20. Hadriel

Chapter 20

Hadriel

I t was my turn for Aurelia duty, and I was more nervous for it than I'd ever been. She used to be so easy to watch, pliant and mostly placid, doing what was necessary and mostly following the rules. Now that she had her wolf, everything had gone tits up. I didn't know my head from my balls at this point, not to mention she got up at the ass-crack of dawn and had more energy than a vibrating demon butt plug set on high. I wasn't made for a detail like this. I was supposed to have retired when Finley had settled down. Thank the gods that Vemar had no trouble handling things, or I'd be in over my head.

"Where's the captive?" I asked the first gardener I came to. Aurelia needed to shift, and time was of the essence. I had more work to do on my hunt for castle gossip about Granny. I hadn't found squat so far. People were acting cagey with even the most benign lines of questioning. It was making me nervous. We had been gone from the kingdom for a while. I was starting to worry that one of her minions had sneaked in and compromised some of the castle inhabitants. Assuming I found them, the dragons would not deal with them kindly.

Poor Aurelia. That poor woman could not catch a break in life. It was beyond depressing at this point. Her first shift wouldn't even be normal.

Instead of having calm and sensible wolves on hand, they were bringing in a bunch of dragons. The powers that be worried Aurelia's wolf would go nuts and fight everyone or try to wrestle the bond away from Weston. Aurelia's wolf was an alpha, after all—one with substantial power. Without training, they could be unpredictable, and therefore, a real big problem.

It was probably a wise move. Her wolf seemed volatile and, honestly, foolish. Crawling out of a library window? Who did shit like that? Encouraging half the castle to run down the hall from an unseen foe? It wasn't helping Aurelia's image.

The gardener woman pointed to a crowd at the corner of the Everlass fields at the edge of the woods. A canopy of trees loomed over them, providing shade.

"Right, okay." I marched that way, mopping my head with a handkerchief because of the heat. Today was a terrible day to shift; it was much too hot. My wolf was not looking forward to it. I'd volunteered, though, wanting to see if Aurelia could assume control over my bond from Weston.

Okay, I had to admit it, I was fucking excited. I'd never in my life heard of a wolf as powerful as Weston. Some came close, but even those that we'd met hadn't had his natural finesse. I wondered if she did. She certainly had the determination. If anyone could best him, it would be her. And I was here for it.

I shouldered into the quiet group, all of whom were looking down on the glowing pink flower nestled within four Everlass plants. That they'd allowed her to plant an unknown flower amongst their precious Everlass was... surprising. Fucking shocking, actually.

The flower glowed, the intensity of it strengthening ever so slowly.

I found myself watching just to see when it would actually peak, then shook my head because the plant had just turned me into a zombie like everyone else.

"Hello?" I said to Aurelia, who was opposite the group from me.

She looked up in surprise. "Is it me you're looking for?"

I hooked a thumb behind me. "Time to shift."

"Oh." She nodded, looking down at the flower again. "Okay." She straightened slowly. "Okay, hopefully it makes it."

The flower did look dramatically droopy.

"We can call in Nyfain and Sable. They can sing it to better growth," Arleth said, staring at the flower like she was transfixed.

"You guys are all fine with the flower being in the Everlass, huh?" I asked as Aurelia stepped away.

"In the dragon weed , you mean?" Arleth cocked her eyebrow at Aurelia, her lips pursed in obvious scorn. A couple wolves in the group snickered. Aurelia must've dropped her nickname for it accidentally.

"The roots of this flower are shallow and fragile." Delaney, once Arleth's lady-in-waiting and now her best friend, straightened up. "Apparently they rely on the roots of the plants around them. We're not sure exactly how that occurs. This one was found between four Everlass plants. Even though someone trampled all over those plants, they survived and didn't seem troubled to have this plant in their midst. None of the other plants in the field were at all disturbed. We've never seen that happen. Usually?—"

"It's okay, I don't need to know the details." I waved her away. "I wasn't that interested. Well, I hope it goes well. Aurelia, my love, we need to go."

I tsked when she walked around the crowd, her clothes still a mess, burn marks and all manner of things still evident.

"This is why you wore drab clothes, isn't it?" I said, cutting across the grounds toward the area where she'd be shifting. "You exploded yourself too much for nice things."

"Sorry about these." She plucked at the ruined jacket. "I haven't exploded things while making product in... well, years and years. Not since the beginning, really. It'll be worth it, though, you'll see."

