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"No. You're not," Hudson said. And with that, he marched her off to bed.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Hudson

  Hudson stepped off the plane into a world that felt magical ... and cold. They'd first flown from Chicago to Anchorage, Alaska. Then Anchorage to Fairbanks, where they'd switched to a seaplane and flew for another three hours over some of the most gorgeous, uninhabited land Hudson had ever seen.

  Now he was standing on a dock over a pristine lake that stretched for miles. The water was so clear he could see all the way to the bottom, even though it had to be at least twenty feet deep beneath him. And reflected in those clear waters--towering into the blue, blue sky that stretched above them--was a castle. It was constructed of white stone with glass spires that dazzled in the afternoon sun.

  "Wow," Kay said, awe ringing through her voice as she poked her head out of the plane.

  Hudson had no words.

  The castle was so shimmering and blinding that Hudson suspected it blended directly into the snowy landscape it was constructed on. If you didn't already know it was there, perhaps you never would. There was something else too.

  The smell.

  The crisp, cool air triggered a memory buried deep inside of him. The memory wasn't so much an image as a feeling--a certainty. This was home.

  An enormous snowmobile trundled toward them. It was the size of a Hummer, and towing a sled that could comfortably seat nine people. The driver stopped, leapt off the driver's seat, and bowed in front of him.

  "Welcome home, Your Highness."

  "Don't call me that," Hudson said, irritated. He didn't know what he was supposed to think about all this--or feel about all this--but he certainly wasn't ready to be called "Your Highness" anytime soon.

  He carried Kay and placed her on the sled, still not willing to let her exert herself--or risk falling. There could be ice anywhere. Steve and Ellen climbed on as well, and then they were whisked toward the high walls of the castle.

  A shimmering silver gate opened just long enough to let them through. Then the snowmobile dropped them at the base of wide, tall steps that led to an imposing front door. But Hudson couldn't manage to take a single step. Somewhere behind that door was his mother.

  Was he ready for this? Would he ever be?

  "Come on, baby," Kay nudged. "You can do this."

  She squeezed his hand and he looked into her eyes. Their depth seemed to hold all the strength he needed in the moment. He took one step, then two, then lifted Kay down to stand by his side.

  But before they could get any farther the doors swung open. A tall, middle-aged woman with a cascade of jet-black hair came bounding down the steps. She wasn't dressed in the clothing Hudson expected of an Empress. She wore jeans and sturdy shoes and a warm white parka lined in fox fur. She ran to him without slowing, crashing into him and enveloping him in her long, strong arms.

  The smell of her. The smell. Like baked apples and hearth fires and blankets fresh and warm from the dryer.

  He knew it with utter certainty. It was her. It was his mother.

  An image of her face burst into his mind. She was smiling over him, lifting him into the air. She was laughing.

  "Mom?" he asked, his choked voice betraying all the emotion rushing up through him.

  "You're here," she said, her wide, blue eyes sparkling up at him. Tears streamed down her face as she gripped his shoulders and held him at arms-length, taking him in. "You're finally here."

  Chapter Twenty

  Kay

  "After your father was killed, we had to protect his only heirs," the Empress was saying. Kay had asked Ellen and learned her first name was Colette, but everyone called her Coley. The nickname suited her. Colette was far too stuffy for the down-to-earth woman Kay saw before her.

  The five of them were nestled into armchairs in front of a roaring fire, trying to stuff nearly thirty years of talk into a single conversation.

  "The blood lines are complicated, but it boils down to this. Without you and your brothers, Dietrich Zoltag--the man who kidnapped Kay--is next in line for the throne. And that can't happen."

  "How many brothers?" Hudson asked.

  "I'm so sorry. I keep forgetting what you do and don't know." Coley said. "Three. You have three brothers. Maxwell is the eldest, and heir apparent by order of birth. Then comes you, then Samuel, then Elliott."

  "When can I meet them?"

  "That, I'm afraid, is up to them."

