Dark Curse: A Fae Shifter Romance (Guardians of the Fae Realms Book 6) Read online

  DARK CURSE

  Guardians of the Fae Realms: Book 6

  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 Curse: Guardians of the Fae Realms

  JL Madore -- 1st ed.

  ISBN: 978-1-989187-50-0

  AUTHOR NOTE

  Dark Curse is book one in Nakeyla Northwood’s harem and book 6 in the universe of 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 cast of character from the first group of lovers.

  Guardians of the Phoenix.

  If not, that’s fine too, I’ve given a brief recap in the first pages so you get the gist of what you missed.

  Enjoy,

  JL

  CHAPTER ONE

  Keyla

  There’s something carnal about a man working in the outdoors, shirt off, muscled body glistening in the sunlight of an autumn morning. Any hot-blooded female would stop to admire a well-built male but when that male is yours—well, almost yours—it’s even better. As a fae wildling, my blood runs hotter than most.

  The raw power of Doc’s abs and pecs tensing and releasing as he pushes a saw through boards or drives nails into wood with his hammer is beyond titillating.

  He knows how to use a hammer.

  My heart stumbles behind my ribs as the heat of my gaze triggers his bear’s instincts and he turns so our gazes lock.

  My wolf stirs.

  My body warms.

  My determination grows.

  The heat in those dark hazel eyes is a tangible caress—a promise for later when we’re alone. Dark and intimate is our specialty. I’ve come to count on our stolen moments.

  I want him—all of him.

  We haven’t had sex or mated yet because life has been hectic with Kotah and his mates fulfilling their quest to open the Portal Gate—but soon.

  He loves me and I love him.

  “Nakeyla Northwood, eyes front.” I jump at the cold snap of my mother’s censure and straighten to face her in our fireside circle. “The pedestrian behavior of your brother and his commoner mates will not rub off on you. You are the Prime Princess for goddess sake. Act like it.”

  I fix my gaze across the forest clearing and try not to think about the male at work behind me.

  “I was admiring the progress of the construction, Mother. Hawk’s team has worked feverishly since Calli opened the Portal Gate. In a mere twenty-four hours, they’ve built the infrastructure of a permanent gate site, not to mention basic cabins for temporary lodgings. I, for one, am pleased Calli doesn’t have to sleep in a tent again tonight. Especially now that she’s pregnant.”

  Mother frowns. “Wooden boxes with no furnishings are not accommodations befitting the royal family. Your brother doesn’t understand a thing about his station. Your father would have never allowed us to be forced to sleep in a forest.”

  I fight not to laugh. “We are wolf wildlings. A forest is where our animal sides belong.”

  “You forget your place, Nakeyla.”

  No. I don’t. It’s she who has forgotten. Too much time spent in a palace has consumed the joy of wind blowing through her fur as her claws dig into the pithy ground. I gaze at the vibrant golds and oranges and reds of the turning leaves and wonder how she can be here and not celebrate the stunning perfection of nature.

  But she doesn’t. All she wants is to return to the splendor of the Prime Palace and stride up the halls so people can bow and move out of her way.

  “How long do you think it will be before the gate is functional and we can make contact with the fae on the other side?” I ask.

  She runs a hand over the silk of her tattered and sullied coronation gown and arches a manicured brow. “From what Nakotah said, it depends on the people of StoneHaven. Once they complete the preparations in the other realm, a bridge between the two civilizations will be established.”

  “It’s an exciting time.”

  “A dangerous time, you mean. After centuries of being cut off from our fae counterparts, we have no idea what might come through that portal. Caution should have been the priority, not haste.”

  The disapproval in her tone is heavy-handed. She didn’t support the quest to open the rift to the Fae Realm. In fact, there is evidence to suggest she might’ve even acted against Kotah and his mates on their quest.

  I refuse to get caught up in politics or her negativity.

  After months of worrying about Kotah, Calli, Jaxx, Hawk, and Brant, they finally pieced together their destiny and opened the portal to the other fae realm.

  A lot of people doubted they could do it.

  Honestly, there were times I worried they might not be able do it. It was a struggle from the start. Calli was an unskilled human, with no particular talents other than surviving a difficult life, and no knowledge of our world.

  Then she was killed in a car chase, resurrected as the Fae Phoenix, and then guys bonded as her Guardians.

  Despite the views of skeptics and nay-sayers, they battled the opposing forces, cut through the political bullcrap of the Fae Council, my parents, and Hawk’s father, and united the two realms.

  I don’t suppose all those battles are over.

  Hawk’s half-brother, Hunter, hasn’t been caught and there are still so many questions about what he and Sebastian Whitehouse Senior were trying to accomplish.