"I also see you're getting quite familiar with Hannon." I watched her reaction closely as I lifted my eyebrows, having heard from various sources that the beta's true mate was seen walking, sitting, and conversing closely with a prime eligible bachelor. Everyone wanted to land that phoenix, but he was incredibly selective. He didn't usually give anyone so much attention. "What's that about?"

She looked over her shoulder; he had been in the crowd of people and now watched her go. "He's really nice. And smart. And easy to talk to."

He was also, quite obviously, smitten with her. He was doing nothing to hide it. She didn't notice the signs. Because of an upbringing where no one wanted to talk to her, let alone woo her, she was completely oblivious. It made the whole exchange fascinating to watch.

And poke a little fun at . . .

"And handsome," I drawled. "With a nice body. And big... feet."

Crimson spots bloomed on her cheeks. "He's friendly, that's all. He listens really well. He always gives me his undivided attention, like he's fascinated by every word that comes out of my mouth." She shrugged. "He's a friend. I hope. He's someone I'd like to be friends with, anyway."

"A handsome friend."

The blush intensified. "It's just... There's no history, you know? It's nice getting to know someone that doesn't already know so much about me."

"Ah," I said, nodding. That made sense. If I had a history like hers, and with the reactions we'd all given her, I'd probably want to start from scratch as well. And honestly, after the curse, I kind of did, didn't I? We'd had a big influx of new people who'd had no idea what it had been like before. I remember it being... refreshing. I could relate to her on this one.

Just for a little extra poke, though, in the name of fun...

"So it has nothing to do with how handsome he is, then?"

"His appearance is just..." Another shrug. "I mean, fine, sure, he's nice to look at, yes, but so is the king—" She shivered. "The king is too scary. I take that back. But so is Vemar—he's really handsome. And so is that dragon commander, even though he looks like he wants to punch everyone he sees. And Finley is really beautiful; Calia too—there are a lot of attractive people here. He's just another one of them."

"First, I am hurt that my name wasn't mentioned in that list..."

She nudged me with her elbow. "Of course you're on the list. That goes without saying."

"I'll accept that. So, to summarize, he's nice to look at, but you don't want to fuck him."

Her whole face was beet red now. "I'm just trying to get by. I'm not looking to bang my way through the castle. I wouldn't even know what to do in an orgy."

"Orgy?" I put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "Who said anything about orgies?"

She rolled her eyes, brushing past. "It was that cornhole guy—Liron. He stopped Hannon and me on the way out to the garden and asked if we'd like to attend. Thankfully, Hannon got a little scary and shut him down, so I didn't have to deal with it?—"

"That fucking toolshed." I rolled my eyes with her this time. "Don't worry about that. Hannon likely solved the problem."

Hannon was as easygoing as they came, hardly ever ruffled, but when he reacted to a threat, it was extreme. Liron had probably shit himself. Served him right.

"Yeah. It's actually kind of nice that he can read emotions," Aurelia said. "I didn't have to say anything. When I got uncomfortable and started arguing with my wolf, who wanted to kill him, Hannon stepped in."

"Then you must also enjoy the four-way bond." Again, I watched her expression closely. "Since, you know, Weston will always do the same thing for you."

Her expression softened, her posture suddenly demure, a little smile playing across her lips. "Yes, that is nice, actually." She was also smitten, but not with Hannon. She was starting to come around.

I pushed a tree branch out of the way. "Now, I want to switch gears for a moment. What the fuck is with you blowing things up and getting glass embedded all in you? And what, gods help me, is up with wandering around covered in glass and blood and burn marks , of all bloody things, like some sort of horrific monster? You look scary enough to make iron stomachs churn. You've scared the whole fucking castle, my darling. Don't bother walking around with a knife—people will fucking run from you. Thank the gods' left nipples that Leala is your lady's maid. She is incredibly turned on by your high threshold for pain. She's itching to use that whip, I tell you, but don't let her. She'll fuck you with the handle, and you really don't want to know where it's been."

"Goodness gracious." She gulped and tugged at her collar.

"Exactly. Oh, and also, don't mind her if she lingers when the beta starts hammering that cock into you. I told her how spectacular you guys were to watch. She wants to see. She's not intrusive, though, so don't worry. She'll wait to wank until after she's left the room."

" Leala? She seems so nice and sweet. And normal."

"She is, love. Just very kinky, too. She'll get the whole room fucking if you let her. Now, here we go."

