Royal Affair

by Preston Walker

  “No need,” called the voice from within. “Come right in.”

  Grimacing slightly, Jace pulled the door open and moved to shut it behind him. “It would be nice if you let the others around you maintain the illusion of normalcy. That includes knocking on doors.”

  The doctor he faced was the head doctor, a scrawny alpha with uncanny abilities named Sanjay. His senses were so advanced even as a human that it was practically crippling as a wolf, allowing him to discover diseases and pinpoint areas of pain or discomfort in a patient before they even knew something was wrong yet. Before medical training, those same abilities made him an outcast, since no one wanted a wolf around who could almost literally smell their secrets.

  “Normalcy is all very well and good, but there must come a time when we face that our lives have changed,” Sanjay replied. “And that sometimes they will never be the same again. That means we must find a new normal.”

  “I’m not sure what my father’s illness has to do with your aversion to letting people knock on doors.” Jace fought to keep his fists from tightening. “I assume there’s a reason you called me here, or did you just want to talk philosophy?”

  Sanjay looked unimpressed. That was the downside of allowing familiarity from people who were in a position below you. It took all the threat out of anything you said. “There is a reason, of course. Jace, we can’t operate this time.”

  “You can and you will.”

  “No, Jace,” Sanjay growled firmly, showing his true alpha side for only a moment. “We have been fighting this cancer for years. Let me remind you of all the instances, shall I?”

  Jace only halfway listened to the list because he was remembering them all on his own. Five years ago, the king came to the hospital because of difficulty swallowing and an odd lump on his neck. Examination of the lump revealed its nature to be tumorous and it was promptly removed… only to return again with an even more rapid onset than before. That time, the king received treatment through controlled doses of radiation in a city lab. From there, the cancer resurfaced as a blood disorder and since then had taken to working its way through seemingly every organ the king had in his body.

  Even when the Head Predator was “healthy”, he lacked a certain luster and moved like a man much older. His immune system weakened from all the treatments; this most recent bout had been going on for months as Jace’s father fought his way through a number of recurring illnesses that kept him bedridden and asleep most of the day.

  “I will not operate,” Sanjay said, firmly. “His lymph nodes are riddled with lumps. Far too many to remove. I would only prolong his suffering, and that does not count the signs we have seen of numerous other tumors in his lungs, and in his brain. That is too many surgeries, and I am not certain we would be able to operate on his brain without causing him death or lasting impairment.”

  Jace narrowed his eyes, his heart pounding in his chest. His stomach twisted with sour acid, dread and anxiety mingling. Suddenly, he wasn’t a prince but a frightened child. “Operate.”

  “I will not,” Sanjay repeated again. “And I cannot. The Head Predator himself has already given his permission to abstain from all further treatments.”

  Only after he heard clattering did Jace realize he’d stood, knocking his chair to the floor. “What?” he demanded. He felt his pulse in his wrists, in his neck. The sensation was maddening, out of control. “No! He can’t do that. It must be illegal.”

  Sanjay folded his hands on top of the Head Predator’s patient chart, as thick as a textbook. “It’s very much legal,” he replied. “Anyone in Dexus has the right to refuse treatment, especially when said treatment is no longer improving quality of life. Quite frankly, we should have had this talk a few years ago. My suspicions have always been that the constant strain of surgery and treatment have lessened your father’s lifespan even further. It all stops here, Jace. No more.”

  He shook his head, denying that statement. Denying everything. “I refuse to believe this. You’re clearly lying to me. I have to see my father. I have to tell him he’s making a mistake.” He turned on his heel and started for the door.

  “He’s sleeping right now,” Sanjay called as Jace stormed away, heading back down the halls and barging into the room where he knew his father was.

  The Head Predator was not asleep. He was staring up at the ceiling with eyes wide open, dazed and sad-looking. Jace stopped with his hand still thrown out to shove the door away and now the solid wood rebounded, cracking against his fingertips and bending them backward. He didn’t care.

