Rebellious Prince

by Michelle M. Pillow

“I have heard enough.”

  Jenna gasped and turned to see Ivar leaning against a nearby tree. She had not heard his approach. He held her messenger bag over one shoulder.

  “Ivar, this is none of your concern,” Rafe said in irritation.

  Ivar ignored him. “M’lady, on behalf of my people, I apologize for this misunderstanding.” Ivar came before her and bowed his head. “I would not have allowed your travel had I known your reluctance to marry my brother. I cannot undo what has been done, but I can assure you that you will be treated with all the respect and protection as would have been given my sister until you agree to marry. No one will harm you, and you will not be made to mate unless you choose.”

  Jenna didn’t want to think about marriage. Considering her options, there was only one choice—take Ivar’s offer of protection. How else would she eat or live for the next year on an alien world? She nodded weakly.

  “It is settled. Lady Jenna is under my protection.” Ivar motioned that she should go with him. “Have you any needs?”

  “No. Not at the moment.” Jenna glanced at Rafe. His eyes pleaded with her to change her mind.

  “Rafe, take our leave of the Draig family and procure supplies for the trip then catch up to us. We head for the borderlands.” Ivar turned his back on his brother and lifted his arm toward her. “M’lady, please, come.” Though the words were polite, everything the man said sounded like a command. “Allow me to escort you to your new home.”

  Chapter 8

  Rafe glared at his brother’s back. He wanted nothing more than to deny Ivar’s claim of protection and take Jenna back. Unfortunately, Ivar was the oldest and as future Var king the only people who could reverse his claim on Jenna was their parents, or Ivar himself which would never happen. Rafe had never wished that he’d been born first until now.

  They’d traveled in silence. Though it would have been easier to run over the countryside in shifted form, they instead rode ceffyls down the side of the mountain. The dragons bred the ugly beasts and seemed to have an affinity for the creatures. Perhaps it was the reptilian eyes and cumbersome bodies that reminded them of their dragon ancestors. Rafe tried to suppress a small laugh at the thought as he reached to tap the center horn on the creatures head to redirect its course.

  He waited for those moments when Jenna would look in his direction. It didn’t happen too often. She occasionally whispered under her breath about them expecting her to ride a rhinoceros lizard, then about there being three suns, and several reassurances that she wasn’t crazy.

  Mountain paths led down a valley. The gray earth became streaked with light red, only to darken as they finally made it to the level ground of the borderlands. The red earth wasn’t the only thing to change. Trees grew wider here, the trucks so thick people could carve homes out of the older ones—not that anyone tried. The large leaves stretched wide, reaching for the suns to form canopies.

  The smell of the marshes gave the first true hint of home. Rafe had spent many nights running through the forest surrounding the Var palace. Moss clung to branches, thin curtains to obscure the vision. The woods were quiet but for the hum of insects. If he stretched his shifter hearing over the distance, he detected the sound of cats running through fallen leaves. He heard laughter, a mother at her Var children, children playing with each other, a family. The sound captured his attention and held it. Family. Children. He’d been so busy having fun he’d never thought about children, at least not beyond his parents’ lectures about responsibility.

  “We stop here for the night,” Ivar announced in their native language. “She looks as if she might fall off her mount.”

  Rafe blinked, bringing his thoughts back to his traveling party. They’d arrived at an old way station. There were several such places on Var land, built as shelters for those feral-living catshifters roaming the countryside without a home. The planet did not have many storms, but when they did they were hard and fierce.

  Rafe dismounted and went toward Jenna. Ivar made it to her first, offering his hand to help her to the ground. She took the assistance but then stepped away from them.

  “You have a lovely home,” Jenna said.

  Rafe couldn’t help his small laugh. Ivar narrowed his eyes at him to make him stop.

  “It is a way station,” Ivar said. “We will rest here for the night.”

  “Will it be night soon?” Jenna looked up at the sky.

  “It is late evening now,” Rafe explained. “We do not have darkness like you are accustomed to each night.” He pointed up. “The suns keep it light, but the color shifts to keep the hours.”

