by Brea Alepoú
Baby steps, he reminded himself. He’d change it and make it better for everyone.
Arriving early in Nebraska was by far their smartest decision. Adom watched the world go by for another second before focusing on his master once again. Titos had been falling asleep more often as of late. Kail and Seth both reassured Adom that it was okay. Sometimes Titos went into a deep slumber for a few days. It would be up to all of them to watch over their master in his time of need.
Mazki brushed a few curls from Titos’s sleeping face. They were all enamored by their master. His heart was big, and he could remind them all he wanted that he was new at it all, but in Adom’s eyes, Titos had already surpassed many rulers before him.
“He looks so peaceful,” Kyo pointed out. “I’d worry he isn’t taking this serious, going to another’s territory, but I’ve seen him when he’s awake.”
Adom nodded. “And that is why we will let him rest as much as he needs.”
Gin, their newest member, reached across and placed a hand on Titos’s knee. Adom could feel his desire and love through the bond.
They shared a polite smile. Seth cleared his throat, grabbing everyone’s attention.
“When we get there, our priority is protecting Titos. Everyone knows their positions,” the alpha said.
He received a collective head nod in agreeance. Adom’s gaze was drawn to the man who’d lain claim to them all, light snores leaving him as he rested against Seth’s side.
Adom would use all of the knowledge and skills that he acquired over the years of working for the council. Sure he worked in the lower sections, but that had been by choice. He knew from an early age how corrupt the council actually was and had no desire to be tangled in their webs of deceit.
“We are approaching the gate,” Ginger said.
The air in the limo grew tense as everyone became all too aware. They had already been on alert the moment they had left the safety of their own territory, but it was now intensified. The limo that the Amongie house sent came to a rolling stop.
Adom’s heart thudded steadily in his chest. He took in a deep breath and held it to the count of three before letting it out, easy and controlled. He was in command of himself completely by the time the limo stopped completely, and there was a knock on the window.
“Titos, it is time to wake up,” Seth said.
Adom waited until Titos was fully up and coherent before lowering the window down. An edoli looked in the limo, his gaze instantly going to Titos, making tension rise in Adom’s body.
“Invitation?” the guard asked.
Ginger passed it over, and Adom presented it. The man glanced it over and nodded.
“You’re early,” he commented.
Mazki: Strike one with the ’tude.
Kail: I say he is on strike two. Did you see how he looked at Titos?
The two troublemakers of the groups were ready to fight at the drop of a hat. Adom on the other hand needed to be the sound mind in the situation, even if he slightly agreed with them.
“Yes, we already informed your queen that we would be,” Adom said matter-of-factly.
The guard cocked an eyebrow and stared into Adom’s eyes. It was a challenge, one that was unnecessary but wasn’t unheard of either. Adom felt no threat from the man, he looked down his nose at him. Adom kept his composure, even as the bond filled with annoyance and anger.
All too soon, the man broke the stare-off and cast his gaze to the side. He took a step back and gave a slight bow.
“Welcome.”
Adom said nothing and barely acknowledged him after that. Instead, he clicked the button for the window to rise. He relaxed back against the plush leather seat.
“I say we go teach him a lesson,” Kail grumbled.
Adom’s lips curled in a smirk. “No need. It will happen often while we are here.”
Kail groaned, and Titos, now fully awake, reached over and patted his knee. “So we just have a staring contest?” Kail asked.
Adom shook his head. “Most will witness a challenge and will acknowledge you instantly. As keepers, we are already considered above most edoli, except masters and mistresses,” Adom said.
“If you are challenged, you are not to back down,” Seth added sternly. His hazel eyes swept over all of them, and the bond that they all shared through Titos’s radiated with power. “Are we clear?”
There was a resounding yes from everyone in the car, even from Ginger and Kyo, who had no link to them whatsoever.
The main house was an older style of home with large white pillars and red brick. There was a porch that seemed to stretch around the entire place, and multiple rocking chairs sat out front.