  “Father?”

  The king turned to look at his son and tried to smile, but even that small action seemed to pain him. Some of the fog cleared from his eyes, but so much still remained that the color was not clear at all. “Jace, you’ve returned. They said you told me when you left, but I can’t seem to remember it. Was your venture successful?”

  He couldn’t reply; couldn’t even think of doing so. His tongue weighed heavy in his mouth, stuck to his teeth. It was as if Keiran’s arrival changed something inside him. Everything had seemed so new ever since he first saw the omega. The smell of grass and earth, the looming beauty of the castle, the cracks in the stone walls and the wrinkles upon the faces of servants who should have been too young for them. And now he was seeing his father anew, thunderstruck by his haggard appearance. No, not merely haggard. Skeletal, as if he had long since died already. Every bone in the man’s body protruded. His skin hung from his bones, flaking and covered in sores from being bedridden no matter how much the nurses tried to prevent them. His eyes were dull and he had no hair at all.

  Even worse still, Jace saw lumps on his body in the gaps beneath the pale blue hospital gown. Tumors, growing rapidly and sapping at his father’s already-fading strength. The king was pale, nearly as pale as the gown.

  “Jace? Are you feeling well? Should I fetch a doctor for you?”

  “No!” he practically shouted, holding up his hands to keep the king from standing. He flicked his eyes around the room, desperately searching for answers where there were none. He’s confused. He doesn’t know how weak he is. It has to be his brain. He’s not just sick. He’s dying. The doctor was right. My father is dying.

  The Head Predator looked like a pup who’d been denied ice cream even though he’d been very good today and deserved it—a mixture of offense and betrayal. “Well, you don’t have to shout about it. You always were an abrasive child, JayJay.”

  He hasn’t called me that since I was twelve.

  “Sorry.” Jace lowered his voice and perched in the visitor’s chair, struggling to calm himself. If the king was confused, it was best to go along with what he thought was happening or else it would upset him. “I’m just worried about you, is all. The doctor said you should get a lot of rest.”

  “Pah!” The king snorted and then wheezed from the effort it took. “Good for nothing doctors, think they can tell a man what he can and can’t do. I’ll be running laps within the week.”

  “Sure,” Jace agreed, faintly. “But for today, you’re staying in bed. You look pretty tired.”

  “I am tired. So very tired all the time. Dr. Sanjay says this time the problem is in my blood. He said I can’t fight off what’s making me sick anymore.” And just like that, the king was aware again. Jace said nothing, waiting for more. “I’m very tired.”

  “Then… then you should rest. Don’t worry. The council will keep everything in order.”

  “Yes, you will,” the king said. He leaned his head back against the thin pillow and closed his eyes, drained from the brief conversation. Jace watched the rise and fall of his chest for a moment, pondering the significance of that statement. Not ‘the council’ will, but ‘he’ will.

  Everything was coming so much faster than he was prepared for. He had all his court training and knew the difference between all the types of forks, and he knew how to dance and had the words to prayers, ceremonies, and general holiday events memorized enough to rec
ite them in his sleep. He knew exactly what to do, except for the most important thing of all, and that was how to live without his father.

  How to live when he was Head Predator, at the same time as hating all the strife his ancestors caused when they united the kingdoms of prey and predator. They were constantly on the verge of civil war, especially ever since his mother was accidentally killed at a prey shifter rally for equality, stampeded to death when the police showed up. And it wasn’t just the rift between the two types of shifters that had been growing steadily worse. It was the divide between alphas and omegas, and country and city dwellers. Tensions were so high for everyone that not even children were safe anymore. Wealth and food were divided unevenly, as was every other commodity. Huge gaps had broken the system to bits, leaving some who were capable of benefitting and others who ended up homeless and stolen by or sold to slave traders.