  She looked at her hand as if studying the light.

  “I found your world just as wondrous,” he offered, hoping to draw her into a conversation.”

  “Build a fire,” Ivar ordered gruffly with a curt nod of his head that Rafe should gather wood. He motioned that Jenna should go inside the station.

  Rafe glared at his brother in warning. His felt the shift threaten his entire being. Jenna was his. His. Ivar had no right to interfere.

  Ivar’s eyes flashed with gold. Now was not the time to fight, and they both knew it. Rafe growled and backed away to do as he was told.

  Though he trusted his brother, Rafe couldn’t help listening to Jenna move around inside the way station cabin to make sure she was safe. He gathered wood to build a fire. The way stations were safe havens, but they lacked some of the more refined luxuries of their palace home. It was not where he wanted to spend the night with his bride. For, regardless of what anyone said, Jenna would be his wife. Each second brought with it a deeper surety. He felt that truth as indisputably as the wood in his hands.

  “I’m not sending her back,” Rafe said before turning to face Ivar. His brother leaned against a tree, watching him. “And I won’t let you send her away.”

  “I have no intention of letting her go back to Earth. What is done will remain done. We cannot risk her telling others about us. The gods allowed her through the portal, so it is her fate to be here.” Ivar frowned. “Do not turn those eyes to me, brother. She is not my future, and I will not force her into one. She is free to choose her Var path.”

  “I am her path,” Rafe asserted.

  Ivar gave a small disbelieving laugh and shook his head. “Are you listening to yourself? What makes you think you’re ready for such a blessing? You mock our sacred traditions. You try to seduce the priestesses. You try to seduce every human woman who will look in your direction without any thought of marriage until tonight. You laugh and play through life and do not attempt to humble yourself before the gods. What makes you think you’re worthy of a wife, no matter how badly you want her? Lady Jenna deserves what every woman deserves—a husband worthy of her heart.”

  “I do not disrespect our gods.” Rafe’s breathing deepened. He wanted to force his hands over his brother’s mouth and silence him. The words stung and he didn’t want to admit there was any truth to what Ivar said.

  “I did not say you disrespect them. I said you do not humble yourself. You dance through life—”

  “And you take life too seriously,” Rafe charged. “If you haven’t noticed this isn’t the old days. We’re not constantly at battle. There is no need for me to go command the armies. I keep the men trained. I do my duty.”

  Ivar’s eyes flashed. “How can you not feel the weight of our people on your head?”

  “Maybe because I’m not meant to be king,” Rafe countered.

  “So you oversee a few tournaments and keep the men trained? You do only that which you are required to do, no more. You are a child.” Ivar pointed toward the cabin. “Lady Jenna deserves a man willing to work for her. You want her? Earn her. Prove you are worthy of her, brother. Don’t run from the challenge because it does not come easy.”

  “Prove myself to her or to you as her guardian?” Rafe tightly gripped the wood he carried. “What would you have me do to win the bride the gods already gave me?”

  Ivar gestured to the w
ood. “You can start by building her a fire.”

  Chapter 9

  Jenna was thankful for the stretched canvas bed in the corner of the dusty log cabin. The planked walls were cut from the large trees outside, the texture rough as if they’d been sawed by hand rather than machine. The ground appeared to be the base of that tree, a smoothed, polished stump turned into a floor.

  She burrowed under the thick woven blanket, not caring that it had a slight musk. The physical exercise of riding the elephant lizard combined with the all-too-confusing emotional stress of finding herself on an alien planet made sleep sound like the idea of the century. Her eyes closed and for the moment she didn’t care about anything beyond the darkness.

  A tickling sensation moved over her forehead. Jenna gasped, coming out of the sleepy haze. It took her a moment to remember where she was and why.

  Rafe sat next to her, his fingers retreating from where he’d brushed the hair from her face. She automatically rubbed the spot where he touched her and pulled to the side so she could sit up without bumping into him. The room smelled of campfire, but the fire had been lit and then snuffed in the fireplace. All that remained were tiny glowing embers.