“I was expecting more of castle theme or more like our place and be all big and over-the-top,” Kail said.
“The first main house was. I had this one built once I came into power,” a woman said.
Adom turned and caught sight of Julyanah and her three keepers. There was a tug on the bond that had Adom’s gaze moving to Titos. The wind brushed along them, a familiar power that had Adom’s griffin wanting to spread its wings.
Titos: No hostility.
Adom relaxed and stepped forward. He knew Titos was counting on him to lead things with him having the most experience. “Thank you, Queen Julyanah, for accepting us into our territory ahead of time,” Adom said.
Her face was void of a smile. She kept her gaze trained on Titos, and her keepers were poised for an attack, as they should be. By all rights, Titos came off as a threat. He had six keepers surrounding him, and there was no doubt that they could feel the power that surrounded them.
Adom was sure if they got to see the power that lay hidden within the bond, Julyanah and her keepers would have asked them to leave instantly. Titos didn’t realize it just yet, but he had the power that rulers wished for.
“Yes, well, Dakota vouched for some of you,” Julyanah said. Her black eyes strayed only for a second before they were back on Titos. “Not to mention you were more than forthcoming about all who were attending. I have no doubt some will be trying to sneak in others during this event.”
Titos stepped up next to Adom, along with Seth.
Titos: Handshake?
Adom: That will be fine.
Titos offered his hand and a sincere smile. There was a tense second before Julyanah shook his hand. She seemed to come to her own conclusion as her shoulders dropped and the corners of her mouth lifted slightly.
“Our king, Titos, the alpha, Seth,” Adom started. He pointed to himself. “I am Adom. This is Kail, Alfrik, Mazki, Alfrik, and Gin.” Adom gestured to the last few of their party. “Ginger, Liby, and Kyo.”
Adom had forgone any last names. None of them had ties to their old houses, and that meant their last names held no benefit for them.
“Welcome. Dakota speaks highly of Ginger and Liby. Said if Liby serves anyone, it would be a worthy king.”
Adom grinned. The compliment was accepted.
“Julyanah Amongie is our queen. This is Vince Amongie, and here is Dakota, and I am Archie, the alpha,” Archie said.
Adom: Good sign—they don’t have an attachment to their own houses either.
Titos: And I haven’t made a fool of myself yet.
Adom sent reassuring vibes through the bond. Titos was doing perfectly fine. They were shown inside of the house, and much like the outside, the interior was more homey than extravagant.
They went about getting a grand tour of the home. As time ticked by, each of them relaxed further.
“Queen Julyanah, baby Alice is awake,” a woman said.
She brought a baby to Julyanah, and it was like all tension left her at once.
“Oh, there is my little girl,” Julyanah said.
Her keepers surrounded her and cooed at the quiet baby. Adom gently pushed Titos to move toward them.
Nervous energy fluttered through the bond as Titos moved closer, but Adom stayed calm.
“She is adorable,” Titos said.
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Julyanah smiled, and it was as if the stiff ice in the atmosphere had cracked. Interacting with the Amongie house was much easier than Adom had assumed. He found himself getting along with Vince. Seth, Alfrik, and Gin were talking it up with Archie, Julyanah’s alpha. Kail and Mazki stuck close to Titos, who seemed to be enjoying his tales with Julyanah. Liby, Ginger, and Kyo were catching up with Dakota.
Adom chatted away with Vince, Julyanah’s husband. He was the keeper who handled the house’s finances, with them being so new and not previously established.
“So if you invest in these companies, you are more than likely to see a return sooner,” Vince said.
“There you are, Adom. You have to see this,” Mazki said as he was tugging on Adom’s arm.
Adom lifted a brow in question, but Mazki continued to tug his arm.
Vince chuckled. “It sounds important.”
Mazki groaned as Adom stayed still. “It is,” Mazki stressed.
“Vince, hurry,” Dakota shouted, running into the room.
