Royal House of Shadows: Part 8 of 12: A Fantasy Romance Novel

By Jessica Andersen

Originally published as Lord of the Wolfyn.

Part 8 of 12 in the Royal House of Shadows serialization. All 12 parts were previously published as full books:• Lord of the Vampires by Gena Showalter (Parts 1—3 of Royal House of Shadows)
• Lord of Rage by Jill Monroe (Parts 4—6 of Royal House of Shadows)
• Lord of the Wolfyn by Jessica Andersen (Parts 7—9 of Royal House of Shadows)
• Lord of the Abyss by Nalini Singh (Parts 10—12 of Royal House of Shadows)

Passion between worlds

If Prince Dayn is going to reclaim the throne for hisfamily, Reda must lead him to the vortex between the shifter realm and the world where hebelongs. This means challenging the leader of the wolfyn pack. Dayn discovers abilitiesthat surprise everyone—including himself. But his vampire blood will always make him anoutsider among the shapeshifters, and his duty is to his own kingdom. The questionremains…where does Reda belong?

This installment is approximately 21K words

The story continues in Royal House of Shadows: Part 9 of 12

• Language: English
• Publisher: Harlequin Nocturne
• Release date: Oct 12, 2016
• ISBN: 9781488025068

Jessica Andersen

A lifelong New Englander, Jessica Andersen received a PhD in genetics from Tufts, but when the committee head said her thesis “read like a mystery novel,” she admitted she was also writing romance. She now writes full time, and has penned more than thirty science-themed intrigues and paranormal thrillers that have hit the bestseller lists and been nominated for numerous awards. She lives in CT with a cast of four-legged friends, and is hard at work on her next novel!

Book preview

When the Blood Sorcerer attacked the king and queen of Elden to claim their throne, his dying parents sent Prince Dayn to another realm to save his life. As a guest in the wolfyn realm, Dayn has lived with the pack for twenty years, waiting for his chance to return to Elden so he can claim his family’s home and lands. With Reda arriving through the vortex, the countdown his father told Dayn about has begun. Her arrival gives Dayn only four days to get home, kill the Blood Sorcerer and reclaim the throne. And to do this, Reda must be Dayn’s guide to find the Meriden Arch—then Dayn will return to Elden and Reda will return to the human realm. But now that the wolfyn pack has been told that Dayn is a vampire, their sworn enemy, they aren’t letting him go anywhere. They want him dead. Dayn and Reda are surrounded, and the alpha, Kenar, has his murderous sights set on Reda...

Chapter 6

No! Dayn broke free from the betas surrounding him, grabbed Reda and jerked her behind him. Then he got right in Kenar’s face and shouted, "She’s a guest! By rights and tradition, back off!"

The pack surged forward, but then subsided, growling as Kenar snarled a full-throated roar and sank back onto his haunches and then sprang erect, his form blurring as he changed. When the magic cleared, he stood there in his human form—slightly shorter than Dayn, bullnecked and square-featured, with heavy, powerful muscles and boxing-glove hands. His face was flushed, his eyes narrow with hatred. "She doesn’t have any rights if she’s traveling with a fucking bloodsucker—and, more, a Forestal murderer. Because that’s what you are, isn’t it, Prince Dayn?"

And, just like that, twenty years of peaceful coexistence were nullified by the crimes of a long-ago war. The wolfyn surrounding him growled and scuffled, their canine faces wrinkled with hatred. They weren’t just there because their alpha had led them; they truly wanted him dead. He didn’t see Keely, didn’t know what that meant. As for Kenar, there was hatred in his eyes, but calculation, too. He was using this somehow, or planning to.

Fumbling a little in his haste, Dayn palmed two blobs of wolfsbene from his pack and jammed one into Reda’s unresisting hand.

Did the witch’s messenger tell you that she’s a blood drinker herself? he demanded solely to buy time. Pretending to scrub his face, he gulped the wolfsbene, which was slimy going down, with an aftertaste somewhere between mint and mud. He grimaced but continued. Or that she tortured and killed Candida?

He heard Reda cough, hoped that meant she had taken her dose.

The pack members shifted restlessly, some whining at the news. But Kenar bared his teeth. We killed her servant, which makes us even, claw for claw. More, he was loyal, which was more than I can say for the wisebitch. How long had she known about you?

The first shimmers of heat and power filtered into Dayn’s bloodstream, which was good, because the pack was closing in, shifting tighter, backing him and Reda into each other. Talking fast now, he said, You’re believing the witch’s messenger over Candida? Did he give you any proof, anything more than a good story?

Yes! Kenar roared, and the sound was echoed by his betas. "Yes, he offered proof. He used a spell to show Keely the sick, twisted things you made her forget! She was your lover. How could you feed from your lover? Oh, right, the alpha sneered. Because you’re a prince of the realm and you could make her think whatever you wanted. Fucking bloodsucker, disgracing my sister like that. Using her."

Oh. Shit. Reda’s gasp had Dayn’s heart dropping, even as guilt knotted tight and sharp in his gut over what he’d done to Keely. Not just because of the feeding and the cover-up, but because he saw the politics now. You son of a bitch. You’re going to use this to boot her out, aren’t you? I bet you’ve just been waiting for a good excuse.

The wolfsbene was flowing hard and fast in his veins now, but there was nowhere to run. He went for his crossbow, bringing it up.

Kenar’s eyes lit with vicious fury. He signaled the pack forward and shouted, "By Right of Threat—kill them!"

Dayn nailed the closest beta in the haunch, aiming to wound but not disable. As the male went down howling and snapping at the bolt, Dayn grabbed Reda’s hand. Come on!

They made it only a short way before the ranks closed again. Reda had his back, fending off the creatures with sweeps of her unstrung bow as he sent two more bolts into the crowd. And over his shoulder, he said, I’m sorry, Reda.

But apologies didn’t fix anything, did they? Never had.

Grief and guilt rose up within him like old friends as he pulled his short sword. I’m going to try to make a hole. Be ready to run and hang on to that map. Because she would be running without him. There was no way Kenar would let him live now.

Dayn. Reda’s voice was choked, but that was all. And he didn’t blame her for not knowing what else to say.

Roaring, he swung the weapon in a glittering arc and surged forward with her right behind him. He made it through the first rank, knocked aside a big beta in the second, and—

Without warning, an arrow seared so close that he felt the vibration on his skin as it passed him and carved a nasty furrow across the next animal’s back.

‘Ware the woods! Kenar yelled as another arrow sang past and glanced off the shoulder of an older wolfyn in the outer rank.

Not stopping to question the rescue, Dayn grabbed Reda’s hand and hauled her toward the gap that had just been punched in the line. Come on!

They flew across a section of open road, then across to where a huge rock face rose up thirty or so feet to a sloping plateau. With the wolfsbene flowing through his veins and the entire Scratch-Eye pack lunging after him, Dayn made it up the sheer stone face in two big bounds, dragging Reda with him.

They crested the top and charged along the downslope, which put them on a narrow ridgeline with dense scrub on either side, forcing the pursuing wolfyn to run parallel to them, howling and barking in challenge, anger and threat. But Dayn’s heart pounded and his muscles burned, propelling him faster than