Fake Mate of the Enemy Shifter (Red Oak Shifters #2)

3. Grey

Chapter three

Grey

A drenaline pulses through my veins as I stand outside the closed wooden doors to the dining hall, muffled voices of both Everblade and Moonveil wolves and witches sounding from inside. I promised a grand dinner to welcome our guests, and so far, it sounds like it’s going well.

Laughter and animated chatter fill the dining room to such an enormous volume that it’s spilling out into the hallway. Despite how relieving it is, I can’t shake the stir of nervousness in my chest.

“Everything okay, Grey?”

My body tenses in surprise as I whip around to the left, thinking I was alone. “Callista, you scared me.”

Callista, one of my mother’s oldest friends from the Everwood Kingdom, laughs as she walks up to me, placing a gentle hand on my arm. “Better not let your father know you’re that easy to sneak up on.”

“I’m just… distracted,” I insist as I take a steadying breath, embarrassment burning through me. She’s right. My mother and father both put in a lot of work to train me and sharpen both my wolf and witch abilities, and if I can’t hear footsteps approaching me, I’ll be no good on the battlefield.

Though, I do hope for a peaceful reign once I take the throne.

Callista frowns and gently takes my jaw in her hand, turning my face toward her. She leans an inch closer, her green eyes sweeping over my face.

“I’m not sick,” I tell her. She’s the kingdom’s lead healer, and given how close she is to my mother, she’s essentially family.

“You’re worried,” Callista states as she releases me.

“I’ve never hosted another clan by myself,” I reply as I straighten up. “But everything will be fine. It’s just dinner and one night. No big deal.”

Callista lifts an eyebrow at me, trying to read through the lines of my confident words. However, she nods and steps up to the doors. “Coming in?”

“Right behind you.”

If there is any moment to prove myself as the destined ruler of this kingdom, it’s now, especially with my parents gone.

As soon as Callista opens the door and walks inside, I follow her, golden warmth swallowing us whole from the burning hearth and flickering torches. Platters of venison, potatoes, vegetables from our huge garden, and freshly baked bread cover the center of the table, hands from both clans reaching out to grab their fill. A delicious, savory smell lingers in the room, calling me forward as I find my seat at the end of the table closest to the door.

Morgana and Lucian sit on my left, while Cassia takes the seat on my right. Interesting. From what I can gather, Cassia doesn’t seem to be in a leadership position, but she is obviously close to Morgana and Lucian in some manner; she’s seen around them so much.

“Sorry for my absence. I had to take care of a few things,” I tell them as I take my seat.

“Are the king and queen not here?” Morgana asks as she glances up and down the table, her eyes sweeping over everyone’s face.

“They’re on the other side of the territory, but they’ll be returning in the morning. You might catch them before you depart,” I explain as I pour myself a chalice of aged wine. Sweet and bold.

“That would be great,” Lucian adds with an eager nod. “I’m pretty sure everyone in the region knows about your parents and their victory during the war.”

I have huge shoes to fill. I’m reminded of that every single day, but I’m proud to have them as my parents. I’m determined to continue the path of peace and light that they forged from the darkness.

“I’m just glad Shadowfang and Cinderborne are no more,” I tell them as I place a venison steak on my plate and begin cutting into the thick cut of meat. “They would’ve bathed the entire region in blood with the plans they had for the Red Oak Forest.”

“I always wondered what happened to Voren,” Morgana says as she gives her brother a wary glance. “We’ve always watched our borders closely in case he and any other Shadowfang rogues tried to come onto our land.”

Voren was Shadowfang’s leader when the tribe was still intact – before the end of the war. He was a ferocious, merciless Alpha, who also specialized in trickery and deception. Before my father could kill him in battle, Voren fled and was only seen a few times in glimpses and shadows over the last two decades. The last instance was a decade ago.

For all we know, he could be dead. Hopefully.

“He has probably left the region already,” I tell them. “He knows that he’ll be killed on sight if he steps foot on our land. The same goes for any other Shadowfang wolves or Cinderborne witches.”

“At least you don’t have to worry about Nyxara,” Lucian points out before biting into one of his small potatoes.

While Voren could tear and rip with his teeth and claws, Nyxara could torture and curse with a breath. She was one of the most powerful witches in the region, her veins flooding with dark magic. After she killed my grandfather, my father was able to get revenge by tearing out her throat.

“The entire region is far safer without either of them. We’ve finally entered a period of peace,” I state as my eyes sweep over to Cassia, who has been quiet and picking at her food. “Do you feel safe in your territory?”

