Now that I've concluded Reincarnated as the Wolf Goddess, the sequel to The Fae Queen's Pet is finally kicking off. Welcome to A Bargain for Bliss.
Book One
Synopsis: It's been a few months since Sierra Chelsi came to live in the Raven Queen's palace, and she's found herself more at home each day. But the queen has been busy working on something big. Her secrets are kept from even the young werewolf she ensnared. When the queen finally reveals her schemes, it's apparent something big is coming to the Raven Court. The only question is what role her beloved pet will play. The familiar fierce werewolf who threatens nobles at court so Varella can keep order. . . or perhaps something a little more tender.
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Chapter One:
I heard her before she entered the room. Her footsteps were light as if the wind carried her feet across each piece of the floor. And sometimes it actually did. She used to sneak up on me, but in the three months I’d lived in Featherstone, the Raven Queen had fallen prey to my advanced predatory senses, the kind only a fierce huntress could cultivate.
My senses would never be as sharp as those of my inner wolf, but enough bled through that I was a better tracker than any human and most faeries.
Casually striding over to the window in my bedroom, I unlatched it and waited for the queen’s knock at my door. Two arrived. She was growing impatient.
Good, I thought. Just what I wanted.
I called for my mistress to enter, and she opened the door. I noticed Barsilla, her arrogant left-hand lady hovering just above the queen’s shoulder. That piskie had grown increasingly fed up with my antics as of late. At least, she made a big show of it.
Of course, when my eyes hovered over the queen, I felt my heart skip a beat. Eyes widening as though I was looking at her for the first time, I came within inches of dropping my plan entirely. Her otherworldly beauty held me in a trance, seven feet of alluring artistry from her sleek obsidian hair to her enrapturing violet eyes that held all the mysteries of a Faerie Queen seemingly within reach, daring all who saw to reach forward.
Her words floated across the room to my ears with all the confidence of a monarch who expected obedience and steadfast loyalty.
“Come, my pet. I’m scheduled to hold court in 10 minutes, and I need my fearsome beast.”
It took almost everything I had not to prance across the room and throw myself at her. The tiny fae hovering nearby had her usual pencil and clipboard out at the ready in case she needed to write down something important. Barsilla’s eyes practically said, “Do it. I dare you.”
But that was ridiculous. The piskie couldn’t have known what I was planning, right? I looked at her again in her tiny librarian outfit. And just staring at the representation of order and rules in the palace rekindled some spark of rebellion in my bratty ass.
“Apologies, mistress,” I said, not looking at Varella again because I knew her eyes would lure me in again, freezing me in my tracks.
“Don’t you dare,” was all I heard Barsilla say as I frantically slid the window open and leaped outside. The queen was fast, and I felt her grasp millimeters from my nape as I dove toward the palace grounds a few stories below.
Landing and immediately tucking into a roll, I exhaled. Then I rose with as much speed as I could leech from my inner wolf and bolted toward the back of Featherstone.
From the window, I heard my mistress’ low tenor voice carry a warning, “My pet. . .”
Those words sent a shiver down my spine, and I knew this was fucking with her schedule. But I didn’t care. You welcome a brat into your home, and you should be expected to anticipate the consequences.
I didn’t hear her leaping out the window after me, just the soft swish of wild rye grass under my feet as I bolted away from where I landed.
Will she endure the humiliation of being seen chasing down her pet werewolf, or will the mighty queen march herself to hold court without the fierce beast she’s grown so accustomed to wielding over her nobles and guests? I thought, snickering.
A few months ago when I’d arrived at Featherstone, freshly ensnared in a bargain of the queen’s making, I wouldn’t have dared acted this way. There were probably mice in the walls of the basement that were less timid than me.
But what can I say? The queen and her best intelligence agent had made me very comfortable here. They’d given the werewolf a cookie, and in turn, she’d not only stolen the entire glass of milk but the jar of remaining sweets as well.
Okay, normally I wasn’t this bad. But this week had been long, and restlessness was building up in every joint of my body. Maybe I was a little pissy. Or perhaps the full moon was three nights away.
Both things could be true, I thought, the rear guard tower coming into view as I rounded a corner.
It stood a few stories higher than my window with a narrow spiral staircase running up the center. A few faerie guards stood on the ground watching me bolt for the stone bridge behind the palace. They were armed with spears and leather armor bearing the queen’s crest in the center, a black bird, head back, beak open, and crying to the sky with its wings spread wide.
