Thawed Shadows (Princess Kassie series book 1)

Kassie

I have spent my entire life as a princess, and I’m damn good at it. This time around, I even got to be an Underworld and a werewolf princess, not just a boring vampire one. Still, I wanted to try something different for a while. Reinvent myself, and now was the time to do it. The kingdoms have stabilized, and I was finally seventeen.

Tobias was alpha-king, Oriana Queen of the Nykos kingdom, Cayden king of the Tenebris kingdom, Zachary was the king of the Strygzi kingdom, Gracelynn was luna of Sanguine Moon… see where I am going with this? Living in the shadow of my brothers and sisters was beneath me. I needed to figure out my next act, and I was not interested in politics, mates, pups, or any of that. I wanted to have some fun for a while. Learn something new. All of this would be waiting when I got home.

“You sure about this, Kassie?” Tobias asked me for the hundredth time. “I mean it’s lame. It’s college.”

“I went to college, Tobias.” Mom jumped in to defend me.

“Oh. Right. I forgot about that.”

“I even have my master’s degree.” She bragged, feeding my new niece her bottle while Tobias was busy with some paperwork at the kitchen table. He was not as interested in being a father as my own was. However, the pressure from my parents has him faking it. He loved her and his sons, don’t get me wrong, but he had been around enough pups. He was worn out from it. Kayla was also a bit checked out. My parents, Auntie, and Uncle were raising their adorable triplets and didn’t mind much. Yes, you read that right. Tobias and Kayla had triplets a couple of months ago. Two identical boys, Garett and Asher, and a girl named Izzy. It started as twins, then somehow the boys split in two. I thought I might have a shot at luna-queen the afternoon he found out. My brother nearly dropped dead from the shock, and our parents almost died in hysterics at his reaction. This surprise kept everyone busy. Mom and Dad would swear they are retired, but if you ask me, they still have one foot in it.

“Yes, I know. I’m sorry. I can’t remember shit because I don’t sleep anymore, and I have a kingdom to run now that you and Dad retired. Plus, I have three pups who never stop needing my help.”

“No sympathy from me.” Mom waved her hand.

“Kassie, you have no paperwork. As far as humans are concerned, you don’t exist.” Now he was going to attempt to poke holes in my plan. He should know that I am always prepared.

“Uncle Richard knows how to forge documentation.” That was a minor issue in the grand scheme of things. I need a fake name, but other than that, it would be fine. I could use Mom’s last name. She existed in the human world, and I could pretend to be her human daughter.

“Auntie Penny is going to be here soon. You will have to surrender her?” Tobias looked excited about it. She didn’t give him as much shit as Mom did. I didn’t blame her. She was always there for everyone and deserved a break. My leaving was a step toward that. I prepared an argument to pursue that path if necessary.

“My chosen mate and I are going to be switching off so I can go on my date. Dad is dropping the other two off with Uncle Steven. If I weren’t going on a date, I would enjoy watching that.” That would be fun to watch.

“That’s code for you and Dad are tired of watching pups and want to make more of them.” I winked at her and she blushed.

“Oh, Goddess you sucked the fun out of my evening Kassie. That is a horrifying idea.” Mom was always afraid of going into heat again, but it had been years. Maybe becoming a vampire was the answer for her. I wonder if she would have considered it sooner if she knew.

“As is thinking of you and Dad together,” Tobias smirked at my comment.

“You both would not be here if it were not for our date nights. So, you’re welcome.” We all knew they had many date nights. We could count.

“Can we get back to my request? Are you going to give me shit if I leave the kingdom?” I asked them both.

“Should you really be in the city alone?”

“I’ll go.” My twin walked in, grabbing a cookie off the counter. He was on standby the entire conversation in case I needed him.

“I just assumed this entire time it was a request for both of you.” Mom shrugged, as if Tobias had asked the most idiotic question in the world. Cause it was. Of course, Lex would come with me. He was my Underworld partner. If I get sucked back in, I need him. Or Roman, but he’s been reassigned since our time together. My twin and I were a package deal, whether the world liked it or not.

“I’m not sure if that’s better or worse.”

“Thanks a lot, Alpha-King Tobias.” He flipped him off. The two of them had a tumultuous relationship. Lex did not make Tobias’ life easy. Not that I did either, but Lex felt less bad about it.

“You are just going to get some poor unsuspecting human pregnant and bring that bullshit to my doorstep.”

