Shifting Changes (The First Shift) (6 page)

Faolan’s
heart sank. “No, of course not. I just thought… Well, I thought that if she meets
him and decides she doesn’t want him, then I could, um, take him with me and—”

“Take
him with you?” The guard chuckled. “Good man, you’re not going to take him with
you, no matter if the queen wants him or not. If she doesn’t want him,
he’ll be examined and then paired off with a group of
females that are most likely to be a genetic match with him.”

Faolan
winced. He’d known it all along, hadn’t he? “A group? Won’t he be allowed to try
to find his mate first?”

“No. You know how it works, don’t you?”

“Um, well, I just thought…”

The guard shook his head. “T
here are lots of females that carry the
white gene in them. The males are the problem because they hardly ever have it,
but at least the ones who do are easy to spot.
Because
the chances of a couple producing white offspring are minimal, the males get to
father as many babies as possible. And
the way he looks, I’m sure he’ll
make quite a few of them. As a matter of fact, I believe that even if the queen
wants him for herself, she will consider passing him on when she’s done with
him, simply because he’s too good to waste. This one will be used for breeding,
one way or the other.”

Shayonn
had listened without moving, but at the guard’s last words, he swallowed and
shifted his weight. He was still gagged, and that was probably a good thing.
The earlier resignation had dropped off him and he seemed eager to give the
guard a piece of his mind.

“Oh.
Okay,” Faolan said, ignoring the furious glare Shayonn cast his way. “Will it
be possible for me to stay? Until the queen has made her decision, I mean.”

The
guard shrugged. “I don’t think so. But you can be present when she sees the
men. The mating process is a public event.”

“Public?”

“Yes.”

Chapter 5

Faolan
watched in awed silence. The men, all six of them, were adorable. They all had flawless
bodies and there was little left to hide their beauty. They were aroused,
sporting magnificent erections that were barely concealed by the tiniest of
loincloths.
Only two of them were in ties and
Faolan
recognised Shayonn at first sight. After taking a few moments to compare him to
his peers, he decided that Shayonn was by far the most handsome creature in the
room.

Led
by guards, the six men were lined up next to each other, with a few yards separating
them. Of course, the queen would want to be able to sniff them individually.
She needed their scent to find her best possible mate, which was also the
reason the men had to be sexually aroused. It made it easier for her.

The
expectant whispers around Faolan stopped and the crowd turned their heads as
one. The huge, carved, wooden double doors at the end of the large room were
opened. The queen entered.

Having
never seen her in person, Faolan was mesmerised by her beauty. She was big for
a female, even a white tiger one, and her face and body were symmetrical and in
perfect shape. Her thick, black-and-white fur was glossy and gleamed in the
light as she crossed the room with slow, majestic grace. Her paws made no sound
on the plush crimson carpet. She didn’t look around. Her huge eyes were fixed
on the men that were presented to her, awaiting her inspection and appraisal
with heaving chests and sweaty skin. Faolan could relate to them. Shayonn had
made being potentially chosen as the queen’s mate sound like an ordeal, but
seeing her in all her glory and watching the other five men next to Shayonn,
Faolan realised that Shayonn was the only one who thought so. Hell, he would
have been honoured to stand on that little stage himself.

But
he didn’t, and never would. He was a plain, ordinary wolf and of poor pedigree
at that. He’d never be allowed to have children of his own, even if he were
lucky enough to find his mate, which was improbable because the females of his
species didn’t look twice at the likes of him. No, watching the white queen
climb the stairs to the platform where her future mate might be waiting was as
close as Faolan could ever hope to get to a traditional shifter mating ritual.

Astonished
whispers started up around him. Faolan craned his neck to see better, just like
the others in the vast room. It seemed the queen had been fast to make up her
mind. Instead of looking at each man in turn, she had made a straight line to
one of them and stopped in front of him. Staring at Shayonn with her big green
eyes, she sat down. At an impatient flick of her tail, two female guards
hurried to bring a velvet gown and held it up for her. Screened from the
public, she shifted to human form and the gown was fastened around her.

She
was a beautiful woman. Tall and slender and with exquisite, doll-like features.
Right now, those features were twisted into an expression of irritation as she
took a step that brought her right in front of Shayonn. He was taller than her
by at least three inches, but his height was clearly irrelevant to her. Raising
her fine-boned, elegant hand, she slapped him firmly across the cheek.

A
thin smile played on Shayonn’s lips as he straightened up and looked down at
her. “Hello, Mum.”

*
* * *

“What
does this mean, he is the queen’s son?” Faolan enquired half an hour later.

The
man who sat across from him, Bernard, shrugged. “The boy is Prince Shayonn of
Atraya, our Royal Highness’s youngest child and her only son.”

Faolan
was dizzy with excitement as he remembered that he had not only met the prince
but had in fact spent some pleasurable minutes with him. “He’s Prince Shayonn?
But why? How is this possible? I thought the prince was abroad, studying.”

“Yes,
I know. That’s what everybody thought and what everybody was supposed to
believe. And indeed, he has been abroad for several years. At a university in
England, to be precise. He was about to graduate but then he ran away. Escaped
his guards and just disappeared.”

“Why?
Why would he do that?”

Bernard
shrugged. He took a breath and opened his mouth but was spared an answer. The queen
entered. She was on her own and in human form.

“That
would be all, Bernard,” she said curtly, ignoring Faolan.

“Milady?”

“You
heard. I wish to speak to this man in private.”

“Of
course, Your Majesty.” Bernard was fast to retreat and he closed the doors
quietly.

They
were alone. Faolan swallowed, nervous. He didn’t know what to expect or what to
make of this situation.

The
queen remained standing and watched him for a while. “Where did you find him?”

“We,
uh, met quite by chance, Your Majesty.”