  “Like it or not, the Portal Gate will soon be a functioning part of Kotah’s legacy to the realm. I, for one, think it’s wonderful. I’m very proud of him.”

  “Yes, well, you are young and know no better.”

  “I’ll be twenty in a matter of weeks. In civilizations past, I would already be married with several litters of pups by now.”

  If it weren’t so pedestrian, my mother would be rolling her eyes at me.

  The throaty chuff, chuff, chuff of helicopter rotors draws my gaze to the sky. “How many more trips do you think Hawk’s people will make to finish construction?”

  “I’m sure I don’t know. Let us hope the bag I requested from the palace is among the contents so I can get out of this dress.”

  “You look resplendent as always, Mother. And if your things didn’t make it to join the shipment, Calli offered you a change of clothes. The guys always pack her a few extra slip dresses for after she flames out.”

  The tsking hiss that escapes my mother’s lips is pure horror. “A slip dress? What am I, a streetwalker?”

  How we got from slip dress to prostitution, I’ll never know and I don’t want to. I follow the flight of the helicopter over the clearing toward where it will land on the other side of the river.

  Oh, lovely. My line of sight has now brought me back to Doc, glistening with hard work.

  I honestly could watch him all day.

  “Speaking of streetwalkers. Your hormones betray you, daughter. While forced to live like common folk, you’ve forgotten your station and breeding. How do you think it makes me look when people see you salivating over a half-naked male.”

  I draw a deep breath and try to find my inner Zen. “There’s no need to work yourself up, Mother. I haven’t forgotten how to behave. How could I? You remind me with such regularity.”

  Mother pins me with one of her notoriously piercing glares. “And yet you continue to admire the physique of that bear. It will stop, child. And it will stop now.”

  “I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about, and if I did, I would remind you his name is Doc, not ‘that bear’.”

  “Doc is a layman commentary on the male’s hobby, not his name.”

  “Fine, his name is Doctor Dillan Baskins, and being a doctor isn’t his hobby, Mother. He was an emergency medic in the military and when he returned to civilian life, he earned his doctorate to practice medicine.”

  “Being a small-town physician hardly qualifies him to court the sister of the Fae Prime. He’s a beta for goddess sake.”

  I sigh, unsure how much more family time I’m going to be able to withstand. Kotah is chatting with Jaxx b
y the trees. After a few seconds of focusing my gaze on him, he turns and I send a plea for rescue.

  Sitting straight on the wooden bench set by the fire, it’s hard to feel like a royal. I rather enjoy the informality. It’s got Mother all twisted up in pomp and pretense.

  “A compromise then,” I say, offering her a smile. “I will endeavor to be more discreet with my admirations in public if you endeavor to be civil to the common folk. I am a grown woman and enjoy spending time with Dillan. He is a strong and honorable male and I would very much like for you to get to know him.”

  Mother lets off a feminine note of derision and holds her hand out to study her polished nails. “You are a far cry from grown, child. You are a teenager swept away by a low-class rake who doesn’t know the first thing about what it means to be royal.”

  Oh, my birthday can’t come soon enough. To be rid of her ‘teenager’ insult will be my only birthday wish. “Well, Kotah, likes him. Don’t you, brother?” I extend my hand and Kotah helps me up. “And since he is the highest-ranking royal, I suppose that should settle it.”

  My brother releases my hand when I’m on my feet and reaches across my back to squeeze my shoulder. “Who do I like, little sister?”

  “Doc.” I frown and turn to our mother. “Apologies… I mean, Dillan. Mother doesn’t think a military warrior turned doctor is a suitable courtier for me.”

  “His father was a blacksmith.” Mother whispers the words as if the occupation is a shameful sin.

  Kotah offers her a patient gaze. “Our community is strengthened by the diversity of its members, Mother. Without tradesmen, the realm would cease to function. A blacksmith is as important as a member of the palace staff or an executive of the Fae Concealment Office or a member of the royal family. We all play our part.”

  Mother’s face is as cold and blank as always. “The fact you think so, child, is either due to you being coronated the Fae Prime days ago or fundamental flaws in your teaching.”

  Kotah’s smile tightens, but he stands tall beneath the weight of judgment. He raises his hand and gestures for Raven to come forward.

  Mother’s personal assistant is never far, always waiting in the wings in case she’s called upon.

  “Thank you for your concern, Mother,” he says, offering Raven a kind smile. “If you’ll excuse us, I must speak with Keyla about another matter. Raven, would you mind keeping the Past Prima company?”

  “Of course, Highness.”

  Tightening his grip on my shoulder, Kotah turns us toward the clearing, and we make our escape.

  “My hero.” I tilt my head to the side and rest it on Kotah’s shoulder. With less than a year between us and parents more interested in realm politics than their children, he and I have depended on one another to navigate royal life.