It seemed Adom wasn’t the only one needed. They both stood at the sound of urgency in Dakota’s voice.
“What’s wrong?” Vince asked.
Adom followed behind Mazki, waiting for an answer.
“You just have to see it for yourself,” Mazki said.
Adom checked the bond, and there was no fear or anger. Adom relaxed a bit as they came to a halt before entering the living room. A soft giggle came from the room. Mazki kept Adom from entering but moved enough to let him catch sight of the amazing moment happening in the living room.
Sitting in the living room were Titos, Kail, and Julyanah. But what had Adom so enamored was the way the baby giggled in Kail’s arms as he cooed at her.
Mazki: If it was possible to knock one of them up, I’d jump at the chance.
Alfrik: You have issues.
Gin: You have to admit, this is so adorable.
Adom had to agree. The way both of them were caring for baby Alice pulled on the heartstrings.
Titos: We can hear and feel all of you watching.
Seth: It’s impossible not to.
“This is the first time I’ve heard her giggle. I want to go in there, but I don’t want to interrupt either and my little girl stops giggling,” Vince said.
Adom stood there with the others and watched on as Kail and Titos played with Alice. Maybe one day their master would desire children. Adom couldn’t help the warmth that spread in his chest at the thought. It had never been on his list of things he wanted in his life, but all too easily, he could picture all of them with children to spoil.
It was nice relaxing and getting to know Julyanah and her house the day before the event. Not to mention Titos and Kail looked good playing with baby Alice. Gin fixed his cape. It was embroidered with black jewels on the collar and shoulders. Everett had outdone himself; the suit fit Gin perfectly. His boots looked good with the fitted suit. His fingers were decorated with jewelry, and his nails were freshly painted. He admired himself once more before stepping out into the middle of the room. Titos had asked for privacy.
He did a full spin on his thick combat boots and stopped short as he laid eyes on Kail first. His long hair was braided instead of in its usual bun. He had on black pants and a shirt with a black jacket with silver flowers designed into it. He wore a simple silver necklace that brought the entire outfit together.
“You clean up nice,” Gin said.
Kail smiled at him. “You are flashy as ever. I figured you’d do something with a cape.” Kail walked with swagger up to Gin, and he had a hard time remembering how to just simply breathe. “You should close your mouth or you will catch flies.”
Kail pushed Gin’s chin up, and his teeth clanked shut. Fuck.
Alfrik stepped out next. In his grey suit, the big man looked good, completely different than his usual T-shirt or flannels. His black pants looked practically painted on his tree-trunk legs.
“Damn,” Kail said.
Gin nodded his agreeance. Everett and Molly did too good of a job.
“What are you two making so much noise about?” Seth asked as he walked from behind his privacy screen. He fixed the sleeves of his black suit jacket. He wore all black, and the top two buttons on his shirt were undone, showing off more of his gorgeous brown skin.
Kail didn’t even hesitate as he moved from Gin and right up to Seth.
“Like what you see?” Seth asked.
Kail groaned. “Maybe.”
Before those two even got to start, Mazki came sauntering out.
“The party won’t know what hit them.” He pulled at the bottom of his pink blazer just as he lifted his head, and his eyes went wide as he took them all in.
“Holy fuck.”
“That fits you, boy,” Adom said, coming up right behind Mazki. He moved around front, and Gin swallowed back his laughter as Mazki’s mouth dropped open at the sight of Adom. Gin couldn’t blame him. Adom wore a dark grey three-piece suit.
“There, that’s better,” Adom said as he fixed the floral tie Mazki wore.
“Wow, you all look absolutely amazing,” Titos said.
Every single one of them turned to face their master. Gin held his breath as he took Titos fully in. He wore a fitted white suit with a black shirt and red tie. It made him stand out even more, and Gin was all too tempted to rip the suit off Titos or at least just the pants. His curls were styled and framed his angular face.
