Queen of the Beasts *Sample*

Chapter 18

Nothing was said for a long time. I couldn't even think of something to say and I was terrified if I opened my mouth this dream would crumble at my feet. I was led out of the corridor to a closet filled with guard uniforms and when the stunned guard turned away from me I shifted. Once my human form was covered in an undershirt and breeches three sizes too big the man turned around.

And seeing his face again was a shock to the system all over again. Perhaps more than it had been the first time.

The once red hair had turned auburn now, but it could never be dark enough to take away the boyishness that came with his round face and chubby cheeks. He wasn't skinny anymore, now he was stocky and short, barely taller than me but still as daunting as ever. But, even when he had been as thin as a twig he was always that way. Too proud of his own good and stronger than anyone I knew. The brown eyes that had always been so brave and so guiding now searched me up and down over and over again. He couldn't believe I was there, in front of him just as I couldn't believe that he was real. In fact, I was so terrified that he was a figment of my imagination that when my impulses demanded I throw my arms around him in a tight hug I resisted. If this was a dream I wanted it to last forever. I couldn't let him go, not again.

He had been my future alpha.

He was my brother.

"Oliver." I whispered.

"Violet." He breathed, his voice filled with disbelief. Then his eyes moved to the three guards who had been attempting to get me into the cells. They had all watched the exchange from the distance, knowing they were to fulfill the prince's wishes, but not sure if they should interfere. "Go, stand down, I will answer for this." Oliver grunted.

And it was then that I realized that this wasn't something my imagination could concoct. The last time I had seen him I had been young and so had he, barely more than a teenager. Though his face had stayed young the rest of him had changed. His voice was deep and strong. His confidence was unchallenged, something that only came with experience. He was wearing an elaborate uniform, one I had never seen before. He had scars I had never seen before and a necklace was tied around his throat. The only way I knew it was him was the scent that circled him- still smelling so much like home- and those brown eyes.

"How is this even possible?" I whispered.

My fingers brushed against the cuff of his jacket. Stiff and rough, definitely real.

"We shouldn't talk here, let's go somewhere more private." He suggested.

I didn't understand why he wasn't comfortable here and now. I had so much I needed to say, so many things I needed him to clear up. How was he even here, in front of me? He was supposed to be dead many years ago. But here he was. Living and breathing and I wanted to know how. But he had been raised to be an alpha and even now it was clear that he was not a normal guard. Oliver was not to be argued with and if he wanted to talk somewhere privately then we would.

We walked side by side. My fingers kept touching the sleeve of his jacket, occasionally touching the warmth from the back of his hand. I couldn't believe it. My brother. He was here. He was breathing. He was alive. After all these years of thinking he was dead.

My brow furrowed at the thought just as we passed a pair of grand doors. I slowed to stop and Oliver halted beside, always the attentive older brother.

I was about to open my mouth and demand to know why my father had claimed he had died when he was clearly very much alive. But I was cut off by the my mate's furious voice.

"My God, does no one in this palace listen anymore?" Griffin grumbled. "Fine, I'll take her to the cells myself."

Before I could even spin around to face him Griffin's hand had closed around my covered wrist tightly. With a firm yank, Griffin attempted to move me. I stayed froze. No, he couldn't take me away from my brother. Not now, not after I had just found him.