Throne of Oak (Maggie's Grove) by Dana Marie Bell Read Free Book Online Page A

queen’s gonna be my bridesmaid, the queen’s gonna be my bridesmaid.”
    Parker laughed. “Thank you, Mina. It means a lot to her.”
    “I know.” Far better than Parker would ever give her credit for.

Chapter Three
    There was a soft knock on his office door. Dragos lifted his head to find Eddy poking his in. “Hey, Dragos? Alpha Wulfenbach is here to see you.”
    Dragos nodded. He’d been hoping to see the wolf alpha. “Good. Send him in.”
    “Dragos.” The tall dark-eyed wolf strode into Dragos’s office as if he owned it, a cocky grin crossing his face as he held out his hand in greeting. “Good to see you again, old man.”
    “And you.” He stood and offered his hand to the alpha. “How have you been, Noah?”
    “Worried. We still haven’t found my missing enforcer, and his wife is beyond consolation. She feels he’s lost to us, and I’m inclined to agree.” Noah settled down on the chair opposite Dragos’s desk. Despite his relaxed posture, Dragos knew he was anything but. “Iva Yamauchi is still missing as well. Does Mina have any clues on where she might be?”
    “No, other than the fact that Yew is dying. The dryads are doing their best to keep her tree alive, but they’re slowly losing the battle.” It had been two-and-a-half months and there was still no sign of her.
    The string of curses that fell from the alpha’s lips would’ve made a sailor blush. “That’s not good.” He stood up and began to pace, the spacious office far too small to hold him. “If Yew falls the entire balance of the forest will be altered forever. The other three might never recover from that.”
    “I know.” Noah had reason to be upset. Yew’s death would affect the wolves on a personal level. They were primarily forest creatures, roaming at will through Mina’s territory. They were a part of the forest in a way only another shifter could understand. When the forest mourned, all the shifters did as well, its sadness seeping into them. “Parker believes that whoever has, or had, your enforcer may also have Iva.” Why, he wasn’t certain, but Parker’s instincts were usually sound. He’d been hunted for thirty years by a deranged witch, and while some might call him paranoid, Dragos understood the instincts that had kept the man alive and Terri-free for so long.
    Parker wasn’t the only one who’d once been hunted.
    Noah nodded. “I’m beginning to believe the same thing. They’ve both gone too far off the radar for anything else to be true.” He gave Dragos a look that worried him. “Damn it. I’d hoped you’d come to a different conclusion.”
    Gods above, Dragos hoped they were wrong. Van Helsings were the humans who hunted supernaturals, either because they believed supernaturals were spawn of their Satan, or worse: for sport. If the Van Helsings were involved and hadn’t killed Yew yet—
    A thundering sound echoed through Dragos’s mansion, startling them both.
    It was never wise to startle an alpha werewolf, especially one who thought his pack was being threatened by Van Helsings. Noah immediately dropped into a crouch, fangs and claws evident as he turned toward the office door. He sniffed the air and growled. “What the hell is that?”
    Dragos took a discrete sniff and bit back a curse. His day was about to get interesting. “I believe it was the door.” Dragos settled back in his seat, trying not to show that his hands were shaking. He and Noah were both predators. Showing weakness in front of Noah could only lead to a fight. Dragos might or might not win, but either way it could throw off the balance of power he’d so carefully cultivated. He and Noah worked well together. The last thing he wanted to do was shake that alliance.
    Besides, Dragos shouldn’t have been so startled. He was feeling the lack of his sotiei , the grounding influence she would have on him if she were by his side. Her absence was making his hard-won calm disappear like fog under the morning sun.
    Noah