Dark Soul: A Fae Shifter Romance (Guardians of the Fae Realms Book 7) Read online

  DARK SOUL

  Guardians of the Fae Realms: Book 7

  JL Madore

  Copyright © 2021

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission.

  JL Madore

  Cover Design: Ravenborn Covers

  Note: The moral right of the author has been asserted.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the author, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent buyer.

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  Dark Soul: Guardians of the Fae Realms

  JL Madore -- 1st ed.

  ISBN: 978-1-989187-56-2

  AUTHOR NOTE

  Dark Soul is the second book in Nakeyla’s harem and book 7 in The Guardians of the Fae Realms. If you missed the first harem and the intro to how we got here, you might want to grab the 5-book box set and start at book 1 of the entire series as this story is a continuation of plot and characters from the first group of lovers. Guardians of the Phoenix.

  If you started with Dark Curse, book one of this trilogy, that’s fine too.

  Enjoy,

  JL

  CHAPTER ONE

  Creed

  The contact of skin-to-skin thrums like a jolt of electricity from the ink of our joined mating marks. The energy throbs through my pounding heart, and straight to my aching cock. Technically, Keyla’s hand in mine is no longer a necessity of life or death, but I grew fond of it over the past three days and am not willing to give it up.

  I’m not sure if it’s the same for her, but she doesn’t hesitate to lace our fingers when I prompt her to hold my hand, so I choose to think that’s telling. “Do you feel it, Little Wolf? Destiny is calling.”

  She smiles up at me as we make our way through the crush of civilians outside the portal hub. Her brown eyes are as dark and rich as Travon chocolate and hold more trust and compassion than I deserve. “I do.”

  “Is your destiny beacon back?” Dillan asks.

  Keyla shifts her attention to the third in our mating, the ex-military bear shifter she was in love with when the universe soul-seared us as the perfect match for one another. I consider him her plus one, but she wants us to be more than that.

  Who knows? Maybe we will be.

  “Yes, it’s back,” she says, as we reach the stairs into the building and start climbing. “It subsided when we first arrived in Dornte but disappeared after the mating. It’s back now and it’s calling.”

  “I remember that feeling,” Kotah says, jogging along beside us. “As uncertain as things seemed then, it lead me to a life I never dreamed possible.”

  I cast a sideways glance and meet the Wolf King’s easy smile. Can anyone be this nice? Kotah has been nothing but understanding and supportive since this whole mating mess began.

  It makes sense he wants Keyla to be happy and safe, but even when I scan his mental energies and intentions, with my mind guardian gifts, he genuinely wants the best for me as well.

  How is that possible? He doesn’t know me.

  As crazy as it sounds, sometimes I swear simply being near him makes me feel calmer and more at peace with the mess that is my life.

  We crest the top step of the Dornte portal hub and as citizens recognize me, they shift out of our way and bow. Kotah and Keyla smile as we pass and genuinely acknowledge them. I realize, in many ways, I’ve never embraced being set apart as their prince.

  In my youth, I tried to blend in, work alongside the citizens, learn about their lives, and show them I was one of them. The past two years since my father was killed and my crown was taken, I learned how wrong I was.

  I’m either their prince or I’m not.

  And if I’m their prince, I need to fight for the throne of the quadrant I’m destined to rule. Keyla said her brother, Kotah, never wanted to become King of the Human Realm but when their father died last week, the male straightened up and assumed his place.

  It’s hard to believe he’s only been a king for a week.

  Watching them interact with my citizens is humbling. They aren’t stopping or speaking with them, and yet, even the way they hold their heads and nod makes it obvious they are more ‘royal’ than I am.

  They are gracious and warm.

  They seem to value the people around them whether they are attendants in the portal gate or displaced citizens living in the tunnels below the city or strangers smiling at them on the street.

  They make it look easy.

  Keyla said I have the right to be guarded after years of torment and torture and that’s true, but it’s not the kind of king I want to be once we reclaim my throne.

  “Everything all right?” Keyla asks, squeezing my hand. We’ve entered the main atrium at the Dornte portal hub, and a hundred people are shuffling around us.

  I lean in and kiss her cheek. “Fine. Just adjusting to my new world.”

  “And are they welcome adjustments?”

  I take in our group: my stunning wolf queen, our broody but intelligent bear, my brother-in-law Wolf King, and my… Rhylan.

  Rhylan isn’t my anything. At least not anymore.

  I meet Rhy’s scowl, and it gives me a sour taste in my mouth. His foul disposition is nothing new, but something changed. This anger is directed at me.

  Is he mad I’m wriggling out from under his thumb? Does he resent the first spark of happiness and hope I’ve had in over two years? Did he expect me to remain a prisoner in my wing of my own castle for the rest of my life? In truth, it’s me who should be furious.

  He held me prisoner.

  He lied about my mother’s death.

  He has no right to be angry with me.