  “I shall always be your rescue.”

  The two of us stroll to the edge of the forest and he tilts his head toward the shade of the trees. “Do you fancy getting your claws dirty?”

  “Do you have time? Aren’t you in talks with the Pixie Queen?”

  “Hawk excused me for a moment. We’re playing good wolf/bad hawk and he asked me to step away for fifteen minutes.”

  “Well, that’s the best offer I’ve had all morning.” I consider the timeframe and gauge how far we can go. “Alright, I’ll race you to the large boulder we found yesterday at the bend in the river. Do you remember?”

  He grins and bends, ready to launch. “Let the race begin, little sister.”

  My claws tear into the stiff soil of the Pennsylvanian forest as Kotah and I dodge the rough-barked trees and pitted ground littered with a layered mosaic of fallen leaves. In our haste to reach the bend in the river, we scare up a rabbit, two grouse, and a bunch of chipmunks.

  On another day, we might chase them down and hunt. Not today. This run is about abandoning the world and letting our wolves ascend.

  The pithy ground of summer is tightening with the onset of frosty mornings but it still offers great traction. I propel myself forward on a high that I only get when in my wolf form.

  This is me, world. Take it or leave it.

  In a life where who I was born determines who I am as a female, in my wolf form, only one truth exists—I am a wildling. I am wolf.

  To have Kotah with me makes it even better.

  He’s the only one who truly understands. He is my strength and my home. For however long I can be a fundamental part of his life, I will relish it.

  He’s mated now… and expecting a pup.

  My footing falters and I have to catch myself in a lunge to regain my pace. His new life is upon him. As much as it hurts to be left behind, things must change.

  He has a new family now.

  The acrid scent of heartache fills my heightened senses and I cut off my self-indulgence before Kotah smells it. Luckily, he’s ahead of me and upwind.

  I can’t help feeling territorial.

  Before Kotah’s mating, I was his only love and the only one who loved him back for who he is. Now he has four mates who will die for him and who he loves beyond measure.

  And I’m happy for him.

  Truly.

  Still. Where does that leave me?

  I agreed to be his right hand running the realm largely for that reason. It is a place in his life where I can contribute to a level that keeps me relevant.

  I shake my muzzle and try to clear my head.

  I’m in wolf form and, for this moment, Kotah is mine. We’re bolting through the trees, air rushing past us, ruffling our thick coats. Live in the moment, Keyla.

  This is a very exciting time and there’s no telling what destiny has in store for us all.

  Creed

  Sleep is so fucking evasive some nights. Lying naked in the bed I’ve had since I was old enough to be out of a crib, I stare up at the gold gilded ceiling. I should feel at home. This is my home. And yet some bitch hijacked it and is holding us all for ransom. I’ve tried to escape. I’ve tried to attack. I’ve tried to undermine her with the members of the royal staff who defected.

  Maybe they think there’s no going back. That the usurper Queen Laryssa will slaughter them all before she lets the crown be stripped from her head.

  That’s true. She would.

  I could shut her down if I had my powers. If her torture ended, I could call the protectorate of the royal house and things would be different.

  Assuming any of them still live.

  But I can’t call them to arms. I don’t have my powers and I don’t know where Laryssa has my sister and my mother held prisoner.

  If I step out of line, they pay.

  I close my eyes against the darkness and remind myself about what happened the last time I tried to escape. I made it out of the castle and into the labyrinth that lines three of the four sides of the castle.

  While no one could track me through the warren of twists and turns that once stood as my childhood playground, the dragons flew over, sniffed me out, and dragged me back.

  I expected a beating or her calling the beast she cursed me with to perform some horrific act. If only that were the case. My punishment was more soul-shattering than I could’ve imagined.

  Instead of a brutal flogging, Laryssa ordered me to be chained to the wall of the dining hall to watch as her guards dragged my sister in kicking and screaming, and raped her.

  That black-hearted menace to my quadrant forced me to watch as three men hurt and defiled her.

  Laryssa reminds me often enough that it was my doing. She says if I simply comply with her wishes nothing like that needs to happen again.

  And so I stopped trying to escape.

  I stopped fighting the effects of the witch’s curse.

  I stopped trying to take back what is rightfully and legally mine.

  But I’ll never stop imagining the ways I will kill her.

  If the Fates give me the opportunity, Laryssa is as good as dead—brutally, mercilessly, extinguished from this world.

  A sliver of golden light slices the darkness on the far side of the suite as my dragon guard makes a surprise bed inspection. Vikarus and Rhylan Silverwing—the only two people allowed to interact with me within this private wing of the castle.

  To the outside world, I became a recluse after my throne was taken and the two of them are my trusted bodyguards. In truth, they are my jailors.