by Chris McHart
Unexpected Alpha
Gay M-Preg
Chris McHart
Copyright © 2020 by Chris McHart
Editing: R. Phoenix
Cover: Chris McHart
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All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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Published by:
Chris McHart
℅ Autorenservice Hartinger
Pischdorf 10
92543 Guteneck
Germany
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Epilogue
Thank you
About the Author
Also by Chris McHart
Chapter 1
Josh
* * *
Will this ever end?
Josh sighed deeply, closing his eyes for a moment. Just how many letters and emails could he work though before going crazy? How long had he been sitting there? He didn’t know. Hours, in any case.
It was like this almost every day.
Over the last year, he’d started working for Gerome, taking over more and more of the circle’s business. That never became public because, strictly speaking, it was forbidden. Josh wasn’t sure how Gerome got away with it, but it wasn’t his problem.
Even though the king had changed some laws, it still wasn’t legal for a non-vampire and non-circle member to handle the royal family’s affairs. Those laws probably wouldn’t be changed soon just for his sake. While they’d changed a lot of other, more pressing laws thanks to the queen’s influence, they weren’t done yet. Someday they change all laws to reach complete equality, but they hadn’t gotten that far.
Josh opened his eyes when someone cracked open the door to his office.
Gerome stepped in, looking tired.
“How’d it go?” Josh looked up from his papers.
“It needs to be done. I can’t put it off any longer. How the hell am I supposed to tell Luis?”
“What are you talking about?”
Gerome dropped into the chair opposite Josh’s desk. He rubbed his face, then ran his hand through his hair. It was messy now, and suddenly the prince didn’t look as elegant as he had a minute ago. “I have to take over. My father’s officially announced he’s resigning in four weeks. I can’t get out of it, no matter what I do. My brothers and sisters are refusing to step up, so I have to do it.” His shoulders slumped under the weight of the news.
“I’m sorry. I really believed you’d have more time.”
“Yeah, me too. I knew the day would come, but I always hoped it’d stay in the future.” He paused and rubbed his face again. “Apparently, that time is here now. I know Luis won’t be happy with it. What’s he going to say? He already hates the thought of me taking over. If I tell him it’s going to be this soon…” Gerome trailed off.
Josh didn’t know what to say either.
Luis had never wanted to be mated to a king. He’d accepted being the prince’s mate, mostly because he loved Gerome more than anything. But Gerome ruling the whole circle… Luis wouldn’t be happy at all.
“I’m really sorry, man. I wish I could help you somehow, but I can’t think of anything.”
“I know. It’s not your fault, and I think we’ll be fine. Luis knows I don’t want this any more than he does, but I just don’t have any way out. If I could, I’d make one of my brothers and sisters king, but they’re refusing. They’d all be better suited for this position than I am, but they don’t see it that way. They’re just seeing how much work it is, how little free time you have. That’s all.” Gerome slumped forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and buried his face in his hands.
He was breaking down, but Josh didn’t have any clue how to help him. Even though he felt sorry for Gerome and Luis, a part of him was just relieved. He was glad he wasn’t in the position of becoming the mate of a king.
Josh pictured Gerome telling him he’d rule, with Josh at his side. He didn’t even want to imagine it. Managing the circle was one thing, but bearing the responsibility? No, thanks.
He shuddered. He really liked both Luis and Gerome, but still. Even if it wasn’t nice, he was really glad he wasn’t in Luis’s place.
“Do you have any idea how you’re going to tell him?”
“No, not yet.” Gerome’s voice was muffled between his hands, and Josh strained to understand him.
“I suppose with Luis, the direct route is the best?”
Gerome sighed again. “I guess. Careful hinting doesn’t work with him – at all. As long as I tell him right away what’s going on, I hope it’ll be fine.”
“What’s he going to do? Throw you out of the house?”
“Leave me?” Panic laced Gerome’s voice.
“He wouldn’t leave you. This is Luis we’re talking about, the one who stayed with you even though you had such a bad start. The one who’s always been by your side, no matter what.”
“Yes, but what if it’s too much? What if that’s the famous straw that breaks the camel’s back? What if he decides he doesn’t want it anymore?”
“Do you really think so?” Josh couldn’t see that happening. Luis loved Gerome with all his heart. He’d decided to stay mated to Gerome, even though he’d always known Gerome would eventually become King.
“What am I supposed to do if he leaves?” Gerome sounded like he was on the verge of a breakdown, just from thinking about Luis leaving him.