The guards looked nervously at each other as I continued running full speed in nothing but my silk pajamas with various puppy designs sewn into the fabric. My curly brown hair bounced behind me, and I realized the guards were calculating how much trouble they’d get in if I was allowed to simply cruise on by.
“Um. . . Sierra?” One woman with short green hair cut into a bob stammered as she took a step to block my path.
I leaped about five feet over her head using every bit of that borrowed werewolf strength in my legs. She didn’t move to grab me, just scratching her cheek in confusion. Looking further up the guard tower, she called for Ceras.
The queen’s top talon jumped from the second story and landed behind me, hand axe rattling at their side.
“What is it, Belamie?” They asked as I continued running for the bridge, morning sunlight reflecting off the lake. The scent of forest and fish entered my senses as my brain told me I was nearly free.
“Do we just let the royal pet go?” Belamie asked.
Turning back for a brief moment and running backward, I yelled, “Ceras! If you see the queen, stall her! And suggest to her that I went out the front gate into town. Please and thank you!”
Rushing off into the tree line, the last thing I heard was Ceras chuckling to themselves and stretching.
“Patrols turn up anything this morning?” They asked.
“No,” Belamie said.
“Then we’ll let her majesty sort out this issue with her pet. She’ll be fine,” Ceras said. “Besides, I doubt the queen has let her prized possession get too far ahead of her.”
Rushing into the trees and seeing aspens, evergreens, and other greenery native to Faerie, I sneered.
Bullshit, I thought. There’s no way the queen would delay court to rush after me.
Bushes whipped around me, and I jumped over a stump, knowing it would be more difficult for the queen to fly through the treetops and snatch me from above. That was assuming she was giving chase.
After about five minutes, I came to a stop, sweaty and heart-hammering. This particular patch of trees wasn’t far from where the queen had put down my inner wolf, earning the right to be my pack leader.
My eyes darted at every snapped twig, a bead of sweat running down my cheek. To my left, a rabbit took one look at me and decided it could afford the risk of chomping on a purple flower nearby.
Bitch, I’m a werewolf, I thought. You should be fleeing in the opposite direction.
Puffing out my chest, I turned toward the brown and white rabbit. I put my hands on my hips and said, “Excuse me. Do you know what I am? You dare to snack in the presence of a fearsome werewolf? An apex predator for which capturing a rabbit in her jaws would be pup’s play?”
The rabbit didn’t even turn its head to acknowledge my words. It just continued chewing on the flower’s stem, taking the vegetation in like a board into a sawmill.
Raising my hands slowly and pretending I had the claws of my inner wolf, I took a step toward the bunny.
“You should be more cautious in assessing your surroundings for danger, Bugs.”
The rabbit’s blue eyes finally glanced over at me as it sniffed at another flower nearby, this one with a large yellow bulb. Its nose and whiskers twitched before it decided to ignore me once more and snatch another snack.
“I’m serious, little bunny. Surely you smell the wild canine inside of me. Your heart should be pounding in your chest, eyes watching my claws for any hint of movement. Otherwise, when you’re distracted, you might yourself suddenly hoisted into the air and EEEEEP—,” I shrieked, interrupted by a sudden, terrible force of upward movement that snagged my shoulders.
Up through tree branches I went, air sucked out of my lungs from sheer terror at the speed with which I was being carried.
Looking down, I watched the trees below me start to shrink, and then I felt myself suddenly reversing direction, falling toward the lake approaching terminal velocity.
“Fuuuuucccckkkk meeeeeeee,” I screamed, preparing for a sudden bath of epic proportions. As a werewolf, I was a bit tougher than the average human even when I walked on two legs. But from this height, I could at least expect a bruise or two landing in the water.
And then, just as I steadied myself for a fishy fate, a pair of well-toned arms caught me just a few feet above the lake water. I was close enough to already smell the algae and aquatic turtles I prepared to join. Yet, I’d been given a reprieve.
Looking up at my savior, I saw the Raven Queen grinning down at me with all the smug satisfaction radiating from her face that she could muster. Two large black-feathered wings carried us over the water as Varella gradually moved into a hover, holding me Lois Lane style in her arms.
The lake wind swirled around my hair and floppy pajamas as her violet eyes found mine. The inhuman red eyes I carried were locked in her gaze, not even wielding enough strength to frighten a wee rabbit. Goddamn, some days I was a downright disgrace to the canine race.
“Well, my pet. I hope you got all those. . .what do you mortals call them? Zoomies? Out of your system. We’ve got a long day at court ahead,” she said, the grin never leaving her face. She knew I wouldn’t get far. She knew!
Sighing, I crossed my arms.