The beta waited in his birthday suit in the middle of six shifted dragons. One was the huge golden dragon of the king and another Vemar, who was curious to see how all of this would go. The others were of various power levels. Two were new to their forms because of the curse, and the other two from different kingdoms, therefore without the hardships the rest of us had faced. The king wanted a range of backgrounds to see how they and Aurelia would respond to each other. I got the feeling he was sizing her up.

As promised, no other shifters were in the area, save me.

"I'm going to go ahead and shift now, love, okay?" I stripped out of my clothes. "The beta will talk you through some things, and then the two of you will shift together."

She gripped my forearm, her nervousness palpable.

"No, no." I removed her fingers and stepped back, seeing the beta's frame tighten with thick cords of muscle I did not want coming at me. "Do not touch the Hadriel when he is removing his clothes. The Hadriel does not want his head pulled off in a fit of alpha wolf rage."

"Why do you all switch between calling him alpha and beta?" Aurelia asked, picking absent-mindedly at a nail and looking around at all the dragons. Her eyes widened when her gaze drifted over the king, who stood waiting patiently.

"Just to confuse you. Go now, he's waiting."

She did, slowly, getting more and more languid the closer she got to Weston. He watched her quietly, the sort of focus a true predator was known for. Now it wasn't only his muscles that stiffened.

When she stopped in front of him, he said, "Are you ready?"

She took a deep breath, laid her hands on his chest, and nodded.

"Okay."

He slowly undid her jacket, pushing it off her shoulders and tossing it away. The thing was utterly ruined; they may as well just burn it. Her shirt was next, then he leaned forward to take her lips.

I quickly finished undressing and shifted, letting my wolf take over. I didn't want to inadvertently start jacking off and draw too much attention to myself. There were rumors going around that I had an obsession with my dick, and while that was true of any man, at least to some extent, I was tired of defending the legitimacy of it.

When her chest was bare, he ran his hand down to cup a breast, still kissing her. She didn't seem to notice or care that people were watching. If not for the true mate bond, she'd probably be embarrassed as hell.

He worked at her pants, leaning back so that he could look down as he peeled them off her bruised and battered flesh. He didn't say anything, just worked them off gently, pulling out the larger pieces of glass that were still embedded in her skin. Mad, that woman. Pure madness.

On his knees now, he looked up at her before leaning forward to lick at her center. She threaded her fingers through his hair, widening her legs and leaning her head back, enjoying his slow, methodical touch.

"He's very... passionate," my wolf said, lying down, watching in interest.

Yes, he was. Pity I'd never gotten to sample it.

He licked some more before sucking, sliding his hands up the sides of her thighs and holding her hips. Slowly he rose, kissing up her skin as he did, back to her lips and sharing her taste. Aurelia moaned, and suddenly, for the first time ever, I was actually a little uncomfortable. This was insanely hot—enough to kick off a huge orgy—but also incredibly personal. Intimate. He was relaxing his mate, claiming all her focus before he guided her through her first shift. It was... touching. I was fucking touched, damn it.

Weston

"You feel me through the bond," I murmured, my lips against hers, feeling the nervousness still coiled within her. My wolf reached through, connecting with hers, readying to help her into the world.

"Yes," Aurelia answered, breathy, her eyes closed. Her focus was acutely on me, my ministrations having blurred everything around us. Except for the nervousness, she was in a good headspace.

"Keep that contact through the shift. Feel how I distribute my power and how I give control over to my wolf, okay? Once you start to release control, you need to—as the human—clear out of the way. Your wolf will rise and take over. It might feel weird at first, but you need to let her. I'll be right here. We'll do this together, okay?"

Another swirl of nervousness. "Okay."

I kissed her again, holding her hands, before stepping away. Her eyes opened slowly, meeting mine. We stared at each other for a moment, feeling our connection through the bond: her growing fear and uncertainty, my steadfast loyalty and support.

"I'm here for you," I told her, grounding her within our bond.

She nodded, and my wolf rose as slowly as he possibly could, showing her wolf how. Eyes never leaving Aurelia, I waited for the last possible moment before I got out of the way. He yanked power from them at the pinnacle moment, helping them feel the timing, sharing with them the pain, and then we were shifting, dropping down on all fours with scents and sounds rushing in to color the scene.

With another flutter of nervousness Aurelia began, following our lead to the letter. Her wolf rose to the surface, pulling power, more than she needed, wobbling as they passed each other in consciousness and control.

