The Last Princess Read Online Free Page A

do you manage without a mate?"
    The bear shifter shrugged his wide shoulders. "The docile
lambs in the palace could never handle me. I need a woman with strong hips, and
a fiery spirit."  He chuckled, apparently lost in the fantasy of his ideal
mate. "I expect I'll have to venture away from town to find what I'm
looking for."
    "Agreed, the women here are quite tame.  But maybe that's
exactly what I need rather than waiting for my little hell cat to return.  I
haven't even seen her in the flesh."
    "Last time I saw Delia we were both adolescents, raising
hell around the palace.  She loved to break the rules then, and it appears
nothing has changed."
    Alexander ground his teeth together.  He didn't need to hear
about his betrothed and her wild spirit.  What good did any of this information
do when she was still missing?  He began to strip off his tailored clothing,
folding the material in a neat pile on a stone pedestal. "Mind my things,
will you.  It's time for me to vent my frustration."  With that he allowed
the shift to overtake him.  With the strength of the moon showering over him,
it came quickly.  His bones and tendons morphed, his skin broke out in thick
fur, and he dropped to all fours as the last of the change enveloped him.  Once
in his wolf skin, he shook out his thick hide, pawed the ground, and then ran
with no destination in mind.
    ****
    "You expect me to help you break into the palace?"
    "Yes."  She had hoped her makeshift plan would have
fallen together better. Now she had to deal with a reluctant fox shifter.
"I'm a princess, so it would be dutiful of you to aid me."
    "Hah!  Dutiful of me to go against the queen?  They'll
hang me by my balls if I'm caught!" He was wearing the carpet thin from
his pacing.
    "You're the best, Caleb.  I wouldn't have asked you to
help me if I didn't think you'd succeed."  If he refused to help she'd be
screwed.  One way or another she was getting in that palace, and she needed his
help to do it stealthily.
    He began to pack up his laptop, unzipping the shoulder bag.  She
was losing this battle.  She'd seen Carna in action, using her sexuality to get
her way with males.  It didn't come naturally for Delia. She was used to using
force or intimidation to get others to help her.  Caleb was a becoming a problem.
She didn't want to hurt him and he didn't threaten easily.
    "Our deal was for me to get you to the city.  You already
know where Club Frenzy is, so I'm done." He shoved the computer into the
bag. 
    Delia grabbed his arm. "Please.  You don't understand. 
Do you think it's easy being the golden child for every race of shifter?  To be
treated as an object, not a flesh and blood woman, even by my own mother? It's
not, Caleb.  It's the fucking nightmare I have to live every day. If I can make
a difference for another generation, then nothing will stop me.  I'll get in
the palace on my own if I have to.  But I'm asking for your help."  She
didn't have to fake the sentiment in her voice when she spoke because it was
all the truth. 
     He breathed in deeply, his pupils dilating as if a cloud
crossed the sun. Would her royal blood aid her today, rather than hinder her
progress?  "What do you expect me to do?"
    "Find out the layout of the castle, any weak areas that
would make a good entry point. If you could disable their security system, it
would make my life even easier."
    He looked offended. "Of course I could disable their
security. That's the easy part.  The challenge will be getting by the Royal
Elite. It's well documented that the queen keeps the highly trained alpha
shifters at every entryway into the castle."
    "Caleb, I grew up there. I know about my mother's
security detail.  She only has guards at key locations."
    "I can't believe I'm even considering this."  He
adjusted her spaghetti strap, the contact searing her skin, setting her nerves
afire. "And your damn blood is driving me nuts." Caleb scrubbed his
jaw, and she saw the tip of his