King of the Wilds: Rosethorn Valley Fae #3 Read online

  “Gods, woman,” he growled from the water.

  “What’s the story with the tattoo?” she asked primly.

  “You are my queen,” he said simply. “When we seal that bond by fully consummating our union, the vines will crawl around our hands and we will spend the rest of your lifetime together.”

  Miranda opened her mouth and closed it again.

  That’s why he didn’t want to do anything more last night. He was giving her one last chance to back out.

  “That’s the short explanation,” he said.

  “I appreciate knowing the unvarnished truth,” she told him. “So basically our relationship is permanent when that happens? No matter what?”

  “If you have any doubts about ruling the Wilds,” he told her, “now is the time to head for the hills.”

  “We’re already in the hills,” she teased.

  “Well, time to head for the city then,” he told her. “But I can’t promise I won’t follow and try to bring you home.”

  “Home,” she said, testing out the word.

  Twenty-four hours ago she would never have used that word to describe the woods, or anywhere without a walk-in closet.

  But now, somehow it felt just right.

  Except for that fragment of mirror. Her mind kept going back to it. She tried to push the thought away, but there was no way to get around it. It was all tied together somehow.

  She began getting dressed so as to give herself a little space to think.

  If her boss had been somehow involved with evil fae, this might be messy. Maybe even so messy that Bron wouldn’t want her anymore.

  But she had to give Mr. Ward a chance to explain himself. She owed him that much.

  “Everything okay?” Bron asked.

  “Yes, sure,” she said. “Just thinking about work stuff. I don’t usually take this much time off.”

  “You were attending to your missives after midnight last night,” he laughed.

  “Being an executive assistant is kind of a twenty-four seven job,” she replied, trying to smile.

  “Do you like your work?” he asked.

  “Most of the time,” she told him honestly.

  “You will miss it when you are queen,” he said sadly.

  She hadn’t thought about that.

  “I’m not queen yet,” she told him. “I’m just going to run and check my messages. Meet me at the car when you’re done.”

  He nodded.

  She took one last look at his huge, gorgeous body, glistening in the early morning sunlight.

  Then she turned and hightailed it for the car, hoping Mr. Ward had emailed her back.

  There had to be a way to get to the bottom of it all with some reasonable explanation.

  14

  Bron

  Bron was just getting dressed when he heard Miranda scream his name.

  He bolted up the hill to find her, terrified that whatever had been occupying that last shard of glass had found her.

  How could you allow her to roam about alone?

  He should have followed her, protected her. It was his duty.

  She was his rightful queen. He knew that, even if she did not.

  When he reached the garden, he spotted her in the driveway.

  But she was not alone. There were so many vehicles that her car was nearly blocked in. People were pouring out of them, wearing work gear and carrying strange equipment.

  “What’s happening?” he asked her.

  “They’re here to tear down the trees,” she moaned. “This wasn’t supposed to happen yet. I just texted Sara and Tabitha. What are we supposed to do?”

  There was no time to ponder her words. One of the workers had already climbed a nearby tree using some kind of harness. They watched in horror as he began removing branches and tossing them down to his partners below.

  Bron felt the tree’s pain as if his own limbs were being rent from his body. He fought the urge to lash out in defense and tried to use his words instead, for Miranda’s sake. He didn’t want her to see the things he wanted to do to the attackers.

  “Who’s in charge here?” he boomed.

  Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to him.

  “I am,” a man said, striding forward. “And you’re trespassing on private property.”

  “I’m the executive assistant to the man who owns all of this,” Miranda piped up. “And I’m here on his orders. Where’s Larry?”

  “Bullshit,” the foreman said. “I don’t know who Larry is, but the boss’s orders are to tear this place to the ground. Today. I’m calling the cops.”

  “He doesn’t even own this land yet,” Miranda pointed out.

  “I can’t get involved in an argument about real estate,” the foreman said. “I was hired to do a job and if you two don’t get the hell out of the way, I’ll have police involved.”

  “We already have police involved,” Miranda said, smiling down at her phone.

  “What the hell?” the man stammered, then headed off to talk with the workers.

  “I know what I need to do, Bron,” Miranda said softly. “I’m going to go talk to my boss, face to face. I’m going to convince him that what he’s doing here is wrong. Will you be okay until the others get here?”

  I can’t let her go alone.

  I can’t let them destroy this forest.

  “Let’s wait for them together,” he offered. “Then we can both go talk to your boss.”

  As much as it pained him to leave the forest, his instinct to protect his queen trumped everything else.

  “No, that’s not a good idea,” Miranda said, looking startled. “He’s not fond of strangers and I’ll have a hard enough time convincing him on my own. Please just take care of this. I’ll report back soon.”

  “Oh,” Bron said stupidly. “Sure, I’ll stay. But, Miranda…”

  He wanted to tell her what he felt for her, to explain how much she meant to him, but he didn’t have the words.

  “Yes?” she asked, looking impatient.

  “Be careful,” he told her.

  “Sure, of course,” she said, smiling up at him with those beautiful sparkly eyes.