  Keyla presses a hand to my cheek and recaptures my full attention. “My prince?”

  I blink and snap back to the moment at hand. “Yes, sorry, what? Oh, apologies, you asked me something.”

  Her gaze is intimate and unarming. I’ve spent the past two years locking myself away from the world and it’s unsettling to have someone slip under my defenses as easily as Keyla does. “I wondered if the adjustments to your world are welcome. Are you all right?”

  I stop and our group slows to stop around us. Lifting her chin with my finger, I bend to capture her lips. Whatever this is—the soul-searing or our mating bond or simply the blessing of having a female devoted to me and a brighter future in sight—it is bliss to kiss her.

  Magic.

  I claim her mouth and the primal growl of her wolf rumbles in my chest. My body responds immediately. Her mind is strong and the depth of her desire hits me on a level I’ve never experienced with anyone before now.

  My cock hardens, ready to sate her.

  She nips at my lip and then pushes her tongue between the seam, demanding
access to my mouth. She’s aggressive and playful, my mate. My heart skips a beat and then slows, a balmy rush blooming all over my skin.

  Sadly, this is neither the time nor the place.

  Easing back from the kiss, I swallow, a little embarrassed that I’m as hard as a steel rod while out in public. Still, she asked me a question. “Yes, very welcome… and more than a little overwhelming.”

  The way she bites her bottom lip doesn’t help.

  I want to be somewhere private and bite that lip too.

  Something in the air shifts and when I straighten, I realize the crush of the crowd closest to us is holding up their datapads, snapping photos, and taking videos.

  I straighten, pulling Keyla to my side.

  Kotah chuckles. “You are their prince. The way into their hearts is by allowing them into yours.”

  “Now is not the time,” Rhylan hisses. “Queen Laryssa won’t appreciate a public scene.”

  Queen Laryssa can go fuck herself.

  I consider my options and decide to lead by the Northwood example. “Good morning, everyone. I have news and since I seem to have caught your attention, why wait? You may have heard rumors the phoenix has risen. I can confirm those rumors are true. Three days ago, the prophecy was realized and Calliope Tannis and her guardians opened a rift to the Human Realm.”

  There’s a great gasp of excitement and I hold up my hand to continue. “Queen Laryssa and I ventured to the other realm to make contact and while many details still need clarification before we consider public travel, King Nakotah Northwood of the Human Realm is here as my guest to establish access to the four quadrants.”

  I gesture to Kotah and he stands tall and greets my citizens with a wave.

  “And on a personal note,” I say, wrapping my arm around Keyla and reaching to squeeze Doc’s shoulder. “The universe stepped in to solidify the uniting of the two realms. The moment I locked eyes with this beautiful female, we were soul-seared. May I introduce Princess Nakeyla Northwood and her wildling mate Dillan Baskins.”

  The mixed excitement and confusion over that are expected, but I figure it’s better to address our trio head-on rather than let them speculate.

  “The universe gave the phoenix her quint to lead her to great things, I too have been blessed with multiple mates as well. I understand it is unusual, but more common in the Human Realm. And really, who are we to argue with the will of the fae universe?”

  I lift my branded palm for them to take a few pictures and Keyla does the same. Another surge of excitement washes through the crowd.

  With that taken care of, I refocus on the buzz burning in my skull. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have a great many matters to attend to. I’ll be sure to keep you posted as developments arise. Blessed be.”

  The crowd takes a few more photos but when they realize they aren’t going to get anything more from me, they shuffle off and return to their initial reasons for being here.

  “Nicely done,” Kotah says, smiling. “You’ve captivated their curiosity while also upstaging Laryssa and taking away her opportunity to make this about her.”

  Rhylan grunts. “And you’ll pay for it. That was stupid and you know it.”

  “No, it wasn’t.” Keyla hugs my arm and grins. “It would’ve been stupid to allow Laryssa to claim something that wasn’t hers to claim.”

  I sigh. “Rhylan is right, though. There is always a cost when Laryssa doesn’t get what she wants.”

  Keyla’s gaze narrows on me. “We won’t let her take it out on you. Everything you said was true.”

  Doc frowns. “Except for a little blurring of the line when it came to the princess and her wildling mate.”

  I lift my shoulder. “They don’t need to know the timing of your bonding. The point is, we’re in it together now and I’ve claimed you both in public, so there’s not much Laryssa can do about it.”

  Rhy rolls his eyes at me, but regardless of what he thinks, I’m done being Laryssa’s whipping boy.

  With our privacy returned to us, I scan the vast atrium of the portal hub. “Why do you think the beacon drew us here?”

  “Maybe you need to travel to one of the other quadrants,” Doc suggests.

  Rhy growls. “Another quadrant is out of the question. There’s no way we can swing that. Not happening.”

  My gaze locks on a woman on the opposite end of the station. The conversation around me is drowned out by the sudden thundering of blood rushing to my head. “I know why we’re here.”

