Page 3 of Princess

I hoped, reverently, that she would say the wrong thing while I was in Beast form, something that would flip the switch and strip away the thin reluctance holding me back.If wishes were reality, I’d be scraping her guts off the floor right now.

With that pleasant thought lingering in my mind, I opened the door.

King sat at the table we used for meals, his broad frame relaxed, but his sharp blue eyes locked onto me the second I stepped into the room.A full breakfast waited, the scent of eggs, fresh bread, and sizzling meat wrapping around me like a warm, taunting embrace.My stomach clenched in betrayal.

"I have five minutes to waddle to Mrs.Barnacle’s cell," I muttered, trying not to inhale too deeply.

King picked up his fork and took a bite, savoring it, the jerk."You have thirty minutes, starting now.I sent a message that you’d be late."He stabbed another piece of meat and popped it into his mouth."You’re not leaving this room until you eat."It was said casually after he chewed and swallowed.The glow in his eyes made it clear.This was not a battle I was going to win.

I scowled, shifting my weight, but my body had already chosen sides.Ms.Beast purred, a deep, satisfied hum vibrating through my chest, sealing my fate.

Traitor.

With a resigned huff, I shuffled toward the table and collapsed into the chair across from King.Our room was one of the larger ones.It had a table with chairs for quiet meals along with a couch that we could relax on.We’d removed the couch, and a baby’s crib sat in its place.King had offered to have a wall removed to give us more room, but I didn’t want more room.We had a real home on the other part of the island that we rarely visited.I wanted that to change, and making our quarters at the citadel more pleasing wouldn’t help.

The second my ass hit the seat, my restraint over the food evaporated.There was no decorum, and no pretense.I tore into my meal like I hadn’t eaten in days.I consumed double the calories now than I ever had before.

King watched me with an amused smirk, shoveling his own food into his mouth at a more civilized pace.

Axel, our Shadow Warrior doctor, was playing this whole pregnancy thing by ear.Shadow Warriors hadn’t mated with each other for over two hundred years, and as far as he knew, it had never happened on Earth before now.My entire pregnancy was an experiment.

Missy was human, which meant her child was half-human, half-Warrior, and not a good comparison.From what Axel had seen, human females carrying a Warrior’s child had a gestation period of about six months.The babies grew fast, much larger than human newborns, averaging fifteen pounds at birth.

Going by those standards, my child would arrive within the next six weeks.

I glanced down at my belly, which was already stretched beyond the limits of reason, and scowled.The good doctor didn’t seem concerned.He sympathized, sure, but that was it.

I had asked him what would happen if I had a twenty-pound baby.He’d laughed and without a drip of concern in his voice, he told me I was Shadow Warrior and could handle it.

I grumbled inside my head as I stuffed another bite of food into my mouth.

I really wish men carried the babies.

The entire human race would have gone extinct centuries ago, and that thought made me smile.

Chapter Two

Marinah

After cleaning my plate, I reached for more.King, ever patient, rarely interrupted before I went for seconds.

"How are you feeling this morning?"he asked.

I chewed, swallowed, and shot him a flat look."Grouchy."

King smirked but didn’t press.Instead, he leaned back slightly, his gaze assessing as he speared a piece of food with his fork.

"Why do you think the Federation hasn’t made contact concerning Lesley?"I asked.

His eyes darkened."The only thing that makes sense is that she’s an insignificant loss to them."

"I agree," I muttered, rubbing my temple."She’s our burden now."

King’s expression went even darker."She doesn’t need to be.I have no problem putting her out of our misery."

He wasn’t smiling because he wasn’t joking.

King had a stark, black-and-white view of our post-apocalyptic world.You were either useful, someone in need of protection, or you were a threat.And threats?He eliminated them without hesitation.It was one of the many things that made him a dangerous, effective leader.I doubted he would ever change, even though I was now the boss.

---