Haret Chronicles Qilin: Sugar Bites

Talk about rags to riches. Cinderella had nothing on me. I have a sparkly new crown, a remodeled ancient castle, and I’m mated to six of the most delectable princes a girl could conjure. But my happily-ever-after honeymoon still seems a long way off. There are plenty of magical creatures in Haret and Earth who would kill to see me dethroned - literally - and we can’t let our guard down yet. Still, my men promised me a break and a bucket list, and my mates always deliver their goods. We’ll just have to get our sugar in small bites.

I let my temper get the best of me. Now we have less to work with and a much larger puzzle to solve. I wiped out our best lead and shook the foundation of my new rule, all in one shanking. Double crap. My Darkblood subjects no longer trust me, and we're being sucked into the biggest scavenger hunt of the two worlds. Even if the leprechaun's curse was never real, something more sinister was locked inside that gold coin: doubt.

A gamble gone wrong. Hoping to avoid another Darkblood death, we took the proactive route. I had no idea it would get this dangerous for me instead. Lata and Sol were only trying to help, but now the whole lion pride may be in trouble. I’ve grown too confident in my power, and my enemies just found a way to my weakness.

Sugar keeps a Qilin in the light. We all knew it from dealing with Aleron, and I vowed I'd never go dark. But what's a girl to do when her own body rejects the sweetness she craves? Healing Haret is still my mission, but my mates and I are starting to suffer from the stress. As our kingdom wobbles between light and dark, the life I've been building begins to crumble.

Well, that was embarrassing. Imagine my surprise when spontaneous shifting gets added to my list of pregnancy symptoms. There's never a good time for that sort of horniness. Dair thinks he knows just the mage to contact, but are Patriam and potions really the answer? The jaguar twins are growing their following faster than I'm healing Haret.

Home is calling, and I've ghosted long enough. It's time to visit my mother—she's the last option for getting answers to my questions. The problem is, my gut still doesn't trust her. How can a girl learn to be a mother from someone who's never really been one? The jaguar twins are still growing in power, but the twins in my belly are, too. I don't have the time or energy to split between these pairs, forcing me to place my trust in people I barely know. It's time to see how deep this love between the Qilin and the dragons really goes. I'm Carlyle Licorne, and I'm having mommy issues.

My happily ever after is here, and I’m going to make the most of it. I have my men, my new families, and my people all coming together to make sure things are safe for what’s coming next—our twins. It’s time to turn inward and create our new family, instead of worrying about the world outside. We’re not sure what our twins will mean to some, but I’m not worried. On top of all the help I have, I’ve learned the most important lesson—to trust myself. I’m Carlyle Licorne, and I finally feel like an everyday goddess.