Cassia’s eyes dart up to mine. She parts her lips to speak, but Morgana beats her to it.

“Absolutely. We’re a smaller coven than most in the region, but we guard our borders strictly,” Morgana tells me with a proud look on her face. She then glances around the dining hall. “It looks like you do the same.”

I follow her gaze, glancing at the guards stationed by the door to the kitchen and the door to the main hallway. We have guards stationed throughout most of the castle and the surrounding area, and patrols run throughout the day and night with the biggest emphasis on the forest and the borders.

“It’s second nature. Times are peaceful, but outside threats are always possible,” I reply before biting into my steak, tasting its savory juiciness. Our hunters have been quite successful lately.

“Have you encountered any threats? Anyone who wants to claim the forest as their own?” Lucian asks as he pauses in the middle of cutting into another potato.

My eyes sweep between the three Moonveil witches on either side of me, slight tension pressing down on my shoulders. As a smaller coven, they’re on the outside of most conflicts that happen throughout the region. I suppose I can’t fault them for being curious, but I also can’t delve into my kingdom’s personal business.

I’ve already allowed them in our home.

“No, all is well,” I say in an even tone. “But enough about me, tell me about your coven. I’ve never heard of the Moonveil Coven.”

Morgana and Lucian glance at each other, silence lingering in the air for a few seconds.

Cassia sits up, drawing my eyes to hers. “Our coven is actually a young one. We’ve only been around for around two hundred years.”

My mouth curls up a little. Finally, she’s talking. Earlier when we got more comfortable with each other, she was engaging with me pretty well. Now, she’s eerily silent.

She’s a total mystery just like her coven, but she is the main one who has piqued my interest.

“Really? I can only assume from your name that you mainly channel lunar power.” I raise an eyebrow at her.

Cassia nods before folding her hands together on the table. She leans a degree closer, curiosity sparking in her eyes. “Yes. What about you? I know you can shift, but what about your witch powers?”

Peering into her eyes makes the rest of the room fade into a blurry haze, her soft-featured face becoming the main focus. “I take from my mother’s powers. Healing and regeneration. Force spells.”

“People underestimate force spells,” Cassia tells me as a small smile works its way across her face. “Nothing like knocking someone on their ass after they threaten you.”

A chuckle lingers between us, and for a moment, the tension in her expression completely disappears. Whatever weight is on her mind lifts, and the clouds drift away from the sun.

In that glimpse, it really hits me how beautiful she is.

But the sun doesn’t reign forever.

“Cassia! You shouldn’t speak like that to him,” Morgana hisses at her, making Cassia’s eyes widen. “You should have more respect than that. Have you not been raised right?”

Something flashes in Cassia’s eyes, her brow briefly furrowing. She almost looks… angry, but the expression is gone in a near instant before she lowers her head. “I’m sorry.”

I shake my head as I put my hand out, my fingertips brushing her wrist. “Don’t be. It’s fine. We were just having a little bit of fun.”

I’m nowhere near that stiff, even if I am royalty.

Despite my words, Cassia locks up under the hard gazes of her leaders. She draws back from me and busies herself with picking at her roasted vegetables, her jaw tensing.

What words is she holding back?

“Anyway, we just want to thank you again for your kindness,” Lucian speaks up, forcing my eyes away from Cassia.

“Of course,” I reply, but my words are distant and disconnected from my own mind, which bounces right back to Cassia.

I’m still curious about her relationship with Moonveil’s leaders, but it seems like the last thing she wants is for any attention to be back on her. I’ll just have to keep my curiosity to myself, but it lingers in the back of my mind throughout the rest of dinner.

While I’m asked about my parents. My future plans for the kingdom. My past.

My answers remain vague and polite, and by the time plates are cleared, wine is drunk, and dinner is over, I’m tired of talking about myself. I should be used to it at this point because all of our guests tend to be quite curious about my family and my history, but I tell the same stories over and over.

I hope I can make some interesting ones of my own.

“Have a good night,” I say as some of the last few Moonveil witches pour out of the dining hall. My eyes trail them as Everblade guards show them to their rooms for the night.

That’s when the gentlest brush of air makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

I turn and see Cassia heading down the hallway in the opposite direction, her steps moving quickly as she slips from shadow to shadow. My eyebrow lifts as she heads toward the foyer, moving like she has purpose.

Where in the world is she going?

My heart rate starts to pick up as she disappears from sight, a strong tug pulling on my very soul. An intrigued smile crosses my face as I let the dining hall doors swing shut behind me.

There’s only one way to find out.