Page 13 of Bred by the Alien Prince

“Yes, calm yourself, Zantos; it’s not my fault you’re shooting blanks,” I smirked, knowing this was a sensitive topic. I did not understand what had set him off to attack me, but I might as well give him a reason.

“Argh! Let me at him!”

“He’s just trying to get a rise out of you.” Xil turned to face me once he had settled down. “You should be ashamed of yourself; you know what a sensitive subject that is.”

"I’ve taught him everything he knows, including maintaining a level head in the face of verbal attacks. If he has forgotten his lessons, he deserves every ounce of hurt he’s feeling. Besides, he attacked me while I was minding my business."

"Are you okay, Zantos?" Of course, Xil would baby him.

I waved my hand dismissively. "Oh, stop coddling him. He picked a fight he couldn’t handle, it happens to the best of us."

"We should save our energy for the rebels. Daruuk already patrols our borders."

"Tell that to your brother," I folded my arms. "Or are you such a beta that you can’t stand to put him in his place?"

"Nobody puts me in my place, slaat worm!" He stopped pushing against Xil with any force; it was no use. The man was broader than both of us combined; he was just making a fool of himself at this point. "Did you hear, brother? Father is thinking of naming Lorvian one of his heirs."

"What?! When did you hear that news?"

"So, the old man is wise after all." I laughed. However, this turn of events intrigued me. I was one of forty children altogether, and I was from the lesser branch of the family tree, meaning my Damma was a low-ranking omega, some bed wench more so than a mate. And they hardly meant to select me as a possible heir. The only crown heirs were the four children born to his first and second mates. They meant the rest of us to be civil servants or military men and women. They expected nothing much of me as I was the lowest of the low, but I had found my purpose in military service.

"This is no laughing matter! You will go to him and turn him down!" Zantos said, spitting fire.

"And if I don’t." I stepped to him, ready to take them both down if I had to. "What would you do?"

"Don’t be irrational! No one will accept you as a King!" Xil sneered.

"Ho ho ho, so our levelheaded 'let’s all get along' brother, the 'I accept you no matter what' brother has finally shown his true colors."

"Can it! This goes beyond us siblings getting along. This is just pure madness."

“Well first of all, I don’t understand why Zantos is pissed, he should know a sireless man could never be chosen as a ruler, we have too much to lose, which makes this more of a problem between you and me. After all, your mother was his first wife, his queen which makes you and your first siblings more in the running than me.” I could sense him seething underneath that calm and collected façade. “So why would he choose the lowest of the low over all of you?”

“I doubt he chose you over all of us. You are merely in the running.”

“Which means he is out of options with his first children.”

“Get the hell out of our sight,brother.” Xil spat the word brother with venom.

“With pleasure, the more I’m away from all of you, the more at peace I feel, anyway.”

I headed to the station where my transport shuttle awaited with a smile, but I couldn’t rid myself of it if I tried. Father had chosen me to be his heir, of course, it meant I had to compete with his four first children who were chosen at birth, but I was in the running and that was enough.

Swarti, my second in command, was smaller than the rest of us, who, among the fifty-one types of aliens sharing this sector, we were known for our height and our spotted flesh and long shell-like cartilage on our ears, which we sometimes decorated with gems and gold for festive occasions. However, there was a small movement of women and comely men who had taken to wearing these gems adorned to their weaponry and bodies during the battle, a habit that even my half-brother had taken up, which is why it brought me great pleasure to rip that thing from his ear taking a piece of his flesh with it.

“Sir.” Swarti saluted. “Daruuk is leading his forces to the south.”

“When will he ever learn?” I scoffed and took my place on my throne at the ship's helm. Daruuk was a Travol, an alien species we discovered only one hundred years ago. Like us, they were long-lived and hearty folk who had yet to achieve space travel beyond sending their wildlife up in tubes as live test subjects. Like the others, we made them submit to the hegemony.

“I don’t think he will ever learn, sir,” Swarti replied in his usual monotone tone. “Daruuk isn’t the type to submit; he used to be royalty and ruling over others rather than being ruled.” He explained. “And also, you killed his brother last year.”

“Oh yeah!” I had to think about that for a moment. “I killed his brother.” A chuckle escaped my lips. I couldn’t believe I had forgotten.

“Yes, you hanged him, if I recall.”

“Ah, yes,” I said, recalling the event. “He was the mouthy one. He wasn’t so mouthy when he saw that noose, though.” I slapped my knee.

“I believe you also still have his sister in your harem.”

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