“You look stunning,” Adom said. He was the first one to move toward Titos. It was as if that broke the stupor they were all in upon seeing Titos fully decked out in his outfit.
“I know this party is important, but we can stay back, right?” Mazki asked.
Titos’s cheeks had a beautiful blush on them. “No.”
“This is too important,” Adom pointed out. Mazki whined. “But seeing everyone all dressed up got me hard.”
“The air gets you hard,” Kail joked.
Laughter filled the room, and the sexual tension lowered a little bit.
“We better go before I back out for real,” Titos said. He let out a tense, nervous laugh. The moment they stepped out of the bedroom, they were met by Ginger, Liby, and Kyo.
Liby wore black slacks with suspenders and a crisp white shirt. Her sword was on her hip, and her blonde hair was pulled back like usual. Kyo had a stunning light blue pantsuit romper on.
“Nice,” Gin complimented his sister. She high-fived him.
“The cape is what’s nice.”
“The limo is already prepared and waiting for us downstairs,” Ginger said.
Her green hair was done in soft curls that fell over her shoulder, and she wore a glittery pastel green princess-style dress.
“You three look beautiful,” Titos said.
Ginger blushed. “Thank you. All of you always surprise me when you wear fancy clothes.”
They made their way down to the car. Julyanah and her keepers had already left; since it was their event, they had to be earlier than everyone else.
The ride over was one made in silence as they all refrained from touching each other and got their minds ready for the game plan.
“Wow, flashy,” Kail said.
It was a huge ball, meant to mingle and get to know the smaller houses. Julyanah was there with her keepers. Her blue hair was pinned up, and she wore a fitted black dress that complemented her figure.
“At least we know someone here,” Kail said just as Dakota waved at them.
Gin knocked shoulders with him. “It’s going to be fine.”
Adom cleared his throat. “Remember to be on your best behavior.”
Gin nodded. They had to mingle with the other edoli who attended. Any and all connections were encouraged.
“We trade off with Titos. But keep your eyes on him at all times. Liby will stay with Titos the entire time. Kyo, you are to guard Ginger during the party,” Seth said.
They replied without hesitation. “Yes, Alpha.”
Titos looked tense, but ever since they walked into the ballroom, he looked distracted.
Gin: Is there something wrong?
Titos glanced over to him and gave him a shy smile.
Adom: Nervous?
Titos nodded but bit his lip.
Titos: I’m being drawn to someone here.
Each of them looked to their master. A new keeper was calling to him? Gin hadn’t exactly expected himself to be last, but a small part of him kind of hoped. But another part of him wondered exactly who might join them. Gin glanced around the room, and people moved about. A few were staring their way, but none that he gave a second glance.
Mazki: Someone say fresh meat?
Kail rolled his eyes.
Kail: Don’t start.
There was some wariness coming from him, but he seemed to have come to terms with it for the most part.
Seth: Would you like to seek him out?
Titos blew out a breath.
Titos: I’m nervous enough, and there is already so much to focus on. I don’t need any distractions right now.
“You all look amazing,” Julyanah said.
Titos smiled at her. “You do as well.”
She had a tense smile. “I’m not good at party crap,” she confessed.
“Me either,” Titos said.
Gin was once again glad that they’d established a friendly association with them. It was good Titos had someone he could lean on that was in the same position as him. There was only so much they could do for him. As his keepers, they were there for him no matter what, but Gin was sure there were some things they couldn’t truly understand about Titos’s position.
“Oh, there is a prince here I want to introduce you to. Caspyn is what I like to call innocent but not naive.” Julyanah put her arm through Titos’s. “Come on.”
Gin took one last look at his master before dispersing with the others. He plastered on a warm smile and went about meeting new people. He kept in mind that everything they did was for the better of the territory.
Gin interacted with keepers from smaller territories and some edoli who weren’t keepers but were considered strong enough to become one. Every so often, Gin would lose himself in staring at his master.