  And Jace was about to inherit all of that, but he wouldn’t be able to wear a crown on his head unless he was mated and rightfully a king. And no one in their right mind would approve of him mating with an omega servant, especially not that servant himself.

  Except, as he thought about it, the idea made perfect sense. In order to make a difference in the world, a leader had to show his followers that what he did was right. The way to do that was to make those changes himself; to practice what he preached.

  What better place to start than making a servant as powerful as the Head Predator?

  When some time passed and his father showed no signs of awakening, Jace rose to his feet and headed back out through the castle to see if Keiran had managed to find his quarters yet. He saw the doctor Sanjay but did not stop to apologize, since the man would already be able to feel it.

  And as he walked, he planned.

  Chapter 11

  As the prince’s most loyal companion, Keiran had the honor of sleeping in the adjacent room connected to the prince’s quarters. He lay awake for hours in the too-soft bed, unable to sleep, until sometime around 1 a.m. when a presence in the doorway made him look up.

  “Jace?” he whispered.

  The alpha crept into the room on silent stocking feet, touching his lips to Keiran’s before gently climbing over him and spooning him from behind. “Feel like some company?” he growled.

  Shapeshifters tended to have some personality traits of their animal counterparts, and wolves were no exception. Even as humans, they still observed some of a wild wolf’s rituals when facing a stranger or friend. By nature, they were pack animals and would constantly touch or play or sleep bundled together. Alpha and omega did so now, curled up in peaceful slumber with their bodies pressed together… and Jace’s hard dick nestled comfortably between Keiran’s ass cheeks.

  They didn’t have sex, but this was somehow far more intimate. With the larger man’s body draped around his, Keiran felt safe and comfortable, warmer than any blanket could ever make him because this warmth came from inside.

  In the morning, Jace roused him gently, and they both sat up and looked into one another’s eyes. Keiran blushed, but he strangely didn’t feel as awkward as he thought he might. Sleeping in the same bed with another person had that effect.

  “Today is the day you start your duties,” Jace murmured. His still-sleepy voice was as husky and delicious as they came. “It might seem a little overwhelming at first, but don’t be worried. Everyone will know it’s your first day.”

  Keiran glanced out the window at the soft morning light and the way it filtered in through the huge opening, illuminating the darkness of his new room. Though there was not much in the way of actual decorations as of yet, the furniture and even the full-length mirror were ornate and gilded with precious metals. Not golden as Jace’s room was, but silver and mother-of-pearl and other shiny things for which he had no name because he was a terrible blacksmith.

  Looking back into Jace’s eyes, which he thought looked as dark as jet, he asked, “What’s going to be expected of me?”

  Jace rubbed one hand against his eyes, adorable enough to make Keiran instantly want him. “In private, we’ll be mostly friends. More, if I desire.”

  Keiran swallowed hard, fully aware of the other’s eyes on his throat. The place where he would be marked if he were to be mated. He was also aware of what it did to him—a tent appearing beneath the covers.

  “In public, I might ask you to do something for me since it’s going to be expected. To everyone else, you’re only a servant.”

  And to you? How much more am I than a servant to you?

  Jace looked down at the tent Keiran had made underneath the covers, his eyes full of animalistic hunger. “But let it be understood that you are my number one. My confidant. Aside from my father and my father’s servant, and myself, you are the most valued person here and so you can go and tell another servant to do my bidding for you.”

  All this was too much to be real. Keiran couldn’t comprehend it. He’d gone from being the lowest of the low to being so important he could tell others what to do?

  “I don’t think I’ll do that,” he said slowly, working out his thoughts as they came. “I know what it’s like to be bossed around. I think I’ll learn to do as much as I can on my own. If that’s okay with you.”

  Far from looking displeased at being disobeyed, Jace looked pleasantly surprised. “Very good,” he rumbled. “That’s one of the reasons I chose you.”

  “And the others?”

  Jace glanced at Keiran’s body, raking him up and down with his eyes.

  “Oh.”