  “I was worried when you did not wake up,” he said. “You slept for many hours.”

  Jenna couldn’t meet his gaze. There was warmth in his voice, the sound drawing her in with its natural charm. Heat radiated from his body like a beacon, calling her to him.

  “You’re like the pied piper of sex appeal,” she muttered to herself.

  He grinned. She frowned.

  “I know sex, but what is the pied piper?” He fingered a strand of her hair. “I should like to see the appeal of this kind of sex.”

  Jenna made a weak noise, completely speechless. Subtle clearly wasn’t in Rafe’s DNA. Rafe took advantage of her stunned state and kissed her. She inhaled sharply against his mouth. The surprised sound didn’t stop him. Though, to be fair, neither did she. Instead, she sat frozen, shocked by the way his lips moved confidently against hers. Everything about him was a seduction—his heat, his touch, his voice, those damned confident eyes.

  “I don’t you do,” she whispered when he pulled away ever so slightly. “I mean I don’t do you.” He drew back another inch. “I mean I don’t want to do you—ugh, I don’t want you to get the wrong idea when we do, or think we’re going to do…”

  Time to shut up, Jenna.

  Jenna obeyed the little voice inside her head, for apparently the big voice inside her throat was babbling nonsense and making her look like an inarticulate fool.

  “So no pied piper?” He looked a little disappointed.

  Jenna shook her head in denial.

  “Will you at least explain it to me?” He sounded very hopeful.

  She shook her head in harder denial.

  “I am fine with regular sex.” He leaned in for another kiss. “I would like to pleasure you now.”

  Jenna didn’t have the forethought to artfully avoid his mouth. Luckily, or maybe not so luckily, she didn’t have to.

  “Rafe!” Ivar barked from the doorway. “Unhand my ward. She is to be treated like a solarflower under my protection so keep your clumsy paws to yourself. There will be no plucking of her beauty.”

  Did Ivar just call her a fragile, delicate flower?

  “Allow her to make her choice,” Rafe countered as he stood. “Tell him you wish to be my bride.”

  It took her a moment to realize Rafe was looking at her expectantly.

  “Lady Jenna?” Ivar asked.

  “I, uh…” Jenna slowly stood. “I’m hungry. And, um, weren’t we supposed to walk again today?”

  “I brought you food.” Ivar handed her a very large bundle. “It is not much, but tonight we will feast.”

  Jenna peeked inside the cloth and found pea-sized orange berries. Curious, she sniffed them. They didn’t give off much of a smell. With both brothers staring at her, she didn’t have much of a choice but to place one in her mouth. The firm fruit popped when she bit into it, filling her mouth with the taste of peaches and mint. She gave the brothers a small smile, and they relaxed.

  “I paid a few of the borderland farmers to return the ceffyls to the Draig. Come. We walk the rest of the way.” Ivar led them from the way station.

  Rafe reached over and took some of the fruit. He whispered, “You are worth the chase, m’lady,” before winking and tossing the pieces into his mouth.

  Chapter 10

  Sleep had done much to clear her thinking—at least now that Rafe wasn’t kissing her. So much had happened in such a short time and the way she saw it she had two choices. She could whine and cry and plead to go home, or she could see this for the opportunity that it was.

  Home was safe and familiar, but that is all it was. She had no one waiting for her at the end of the day. She hated her boss. She hated her building manager. She hated her leaky small apartment. Her mother had died. Her father was out of the picture. She had work friends, but no one who would report her missing or even notice beyond the annoying fact they were reassigned her unfinished workload.

  This new world was exciting. Apparently, Rafe thought her kissable. Ivar wanted to take care of her and practically demanded she live under his protection until she figured out what she wanted to do. No one tried to harm her—she could hardly blame Rafe because she ran herself into a pole. The air was fresh. She had the opportunity to meet real life little gray men—freaking real live aliens! Jenna glanced at Rafe. Well, these Var and Draig men were aliens, too, but little gray men were like alien-aliens. People waited their whole lives for even half of the adventure she was currently on.