  She ran to her car and pulled out of the driveway, weaving between the vehicles that had brought the workers.

  Bron felt as if his heart were being pulled into pieces before she even left his sight.

  How would he bear it as she drove farther away from him and his realm?

  15

  Miranda

  Miranda tried to keep her eyes on the road, but it was hard not to keep staring at the vines around her ring finger.

  Her whole world felt unfamiliar, yet filled with hope. The shaded ridge above the road was a deeper, more beautiful green, the terra cotta roof of the cottages a rich pumpkin, the air a little sweeter.

  And Miranda herself felt unstoppable.

  She had friends. She had a boyfriend - no, a king.

  And she was going to convince Cullen Ward to call off his pet project, one way or the other.

  Her plan was to try her best to convince him just by laying out the facts. He was a smart man. She hoped he would see the error of his ways. If not…

  Though she hated to do it, she would use her powers if she had to. This was for the greater good.

  The weird thing was, she wasn’t sure if they would work on him.

  The more she thought about it, the more she suspected Mr. Ward was actually aware of her power. He often encouraged her to convince people to do things.

  She had never been sure if he thought there was anything special about her, or if he just thought she was charismatic and good with people.

  But now that she knew more about herself, it all started to make a lot more sense. Why else had such a powerful man been so eager to hire her at such a young age, especially when she had almost no resumé at all compared to his other choices?

  Her phone rang on the car speaker and she pressed the button to pick up.

  “Mirand
a Cannon,” she said automatically.

  “Miranda.” Cullen Ward’s voice was low and smooth with a slight rumble. “You wanted to speak with me.”

  “Thank you so much for calling me back, sir,” she said. “Are you back in the office? I’m headed there now, and I was hoping we could sit down together—”

  “—I’m leaving the office now on a business matter,” he said brusquely.

  “Oh,” Miranda said.

  “We can set something up for next week if you want,” Mr. Ward offered. “Or you can get to the point.”

  Crap.

  “Mr. Ward, you may not know this, but I’m originally from Tarker’s Hollow,” she said.

  “Of course I knew that,” he chuckled. “Why do you think I sent you to that silly party?”

  “I see,” she said. “I know you have your reasons for choosing the Rosethorn Valley site, but I’ve been doing some research, and I think there are two better options in Maryland, where you’ll also have a tax advantage. The people in Rosethorn Valley, they—”

  “—I’m going to cut you off right there, Miranda,” Mr. Ward said. “This is not a conversation I’m going to have with my assistant. I’ve made up my mind about the site and that’s all you need to know. I’ve told you what I want, now it’s your job to make it happen. Do I make myself clear?”

  His voice had grown cold and sharp.

  “Yes, sir,” she said, setting her jaw.

  “Excellent,” he replied, his voice smooth and modulated once more. “I’ll see you at the office on Monday.”

  He hung up without saying good-bye.

  “Shit,” she said to herself, slamming her palm on the steering wheel. “Shit, shit, shit.”

  After all the years she’d worked for him, he still wouldn’t let her finish a sentence.

  Now she would have to turn the car back around and tell her new friends that she had failed before she had even had a chance to try.

  But somehow, she just couldn’t bring herself to pull over.

  Her hands stayed on the wheel and her foot stayed on the gas, and she found herself pulling onto I-95, and heading straight for the city.

  Another idea was beginning to occur to her.

  It was a crazy plan, maybe even an idiotic plan.

  But it was the only plan she had, and she was the only one who could possibly pull it off.

  16

  Bron

  Bron stood in the driveway, glaring at the industrious workers as he inwardly agonized about his queen.

  Tabitha’s car pulled up a few minutes later.

  Tabitha, Tristan, Sara, and Dorian hopped out.

  “Miranda just left a little while ago,” he told Sara. “Can you call her? Tell her to come back for me.”

  “Sure, but where is she going?” Sara asked instead of just calling.

  “Please, just call her,” he asked again, more urgently.

  Kings did not beg favors from mortals, but he didn’t know what else to do.

  She slipped the communication device out of her pocket and began tapping its glassy surface immediately.

  Lights flashed in the trees and for a moment he thought it was some trick of Tristan’s.

  But the colorful lights were atop a car.

  “The police are here,” Tabitha said, sounding relieved as she jogged over to meet them.

  The foreman of the work crew headed for the police car as well. If he was going up against Tabitha, Bron almost felt sorry for him.

  “I can’t seem to reach her,” Sara said turning back to Bron. “I’m texting her though, so if she sees it maybe she’ll come back. Did you guys have an argument or something?”

  “No,” he said. “Gods, no. She’s going to ask her boss to stop all of this. But I don’t want her alone when there’s still something out there. We don’t know what kind of foul creature that last shard housed.”

  Sara observed him with sympathetic eyes. “You care about her.”

  He held up his hand so she could see the vines running around his finger.

  “Oh,” she said, trying not to smile.

  “You can smile,” he told her. “I’m happy too. Except that I can’t stand being away from her.”

  “Philadelphia is half an hour away,” Sara told him. “She’ll be back really soon. And then hopefully, we can celebrate.”

