By
USA Today Bestselling Author
Laura Greenwood

I’m the Shifter Heir. I never thought I’d say those words, but now it’s irrefutable. I won the Shifter Trials and now my mother has to recognise me as her heir.

But things aren’t as they seem in the Shifter Court. And keeping up with my studies while trying to stay on top of my duties is harder than I thought it was going to be.

And that’s without throwing Magnus into the mix. He’s a complication I don’t think I’ll ever be ready for.
But now I know fated mates aren’t real, maybe I should give in to what he’s suggesting…

NOTE:
Tiger Throne is book two of the Sabre Woods Academy series. It is an urban fantasy academy with shifters and a slow burn m/f romance.

Kayra is now the shifter heir, much to her mother’s dismay. As such she now has many demands being made on her with duties at Shifter Court as well as her studies. An interesting development at the beginning of this book is her mother introduces her to her ‘fated mate’ Jeremy.

Interesting because in the last book she was trying to let Magnus down easy by telling him he wasn’t her fated mate. That’s when Kayra found out that fated mates are a fairy tale only found in stories.

Her mother doesn’t approve of Magnus even though he’s from the same family as her preferred choice of heir the one that now never will be. There’s also a lot of other things going on behind the scenes. Unwittingly her mother directs her to be present at a meeting where actual decisions are made about ruling. While she’s surprised it’s comprised of only male cat shifters, she didn’t expect to be totally disregarded. When the discussion of giving the title of Marquis to Richard Forrest to possibly quell his movement to abolish the monarchy, she tries to to argue a title shouldn’t be given without property behind it. Only to be overruled and the vote taken to approve it and set the ceremony and ball in his honor for the coming weekend.

This would be Kayra’s first ball as heir and she wants Demi and Magnus there for support. What she didn’t know is that her mother has arranged for Jeremy to escort her into the ball and dance the first dance with her.

This is a favorite scene when she sees Magnus’ reaction.

The cool air of the gardens hits me as I leave the ballroom and follow him down the concrete steps towards the small lake.

“Magnus, wait, please?” I beg.

To my surprise, he stops and turns to face me. Not that it’s much comfort when he’s glaring at me like that.

I barely have a moment to register how good he looks in the smart tuxedo. It only makes me wish I was dancing with him even more, and despite the fact he’s angry with me.

“Why did you storm out?” I ask, hurt coming through my words even if I don’t intend it to.

“You know why,” he says darkly.

“No. I don’t. If I did, I wouldn’t be asking you about it,” I point out. I’m not sure why that’s tripping him up. It’s fairly obvious, even to me.

“You told me you didn’t want to pursue what was between us because you didn’t have the time.”

I frown, confused at what he’s getting at. “And that’s true. Have you seen this event? I’m expected to come to things like this every couple of weeks. Not to mention the meetings, ceremonies…”

“But you came here with another guy.”

My jaw drops open.

Ah.

That’s the problem.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath. “Jeremy isn’t my choice.”

“You didn’t even tell me about him, Kayra. I thought you were telling me everything that went on here.”

“I’m sorry,” I say quickly. “I didn’t tell you because there was nothing to tell.”

“Then why is he escorting you to a ball?” Magnus snaps.

Tears prick my eyes, but I blink them away. I’m more annoyed than anything. I understand it can’t have been nice for him to watch us dance, but I didn’t want or ask for it. It’s not my fault.

“I didn’t know he was until about a minute before we entered the ballroom. Mother sprang it on me.” I don’t bother keeping the bitterness out of my voice. He knows how I feel about all of this.

“You could have asked me to escort you.” The pain in his voice lances right through me.

“If I’d known I needed an escort, I would have,” I promise. He needs to know how I feel.

I reach out and touch the wish bracelet around my wrist. I need him to know how much I want him.

The urge to kiss him and show him how I feel rises within me, but I resist. Now isn’t the right time for that. Especially if he’s mad at me. I can’t use kisses as a way to end arguments. It isn’t fair to either of us.