  "I don't understand," Hudson said. Kay could see the sadness and desperation in his eyes.

  Hudson had grown up as an only child. Not only that, but he'd been a shifter with no other shifters his age. To discover he had a family--real brothers who might be the only people in the world who could understand that experience--and then not be able to meet them must be absolute torture.

  "I sent you all out into the world for a reason, Hudson. The secrecy was to protect you, but you were always destined to leave home one day on the greatest, most important quest of your lives. One from which you wouldn't have been allowed to return until you found success."

  "I don't understand," Hudson said. "You were always going to send us away?"

  "Eventually, yes. You see, the old laws still bind us. No one can take the throne without their mate." Coley reached out for Kay's hand. "That's why I'm so happy he found you. It meant he could finally come back home."

  "So even if I had grown up here, I would have eventually been cast out until I found my mate?"

  "Once you turned eighteen. It's an old law, but an important one. Marriage is sacred to our people, Hudson. It's one of the four tenants we hold most dear."

  "What are the four tenants?" Kay asked. "Laws?"

  "More like beliefs, a moral code," Steve interjected. "The sanctity of life, the bond of secrecy, the sacredness of love, and the duty of perpetuation."

  "Exactly," Coley smiled. "So to have one of those tenants not upheld in practice by an Emperor or Empress feels like a violation. We're held to higher standards--as we should be. It's what our people deserve."

  "So I can't meet my brothers until they find their mates?" Hudson asked.

  "I'm afraid not," Coley said. "For the time being, you need to stay here. And they won't be allowed through the gates without a mate by their side."

  "But aren't they in danger the same way I was? Shouldn't we be trying to protect them?"

  "First of all, we don't know that for certain. It's possible that the Zoltags were only able to locate one of you. That's why we separated you in the first place, to spread out the risk. We have to assume it's working. But just in case, we've amped up security patrols around the other princes. The second we hear of any trouble, there are relocation plans in place that can be executed at a moment's notice. But I won't pretend it's not dangerous for them. The Zoltags got to you, and they could get to your brothers too."

  "Why did they wait so long to attack?" Kay asked.

  "What do you mean?" Coley asked.

  "They were there--the sisters--the night we met," Kay said.

  "They were?" Hudson asked.

  "Yes. They were circling you like sharks," Kay said, "I'm surprised you didn't notice them."

  "I might have been a little distracted," Hudson grinned.

  "Maybe. But I bet they used the spray," Kay said.

  "Spray?" Coley asked.

  "When Annika helped me escape. She sprayed me with something so no one would smell my trail."

  "Interesting," Ellen said. "That explains why their scent was so difficult to pick up at the lake house."

  "And possibly why we've had so much trouble tracking them," Coley said.

  "Yes," Kay said. "But it still doesn't answer my question. Why did they wait to attack? They could have killed him right there."

  "It was just the daughters, not the boys?" Steve asked.

  "Yes. Three of them."

  Coley exchanged a look with Ellen and Steve.

  "What?" Hudson asked. "What is it?"

  "Dietrich h
as a whole pack of children," Coley said. "But only three of them are daughters. It's possible they were sent specifically to distract you from your search for love. But I think it's more likely that Dietrich hoped you might bond with one of them."

  "So you think he's trying to infiltrate the palace from the inside?" Steve asked.

  "Perhaps," Coley said. "But thankfully, that didn't happen."

  "What if he's sending the daughters out to all the boys first?" Ellen asked. "Maybe we could warn them."

  "I'll alert their guardians first thing tomorrow," Coley said.

  "I'm sorry, but I can't just sit here and do nothing while my brothers could be in danger." Hudson fumed.

  "I know it's difficult, Hudson, but you must. You were given a gift--the chance to find true happiness. And that experience wasn't tainted by understanding how important it was to do so. The moment your brothers learn the truth, that gift disappears. So I beg you not to do anything rash."

