Page 34 of Alpha's Magic

“I’ve been meeting with Prince Chandler and his husband Kellman for the past hour. They both claim to know nothing at all about the attacks on you and your omega.”

“Oh really?” Lex said, his eyebrows rising dramatically. “And do you believe them?”

“Well, not exactly. But he is next in line for the Sudfarman throne after what happened to Rozamond, and we have to tread carefully. He is a guest here, along with Kellman, and if anything were to happen to them, it could mean war with Sudfarma.”

“I see. So they get away with almost killing not only Leo and Asher, but my omega and the king of Igella too?”

“No one is getting away with anything Lex. We have no idea if they were involved. This is going to take time to unravel. I honestly can’t fathom why either of them would be involved in such an attack on Lord Asher.”

“They were after me, not Lord Asher,” I said. “And Chandler shouldn’t be king,” I said, not realizing that every one of them would turn toward me. “He’s not the rightful heir.”

Harrison, in particular, was looking at me as if I’d taken leave of my senses. I suppose it was because he had no idea who I really was.

“What in the world is your omega talking about, Asher?” Harrison asked, giving me an outraged look.

“It’s what we came here to tell you,” Lex said, before Asher could speak. “Asher’s new omega, Leo, has told us he is the son of Prince Ludwig of Sudfarma, the rightful heir to the throne of Sudfarma and the only legitimate son of old King Hendrick.”

“What?” Harrison rose from his chair, before falling back down in surprise. “I haven’t heard that name in years. That’s crazy. Prince Ludwig hanged himself after he went mad and killed his wife and children.”

“No, he didn’t,” I said, interrupting. I knew I probably shouldn’t, because he was the king and all, but they all turned to stare at me as if a piece of the furniture had suddenly spoken up. But this was my story and my father, whose good name was being sullied. I had been raised as royal as Lex and Harrison had, and I was the rightful king of Sudfarma. It was definitely my place to speak up.

“My father was a wonderful man and never would have hurt any of us,” I said, jumping to my feet in a passionate defense. “It’s a damned lie. The witch murdered my poor father, and I saw the whole thing. She killed my mother and her unborn baby too. But first she changed me into a monster!” I knew I was shouting, but I couldn’t seem to stop. The doors flew open behind me and people were running in, but I shook off Asher’s hand when he reached for me and kept shouting the truth.

“That witch destroyed my family and almost took my life. And I saw her with my own eyes! It was your wicked queen, Rozamond! She murdered my parents, and I’m glad she’s dead! I’m glad!”

****

I don’t remember much about what happened after that. I knew there was a great deal of shouting, and that Lex picked me up around the waist and carried me out of the king’s offices bodily and out to the hallway past the gaping courtiers.

He set me on my feet and began yelling at me. “Are you crazy? You can’t speak to the king that way.”

“Why not? He’s a man just like me or you. And my father was the rightful king, so technically that makes me a king too.”

“It doesn’t work like that.”

“Why not? Either you believe me, or you don’t. And if you don’t, then why am I even here?”

I turned to storm down the hallway, but Asher pulled me roughly back and whirled me around and pointed his finger in my face. “You need to listen to me.”

Even as a child, I’d hated that tone, so I slapped his finger away and then took a step back and put up my fists to fight him. He wrapped his arms around me so fast I hardly even saw him move, and he pushed me back against the wall.

“What do you think you’re doing? I’m not going to fight you.”

“Why not? Because I’m an omega?”

“No, because no matter how crazy you get, there’s no place on this face or body that I could ever bear to hit.” He kissed me then, lowering his mouth to mine and being pretty thorough about it. It went on for a long time, and when he had me breathless and hanging onto his jacket lapels to stay on my feet, he began kissing my forehead and my cheeks and then went back to my lips again.

“You can’t yell at the king of Morovia, sweetheart,” he whispered again against my mouth. I was almost too dazed to understand by then. “It isn’t done.”

I sighed and buried my face against his throat. “Can’t we just go back to your room?”

“In a few minutes, I promise. But now, we have to go apologize to Harrison and try to smooth things over. He’ll need an abject apology and an explanation of what you were saying.”

I sighed and nodded, and I let him take my arm to lead me back inside Harrison’s office. He was sitting behind the desk, very regal looking. Angry too—his features were very handsome—good looks didn’t just run in this family, they practically galloped—but his face was set in angry lines, and it was cold on top of that. He wasn’t as gorgeous as my Asher, but he was really attractive, with his dark, almost black hair and his blue eyes that were probably inherited too, like his brother’s. He looked a lot like Lex, who was a stunning looking man, and who gave me a little wink as we came back inside the room. I had to admit it helped.

Asher gave the king a little bow from the waist as we came back in, so I did the same.

“Leo would like to apologize, sire. He’s still overwrought from all he’s been through. I hope you’ll understand.”

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