by E. A. James
Table of Contents
Disclaimer
Title
Exclusive Prequel Offer
Also by E.A. James
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Bonus Book - Book One - Far Hope Series - THOR
Bonus Book - Book One - Starfall Series - TANAK
Bonus Book - Book One - Gods of Destiny Series - FATE SWORN
Bonus Short Story - Taken by the Alien Dragon
Bonus Short Story - Stolen by the Alien Dragon
Bonus Short Story - Captured by the Alien Dragon
Bonus Short Story - The Primal Billionaire
Bonus Short Story - The Dragon Shifter's Wild Mate
Bonus Short Story - The Billionaire Wolf's Secret Baby
Bonus Short Story - The Billionaire Cowboy's Baby
Bonus Short Story - The Quarterback's Secret Baby
About the Author
Contents
Disclaimer
Title
Exclusive Prequel Offer
Also by E.A. James
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Exclusive Prequel Offer
Also by E.A. James
Bonus Book - Book One - Far Hope Series - THOR
Bonus Book - Book One - Starfall Series - TANAK
Bonus Book - Book One - Gods of Destiny Series - FATE SWORN
Bonus Short Story - Taken by the Alien Dragon
Bonus Short Story - Stolen by the Alien Dragon
Bonus Short Story - Captured by the Alien Dragon
Bonus Short Story - The Primal Billionaire
Bonus Short Story - The Dragon Shifter's Wild Mate
Bonus Short Story - The Billionaire Wolf's Secret Baby
Bonus Short Story - The Billionaire Cowboy's Baby
Bonus Short Story - The Quarterback's Secret Baby
About the Author
Copyright 2017 by E.A. James - All rights reserved.
In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved.
Respective authors own all copyrights not held by the publisher.
HUEN
ZHEKAN MATES - BOOK TWO
E.A. James ©2017
ALSO BY E.A. JAMES
Far Hope Series Book One - THOR
Far Hope Series Book Two - REDEMPTION
Star Fall Series Book One - TANAK
Zhekan Mates Series Book One - AERDAN
CHAPTER ONE
Huen
“Huen!” Deratha snapped. “You’re not even paying attention!”
Huen Covendane sighed, raking a hand through his fair hair and rolling his eyes. “Mother, you can’t possibly have anything new to say to me that you haven’t said before,” he groaned. “Can’t you please just leave me in peace?”
Deratha’s brown eyes raged with an angry fire. “Son, you have disrespected your father and me for the last time!”
“Good,” Huen said sarcastically. “Now maybe you’ll leave me alone and stay off my back!”
Deratha sighed. She sat down in the wooden chair at Huen’s desk, scowling as she looked over the mess of paper and ink.
“What’s this,” she asked, plucking a piece of parchment and holding it high in the air. “Huen, you can’t tell me you’ve been studying again,” she added, making the word sound worse that the most heinous insult.
“I haven’t,” Huen lied.
Deratha closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and swallowed hard. “Son, I understand you are frustrated,” she said. “But this is not the life for you, do you understand?”
“We’ve only been through this about a thousand times,” Huen said sulkily.
Deratha looked at her son. For a moment, she seemed to soften. Then she pressed her lips into a firm line of bloodless white.
“I do not understand why I was cursed with a son like you,” she said, getting to her feet. Although Deratha was only in her mid-fifties, her back slumped like that of an old woman.
Huen shrugged and snorted. “I have no idea,” he said, trying to conceal his bitter anger and sadness. “I know you’d be much happier if I were someone like Aerdan.”
“Do not sneer the name of the Commander,” Deratha said angrily. “Huen, I can’t believe you!”
Huen glared at his mother. “Mother, are you serious? Aerdan is my closest friend,” he said. “But unlike me, he is reformed. That is what I was referring to.”
Deratha shook her head. “You are impossible,” she said. She reached into her robes and pulled out a small leather envelope. “This is for you,” she said. “From Eris. I would read it over and make her a hasty reply if I were you.”
Huen reached for the letter, fully intending to burn it without reading. “Yes, Mother,” he said. “Is there anything else?”
Deratha looked at her son for a long time. “Huen, I love you most dearly,” she said. “And I can tell you’re not quite happy as you are…why not embrace the Zhekan way and your heritage? Wouldn’t that make your heart content?”
“No,” Huen said sourly. “I do not think it would.”
Deratha shook her head, muttering under her breath as she left Huen’s chamber. Once she was gone, Huen bolted across the stone floor, shut the door, and locked it with a satisfied smirk.
It’s been over a month, and she refuses to let me be, Huen thought angrily to himself. He crossed the floor and flopped onto his bed, the crumpled parchment from Eris still clutched in his hand. He thought about balling it up and tossing it on the grate of the fire. But after a moment, curiosity got the best of him and he broke the wax seal and began to read.
