NOLA REYNOLDSThe changelings in the stone castle were herded out by a line of tin-armored soldiers flexing their swords and showing off for the local village maidens until the messy blonde-haired chief guard showed up to chase them.I could still feel the King’s energy nearby, but I had lost sight of him in the crowd, whipping my head back and forth before I realized I looked like a fucking cub and snapped my head forward, heading for the castle mouth.The nerve of that man! Flirting with those pesky little bitches right in my fucking face! I mean it wasn't like we had physically mated yet or anything! “Fucking asshole Lycans and their batty-eyed maids, out of my way!” I grumbled, screaming at the gray-frocked girl that had decided to occupy the busy hallway with her large derriere. She jolted, her fruit basket flying out of her grip as she jerked away and I stormed past, only feeling a twinge of guilt that disappeared immediately.I felt like a fucking fool, what did he take me for

Hector BayesThe air around me felt wrong when I came to, and it wasn't just the weight that had pressed itself into my chest, wrapping itself securely in the crook of my arm.”Fuck,” I groaned, cracking my eyes open a notch to see that the sky had gone yellow again, the previous day’s events rushing to my head with all the force of a bloody tornado.Nola was still asleep beside me on the white canvass of the bed beside her, having managed to kick the duvet so far off the dias that it lay in a begrudging heap in the corner of the room.I chuckled with amusement, watching the rise and fall of her chest until I grazed the bud of her pink nipples lightly, unable to help the pull of my wolf until her dark brown eyelashes fluttered lightly, breaking her soft snore.My balls were already heavy with the promise of seeds as I felt the familiar urge harden my shaft until it tented obscenely between my legs that were still sprawled in a loose bow from the other day’s lovemaking.We had been goi

HECTOR BAYESIt wasn't the overcast darkness of the gloomy, storm-clouded sky above that worried me as we marched away from the stone castle on horseback.Instead, it was the porcelain tusk of the imp’s drawn face as she pushed her petite form to the front line of the castle crowd just before I gave the match order.I remembered the way her eyebrows had creased slightly as though in confusion, and a lone stab of guilt uncurled in my belly after I realized I hadn't even been to see the other maidens since my unwanted exile as King of the mountain city.It would have to wait till the watch was over.“Forward soldiers! Remember what we stand to lose!” I thundered, plastering myself to the bodice of the horse as my wolf readied inside me, my heart beating fervently in my chest as we marched through the village center, upending carts and food stalls as the farmers darted out of our way, their hands pressed to their faces in horror.My heart broke for them, the residents, as I looked about

NOLA REYNOLDSThe gritty foyer of the stone castle was silent after the troops had left, with the gates coming down on the dust of soldiers horsing less dramatically than I had imagined it would.”I hope nothing bad happens to the King, the lowlanders are a dreadful lot!” Sarah’s loud whine off to my right was enough to send the balls of my eyes into a game of tug with the back of my head.“The good king is perfectly fine taking care of himself Sarah, enough with the faux concern,” I spat caustic ally, faster than I could think to reign in my tongue, and regretted it immediately I saw the spark of satisfaction in the maiden’s eyes.I heaved a sigh as the rest of the small crowd turned to me, realizing I had just fallen into Sarah Oliver’s trap when she clapped her hands, stepping up to me and speaking while looking at the open-mouthed rubberneckers.Here we fucking go! The sun wasn't even high enough in the sky and I could already feel the press of irritation and worry burning a hole

NOLA REYNOLDSThe Lycan King leaving had opened a wound in my heart that stayed sore until the weight of his crown in my hands distracted me.“Come on, this way! Into the lower levels!” A red-faced guard who had opened the tin cage of his helmet was yelling so loudly beside me that I jolted.I turned to see that he was herding the crowd of sobbing residents in a neat line through the underground gates I hadn't noticed before, a different procession of somber-faced men with tightened jaws and the nettled garb of newly appointed infantry shining against their pale and coffee-colored skins.What the hell was going on? Were they recruiting new soldiers? Just how many of those lowlanders were crawling outside the reinforced gates of the castle?“Saints!” I gasped, jolting and slamming head-first into a woman’s ample bosom as I turned in the direction of the ear-splitting war cries in the distance that wrenched my heart from the cage of my ribs.The line of newly appointed soldiers scattere