  The brothers had been leading her through the woods in silence. The trees reminded her of redwoods, towering so high she couldn’t see the tops. At times, the way became so shaded it was hard to see, and she was forced to watch Ivar’s back and hope she didn’t trip. Ivar walked ahead of them, and Rafe was doing his best to stay next to her on the path, only dropping behind when the way through the forest became too narrow. She felt him behind her, and it made her uncomfortable. Though she had no proof, she felt as if he stared at her ass and the idea made her legs stiff.

  In the forest, she caught glimpses of woodland creatures. Birds trilled in long blasts, the sound close enough to Earth to be recognizable and yet the tone was off. She caught blurs of bright blues and purples in the trees.

  “I suppose planets develop close to the same way in order to support humanoid life,” Jenna said, trying to make conversation while learning something about this newfound universe. “You have trees. We have trees. You have birds. We have birds. Though, they don’t look quite the same.”

  “Our people lived on Earth long ago before human persecution forced us through the portals,” Ivar said. “We were stronger, but humans were more in number, and we had no wish to kill so many over the actions of a few zealots. The Draig people were our allies, and so we came here together to live in peace. It is possible some of the creatures came through, and our ancestors would have brought seeds for planting.”

  “So you don’t have wars? Everyone gets along?” Jenna asked. “What about the people who were here before you?”

  “The planet was uninhabited,” Rafe said.

  “There are a few skirmishes. Not everyone agrees on the path we should take,” Ivar answered.

  “What do you mean they don’t agree? What path?” Jenna felt Rafe beside her and glanced up at him.

  “Not everyone believes that we should search for brides through the portal,” Rafe said. “There are some who think it will taint the shifter bloodlines and bring doom upon us. It is a small faction, but very vocal. They tried to kidnap Princess Eve and force her back through the portal. Her husband stopped them.”

  “Brother, don’t scare her. Such troubles are not for a woman’s mind,” Ivar scolded.

  Jenna frowned. She knew Ivar was dominating in personality, but she didn’t like that little show of sexism. “I can assure you I can h
andle politics.”

  “Of course you can,” Rafe agreed. “The gods would only bless me with a strong woman.”

  “You really don’t take no for an answer, do you?” Jenna did her best to look stern. She didn’t feel threatened by Rafe, but couldn’t decide if his persistence was charming or annoying.

  “Not when your lips against mine said yes.” He winked. “And your beautiful eyes gazing deeply into my—”

  “What did you mean they kidnaped Princess Eve?” Jenna interrupted.

  Ivar sighed loudly. “Just that. They took Princess Eve and tried to send her back through the portal. Prince Kyran—he is the Draig prince, Finn’s brother—went after her and brought her home.”

  “And that’s it. They just want to expel the humans who come through? Nothing else?” Jenna took a deep breath and eyed the trees for danger. She didn’t see anything threatening.

  Rafe answered, “Oh, no, they wanted her dead. They just didn’t want her body left where we could find—”

  “Rafe, enough!” Ivar stopped walking and turned to face them. “There is no reason to alarm Lady Jenna. She is under my protection, and none will dare to harm her. That is the end of it.”

  “But they took the Draig princess,” Jenna insisted, not wanting to stop such an important conversation because it made Ivar uncomfortable. “What is to stop them from taking me?”

  “You might as well know. The Draig are good people and our friends, but by nature they are…” Rafe glanced at his brother.

  “They are not Var,” Ivar stated. “Dragonshifters are very reserved by nature. They can fight, but they do not exude fierceness like the Var. They council and speak before facing a conflict, worrying about what every person in their kingdom might think. They are still trying to decide what to do about the faction who took Princess Eve. We catshifters are bolder by nature and do not debate our actions to the point of inaction. If someone took my wife,” he paused and looked pointedly at Jenna,” or my ward, I’d hunt them all down and make sure everyone knew never to try such a foolish endeavor again.”