  "This is unbelievable," Hudson raged. "I'd take pressure in exchange for safety any day."

  "Even if you had never found Kay?" Coley said. "Finding a mate isn't guaranteed. How would it feel if you knew what waited for you here, but also knew you couldn't experience it?"

  Hudson grew quiet, and Kay could see he was considering his mother's words carefully.

  "The danger isn't just in losing something special. It's in making a rushed decision that could ruin your life. And it could lead to much greater heartbreak if you never found your mate at all. You and your brothers have already been through so much. I won't make it harder on them. Right now, all I can give is the peace of ignorance."

  "There's something else to consider, though, isn't there?" Kay asked. "Right now, Hudson is the only one who can take the throne."

  "It's complicated, and not quite as simple as that. Technically, he can't take the throne until the two of you are married. And technically, Maxwell would have to officially abdicate first. But yes."

  The importance of that dawned on Kay for the first time. Hudson needed to be safe inside the palace not just because she loved him, but because the fate of the entire shifter community rested on his shoulders.

  "She's right, Hudson. You have to stay."

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Hudson

  "It doesn't matter," Kay said to him. "Your company, my career, all of it can change."

  The two of them had wandered into the greenhouse to talk privately.

  The space was stunning. Intricate glass panels rose high above their heads. All around them, the air was fragrant with flowers and plants from around the world. It was an oasis, a spot of life amid a stretch of frozen white that surrounded the palace on all sides. They strolled through the greenery hand in hand.

  "I'm not going to ask you to sacrifice your whole life for this," Hudson said. "We've been here a single night. How do we know it's all true?"

  "You know it is. I can see you know it. And so do I. It's too crazy not to be true. And I'm not sacrificing anything. I'll take the time to make a business plan and setup my new company."

  "Your new company?" Hudson asked.

  "I'm not going to work for you, Hudson. I'm sorry. And I'm not going to work for my father either. I think deep down I always knew Lewis Tech wasn't the right place for me. Maybe it was even why I helped Chase succeed instead of myself. I never really wanted it."

  "So what will you do instead?" he asked.

  "Strategy consulting. Every company I interviewed with had major things that could be improved. They couldn't see it, but I could."

  "Every company?" Hudson asked.

  "Yours most of all. You're doing well, Hudson, but you could be doing so much better."

  "What's the first thing you'd change?"

  "That, my love," she teased, "is advice you're going to have to pay me for."

  Hudson loved hearing the ring of confidence in her voice. She was his ballsy, sweet, beautiful little woman, and he didn't want her any other way--even if it meant he couldn't boss her around at work. There were plenty of other ways he could come up with to boss her around. His groin stirred just thinking about them.

  "Then consider me your first customer," he said.

  "I will. And we can work from here almost as easily as Chicago. It will be harder for you, of course, but we'll only have to stay until your brothers show up. After that, we can discuss the right time to return home together."

  "Together?" he asked.

  "I seem to remember something about you not being able to take the throne until we got married?" Kay said. "Plus there's our baby to think about. It makes sense to do it sooner rather than later."

  Hudson grabbed her and pressed her against a tall, golden pillar. She looked up at him, breathless, her eyes going cloudy.

  "Kay Hennessy, are you asking for my hand in marriage?" he growled.

  "Yes," she said. It came out as barely a whisper from her parted lips. He could feel the peaks of her nipples pressing into his chest.

  "I should spank your bottom for being so forward," he grinned.

  "I dare you to try," she said with a sexy little smirk.

  In an instant, he had her cradled in his arms and was marching her toward his bedroom, smacking her ass along the way.

  When he finally set her down on the plush four-poster bed, she looked into his eyes again. "I take it that's a yes?" she asked.

  "Damn right it's a yes," he said, pulling a small box from his bedside table. "Which means I should probably give you this."

  His mother had pressed it into his hands earlier in the day, which meant that Kay now had two wedding rings. The other was locked in his safe at work and had been since the day of the gala. But he was glad to have this one on hand now.

