Page 2 of A Mate for the King
Zara gave his hand a squeeze. “You should try and look happier.”
“I’m here. That should be enough,” Zehr grumbled, face going stony as he looked away from her. The siblings were walking along a path lined by everglow trees, the luminescent limbs gently lighting their way in a mix of soft blues and purples under the relative darkness of the tree canopy.
Zara rolled her eyes. The everglow light gave her the youthful and carefree appearance of the little girl Zehr could remember following him like a shadow when they were younger. She swung their joined hands with a little sigh.
“Always so stern. You’re acting too much like papa already.”
“This isn’t easy, Z.”
“I know.” She gave him a gentle smile, her expression growing somber, and let his hand go.
Up ahead a large pack of alphas moved their way. Zehr instantly stepped forward, maneuvering his sister to his other side, closer to the soft pastels of the everglows, his big body forming a barrier between her and the pheromone-jacked alphas.
They smelled…excited.
All sharp and spicy, with a tinge of gunpowder that piqued his senses and instantly had him on alert. One of the more brash alphas at the front of the group made the mistake of locking eyes with Zara, a salacious smile on his face, but all it took was a warning growl from Zehr to send the alpha scrambling back with wide eyes.
“I—sorry, sorry,” he spluttered, while the others in the group ducked their heads in deference to Zehr. They knew exactly who he was, and while their biology lifted them higher on the shifter food chain than the betas, and omegas, they were leagues belowTHEalpha.
Zehr said nothing but stared down the alpha with unblinking eyes until the pack rounded the bend and disappeared from sight.
“He didn’t mean anything.” Zara huffed, crossing her arms.
“You have no idea what goes through an alpha’s mind. He did mean something by it.”
“But I’m safe when I’m with you.” She threaded an arm through her brother’s and smiled up at him, her eyes moving to look at the everglow limbs as they walked. A group of pixies burst out of the foliage overhead, sending glowing leaves every which way, and while Zehr glared at the chittering pixies, Zara outright cooed with delight at the little beasts.
“How pretty you all are!” She laughed, holding out a hand as one of the pixies flew closer to her, and if it hadn’t been for Zehr he was sure the damned thing would have settled on his sister’s palm.
“They’re pests.”
“They can hear you, you know. They are sentient.”
“Then they know exactly why I hate them.” Zehr bared his teeth at the pixie, sending the small creature fleeing, but not before it offered him a rude gesture of its own.
“See?” Zehr told his sister unabashedly. “It knows.”
“You deserved it.”
Zehr smiled at her words but then cleared his throat, his mind back on more pressing matters. There were far too many alphas like the one he had just sent off with his tail between his legs. His sister was an innocent, as evidenced by her pleasure at the sight of pixies.
“You aren’t to go anywhere alone until all this is over.”
Zara’s mouth dropped open. “Zehr! I am not a child.”
“No, you’re not,” he said, and then gestured around the clearing they had just entered, which was packed full of shifters attending his coronation. “But you are an omega, and that’s just as bad with this crowd.”
“I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”
“Don’t care,” Zehr bit out.
He turned and jerked his chin at one of their guardsmen. They were never alone, even when seemingly walking alone. Zara often forgot she was being watched from the crowd with protective eyes and most times Zehr was glad for it, but not now, not when he needed her guard up.
“I don’t trust these fuckers. One of them killed our father. Don’t for a second think his murderer isn’t in attendance. I won’t have them taking you from me.”
Zara shrank back, eyes morose at the mention of their father’s fate. “Zehr…”
“Give me some peace, Z. Even in the best of circumstances you are too tempting a prize to be walking around with this many keyed-up alphas. I can’t be everywhere at once. You want me to enjoy the festivities?” He raised an eyebrow at her and waited until she gave him a jerky nod. “Then stay with Liam, or any of the others from our clan. But you do not go anywhere alone.”
