Page 84 of Heart of the High King
“Hey, buddy, what’s up?” Aleksander asked when Mortis appeared in the doorway. The wolf jogged to Aleksander, and he greeted Mortis with pets and scratches behind his ears. In the doorway, the man connected to Mortis’s soul appeared. His curls were wet, and his hoodie and pajamas had been replaced by several layers of cotton tops, jeans, and a jacket.
“Uh…I don’t know how else to say this, but my laptop is missing,” Rafe said.
“It’s not missing. It’s on your desk,” Aleksander told him.
“No, it’s not. I put it there when I first got here, but it’s gone.”
Aleksander pointed to the device lying on the table next to him. “Silly, it’s right there on your desk. I talked to Chrys, and even though Worth put plenty of money in your account for you to buy whatever pleases you, I assume you still want to work. So I set you up in our office.”
“I thought I’d work in my bedroom.”
“Your bedroom is for sleeping and relaxing. Why don’t you roll in here and see if there’s enough room at this desk for it or if we need to get you a new one.”
Rafe tentatively rolled forward, and Aleksander stood to wheel the office chair out of the way, but his mate stopped him. “I can use that one.”
“You sure? I thought it would be easier in the wheelchair.”
“I use my walker too, so let’s go with this. Can you hold it in place?”
“Sure,” Aleksander replied and dutifully held on tightly as Rafe transferred from one seat to another. “You need me to push you in?”
“I got it,” Rafe said, pulling himself forward with his hands on the desk as soon as Aleksander released him.
“While we’re on the topic of money, which I must say is one of my favorite subjects,” Worth remarked. “We heard a rather nasty rumor—from His Majesty, no less—that someone in this house told you incorrect information regarding your account. Some nonsense that you had to come up with your own funds. Mind telling me who it is so I can straighten them out?”
“It doesn’t matter. I can work and earn my way. I don’t mind. I really didn’t want to take money from the sanctuary. Those funds are to help people.”
“Would you listen to this, my fellow dukes? We’ve got another High King with foolish notions. Are you not a people? Do you not need help?” Worth demanded.
Aleksander got back to his seat and glanced at Rafe. The former dragon had cracked a grin at Aleksander’s pesky brother. “I actually don’t think I am a people. I’m just a singular person. What you should be asking is why the High King invaded my privacy and stole my laptop right off my desk. I’d think you’d want to crack down on crime in a sanctuary.”
“I was in there to get Mortis. I know he’s resurrected and can’t starve to death, but nothing is going to save him from peeing on the floor, which is why I wanted to coax him outside. I’d already talked to Chrys and knew your laptop needed to be moved, so excuse me if I did something to make your life a little easier.”
Rafe’s expression was a cross between amusement and consternation. “You went in there while I was sleeping. That’s creepy.”
“I didn’t see anything weird. You sleep curled up like a burrito in your covers.”
“I get cold easy.”
Worth got up with a loud sigh. “I’m off to raise the temperature in His Highness’s room since otherwise he’ll settle for freezing.”
“I don’t know if I can get used to being called ‘His Highness,’ ” Rafe muttered as Worth sauntered out.
“Get used to it, Worth does it to me constantly just to be annoying.”
“I don’t remember him doing that when I visited.”
“That’s because I wasn’t spending time in here much, but trust me, you would’ve heard it eventually.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t get that chance,” Rafe murmured, and Aleksander said nothing in response. Rafe needed the opportunity to settle into the idea of being together as well as getting some measure of relief from Sorcery D’Vaire. While Aleksander didn’t know the extent of what he’d been through, it was likely going to take a while for Rafe to adapt to seeing some level of positivity in the situation. One thing Aleksander could always count on was his patience, and he would use it, but there was a limit to the time Rafe had, so his mate was going to have to come to terms with their lives sooner rather than later.