  He opened the box. The ring shone up from a bed of red velvet with a large diamond. It looked delicate, antique. It suited her, at least while she was here at the palace.

  "Oh, Hudson," she said. "It's beautiful."

  He slipped it on her finger. "You're mine. And now you'll always be mine."

  She looked up at him with love in her eyes. "I already was."

  Part Two: Prince Samuel

  Chapter One

  Samuel

  Samuel Ryan pulled into the worksite in his pickup truck. The lot was nestled against Mt. Hood and surrounded by trees not yet touched by the first gold of autumn. It was still only September, and while there was a chill in the air, the forest was still green. The lot wasn't just any lot, it was a thousand acres. A thousand acres of his own wilderness to roam without any prying eyes.

  Sam had been an architect for only seven years, but already he was considered one of the best in the business. This home was the first project he had ever made only for himself. He imagined it being a retreat away from his busy life in Seattle--somewhere he could go to unwind and be himself. Somewhere he could shift into his bear form without the risk of discovery. And what better place than here to do it? With a private airfield nearby, it was less than an hour from his office on his jet.

  He strode forward to inspect the work so far. The walls were just now being framed. They'd had a bit of delay because he'd had to fire his last supplier. So he'd asked around and found a new guy--a family-owned company run by someone named Frankie Thompson. His foreman, Hank Price, had set it up.

  He heard the trundle of a large-bed truck curving around the still-bumpy bend in his driveway. That must be the guy now. Sure enough, the cab had "Thompson Building Supplies" on the door and the truck's bed was full of lumber. He tramped over to it as it came to a stop. But he didn't make it far.

  As the driver got out, his heart leapt in his chest.

  He realized he'd made a critical error.

  Frankie Thompson wasn't a man. Far from it. Frankie Thompson was a woman. All woman. And damn if she wasn't the most gorgeous woman he'd ever seen.

  She wore work jeans and a loose plaid shirt that seemed like they were meant to hide her body, but it didn't work. The shirt's buttons strained at all the rig
ht places. And while the jeans were modestly fitted, they hugged her plush rear and thick, sumptuous thighs as she hopped down to the ground. Sam watched her dark-auburn ponytail swing and felt an instant need to twist his fingers into the locks and feel their silk against his hands.

  She had a clipboard in one hand and a pencil in the other. Sam almost moaned when, closing the cab door, she put the pencil between her teeth. That mouth. Those lips. Full and raspberry-colored and set against a creamy, apple-cheeked complexion, they tempted him like a hot cherry pie sitting on a window sill.

  Then her long lashes fluttered. She must have felt him staring at her. She looked up, and Sam was struck by the most startling pair of pale blue eyes he'd ever seen. They glistened like the sky seen through diamonds.

  The moment their eyes locked, he felt his bear roar inside his gut. He felt the earth beneath him grow unsteady, almost as if someone had pushed him or pulled him--had reached right into his chest and gripped his heart and tugged. He felt something else too--hot and raw and certain.

  She was his.

  And no other woman, from now until the end of time, would satisfy him.

  Chapter Two

  Francesca

  Frankie chomped down on the pencil in her mouth, feeling like a total goober. She snatched it back into her hand. Who was that guy and why was he staring at her? He was so good-looking it felt odd for him to be aware of her at all. For him to be staring was just plain weird. Did she have something on her face? Or maybe he was mad. Was he about to tell her off for parking in the wrong spot or something?

  Instinctively, she reached into the truck and turned off her motor, killing the classical music that was streaming from her phone. Loving it was something she'd picked up from her mother, but she'd suffered more than one rude comment about it working the kind of job she did. She didn't feel up to the extra scrutiny at the moment.

  She eyed him as he approached her. From the looks of his clothes, he must be the architect. She'd heard he was a big guy, but damn. She was tall for a woman--5'11"--and even she would only come up to his shoulder.