  Pulled by a strength of hatred I’ve never felt before, I track the red-haired beauty through the crowd and move to intercept. There may be a hundred people and two hundred feet between us, but they don’t register.

  There is just her and me.

  Rhy curses somewhere close by. “Slecking hell. Don’t Creed. Not her. Not here.”

  Keyla is jogging beside me, my strides cutting the distance between me and my target.

  The woman enters the gate station for Clarinta, and now I’m the one jogging.

  “What’s happening? Who is she?” Keyla asks.

  “That’s the woman who cursed me and is stealing my soul with her dark beast. That’s the blood witch.”

  Keyla

  I rush across the polished floor of the Dornte portal station with my two mates, my brother, and Creed’s prison guard—and super-secret-sex-partner—Rhylan. Scanning the sea of bodies, I telegraph Creed’s gaze and find a stunning woman with a curvaceous body and scarlet hair.

  “That’s the blood witch that cursed you?” I say, the weight of that sinking in. “You’re sure?”

  Creed glances back at me and the hair on the ruff of my neck stands on end. “I’m sure. When someone looks you in the eye while they infect you with a soul-sucking demon beast, you commit their face to memory.”

  Well, all righty then.

  He strides off and the four of us fall in line.

  “I’m not saying we let her get away,” Doc says, sidestepping between two men in uniform, “but do you think it’s wise to confront her in a place packed wall-to-wall with innocent civilians?”

  Creed slows his pace a little.

  The woman hasn’t seemed to notice us, and the fifty people between us and her are likely keeping our presence concealed. For the moment at least.

  As the flow of traffic makes its way to the portal gate leading to Clarinta, Doc’s concern gains weight. Do we want to start a battle of magic and murderous intent in the middle of a public transport site?

  “What if we follow her and see where she’s going?” I suggest. “If the beacon pulsing within us brought us to her, you’re meant to have your moment. Only maybe it’s not at the expense of the safety of your citizens.”

  He winces and then curses. The logic of the situation seems to get through the cloud of betrayal and fury shadowing him but he’s not happy about it.

  “We can’t follow her to Clarinta,” Rhy snaps. “Laryssa will lose her mind. I can’t allow that.”

  “What makes you think I need your permission?” Creed snaps, turning on him.

  Rhylan stiffens. “Don’t make me be a dick, Creed.”

  Kotah sets a hand on Rhy’s arm and I feel the pulse of his omega gift flow. “We’ll say I needed to reach out to the leaders of the other quadrant to begin preparations to connect them to the other realm. For the moment, she’s unsure how to challenge my presence.”

  “For the time being, we can use that to our advantage,” Doc says, agreeing. “Laryssa knows coming straight at an enemy before you gauge what you’re in for isn’t the best strategy.”

  We arrive at the passageway to access the other quadrant and despite Rhylan’s protest, Creed doesn’t slow down. He has no intention of remaining in Dornte.

  That is… until Rhylan rushes him and pushes up in front of him. “You’re not going.”

  “You’re wrong.” Creed narrows his gaze and I feel the surge of power at the same time Rhy crumples to the ground clutching his head.


  I’m torn. My place is with Creed, but I can’t simply leave the man doubled over in the middle of the portal station with his nose bleeding.

  What if Creed’s done real damage?

  He’ll regret that later.

  “You go,” Kotah says, reading my struggle. “I’ll help the dragon, and we’ll be right behind you.”

  Doc takes my hand and the two of us run to catch up with my very pissed-off prince.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Doc

  I have a feeling a life mated to these two won’t be dull. As we leave the dragon tugging his shirt up to catch the blood gushing from his nose, I wonder how much damage a mind guardian fae can do?

  I’m not sure what the universe has in store for Keyla but she won’t face it alone. Even if I don’t trust her fated mate, he opened the door for me to protect her and that’s what I’ll do… even if it’s from him.

  Keyla and I may have only mated a few hours ago, but in my heart and to my bear, she’s been my mate from the beginning.

  With a hand on the small of her back, we follow close on Creed’s tail. We’re only ten feet behind him as he passes through the golden glow of what looks like a simple archway of light.

  We don’t break stride and almost immediately emerge on the other side. Although the scenery has changed, little else has. Creed’s still ten feet in front of us following the red-haired witch thirty feet farther ahead of him.

  Keyla looks at me and smiles. “That was much better than our first trip through a portal gate.”

  I nod. “These people have obviously got their bridges established properly. Don’t worry, Hawk and Lukas will get ours up and running.”

  “I hope it’s soon.” She puts a little extra hustle on to catch up to her prince. The speed puts an extra bit of sway into her breasts and I admit, I’m not complaining.

  The sounds of the travelers moving through the portal station echo off the blue and ivory marble walls. We step into the atrium and honestly, it seems a hell of a lot friendlier than the one we just left.