The Lynx Who Purred for a Sidhe Prince

Mate or Meal 9

The Lynx Who Purred for a Sidhe

Prince

Ally or admirer? When lynx shifter Corbin Mckenna falls for Sidhe

prince Winter Tomacelli, he doesn't expect being forced into a

political marriage. What is more important—the happiness of two

men in love, or the safety of two peoples?

Years ago, Winter lost his parents to an assassination, and he

knows that now, the duty to protect the Sidhe falls on his

shoulders. Secretly, he is happy when a wedding with Corbin

Mckenna is suggested as a solution to improve diplomatic relations

between shifters and Sidhe. With one kiss, Corbin is capable of

turning his entire body into flame and sweeping him off his feet.

But Winter fears what a bond with him will entail for Corbin. He

fears losing Corbin, like he lost his parents.

To survive, their love will have to fight their duty, and an

unexpected outside threat that could kill Winter. What will their

future bring?

Genre:
Alternative (M/M or F/F), Paranormal, Shape-shifter

Length:
42,091 words

THE LYNX WHO PURRED FOR

A SIDHE PRINCE

Mate or Meal 9

Scarlet Hyacinth

EROTIC ROMANCE

MANLOVE

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

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IMPRINT: Erotic Romance ManLove

THE LYNX WHO PURRED FOR A SIDHE PRINCE

Copyright © 2012 by Scarlet Hyacinth

E-book ISBN: 1-61926-674-1

First E-book Publication: April 2012

Cover design by Jinger Heaston

All cover art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

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Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

Letter to Readers

Dear Readers,

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The Lynx Who Purred for a Sidhe
Prince
by Scarlet Hyacinth from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

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DEDICATION

To all those who commented on the new magical-creature shifter

pairings. I’m glad you liked this twist. It was unexpected for me, too, but I’m having a lot of fun writing the books. Thank you all!

THE LYNX WHO PURRED

FOR A SIDHE PRINCE

Mate or Meal 9

SCARLET HYACINTH

Copyright © 2012

Prologue

The sound of Winter’s footsteps echoed hollowly in the cavernous

halls of the Seelie palace. Winter suppressed a shudder, eyeing the

guards leading him with apprehension. He had no idea what he’d

done to be summoned here. Usually, his royal uncle attempted to keep

him away from the court with every possible pretext. Whatever King

Sterling had in store for him, it couldn’t be good.

Once upon a time, Winter had loved the Sidhe palace. There were

beautiful gardens where he’d loved to play as a child, and the libraries were endless sources of knowledge. During ceremonies and parties,

beautiful music filled the ballrooms. Back then, Winter had been too

young to participate, but he’d always sneaked as close as he could to steal a few looks at the richly garbed guests and the extravagant

outfits. It had been home.

All that had changed when Winter’s parents had been killed in an

assassination plot by the Unseelie. After that, chaos had ensued. With the Seelie leader and his wife gone, war had been imminent. Winter

had been too young to take charge of the situation and too lost in

grief. This was how his uncle had ended up on the throne, even if it

had been Winter’s birthright.

The Lynx Who Purred for a Sidhe Prince

9

If he wanted to be honest, Winter didn’t particularly mind leaving

the Seelie crown to Sterling. Being part of the royal family had only brought Winter sorrow. Many times, he had wished he’d been born in

a normal household. That way, his parents wouldn’t be dead now.

In spite of those regrets, however, he had not officially signed the

throne over to Sterling since he knew it was not what his parents

would have wanted. Winter was no politician. He preferred a more

hands-on approach in helping his people. But even if what he really

wanted was to be a healer, he remained the heir of the defunct royal

family, the only Sidhe prince, and eventually, he would have to take

up the crown.

It occurred to Winter that the palace was awfully quiet. Not only

that, but there were more guards around than usual. A dark suspicion

crowded at the back of his mind. He didn’t want to think his uncle

would plan something against him, but his parents had been

assassinated after all.

“Excuse me,” he said to one of the guards. “Is anything wrong?

Have the Unseelie attacked again?”

The man gave Winter a torn look, as if he was considering

whether to approach the topic or not. “No, Sire,” he finally said. “It’s nothing like that. But you should ask His Majesty for more details. I am honestly not at liberty to say.”

The fact that the guards were sworn to secrecy didn’t bode well

for the situation. Still, Winter remained silent and obediently followed behind them. At last, they reached the throne room, and the guards

stopped in front of the huge golden doors engraved with the symbol

of the House of Tomacelli. Winter’s family. Every time he saw that

crest, Winter felt a deep pang of regret inside him.

The doors opened and one of the guards stepped forward to

announce him. “His Royal Highness, Prince Winter Tomacelli.”

A familiar voice beckoned him to enter, and the guards parted,

allowing him to go inside. Keeping his head held high, Winter

stepped into the throne room.

10

Scarlet Hyacinth

King Sterling was alone in the throne room, something that

immediately surprised Winter. The man was always surrounded by

his entourage, from courtesans to advisors. Winter carefully schooled his expression, not allowing the older Sidhe to see how much this odd situation startled him.

“Greetings, Uncle,” he said. “You wanted to see me?”

Usually, it would have been a breach of protocol to address the

standing Sidhe king as anything else than Your Majesty, but their

current situation was unprecedented, and Winter took petty

satisfaction where he could.

“Yes, Winter. Come. I wanted to talk to you about something very

important.”

King Sterling’s voice held none of the arrogance Winter had come

to expect from the other Sidhe. “Of course, Uncle,” he replied

neutrally.

“A few days ago, Elder Mercier was captured in an act of extreme

aggression against the shifters. To prevent a war, two important

shifters have come to see me. They do not wish for more violence,

and I am inclined to agree.”

Winter couldn’t say he was particularly surprised by the

information. Adele Mercier had always been one of the stoutest

believers in the purist school of thought that many Seelie Sidhe had

adopted. Personally, Winter believed that all species had the right to live. Sure, he knew that Elder Mercier and others like her believed

shifters were to blame for the entire world knowing of the existence

of paranormal creatures. Still, he’d always thought such disgust and

resentment was extreme, especially since it often extended to magical creatures such as demons.

Oblivious to Winter’s thoughts, Sterling continued to speak.

“However, Elder Mercier’s action led to the injury of several shifters, an injury of magical nature which they cannot heal.”

The Lynx Who Purred for a Sidhe Prince

11

The word
heal
truly drew in Winter’s attention. He was beginning to understand where Sterling was going with this. “You want me to

help them with this in a sign of good faith?”

Sterling offered him a weak smile. “Indeed. You’ve always been a

smart boy.” The small twist of lips disappeared as if it had never been.

“But there’s more. There is a child.”

“A child?” Winter repeated, unsure if he’d heard right. What did a

baby have anything to do with a war?