  The alpha laughed, a low and sexual chuckle. “So then, we’ll get ready for the day. A full one ahead of us. There are always full days. And I think that they will only continue to get busier from here.”

  Keiran wanted to ask about that, but the shadow in Jace’s dark eyes told him not to. He’d try to learn that on his own, as well as everything else. The question was, would he learn this like he learned healing or would he learn it like blacksmithing? Would he be good or bad at this, and did it truly matter if he was under Jace’s protection?

  So, instead of prying, he asked, “What do I do?”

  “Normally, a personal servant will first dress himself and then his master, and then accompany him to his morning meal. From there, it varies. I have a schedule of meetings and meals and occasional ventures into the city that require my presence. You will come with me for all of it. Obey no orders from anyone but me. Do you understand?”

  Keiran nodded.

  “Then, we’ll get started. There should be some clothing in that chest of drawers for you. I had Don describe you to our tailor and he should have found the appropriate size for you. If it’s wrong, we’ll get it fixed. I’ll dress myself for today.” Jace slid out of the bed and strode toward the door, almost out into his own room in just a few steps.

  “Wait,” Keiran blurted out. “Do you want some help?”

  Surprise crossed Jace’s face for just a moment before he grinned. “I would like that very much, but I think we’ll take too long to sneak it in. We wouldn’t want Don to catch us again, would we?”

  Keiran blushed and lowered his head. After what happened in the garden, he didn’t know how he could face the advisor again.

  The alpha sauntered out of the room fully now, leaving Keiran to go over to the dresser on his own. As it turned out, the servant’s outfit tucked away in the top drawer wasn’t dissimilar to the one outfit he owned back in the village that he typically wore when important visitors were in town. However, this one was of a much higher quality and clearly new. Pressed black slacks, a smart black vest with silver buttons, and a pure white undershirt with a crisp collar that immediately chafed at his neck. Glancing at himself in the mirror, he couldn’t help but to be surprised at how good he looked. The seams all lined up perfectly with his body as if it was sewed directly onto him, allowing him just the right amount of give in all the right places. And the black contrasted nicely with his pale skin and fair hair. His eyes really stood out now.
/>   Wandering over to the short hallway that separated their bedrooms, he called, “Can I come in?”

  “Anytime you wish,” Jace purred.

  Keiran admired the prince as he stepped into his bedroom. Jace’s outfit was a negative image of his own, with more trimming and embellishments that were made of gold instead of silver. “Wow,” he said, breathlessly.

  Jace laughed; that sexy, husky laugh again. “I’m glad you like it. And we make quite a pair, don’t we? We’ll attract every eye as we walk down to breakfast.”

  And they certainly did do that. Keiran stepped closer to Jace and tried to stand as tall as he did, but he was out of his element and had no idea where he was going or what exactly was expected of him.

  They reached a grander version of the servants’ dining hall. There were windows in the ceiling. Skylights, Keiran thought they were called. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling, but instead of light bulbs or candles, the ornate bows held mirrors that cast and diffused the natural light and sent it all up and down the long room. They were like classy disco balls.

  The tables were made of wood but topped with marble, and there were plush chairs instead of benches. Instead of a counter where foods were laid out for shifters to approach at their leisure, servers wandered up and down between the tables with carts loaded with serving dishes.

  Keiran followed Jace over to a long table that lay horizontally compared to the row of other tables, which were all vertical. That was the main difference, along with the quality and amount of centerpieces.

  This must be where the royalty dines.

  No one else sat there, but Jace took a random seat anyway and gestured for Keiran to join him.

  “Do we have to wait for anyone else?” he whispered.

  His answer came a moment later, as someone came up to them immediately with a cart that was different from all the others, resembling a gigantic cooler on wheels. The servant bowed incredibly low to Jace. “What can I offer you, my prince? Water, milk, juice, cold tea? If you wish for coffee or hot tea, I can make some fresh.”