“You gonna give me a lecture about keeping it wrapped? Cause you might want to look in the mirror.” Of all the things I love about Lex, his manslut lifestyle was not one of them. Uncle Richard babysat him one too many times, sealing his fate. At the very least, he promised not to be with any of my friends. Not that I had many, but that rule would also apply to college. If they were mates, that’s fine. Otherwise, it was girls whom I had not and would not cross paths with.

“They were planned!”

“Mostly.” Mom giggled. “In that, Kayla’s body said it was time, and you got lucky.”

“Three times. Now is that a yes or no?”

“You are going to do this either way.” I’m glad he knew me so well. I pretended I was asking, but this was more of an informational conversation. I’d go to Dad for the money to avoid the requirement of a formal request. Besides, it wasn’t something the kingdom should pay for. There was a budget for it, but I didn’t want strings attached to my quest for freedom.

“I’m giving you the courtesy of pretending I respect your authority around here, Your Majesty.”

“Just promise me when you kill someone, call okay? Don’t try, and cover it up yourself.” My brother thought so little of me.

“When? Really, Tobias? I don’t kill people for fun.” I get that I can kill people with a single thought, but I hadn’t done it in years. Everyone should be focused on that part.

“The world is dangerous. You will likely overreact at some point or have an actual reason to need to kill someone. I don’t want you to get arrested.”

“Yeah, that’s not a good look.” Mom agreed.

“I would frame your mugshot.” Lex made a square with his fingers, looking through them. “Then we could start a reality television show about a princess behind bars.”

“That would pay for college.” I shrugged, going over to grab something to drink. All this talking made me thirsty.

“Do you know where you want to go?” I knew Mom would love this idea. She loved to read, spoke fondly of her studies, and took pride in that accomplishment. It might seem minor in comparison to everything else, but I understand why that made it so special. She did it on her own, before she met Dad. Her degree still hung on the wall in their office, and it was something that was all hers. I wanted something like that, too.

“How about where you went?” I didn’t honestly care where, but I didn’t want to be too far away. Taking care of myself wouldn’t be hard, but I wouldn’t want to miss four years of their lives. Being able to come back for things would matter to me. My youngest siblings were eleven, and my nieces and nephews were little. I didn’t want to miss them growing up. So I would be close enough to make it to Sunday brunch if I went where Mom did, but it was enough of a hassle that people wouldn’t just stop by.

“You can go anywhere you want. Dad will buy your way in. You know that, right?”

“What is wrong with where I went!?”

“There are werewolf colleges, too. Less fraudulent paperwork required.”

“Don’t ignore my question!” Mom yelled at him. She was as tired from the new pups as Tobias was. I think he occasionally forgot.

“It’s fine. Nothing is wrong with it.”

“If you are going to question my life choices, take care of your own.” She got up from the table.

“Mom, I can’t do all of this at once.” It was the end of the quarter. Inventory season was a bitch.

“Learn to, Tobias.” What he needed to learn was how to ignore the chaos. Be the calm the room requires.

“You walked into that.” I shrugged, having no sympathy.

“This is your fault.” He growled at me, without really explaining what was my fault. That he had so much work? That he pissed off Mom? Something else?

“Is it though? Your little swimmers seem to be to blame. Maybe send only one soldier next time.”

“Gross, Kassie.”

“Alright, I’m done.” Uncle Steven walked into the room, and both boys were screaming in his ear. “Take them back, Tobias. They have not shut up since your dad dropped them off an hour ago. And while I still love them, I’m delivering them home.”

“An hour ago? Why did he get an hour to get ready?”

“He wanted to work out before date night, so I agreed to take them early. I have regrets and I’m quitting.” He placed them in the playpen.

“I want to go work out.” Mom got up and left, leaving Tobias with all three of them. Izzy joined in the screaming, not wanting to be left out.

“Venue for date night has changed, everyone. Stay clear of the gym.” Lex made me laugh so hard I snorted, and Tobias rolled his eyes at us both. He really was no fun these days.

“I don’t think you can quit being a grandpa.” I touched Uncle Steven’s shoulder. “But I get why you would want to. They are a mess.”

“There is something wrong with all of them.” Tobias picked up Izzy and put her with her brothers. All three of them instantly shut up. It was cute. They were worried about each other. “Oh, thank Goddess.”

“Bye.” Tobias lost another babysitter, but not for long. Auntie Penny must have grabbed her mate in the hallway and turned him around.

“Hello, Tobias.”

“You are my savior.” Everyone was peacefully napping.

“They are perfect angels. Why is everyone running away?” I shrugged and hugged my auntie, scurrying off. I had some planning to do. The semester started in less than six months. Besides, I didn’t want to be around for the second half of the orchestra.