  They looked over to where Tabitha was pointing at the trees.

  The police officer was shaking his head.

  “Come on,” the foreman yelled angrily to his crew. “Pack it up.”

  Tabitha had been successful, for now.

  “We’ll stick around to make sure they really leave,” Sara said.

  Bron nodded, feeling Miranda’s absence more keenly than ever now that the land was out of danger and his focus was no longer split.

  “Ask forgiveness, not permission,” Tabitha said indignantly heading their way with Tristan and Dorian in tow. “What is this world coming to?”

  “Is that what they said they were doing?” Sara asked. “Thank God Bron and Miranda were here to catch them.”

  “Thank God for someone like Dale Evans being on the Tarker’s Hollow police force,” Tabitha said, shaking her head. “I’m glad he ran them off, but I have a feeling we’re going to have to keep a sharp eye on this place.”

  “What were you doing here so early, brother?” Dorian asked.

  Bron blinked.

  “I have an idea,” Tristan said, looking at Bron’s hand.

  “Ah,” Dorian said with a big smile. “I see congratulations are in order. Where’s the lucky lass?”

  “She went to Philadelphia to talk to her boss,” Sara said quietly. “If she succeeds, then he’ll stop all this. And we all know how persuasive Miranda can be.”

  “Genius,” Dorian said. “Well played, brother.”

  “It’s not a game, Dorian. I didn’t play it,” Bron exploded. “I love her and she’s out there without me, with a piece still missing from the mirror, and gods know what’s still on the loose.”

  “My apologies, brother,” Dorian said. “That’s not what I meant. But I am certain she’s fine.”

  “How can you say that she’s fine?” Bron demanded. “You’ve seen what’s out there. You’ve seen that it takes all of us to fight it.”

  “The creatures from that mirror could have gone far and wide,” Dorian replied. “But we found every single one of them right here in Rosethorn Valley.”

  “We should be more concerned that the rest of us might have to face whatever it is without Miranda,” Tristan said lightly.

  The compliment to his queen’s power and bravery mollified Bron slightly and he sighed in resignation.

  “Let us wait for her in the garden, brother,” Dorian suggested. “We will be more comfortable there.”

  Bron allowed himself to be led off the driveway and into the soothing greens and cheerful colors of the rose garden. It was hard not to think of his night spent there with his queen, but he did his best to push the thoughts aside for now.

  Miranda would be back very soon, surely his brothers were correct. And then they would face the next challenge together.

  17

  Miranda

  Miranda parked the car in her reserved space and slipped out into the underground parking lot. She tried giving herself a pep talk as she approached the elevator.

  “You can do this, Miranda,” she muttered, as if maybe saying the words out loud might make them true. “You did it the other day without even trying.”

  Her powers had never been so strong before. It must have something to do with Bron, and their connection.

  Too bad he wasn’t with her now. The distance between them was like a tangible thing - an elastic band stretched way too thin. But just the thought of him gave her courage.

  She pressed the button for the elevator and hoped it would be empty. The doors slid open and one of the other executives’ assistants slipped out.

  “Oh, hey, Miranda,” the fastidiously dressed o
lder woman said, eyes wide. “Don’t you look… casual?”

  “I’m off today,” Miranda said. “Just grabbing something from my desk.”

  “Don’t let Ward see you like that,” the assistant said over her shoulder as she headed to her car.

  “That’s the plan,” Miranda said to herself as the doors slid shut.

  She pressed the button for the top floor and closed her eyes, trying to conjure her best mental image of her boss.

  “I am a carbon copy of Cullen Ward,” she told herself. “I look exactly like him.”

  She felt a sort of whisper all around her and when she opened her eyes she almost jumped.

  Cullen Ward’s reflection stared back at her from the mirrored wall of the elevator. He was looking crisp, freshly shaven, wearing a bespoke suit - exactly as she had pictured him.

  “Okay,” she whispered to herself.

  Even her whisper was a deep bass.

  The doors slid open.

  “Mr. Ward,” someone said in surprise. “You’re back.”

  She turned to see one of her least favorite colleagues, Frank Espen, blinking at her in abject horror.

  Espen’s tie was loosened and his sleeves were rolled up. His required suit jacket was nowhere to be seen. He clearly hadn’t expected to see his boss again today.

  “Pull yourself together, Espen,” she snapped, mustering what she hoped was an appropriate level of confidence. “I hope you don’t get undressed every time I leave the building.”

  “N-n-no, sir,” Espen stammered as he rolled his sleeves down.

  She turned on her heel and headed for Ward’s office, trying not to skip for joy.

  It worked. Her magic worked.

  Now she just had to get what she had come for and get out again before Ward came back or her power faded.

  Anthony, the security guard who protected Mr. Ward’s office suite, saluted her as she approached the door.

  “Mr. Ward,” Anthony said with a polite smile. “Good to see you back so soon.”

  She nodded at him approvingly, knowing her boss would never spare a kind word for the guard, even though Anthony had been loyal and cheerful for as long as Miranda had worked there.