“What’s your favorite color?” he blurted out.
Keiran leaned away, taken aback. Jace’s body cried out at the distance between them, though it was only a few inches of space. “I’ve never thought about having a favorite color. It seems kind of stupid. How can you like one color better than any other?”
“Easily.” Jace also hadn’t had what he would call a favorite color, though he did prefer the contrast between lighter and darker shades. Now, however, he did have a favorite. Dropping his hand from Keiran’s shoulder, he leaned over in front of the omega and stared deep into his eyes. “I like blue,” he murmured. The hazy irises gazing back at him were the color of warm ocean waves lapping at the beach, a distant but fond memory. That trip to the coast was the last time he’d been allowed to act as a child during a diplomatic meeting with politicians of a prey animal-run country within Dexus.
He played on the coast from dawn until dusk with two kangaroo brothers and a deer, scampering and chasing one another through the golden dunes until they all looked like nothing more than sand themselves. When dusk came and it was time to head home, Jace looked out at the water and felt something far too profound for his small body.
And the feeling was the same as this, looking into Keiran’s eyes. The difference was that he had grown into the feeling and understood it for what it was, a strange brew of loss and fascination and discovery.
“Jace,” Keiran whispered. He could hardly manage to make any sound at all. “What... are you doing?”
“Something I have wanted to do ever since I first saw you emerge from the caravan,” he murmured. He stroked Keiran’s thigh, and felt the muscle tense into something hard that began to quiver.
“I can’t...”
Jace growled low in the back of his throat, “You will.” He leaned in closer and closer still, until their foreheads touched. He fumbled with the tie on his robe with fingers that suddenly felt cumbersome, letting it fall open to bare his chest. Keiran’s lips parted and he took the chance, tilting his face so that their lips pressed together.
The moment was golden and priceless, and it was blue and new. Though it lasted for less than a blink and was as shallow as a kiss ever could be while still being called a kiss, Jace knew that he had found something here that he might never recover from. Damn being a prince. Damn Keiran being a servant. They both wanted this, and they would both have it or else they would surely never be happy. Even if it could only ever be a romance in secret, they would have it.
“Well?” Jace demanded.
Keiran didn’t answer, and that was as good an answer as any. Catching the omega’s hands from where they knotted together in his lap, failing to hide his erection from sight, Jace placed one on his chest and planted the other firmly on his own thigh. “Do you like what you feel?”
Again, no answer, but Keiran’s hands moved in gentle exploration, caressing the ridges of muscle. His lips parted slightly, and Jace gave in to the temptation again, touching their lips together once more. He pressed in hard, moving his lips against Keiran’s to force them wider apart so they breathed the same air. Their foreheads rested together again, but their lips stayed locked, pressing and moving faintly.
I can’t resist. I want you.
Jace moved his hand from Keiran’s thigh, sliding over to the inner softness. The omega tensed beneath his touch, anticipation making him pant like the wolf he was. He was only inches away from the prize, fingers itching for it.
And then the omega was all the way on the other side of the clearing, shapeshifting halfway through his frantic leap so that he landed on four paws instead of hands and knees. His tail curled between his legs and his hackles were up, ears pressed back flat against his skull.
Jace had moved too fast.
“Keiran,” he said.
At the sound of his voice, Keiran pushed off from the grass so hard that clumps of greenery tore up beneath his claws. He scampered for the path that led away from the clearing and the peaceful, gurgling fountain.
Dammit.
Jace lunged as well, transforming into his much larger and stronger wolf. Two strides and he blocked the entirety of the exit with his body.
Keiran skittered to a halt, pulse beating an audible rhythm. He smelled of fear and want and confusion, his pelt rippling with tremors. Moving slowly so as not to alarm him, Jace bent down low over his forelegs and raised his furry ass up in the air in a universal canine invitation to play.
Keiran just stared at him, every muscle in his body poised to try and leap away somehow. Wagging his tail, Jace let out a teasing bark and peered up into those endless blue eyes. Not only was this position inviting the other to play, it also acted as a request for forgiveness; if he was an omega, he would be fully on his back with his soft stomach exposed, putting him in a position of submission, but as an alpha he could never submit, even if he desired to do so.
An eternity must have passed before Keiran’s tail lifted up over his back, giving a tentative wave of acceptance. Jace still didn’t move, but rather just continued to wag his tail as well. A few more moments went by and Keiran’s fear evaporated like dew on a humid morning: slowly but surely. His pelt flattened again and his ears slowly pricked up, muzzle and snout twitching. He tipped his head to one side and returned Jace’s bark, though his was one of questioning.
I’m sorry, Jace thought. He knew Keiran wouldn’t receive his words but their connections as wolves would allow him to receive the intent, if nothing else. I didn’t mean to push you. Let’s relax now. Just enough to get to know each other.
Moving with small steps, Keiran came to stand with his paws right in front of Jace’s snout. His body burned with warmth, temperature higher than a human’s. The friction of their fur rubbing together reminded the alpha of sex, of mounting while in wolf form. He was aroused again, but he did not act on it even though everything inside him cried out for it. Leaning over his powerful back, the omega pushed his slim muzzle into Jace’s thick neck fur and let out a playful growl.