Josh remembered the beginning, when the two hadn’t spoken a word to each other for months. They’d had a bumpy road, but now they were happy together. He couldn’t see Luis leaving Gerome. Absolutely not. They’d been through too much for that, and they loved each other.
“If he really doesn’t want to stay once you’re king, we’ll have to work out a plan to get him back. Maybe… Oh, there are so many maybes. But I think he’ll stay at your side. I can’t see him leaving.” Josh pondered his next words. “I think I’d just tell him and at the same time, let him know how much he means to you. Even if he needs a little time to deal with the news, he won’t leave you. He might need a little distance to process it, but he wouldn’t leave. I’ve seen you two together often enough. I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”
“You think so?” Gerome raised his head and looked at Josh, hope shining in his eyes.
“I’m not a psychic, and you know your partner much better than I do. But yes, Luis knew for a long time this would happen someday. I don’t think it’ll be as bad as you believe it’ll be.”
“I hope you’re right.” Gerome’s voice still sounded defeated.
“Me too. Now go get it over with. I need to get some stuff done, and I think Luis is going to be very upset if you don’t say someth
ing right away. Even though I fully understand why you don’t want to face it. Just get it over with and deal with the outcome.”
Gerome stood, squaring his shoulders. “I guess. I hate it when you’re right, even though you’re so much younger.” He smiled at Josh, but it was sad. “Just be glad Luis was here before you. I don’t think you’d want the conversation Luis and I are about to have.”
“I don’t think we’d be together anymore. Because even though I really like you, I don’t think there’d ever be more than just friendship between us.”
“And that’s a good thing. Otherwise, Luis would probably murder me. Or lock me up. Or worse.” He shuddered visibly.
“That too.” Josh laughed and waved towards the door. “Now go get it over with.”
“I’m gone, I’m gone.”
Gerome left the office and Josh closed his eyes for a moment, grateful he wasn’t in Luis’s place. He didn’t even want to think about what it’d feel like to be forced into such a mating.
On the other hand, he partly knew, because he’d believed it’d happen to him when his uncle had tried to force him to mate with Gerome. It’d just been luck that Gerome and Luis had already mated.
By now, the couple was happy with each other, while he definitely couldn’t see himself in that position.
It was better this way. Josh definitely didn’t want to rule a circle or be mated to a king. Actually, he didn’t want to be mated to anyone. He enjoyed his freedom and independence far too much. Most of his friends were in relationships and married or mated, but he didn’t need that. He had his affair with Anthony, which was all he wanted. They met when they felt like it, and otherwise they went their separate ways. Not that they didn’t get along well, because they did. He just didn’t want to tie himself to anyone and be dependent in any way. It wasn’t worth it.
Chapter 2
Anthony
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Anthony placed a soda in front of his brother, D, and a beer in front of himself. “Here you go. Cheers.”
“Thanks.” D took his bottle and drank deeply. “That’s good. Just what I needed.” He leaned back against the couch and looked at Anthony like he was waiting for something. When Anthony didn’t speak, he finally asked, “How are you?”
“Good, as always. Why shouldn’t I be?” Anthony took his beer and played with the little drops on the bottle until he lifted it to his lips and drank. The cool liquid ran down his throat, relaxing him immediately. He’d been looking forward to spending an evening with his brother, just talking and doing nothing else. Even though D had rejected the beer he’d offered, it didn’t mean Anthony couldn’t drink.
“Hey, don’t give me that shit. I know something’s bothering you. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have asked me to come over and just hang out.” D rolled his bottle between his hands and looked at him, expectation clear in his eyes. His brother looked good, relaxed and happy.
Anthony shook his head. “I really just wanted to hang out with you, that’s all.”
D turned slightly to get a better look at him. “You’ve been my big brother way too long. You can’t tell me nothing’s bothering you and you don’t want to talk about anything. So stop with the ‚I’m the big tough guy who doesn’t give a shit about anything’ act.” He never looked away, questioning Anthony with his eyes.
Hell. How did D know that? He’d simply called him to hang out with him, not to have deep conversations with him. It usually helped when they just spent a little time together. It took some of the pressure off his shoulders. Sometimes, it got so heavy, breathing became close to impossible.
“There’s nothing. I’m just tired. The last few jobs have been hard, and I need to take a few days off. I don’t feel like myself lately. I think it’s because I’ve been working too hard.” Which was true, so there was a good reason for Anthony being that exhausted.
“There’s more bothering you, big brother. I can read you better than most people, and I know it’s not just because you’ve been working overtime lately. There’s more to it than that, and I want to know what. I’m here to listen.”