“I wish you’d told me.”

“I wish I had too,” I admit. It would have made things so much easier if he’d even known about Jeremy’s existence. But I was a fool and didn’t want to make things more complicated than they had to be. Especially when I do want things to go further with him at some point. I take a deep breath. “I didn’t tell you because I was still angry about it. And a little in denial.”

Despite the seriousness of the conversation, he chuckles. “Denial sounds the most likely. Do you want to sit?” He waves to a stone bench.

I nod, glad to hear he still wants anything to do with me.

I move my skirts into the most comfortable position possible. Not that it means much. I’m not sure whether the dress is meant to be a torture device, or if it’s just badly designed, but if I have any say in it, my next formal outfit will be a lot easier to move in.

Magnus sits down beside me and sighs loudly. “So, Jeremy?”

“There’s not much to tell,” I admit. “Mother called me here to tell me he’s my suitor. I told her no. She then said your family wasn’t good enough. Which is…I have no words for that.”

“You told your mother you thought I was a potential suitor?”

My cheeks heat. Oops. Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned that. But not talking about things is what got me into this situation in the first place. It’s probably better that things are out in the open.

“Yes. But that isn’t the point.” I fill him in on the rest of what’s gone on between me and Jeremy. Not that it’s much, and it certainly isn’t anything to worry about. But I get where he’s coming from and as I talk about it, I find myself wishing I’d told him in the first place.

“So, you don’t have any feelings for him?”

“Of course not. I barely know him. He seems pleasant enough, but you might be surprised to learn that’s not all I look for in someone.”

“I should hope not.”

“But I don’t think Mother is going to let this one go very easily. She’s still using the words fated mate with me.”

“Doesn’t she realise people will have told you the truth by now?” he asks.

I shrug. “Honestly, I don’t think she thinks about me all that much.”

He sighs. “I should get back to the academy,” he says.

“You’re not going to stay?” Disappoint wells up within me. I wanted to dance with him.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” he responds. “I don’t want to have to watch you with Jeremy, even if I know there’s nothing between you.”

I bite my bottom lip. “Okay. But I promise I won’t let this happen again.” Partly because I don’t want to be blindsided like this again. It wasn’t nice. But Jeremy says he’ll help me as much as he can with knowing about these things. I have to hope it’ll be enough.

He nods and gets to his feet. “Enjoy the rest of the party.”

“With the best part leaving? Definitely not.”

His smile is forced, like things aren’t completely right between us yet. But that’s probably because our fight is still so fresh. It’s odd how comfortable I feel being honest with him. Or maybe it’s just right that’s the case.

I watch him go. I wish it didn’t have to be this way. I want to spend more time with him. Or better yet, enter a ball on his arm and dance like I did with Jeremy.

One day.

Hopefully soon.

But for now, I need to go back to the ball before Mother gets even angrier with me. Besides, I want to find Richard Forrest if I can. I think we’ll have some interesting things to talk about.
Greenwood, Laura. Tiger Throne (Sabre Woods Academy Book 2). Kindle Locations (585-632). Drowlgon Press. Kindle Edition.

Knowing that a title isn’t going to change Richard Forrest’s mind about the monarchy, Kayra takes it upon herself to speak with him at the ball. The meeting arranged by Demi who is friends with his daughter.

As things with Magnus take a turn toward the romantic, Jeremy becomes a surprise ally.

With plenty of twists and turns, some frustration caused by her mother and a decision that will change everything.

I can’t wait for the next book Tiger Queen, releasing August 19^th

5 Contented Purrs for Laura!

Laura is a USA Today Bestselling Author of paranormal, fantasy, and contemporary romance. When she’s not writing, she can be found drinking ridiculous amounts of tea, trying to resist French Macaroons, and watching the Pitch Perfect trilogy for the hundredth time (at least!)