point, a door closed and a woman’s bright laughter trilled through the air, drawing his attention. They came alone and in groups, every young, marriageable woman in Teslinko and beyond. Dressed to impress, they chattered and giggled and plotted. Though he despised the label, he knew he was known far and wide as the catch of the season. Therefore he could, in theory, have his pick of gorgeous, desirable and well-connected women. Sadly, he wasn’t interested, not in the least. He had too many issues to burden anyone else with them.
Of course, unaware of this, his parents plunged full-steam ahead in their plans of finding him a mate. Shifter or human, they’d told him they’d be happy as long as he was happy. They had no idea that happiness for him was an unattainable goal.
A party only made him feel worse rather than better. And what a gala this would be. For this event, the royal decorator had spared no expense. A hundred thousand tiny lights illuminated the trees, the drive and the entrance.
Glumly, he continued to stare down at the festive scene below as more and more guests arrived. How many were there? From what he’d seen so far, he’d guess at least two or three hundred single women, all fixated on the same goal. Him.
Inside, his wolf stirred, intrigued by the variety of new scents and sounds. The beast wanted to be set free to investigate. As always, the notion tempted him.
No. He shook his head, mentally pushing his wolf back into a cage and locking the door. Once finished, his chest ached with the familiar and now forbidden longing. Better if he could simply shape-shift into wolf and never change back to human. At least this impending madness didn’t seem to bother his lupine self.
And there it was. Again. Temptation. If he valued what was left of his mind, he knew he could not give in.
Watching as expensive car after expensive car rolled up the drive and disgorged its contents, he sighed. He’d better go change and prepare to do his time. If he was lucky, he could snag a couple of glasses of strong Scotch to help him survive the ordeal.
* * *
Trudging through the forest, the watered silk of her best formal dress bunched up in her fist, Willow of the SouthWard Brights tried to think happy thoughts. Because she couldn’t take a chance on getting dirty, she ignored the siren call of the wild animals watching her from their various hiding places around the thick forest.
All she’d have to do was crook her little finger and whistle, and they’d come. When they were with her, carnivores ignored their natural prey, and the most skittish of beasts calmed under her gentle hand.
It was a gift and one she had kept hidden, by necessity. The one time she’d tried to tell her mother, she’d been treated with scorn and derision. After that, she’d supposed everyone else would view her gift the same way, so she had kept it secret. Not only from the rest of her family, but from everyone in the kingdom. In a place where the level of magical ability meant power, Willow’s was a secret best kept inside.
Just like the tear in the veil.
She’d discovered the portal by accident a year ago while on one of her solitary strolls through the forest. Just because she didn’t cast spells or use magic like her mother and sister, didn’t mean she couldn’t sense it. And the lure of the shimmering veil had drawn her as surely as a bear to honey.
With it, she could cross between her world and that of the humans. She’d taken advantage of this numerous times in the months since, yet another secret she held close to her breast.
She quite enjoyed her anonymity in the human world. There, no one knew she was a princess. No one thought she looked different or looked down on her because she was lacking in magic.
A loner by nature, Willow had few friends among her kind. With a rueful smile, she stepped over a fallen log. Make that no friends. At least, not among her people—the Bright.
Forcing herself to focus on the present, she felt the siren thrum of the magic as she approached the veil. Her heartbeat quickened and the scents of the forest became sharper, more intense. Damp earth and plant, and the slightly acrid, barely detectable scent of its animal inhabitants.
As she neared the shimmering space, she felt an unfamiliar tickle of