Page 40 of The Forgotten Princess

Before Monica can respond, the front door opens. We all look over to see who Damian has brought home. My jaw drops when I see King Basilicus walk in behind him.

What is the dragon king doing here?

Devin and I both abruptly stand, making our way over toward him and Damian. I can feel Devin’s curiosity and a bit of annoyance. He didn’t know anything about this. Clearly, King Basilicus is here on Alpha Council business, so Devin should know. As the true alpha that will be taking over in a few months, he should be sitting in on every single alpha meeting there is.

Whatever this is, I know it’s for a reason. Damian wouldn’t actively hide something from Devin unless it were really important.

“King Basilicus.” I bow toward him. “It’s an honor.”

He grins. “Princess Hastings, it’s good to see you again.”

“Just Tori,” I remind him.

“Tori.” His eyes sparkle as he looks from me to Devin. “Alpha Devin, it’s good to see you again. I trust you are well.”

He and Devin shake hands. “I am. How are you?”

“I’m great.” His grin widens. “I still haven’t got my wedding invitation. The two of you haven’t decided to elope, have you?”

I press my lips firmly together, not knowing what to say. Even Devin goes quiet.

Damian awkwardly clears his throat. “I’m trying to make them wait until after they graduate high school before they complete their mate bond.”

King Basilicus’s eyes widen at the revelation. “Wow. You’re lucky Devin and Tori are such good kids. I met my mate when I was still in high school. My father tried to get us to wait three months, so I eloped.”

I can’t help but laugh at his story. “You defied your dragon shifter father?”

He nods, his grin widening. “He was furious. He brought up my defiance for years after that. Before he passed, he told me that he was wrong to ask me to wait.”

Devin looks at Damian. Damian glares back, which makes me think Devin said something to him through their mind link.

“I don’t think Damian would be happy if Devin and I eloped.” I frown, wishing that was an option. “Besides, I want our family there.”

“That was my one regret. I wish my mother could’ve been there.” He frowns as if thinking of a bad memory. “But it all worked out in the end. My mom was just happy I gave her lots of grandchildren.”

King Basilicus does have a lot of children. I think there are eight of them, which isn’t the norm for dragon shifters. A typical dragon shifter family has one to three children. Ever since the war that almost wiped out dragon shifters, their population has been slow to grow. I think most of them are scared of another war so they don’t have to have a lot of children. But nobody in the supernatural community would dare go after dragon shifters again—they’re way too powerful now and they have a lot of allies, including wolf shifters.

King Basilicus turns toward Monica. “I hear a congratulations are in order for your second child.”

Monica smiles widely. “Yes. I’m due sometime in June.”

He furrows his brows, then nods. “Right. I forgot you have short pregnancies.”

“How long is a dragon shifter pregnancy?” Monica asks.

“Anywhere from sixteen to twenty months,” he answers. “Most of my mate’s pregnancies were around sixteen months, but the last one took the full twenty months. I think that’s why she didn’t want any more children.”

“I can’t imagine.” Monica frowns. “That sounds absolutely miserable.”

I am so glad Devin isn’t a dragon shifter.

We all make our way to the dining room table. Damian helps Monica get the roast from the oven while Devin and I sit with King Basilicus.

“How is your elemental training going?” King Basilicus takes a sip of his sweet tea. He makes a face, probably because of how sweet it is, then takes another sip.

“It’s going well,” I answer.

“She’s a natural.” Devin puts his arm around me. “Winter says she’s learning quicker than she thought possible.”

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