"Steady," my wolf murmured, stabilizing them through the bond, feeling her wolf clutch him as she tried to navigate.

She was in full control, using the power at the right moment to begin the transition. Pain pounded through them; it was always the hardest when the body morphed for the first time. Each consecutive shift got easier and easier.

My wolf braced for her wolf to reach for him in panic or alarm, but they sailed right by, shrugging it off and completing the transition as though it had been painless.

He didn't say anything, but I grinned at the humbled feeling. I'd had the same reaction after she was worked over by Alexander. Those wounds would've put me down for days, but she'd pushed through.

"She's beautiful," my wolf breathed, in complete awe. I had to agree.

The black fur on Aurelia's head ran down her back and dusted the tops of her legs. A deep gray, similar to ours, dotted the black in places and flowed down her neck to her chest. It was her wolf's face that was unique: her muzzle, mostly white, had a streak of brown on each side with a black stripe running between them. Her ears were mostly gray with a little of the brown at the base, and her eyes shone hazel. She was striking and interesting, just like the human.

The wolf immediately lowered to her stomach, her muzzle on her paws, looking up at us.

"What's she doing?" I asked my wolf in the equivalent of a whisper.

" A wolf usually shifts for the first time when the human is going through puberty, remember? The human is growing, awkward and gangly. The new wolf is the same, needing to learn their new body. In the pack, though, everyone is doing it together, young, and there's a community-wide learning curve. Aurelia knows her body well, though, and her wolf is with experienced creatures. If it were just us she'd probably try out her new legs right away, but the king is watching, as are the other dragons. She's proud. She is trying to process her new shape before she attempts to use it."

Just like the human, then. She wanted to size up the situation before she dove in.

We watched patiently. Her cute little nose twitched as she took in all the new smells. Her ears moved, processing the enhanced sounds—her wolf form was able to take in so much more information than her human ears. Her power throbbed within her, allowing my wolf to pull it to him before she accepted it back gracefully. He'd been worried she'd be unable to maintain the equilibrium of it in a new situation, worried she'd clutch it, hoard it. That she didn't was a very good sign.

Another good sign was that she was not reaching with it. Hadriel's pack bond pulsed nearby but remained connected to me. She could instinctively feel it; she could feel the bond to the whole pack in me. Most new wolves tended to grope for it, trying to find a lifeline. New alphas often felt it out, those with something to prove usually grabbing hold of it to see if they could wrestle it away from the more established alpha. Not once did she so much as think in that direction.

"She's worried about disrupting the pack bond, " my wolf murmured with a note of pride, still watching her watch him. "She is getting her bearings before she seeks our guidance. She's keeping her power as contained as possible, keeping herself firmly under control, to ensure she doesn't jeopardize the pack."

She wasn't worried about herself and her shift now—she was worried about my people.

My heart swelled.

My wolf waited for a moment longer before bending his head toward her, about to nudge her along like he would a shy, new wolf.

Her lips pulled away from her teeth in a silent snarl. He backed off immediately. She would not be rushed.

I chuckled as he went back to waiting without a word.

Finally, she lifted her head. And then rose to her feet. Her wolf wasn't as small as her human, nor was she as slight. She was average for a wolf, about the size of Hadriel. She'd be able to hold her own in a fight. Not that she couldn't in human form. What she lacked in size, she more than made up for in speed.

Hesitantly, she stepped forward. My wolf couldn't contain his pride as he circled her, watching. She stepped again, and again, walking in a straight line, nowhere near as wobbly as a normal first-timer. After a moment, she tried moving a little faster, the equivalent of a brisk walk. Her movements were halting at first, but she quickly got the hang of it. Then she went a little faster within the circle of dragons, up to a light jog. She didn't attack anyone as some had feared, and I still hadn't felt her reach for Hadriel's bond. She had control—of herself, and of her power.

"She's a natural," my wolf said as we felt her elation through the bond. He beamed with pride now, watching his little mate practically prance through the wild grasses and budding flowers.

He ran to join her, unable to help it. He licked her muzzle in a show of devotion before running his face over the back of her neck. She stretched for him, angling her face back to him as he ran his muzzle toward and over her shoulders. Heat worked through the bond as both of them reacted to their proximity for the first time.

"Uh..." I said, a little confused. "Besides the fact that we're here to shift, not fuck, I thought this didn't happen until the female entered her heat..."