“I bet I was so close to getting away. You probably panicked and used all your magic to track me down,” I said, frowning.
“Actually, I was watching you from the sky the entire time. You’re in the heart of my court, where my magic is at the epicenter of intensity. Before your feet even touched the ground I was in the air above you,” she said, laughing.
Her dulcet chortle left me wanting to curl up in her arms and wrap myself tightly within her grip, closing my eyes and forgetting about all the needs and responsibilities of running a queendom for the day.
But no! I’d done this for a reason, and she needed to know why. Even if the inconvenience was beyond minor, she had to know there was a point. Well. . .as much of a point as my bratty ass could make for being obstinate, which typically wasn’t much beyond being eternally difficult for the sake of adversity.
“Yeah, well. I wasn’t even really trying. You’re lucky I didn’t let my inner wolf loose,” I said, arms crossed tighter.
“Ah yes, an ability you’ve yet to manifest here, even after three full moons. But rest assured, my pet. Even if you were on four paws instead of two legs, I could have easily snatched you from the forest floor as I did just minutes ago,” she said.
And then the queen’s grin started to fade as she raised an eyebrow.
“Though your inner wolf wouldn’t have run just before court anyway. It seems to be tamer the longer you remain under the weight of my sorcery and influence, bound by my bargain. But you, Sierra, acted out unexpectedly this morning. Why?”
This was my chance! Here I could let her have it! But instead of unleashing a torrent of words, I just found myself lost in her eyes again. There wasn’t an ounce of impatience in her voice, despite today’s events being delayed by a few minutes. Though I guess you start when the queen says you start. And if you have a complaint, her werewolf would bite your face off.
Sighing again, I sagged in her grip, words caught in my throat that I couldn’t seem to dislodge or cough up. Fuck, all I could do was that infamous bottom gesture where I pointed my index fingers at each other and looked pathetic.
On second thought, it’s no wonder the rabbit didn’t run away screaming earlier, I thought.
“Come now, my pet. You ran for a reason. Out with it. It’s just the two of us here over the lake,” Varella said with an added softness to her tone. The game was over. And now I had to suffer the consequences of my actions, namely being upfront about my feelings. Surely there was something a little easier I could endure, being locked in an Iron Maiden or forced to listen to Rascal Flatts on repeat?
The queen made no move to rush me, which just increased the feelings of wanting to curl up tight against her breasts and have a few hours with her all to myself.
“You’ve been so busy lately,” I finally managed in a pathetic whisper. That was all the queen got for at least 30 seconds.
A crane covered in pink and white feathers flew around us and closer to the shoreline of the palace while my mistress waited for more words.
“And Lily’s still gone on her assignment in the Tulip Court. I just— maybe I needed you to pay attention to your pet for a few minutes this morning,” I said, looking anywhere but her eyes. Saying this stuff was embarrassing enough.
The Raven Queen did not sigh. And she chose her following words carefully.
“You speak right, my little wolf. My work and duties have increased threefold over the last few weeks,” she said.
“And you won’t tell me what you’ve been working on. Whenever I ask, you give me some vague answer meant to dismiss my curiosity,” I said.
The queen looked over the palace for a moment. Her eyes carried a quiet contemplation that I couldn’t begin to analyze. But then again, she was a Faerie Queen who’d lived for centuries. Her perspective was bound to be drastically different than mine. And maybe I’d forgotten that.
“I’ve been working on Bliss, Sierra. And it's remained under wraps so much so that not even Cereas knows about it. Even your girlfriend hasn’t heard my plan yet. So why don’t we have dinner tonight, just the two of us, and then I’ll finally answer all your questions,” the queen said.
Now that did lift my heart pretty high to the point I felt like I was running on clouds. Damn if my mistress didn’t know exactly what strings to pull.
All I could do was nod and finally give in to the temptation to nuzzle up into Varella. I breathed deep in her scent of chilly night air and raspberries that I’d come to associate with safety and comfort. I sighed one last time, content with the answers that’d been given me.
The Raven Queen leaned down and slowly kissed my forehead, sending a tickle of delirium through my mind. It was something much more powerful than serotonin, and I made a muffled noise of pleasure.
“Can we head back to Featherstone now? I’m afraid your inner wolf’s presence is required,” Varella whispered.
“Just one more minute hovering here, please. I need you, mistress. So let me have you for just a little longer.”
And because she spoiled me rotten, I got five more minutes with Varella just holding me over the water, morning breeze carrying our hair around us this way and that.
I need to run away from her more often, I thought.