“My betrothed,
You cannot imagine the pain and sorrow you have brought to my family, and to me. I was always raised to think of myself as an ideal bride, and I am sorry I have failed to meet your expectation. I—“
“That’s enough,” Huen muttered under his breath. He ripped the parchment into shreds and threw them at the ceiling, watching as they fluttered back down towards him like confetti.
The trouble had started long ago. Zhekan men have always been expected to wed before the age of thirty, and Huen was no exception. While he was a child, Deratha had arranged for Huen to wed Eris, a distant royal cousin. She was a perfectly suitable girl – pretty, meek, and skilled in the art of sorcery.
And boring, Huen thought, remembering the simpering way Eris had greeted him during their one and only chaperoned visit. I can barely recall anything unique about her!
Huen had known the day would come, but he hadn’t expected it to be so soon. On the morning of his thirtieth birthday, he’d woken up feeling exactly the same. He’d known that he wouldn’t be able to wed Eris.
So, instead of doing the right thing, Huen fled. He rode his stallion through the woods all day, quietly contemplating what would happen when he returned to the grand house just outside of the castle where he lived. He had known his moth
er would be angry.
What he hadn’t known was that his mother would sentence him to manual labor as punishment for disobeying her. It’s ridiculous, Huen thought, staring angrily at his ceiling. I’m a grown man – why am I supposed to listen to my mother? I’m not a little boy anymore.
Now, Huen spent backbreaking days out in the hot sun, carrying stones and buckets of water with Zhekan peasants. He suspected the true intention of the punishment was not to break him physically, but rather humiliate him, as he had humiliated Deratha, his father Atrian, and the whole kingdom of Zheka…not to mention poor Eris, who had been led away from the altar in tears.
Huen knew that as soon as he agreed to wed Eris, the punishment would stop. But despite hating the physical exertion of his new day to day life, Huen wasn’t willing to stoop so low.
“I’ll only marry when I find the right girl,” Huen had told Deratha. “And you can do whatever you want, but you won’t change my mind.”
Atrian had taken pity on his son and offered him many visits to the royal brothel. But Huen was no naïve young man – he’d seduced and bedded many of the girls around the kingdom. At first, it had been fun. But as he’d begun to age, Huen found casual lovemaking less satisfying than ever before. Why it’s better to stroke my own cock than spending an hour making eyes at some wench, Huen thought, rolling his eyes and turning over in bed. These girls are so boring, it’s all the same! Oh, Huen, how strong you are! Oh, Huen, what big muscles you have! It’s like they’re praising a horse for its fine teeth and build.
Huen sat up in bed and wiped his brow with the back of his hand. Even though it was still very early in the morning, the weather outside was scorching hot. The idea of carrying heavy boulders on his back made Huen cringe with distaste, and he decided that he was going to take the day off.
It’s not like Mother can find another way to punish me, Huen thought arrogantly as he pulled on leather trousers and a tunic top. What is she going to do, send me to the dungeons?
After filling a skin with water, Huen sauntered out of his chamber, down the spiral stone staircase, and outside into the bright sun. A breeze blew his fair hair and he closed his eyes as a smile spread across his face. Huen walked to the stables and saddled his stallion, Vlad, before mounting the giant black beast and setting off for the castle.
Aerdan will be happy to see me, Huen thought as he rode. It’s been far too long since we spent a day riding through the woods.
At the castle gates, Huen sent a message for Aerdan and waited, staring into the moat. Crocodiles swam through the murky waters. If Mother forces me to marry Eris, I’ll dive into the waters of the moat, Huen thought, shuddering with self-pity. I’d rather die than spend the rest of my life chained to someone who doesn’t understand me at all.
When Aerdan appeared, Huen grinned.
“Friend,” Aerdan said. He smirked. “How are you on this hot day?”
Huen shrugged. “I’m not working today,” he said. “I felt like I deserved a little…vacation.”
Aerdan burst out laughing. “You wish every day to be a vacation,” he said. “Come, to the royal stables. Tlatse will be saddled and waiting.”
The two men walked to the stables, joking and laughing.
“Cousin,” Aerdan said. “I realize this isn’t something you want to hear, but have you ever considered finding a bride on your own?”
Huen wrinkled his nose. “The royal women are so boring,” he said. “I do not wish to spend the rest of my life being talked down to by some aspiring debutante who thinks herself better than I.”
Aerdan laughed. “They’re not all bad,” he said.
Huen groaned. “Easy for you to say,” he said bitterly. “You found someone perfectly suitable, and she isn’t even a Zhekan native!”
