The Orphaned Queen (By Brandi Ray) novel Chapter 42

Zions’ P.O.V.

After looking at all the decorations and preparations for the ceremonies, Rain and I decided to go and check on Rain and Stephanie, and then we decided to go for our first run. The closer we got to the trails, the more nervous Rain got. I finally decided it would be best to stop her from walking for a minute to calm her down by grabbing her wrist and bringing her to a halt.

“What’s wrong, my love?” I ask her.

“I’m nervous about shifting,” She answers while staring at the ground.

“Don’t be nervous. I’ll be with you the whole time.” I say while rubbing circles on the back of her hand, calming her with the mate bond.

She takes a deep breath before she nods, and we start walking again. When we make it to the trail we are taking, I look over at Rain expecting to see a ball of nerves. But instead, she looks me in the eyes. All I can see is her determination and excitement. I remember how when she first arrived, she was so shy and quiet, and now she’s so full of life and outspoken. Her confidence is building by the day.

“Are you ready, my love?” I ask her, and she nods. “Since this is your first shift while conscious, I’ll be here to guide you through it.”

“Okay.” She says, stripping down, and I have to hold back the urge to take her. Ryker wants her now, but I explain that she needs to focus on this. I needed to remind him of our first shift and how hard it was. Once she’s undressed, I tell her to listen to her wolf, I explain that her first few times will be painful, but she needs to stay calm, remembering to breathe threw it.

She takes a deep breath, and when she releases it, I hear her bones popping out of place as she shifts. Within a minute, she’s completed the shift into her wolf, and Ryker couldn’t be prouder to have her as our mate. Dosha is a beautiful pure silver wolf, almost as big as Ryker, which is uncommon since most female wolfs are smaller than males.

She walks over to me and nudges my hand with her snout. I scratch between her ears and tell her how proud we are of her, then I strip off and shirt so she can meet Ryker. After our wolves had time to get acquainted, they make their way up the trail. We gave them complete control for a while, letting them run freely. Dosha is super fast, and Ryker had to actually try to keep up with her. We’ve always been the fastest, and it was strange to have someone around that is faster than us.

Two hours of them running later, we take back control, and I tell her to follow me. I lead the way to the cliff I took her to last night for a little surprise I planned this morning with the help of Nikky and Kristy. When we reached the tree line, we both shift back. I quickly hand her the robe I had brought out earlier, and I put on some gym shorts. I take her hand and lead her to the cliff, where I had Nikky and Kristy set up a bed with lights, a tray of strawberries, and a bottle of champagne for a romantic night.

“I wish we could stay here like this for the rest of our lives.” Rain says.

“So do I, but we are the King and Queen,” I say. “And the next few days will be busy for the both of us. So let’s enjoy our time together by ourselves while we can.”

“As you wish, my King.” She says as she takes our empty glasses and the empty tray and places them on the table by the bed, and we go for round two.

“I swear these two will be the death of us,” Ryker says happily.

“A death I would gladly welcome with open arms,” I respond as he growls in agreement.