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Are you tired of being stuck in the middle seat on a long flight? Or do you want to sit with your travel companion but didn’t book seats together? Swapping seats on a plane may seem like an easy solution, but it can also be complicated and cause problems. Here’s what you need to know before attempting to switch seat mid-flight.
Firstly, not all airlines allow seat swapping. Some have strict policies that prohibit passengers from moving without permission from the crew or paying an extra fee. It’s important to check with the airline beforehand if you’re considering switching seats so that you don’t get into trouble later. Also, some planes have weight limits and have to be balanced in a certain way, so changing seats could throw off the plane's balance.
Secondly, there are etiquette rules when it comes to swapping seats. Just because someone is sitting in your preferred spot doesn’t mean they should give it up for you immediately. Asking politely and offering something in return, such as buying them a drink or snack, can increase your chances of success. Also, be aware that switching seats could make other people uncomfortable and could cause confusion that could delay takeoff or landing times. So think carefully about whether it’s worth asking for a new seat or just sticking with what you’ve got!

Understanding Airline Policies On Seat Swapping

By knowing how airlines handle seat swaps, you can avoid any confusion or trouble during a flight. Firstly, it is important to note that airlines have varying policies when it comes to switching seats. Some may allow it as long as the passengers involved are willing and there is no obstruction of emergency exits, while others may not permit it at all.
Before making a request to switch seats with someone else, passengers should check with the flight attendant if this is allowed on their particular flight. It’s also essential to keep in mind that some airlines charge for seat selection, so asking to swap could result in an additional fee. Additionally, if one passenger has paid extra for a specific seat type (such as an aisle or window seat), they may be unwilling to give it up.
Finally, those who do end up swapping seats must ensure that they follow all safety procedures accordingly. This means putting on their seatbelt correctly and knowing where the nearest exit is in case of an emergency. Also, passengers should let flight attendants know if they need to change seats.
Understanding airline policies on seat swapping can make traveling more comfortable and stress-free. But before they do that, travelers need to think about things like fees or rules that the airline itself sets. Above all else, ensuring everyone’s safety remains paramount, even after changing seats mid-flight.

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Safety Considerations

When it comes to swapping seats on a plane, safety should always be the top priority. It’s important for passengers to understand that certain seats are designated for specific purposes and may not be suitable for everyone. For example, exit rows require able-bodied individuals who are willing and able to assist in case of an emergency.
Also, switching seats can change how the plane's weight is distributed, which affects its balance and stability during takeoff, landing, and rough weather. This is why airlines have policies in place regarding seat assignments and swaps. These policies help ensure that all passengers remain safe throughout their journey.
If you do need to swap seats for any reason, it’s best to speak with a flight attendant or gate agent rather than try to switch with someone directly. They can assess whether the proposed swap is safe and if there are other available options. In the next section, we’ll explore how to properly request a seat swap from airline staff.

