with hope and excitement for the year to come.
Apparently, Anzu saw his answer in his expression, because she reached out, picked up some of the fabric she was working on, and held them up for Soren to take.