“By
chance, huh?” She continued to regard him with those big green eyes of hers as
if trying to figure out who she was dealing with. Faolan squirmed. Her eyes
were eerily like her son’s and he tried not to think of them and the way they
had been scrunched up in pleasure while he’d jerked them both to orgasm. Or the
accusing stares he’d received from them afterwards when he had forced the proud
tiger to meet his fate.

“Yes,”
Faolan replied, then, taking in the queen’s raised eyebrows, he added, “Milady.
Yes, Milady.”

“And
why did you bring him here?”

“Well,
I’d heard about your order that every young, male white tiger be brought to the
palace and when I realised what he was, I obeyed your order.”

“I
see.” Arms folded across her chest, she stared at him. “But you didn’t know who
you were dealing with, did you?”

“You
mean did I know he’s the prince? No. No, I didn’t know that. All I knew was
that he was a white tiger.
Is
a white tiger,” he corrected himself.

The
queen tilted her head. “Yes indeed. That’s what he is.” She sounded pensive as
she turned to look out of the window.

“Your
Majesty?” Faolan asked after a long moment of silence.

She
glanced at him with raised eyebrows. “Yes?”

“I’m
sorry, I… I don’t really know what I’m supposed to say. I’m not used to be with
people like, uh, like you,” Faolan explained.

“I
know. It’s what Shayonn said. You’re a wolf, aren’t you?”

“Yes,
Your Majesty.”

“So,
you are not a member of our community but you chose to respect my orders anyway?”

Faolan
lowered his head under her inquisitive gaze. “Yes.”

“Why?”

“Well…
He’s part of your species, so your law is what applies to him. Not mine, not
the human race’s, not any other kind’s.”

“Indeed.
And the fact that there is a reward on his head has nothing to do with your
willingness to abide our law?”

Faolan
frowned in honest surprise. “There’s a reward? I didn’t know that.”

Her
unsettling green stare rested on him for several long heart beats, then she
said, “Yes. There is a reward. And you shall have it, if you want. But truth be
told, I’d rather offer you something else for your services.”

“What
would that be?”

“A
job.”

*
* * *

Shayonn
stared down the wolf shifter. He was furious and unforgiving and it seemed his
gaze transmitted his feelings well.

Faolan
lowered his head and Shayonn assumed that, had he been in animal shape, he
would have tucked his tail between his legs. Of course he would have, he couldn’t
help it. Dangerous though the wolf in him was, he had an instinctive
understanding of who the stronger creature in this room was, and it wasn’t him.

“Get the fuck out of my room!” When he was this angry, even Shayonn’s
human voice sounded like a growl. Deep and threatening, it reverberated in his
chest.

Faolan
winced but took a breath and squared his shoulders. So the wolf was up for a
little flexing of muscles, it seemed. Well, he must have known his job wouldn’t
be an easy one.

“I’m
afraid that’s not an option and I believe you know that.” Faolan’s voice was
surprisingly firm and emotionless. “Your mother has employed me as your personal
assistant and bodyguard, so—”

“Bodyguard?”
Shayonn snarled. “Watchdog, you mean.” He observed as Faolan’s lip curled into
a snarl and allowed himself a smug grin. “Tell me, did you have to roll over
and let her scratch your belly, too?”

“No,
she only had to tell me that I’d get to teach her spoilt brat of a son some
manners and I was all up for the job.”

“Oh,
spoilt brat, is it? You have no fucking idea who I am, so get your hairy arse
out of here before I tell my
mother
that you had your hand on my dick.”

To
Shayonn’s surprise, Faolan twitched his shoulders. “Tell her that if you like
but she already knows.”

“What?
How?”

“I
told her.”

Shayonn
was flabbergasted. “Why?” The question came out as a feeble squeak and he hated
it, so he tried to make up for it by scowling even more fiercely.

Faolan
didn’t seem too impressed. “I told her so there would be nothing you could use
against me,” he explained in a bored tone. “Just so we’re clear, whatever
happened between us doesn’t matter. This job is a great opportunity for me but
that’s all it is—a job. Don’t fool yourself thinking you’d get slack just
because I let you spill your spunk on me. It’s not gonna happen. In fact your
mother and I agreed that it’s time you be kept on a very short leash.”

Shayonn’s
head pounded and he was dizzy with rage. “You arrogant son of a bitch!” he
growled but again, Faolan just shrugged off the comment. “Even if I cared about
my mother, which I don’t, this wouldn’t be an insult because you see,
technically she
is
a bitch. Now go get changed, your mother wants to see
you for dinner.”

Every
fibre, every cell of Shayonn’s being vibrated with indignity. None of his
previous guards had dared speak to him like that. They had all respected him
for his status. Even Tjiann, his long-time guard who hadn’t been able to resist
his attraction to Shayonn in the end and had become his first lover, had always
been aware of his position as a minion. Shayonn was mad with rage, and yet, the
wolf’s tough determination fascinated him. Lowering his head, he turned away
and went to get changed for the first formal dinner with his mother in four
years.

Chapter 6

During
the weeks that followed, Shayonn tried to keep his distance from Faolan as much
as he could but since it was Faolan’s job to keep an eye on him, he was never
far away. He had become an almost constant presence, a persistent irritation
but also a never ending temptation. Shayonn was no longer allowed to leave the
grounds the palace was built on. The beautiful gardens with their brightly
coloured flower beds, lush green bushes and sweet scents had become his prison.
He’d succeeded in escaping once, and now his mother made sure he didn’t get
another chance. Still, it was nice to be outside and move and the sound of the
waves crashing on the rock a few hundred feet below them turned the exercise
into an unexpected journey back into his childhood, when he’d been a scrawny
cub roaming the bushes and his mother’s beloved rose garden.