My wolf didn't respond. He stood with his head braced over her, an indication of his claim, as was the beginning of her mating ritual: her tail swishing for him, leaning toward him, her head curved around submissively.

"Chill out , " I told him. "We've got business to attend to."

He knew I was right and pulled his head from over her back, turning until he was standing beside her. Fuck's sake. It wasn't as bad as crawling out of a castle window without wings, but this wasn't a great time for him to lose control.

We looked at Hadriel's wolf lying on his stomach. His ears suddenly flattened—he was clearly unsure what would happen next. The plan had gotten as far as using him for bait to see if she would usurp the bond, but she'd passed that test without even flexing. It was time to push her a little more and see how she reacted.

My wolf directed the bond toward Aurelia's wolf, magically guiding her to it, the task so much easier with the mating bond. We'd try to handle it together and see what happened. It was a gamble to bring in a powerful, untrained wolf in a situation like this, especially one who had the potential to snatch away the bond.

The only alpha true mate pairing I'd ever heard of were the king and queen, but they were dragons. They had a mating bond, yes, but dragons didn't form pack bonds. Their agreement to share leadership was verbal.

An alpha wolf pair leading a pack was different. They had to hold the bond together, working cohesively to balance the power dynamic. Their mating bond had to flow freely at all times, and sometimes compromises needed to be made in a fraction of a second. I'd never heard of an alpha wolf pair leading successfully for an extended period of time.

But I'd also never heard of an alpha true mate wolf pairing, period. I had to assume nature had gotten it right.

The sensation of her wolf taking hold of Hadriel's pack bond was featherlight, soft and serene and full of trust that my wolf would steer her. Then the bond swelled with power, a wave of it rushing through the pack bond straight for Hadriel.

His wolf whined, standing quickly and backing up. His lips pulled back from his teeth and his hair puffed, his fear of the power bearing down on him evident. Wolf and man tensed up; I knew Hadriel was probably screaming inside.

Nyfain's dragon, reading Hadriel's cues, took a step forward. A wave of panic swept through Aurelia, but my wolf gripped her power tightly, reclaiming her focus, staying the course.

The power washed over Hadriel's wolf, sloshing around him, probably dragging him under. The wolf growled, braced himself... and then the magic settled. The same iron hold still tethered us to Hadriel, but now Aurelia's connection existed all around, too, the soft sort of embrace something I'd never felt before. If I was the hard ground under their feet and the hot sun beating down onto their flesh, she was the bees buzzing around the flower petals and the birdsong high overhead. It was peaceful and tranquil.

Perfect, just like her. Just like us together.

"This is natural," my wolf said, leaning against her side and rubbing his face against her head. "This is what wolf leadership was always meant to be. A true mate pair holding the bond, both nurturing and guiding the pack. Both of us, working together in perfect unity."

I felt every reverent word he said deep in my soul. But just as Aurelia had taken one step at a time, so must we. I brought out the hard truths we'd have to face.

"She can hold a bond, but can she work with one? She can run, but can she fight? I have trained all my life; she has just met her wolf. She has the power and blood of an alpha, but she does not have the experience or know-how. We don't know if she'll work as half of our alpha pair. "

He didn't comment, probably because he didn't want to admit I was right. He wanted to bask in the glory that was this moment, sharing it with our true mate. Just as Aurelia had said, my wolf was instinctive, and I was the logical one. We had work to do.

"Pull her back now," I told my wolf. "Make sure she will disengage."

He hated me for telling him to do it. He hated his duty more. But he was an alpha, and he would do right by his pack.

The swell of magic receded gradually, so incredibly smooth, as Aurelia's wolf took his guidance as truth. It showed how much trust she had in him. How easily she ceded to his dominance and leadership.

"The bond was more than twice as strong," my wolf said. "The true mate pairing doesn't just double in power—it grows it exponentially. It's not in the actual bond, though, but more like... in the protection of the bond."

He was right. If the initial bond was a rope connecting us all, Aurelia's added power covered that rope in an iron crust. It would be much, much harder to break or rip away.

"We didn't try communicating through it ," I mentioned.

"Maybe we would have if you hadn't rushed us into tearing it down."

It was annoying when he was right.

"Now..." My wolf licked his muzzle uncertainly. Aurelia's wolf looked over to gauge the unsettled feelings through the bond. "We need to see how she reacts to her worst nightmare."