How To Request A Seat Swap

If you find yourself in need of a seat swap on a plane, the first step is to figure out how to request one. It’s important to keep in mind that airlines have their own policies regarding seat changes, so it’s best to check with them before approaching your fellow passengers.
When asking your neighbor to switch seats, talk to them calmly and politely, and keep safety in mind. Avoid disturbing other passengers or blocking the aisle, as this can cause unnecessary delays for everyone involved. Also, be aware of any possible cultural differences when talking to people who don’t speak English as their first language.
While requesting a seat change, remember that there are certain situations where swapping seats just isn’t possible due to weight restrictions or emergency exit row regulations. In these cases, it’s always better to err on the side of caution and follow airline policy rather than risk putting yourself or others in danger.
It can be awkward to ask to switch seats, but if you use good manners, the situation will be less stressful for everyone. Keep reading to learn about some helpful tips on how to navigate this situation without causing discomfort or inconvenience for anyone else onboard.

Etiquette Around Seat Swapping

Did you know that over 60% of travelers would prefer not to sit next to someone they did not know? This is according to a survey by Expedia. With this in mind, it’s important to consider the etiquette surrounding seat swapping on a plane.
Firstly, always ask politely if you wish to swap seats with someone. It is their prerogative whether or not they want to move, and being rude or pushy will only make them less inclined to switch with you. Additionally, remember that some people may have specific reasons for choosing their seat, such as proximity to the bathroom or extra legroom, so respect their choice if they decline your offer.
Secondly, try to avoid making multiple requests for seat swaps during the flight. Constant disruptions can be frustrating for both fellow passengers and cabin crew members. If you really need a different seat, speak up before takeoff when there may still be more options available.
Lastly, keep in mind any potential consequences of moving seats. For example, switching from an aisle seat to a window seat could mean disturbing your new neighbor every time you get up while going from one side of the aircraft to another. Be mindful of how your decision might impact others around you.
Overall, while it’s natural to seek out optimal seating arrangements on a long flight, proper manners should never go out the window. And if all else fails, there are alternatives available, which we’ll explore in the following section about maximizing comfort during air travel.

Alternatives To Seat Swapping

If you’re a frequent traveler, chances are high that you’ve had to deal with uncomfortable seats on flights. While seat swapping is one option, it’s not always the best solution. Here are some alternatives to consider.
Firstly, if your flight isn’t full, try asking a flight attendant if there’s an empty row available where you can stretch out and get more comfortable. You should also check the airline's website or app before boarding; sometimes they offer discounted upgrades for economy passengers who want more space.
Another alternative is to simply make yourself as comfortable as possible in your own seat. Bring along a neck pillow, blanket, earplugs, or noise-canceling headphones. Wear loose-fitting clothing and bring slippers or compression socks to avoid swollen feet during long-haul flights.
Ultimately, while swapping seats seems like a simple way of dealing with discomfort, it may not be worth the hassle or potential awkwardness with other passengers. By exploring other options, such as requesting empty rows or making yourself more comfortable in your own seat, you may find that flying becomes much less stressful and more enjoyable overall.

Conclusion

In conclusion, swapping seats on a plane can be a helpful solution for many travelers. However, it is important to understand airline policies and safety considerations before making any requests. As someone who travels by plane a lot, I have seen firsthand how seat swapping can be helpful. The feeling of relief when switching from a cramped middle seat to an aisle or window spot is unmatched.
But we must also remember that etiquette plays a crucial role in this process. Being polite and respectful towards fellow passengers goes a long way in creating a positive travel experience for everyone involved. And if all else fails, there are always alternatives, such as upgrading your seat or purchasing extra legroom. With these tips in mind, may your next flight be smooth sailing (or should I say “smooth flying?”).

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