When had D managed to become so attentive? Yeah, he was the more sensitive of the two of them, but still. Maybe his relationship with Ash had changed him. Had Ash passed his magical powers on to his partner? That’d be more than creepy. On the other hand, who’d understand the problems his job entailed better than the man who’d fought at his side for years?
Anthony took a deep breath and started talking. “I don’t think there’s anything specific, but the last mission was hard. We lost the guy we were supposed to follow because someone else was faster, and it’s… It bothers me a lot. I’m always thinking, what if we should’ve done more? What if we knew what might happen?”
D raised an eyebrow. “It wasn’t the first one we lost, as much as I hate to say it. Why’s this one different?”
Anthony thought back to the case. It had started like they usually did, but then it had gone to hell. “I don’t know. I really don’t. It’s just driving me crazy. I can’t sleep because I keep wondering why.”
Images appeared in his head of the man they were chasing and–
No, he wouldn’t go there. He couldn’t. It hurt too much. It was bad enough when he closed his eyes to get some sleep, when he saw every bloody detail as clearly as when they’d found him. He shook himself and tried to clear his head, but the pictures remained. Those images never left him. Only alcohol – quite a lot of it – chased away the pain. At least that was something.
Fucking Josh had the same effect, but he couldn’t do that to him. He was a friend, and using him to deal with his demons wasn’t right.
He deserved better, even though they kept ending up in bed together. After all, Anthony wasn’t a monk. But it took more to fix his problems than a random fuck every few months.
D interrupted his thoughts. “I’m really sorry to hear that. I know the feeling, and I know how much it hurts. But I’ve been on the team long enough to know you couldn’t have done anything else.” He carefully placed the bottle back on the table and laid one hand on Anthony’s arm. “I know you’re grieving for him, and I know it’s going to keep bothering you, but you can’t change it. You did everything you could.” He paused, and his hand squeezed Anthony’s muscles. “Did you get help?”
Anthony immediately tensed up even more. “I don’t need any help. I just need a few days to process.”
“You need more time and help, and you know it. None of us has ever managed to leave something like that behind, and you need to accept that. Sometimes you need an outsider to talk to. It’s not okay if you suffer in silence and deal with it alone. You’ll lose yourself even more.” His words were hard, but he said them kindly. He knew. He’d seen. He’d experienced the same thing.
But Anthony didn’t need help. He stared at his brother. “When did you become so wise?” He meant it as a joke, but somehow it wasn’t funny.
“I’m not wise, big brother. I just learned a few things in therapy.”
Anthony started playing with the beer bottle again. He didn’t want to talk about it. He didn’t even want to think about what had happened, but he couldn’t help himself. He couldn’t stop thinking about it.
This kind of thing happened in their line of work, but he’d never learned how to handle them – apart from drinking until it didn’t hurt anymore, which was exactly what he’d do once D was gone. If he’d known his brother would push him toward therapy, he wouldn’t have called him at all.
But instead of saying that, he smiled, stared at his brother, and slowly said, “I don’t need therapy. I just need a few days to deal with it, sort it out in my head, and then it’ll be okay. But since we’re talking about it… I think I’ve had enough of this kind of work. I’m seriously thinking about retiring the unit.”
D’s surprised eyes met his. “You want to retire?”
“I’m not saying I’ll quit completely. Just the tracking. Big difference. I’m just not sure I want to continue
chasing scum and seeing what people can do to each other. It’s bothering me more and more, so maybe it’s not the right job anymore. I’m not always on top of the game, and that’s dangerous. I’m not sure what Lindsay and Jeremy are gonna do, but I know they wanted a few days off too. I just have no idea what to do when I’m no longer a tracker. That’s all I’ve ever done, and I don’t know what else I’m good at.” Anthony drank deeply when he finished his speech.
He hadn’t planned actually to reveal that yet, but he’d carried it around for so long, he needed to get it out. His brother had fought by his side for so long that it was only fair to tell him first.
D pondered Anthony’s words a few moments. “I understand. Maybe you can talk to Gerome about a security job? We’ve been friends forever. It shouldn’t be a problem to find something you can do.”
“I don’t want a job just because he pities me, D. I want a job I’m good at, where I can actually do… what I want. I just wish I knew what I wanted.”
D was silent, as was Anthony.
They were both lost in their own thoughts until D spoke again. “Any ideas?”
“None, if I’m honest.” Anthony sighed deeply and leaned back. He put his feet on the coffee table and switched on the TV, finding a football game. “I’ve thought a lot about it, and I kind of want to stay in the business. But work for Gerome? Or for another company? Or do something myself, like personal security?”