Jace’s heart soared in his chest. Keiran’s faith in him was restored. Closing his eyes for a moment to thank whatever god or goddess of love watched over them, he sprang away to the side and resumed his position.
This time, Keiran charged toward him. Everything about him was beautiful, from the shifting of his pelt to the way the sun shone equally on his black and white areas of coloration. And for an omega, he was graceful.
Jace sprang away again and again, moving faster now. Keiran yelped excitedly and chased him, fangs snapping to grab at the tip of Jace’s tail. Jace waved the plumy length in front of his face, teasing him by keeping it always just out of reach. He hadn’t been so happy since...
“Ahem.”
Jace landed on all four paws and stopped in his tracks. A second later, Keiran’s mouth clamped around his tail and the omega gave a high whine of satisfaction that quickly became a whimper of distress.
Jace’s advisor Don stood in the middle of the path with his arms folded, expression disapproving as always.
“My prince, if you could take some time out of your busy schedule,” he said, sarcastically, “you are needed elsewhere.”
Jace turned back into a human, quite aware of the fact that he was still naked beneath his open robe. Not that it was anything Don hadn’t already seen. “Thank you, my advisor,” he said, equally as sarcastic. “To where am I summoned?”
“The hospital. It’s quite important.”
Father.
Chapter 10
“You are to say nothing about this to anyone.”
Don just looked at him with a bland expression, although Jace noticed that his advisor’s fingers had gone pale around the knuckles as he tightly gripped his clipboard. “After all this time, you think that I would go and jabber your secrets?” he scoffed.
“I haven’t ever had any secrets before,” Jace replied, striding down the hall with Don at his side. He was dressed now. Keiran had taken his robe and scampered away to Jace’s quarters
, where he was instructed to wait until the prince returned.
“Certainly not any like this, yes.” Don sighed. “And it’s not quite the worst thing I’ve ever seen. It’s no wonder that you’re such a hit with the men. And the ladies, I might add.”
That actually surprised a laugh out of him. It wasn’t often that Don showed his sense of humor. “You looked at my dick?”
“Hard to miss it,” Don joked. Then, he grew serious again. “I won’t warn you about this except to say that you know what I would say, if I were to say anything.”
I shouldn’t mess with Keiran. I should send him away. I don’t have time for him. I need to find someone royal or someone who at the very least has had formal court training. I need to focus on the problems at hand before I even begin to think about having a mate, but I also need to start thinking about a mate because who knows how long my father has left?
And that was only a fraction of things Don told him on a daily basis.
“Yes, I know pretty well what you would say.”
“Good. Then our discussion is done.”
“Is it?” Jace asked. “Or will your head explode if you don’t actually get to verbalize your two cents?”
A passing cook pushing a cart loaded with food let out a fake cough to cover their laughter. Don glowered at their back as they walked away, cart wheels squeaking a shrill tune. “All I will say is, if you decide to continue this... whatever it is, you might want to be more careful in the future. That is all.”
After nearly pushing Keiran away with his eagerness, Jace had already decided to be careful. “You have my word. Now, what is all this about my father? Is he getting worse?”
But Don just shook his head. “I don’t know. I received a message from the doctor’s page. All it says is for you to arrive as soon as possible, otherwise I wouldn’t have interrupted you.”
No news, it seemed, was not going to be good news in this situation. “Well, I can find my own way there for the rest of the way. You’re dismissed to go do whatever it is that you do when you aren’t bossing me around.”
“I boss others around and terrorize the page boys,” Don fired over his shoulder as he strode off down a branching hallway. Jace mused on that for a moment, almost certain it actually was true.
The hospital wing of the castle was more modest than its surroundings, appearing less like an actual hospital and more like an elongated cabin. The decorations were like that which forest-dwelling animals seemed to prefer, sylvan and serene.
Jace passed through the waiting room, greeting those few who sat there as they bowed to him and striding up to the front desk that was painted to resemble an enormous cut tree trunk.
“A pleasure to have you, Prince,” the nurse behind the counter said. She wore scrubs that resembled a forest floor, all random patches and blended lines of brown and green and gray.
“A pleasure to speak with you as always, Taliyah. I received a summons from a doctor who called for me to come here as quickly as possible.”
Taliyah nodded. This was an old drill between them. The Head Predator had been sick for a very long time, often leaving his sickbed only to quickly relapse and get sent right back. Kings and princes were historically more often simple figureheads than true rulers, though their persuasive abilities seemed to defy that; the council easily stood in for the Head Predator when he was unfit to rule. Lately, that was all the time.
“The doctor is waiting for you in the counseling room. Do you need me to show you where it is?”
The idea was laughable. Jace shook his head. “No, thank you. Enjoy the rest of your day.”
“I will when my shift is over.”
He moved off through the doors to the side of the wooden counter and entered into the true hospital, which was just as green and alive as the waiting room. His feet took him to the counseling room by memory alone, and he raised one hand to knock on the door.
“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.
Wild Ride: An M/M Shifter Mpreg Romance Bundle Page 86