Aerdan rolled his eyes. “Do not bring Angelica into this,” he said. “Huen, you need to…well, you need to adjust your expectations. Many arranged matches turn into love, don’t you see that?”
Huen stared at his friend. “And yet, if someone had said the same to you…”
Aerdan chuckled. “Perhaps you are correct,” he said. “But I have a feeling that the difference lies here.” He tapped the side of his forehead. “You have ideas above your station,” he added quietly. “You know men in this land are not born to be scholars.” Aerdan puffed out his chest and held up his arm, showing off his bulging biceps. “We are born to be powerful men,” Aerdan added.
Huen sighed in disgust. “Don’t remind me,” he said. “You’re beginning to sound like my mother!”
Aerdan laughed. “It’s true,” he said. “You have to give up on that stupid notion of yours, you’re never going to become a scholar.”
Huen sighed again. Deep down, he wondered if his friend wasn’t correct – it was unlikely. There was no such thing as a learned man in Zheka. The Royals and high-born men were taught to read and write, and that was precisely the end of their education. But since he was a child, Huen had dreamt of learning languages and knowledge, mathematics, the physical sciences, and poetry. Books called to him – they’d held the same alluring siren song since he was just a boy. Huen had hoped his urges to study would fade with age, but if anything, they had grown stronger than ever before.
“I cannot take a wife among these women,” Huen said, glancing around as a large bunch of royal women walked past, simpering and tossing their heads. “They would lord over me until the day of my death.”
Aerdan shrugged. He had a goofy look on his normally handsome, distinguished face. “It’s different when you fall in love,” he said.
Huen rolled his eyes. “Indeed,” he said bitterly. “Easy for you to say.”
The men lapsed into silence as Aerdan mounted Tlatse. Soon, they were racing into the woods. Huen was glad for the cool shade of the trees and the leaves. The sound of a babbling brook filled his ears and he sighed with contentment and relaxation.
“Perhaps I am not meant for the royal life,” Huen said. “Perhaps I should build a small hut in the woods, and live out the rest of my days.”
Aerdan burst out laughing. “And who would cook for you? Who would clean?”
“I’d hire someone,” Huen said.
Aerdan snickered. “With what money?”
Huen groaned. “Stop being so pragmatic,” he said. “Can’t you allow me an escapist fantasy once in a while? Be generous,” he added. “The gods know I indulged you long enough!”
Aerdan nodded. “You did,” he said. “But I came of age, and grew into my responsibilities.” He sighed. “You still have some learning to do.”
Huen’s eyes flashed with anger. “I’m your best friend, and your cousin,” he said. “Have some sympathy!”
Aerdan nodded. “I do,” he said. “But there comes a time when each man needs to grow up. Huen, you’ll get there. Do not worry.”
Huen bit his tongue. Instead of engaging Aerdan further, he kicked his heels into Vlad’s side and went racing through the woods. Nothing cleared Huen’s mind like being on the back of a stallion, and he closed his eyes, trusting Vlad to navigate them safely over the treacherous ground. It’s exhilarating, he thought as Vlad soared over a fallen tree trunk. To not have a care in the world except whether or not you’re going to fall! If only I could feel that way all the time, and be content with what I’ve been given in this life!
Huen and Aerdan rode together all day until they were sore and sunburnt. Huen dreaded returning home. When he and Aerdan parted ways, Huen was almost tempted to ride back into the woods and spend a cool night below the velvet sky and stars. But instead, he squared his shoulders and walked into the luxurious home, prepared to face Deratha’s wrath.
“Mother?” Huen called. “I am home, has supper been served?”
Deratha was nowhere to be seen. Huen frowned, stepping into the large kitchen. It was filled with delicious meat-scented smoke and damp, hot air from pots filled with vegetables and stew.
Huen reached into the larder and pulled out a crusty roll, so
me salted ham, and a piece of cheese. He ripped open the roll and stuffed the ham and cheese inside before taking a huge bite and chewing thoroughly.
“Son.”
Atrian’s booming voice filled Huen’s ears. Huen spat out the mouthful of bread and cheese, trying to look dignified as he whirled around.
“Yes?”
“You were missing from the labor crew this morning, and again at sundown,” Atrian boomed. “I went to inspect the progress of the bridge, and you were nowhere to be seen.”
“I was in a lot of pain this morning,” Huen lied. “I went riding in the woods today.”
Atrian narrowed his eyes. He flexed his muscles, looking as large as a tree. “Son, you are forcing me to make a very difficult decision,” he said. “Your mother can no longer handle you – are you seeking punishment?”
“You know that I am not,” Huen said defiantly. “But if I break my back working, I won’t be able to find a bride.”
