“What are you suggesting, Austin?” the king cut in tersely.Cormack sighed. “What I suggested to His Grace weeks ago—to choose a suitable omega and bond to them as soon as possible. If he’s happily bonded to someone else, his first bondmate would not be able to prove that it was His Grace who forced a mating mark on them. Everyone knows Xeus alphas bond for life. We are fortunate that the genetic modification procedure His Grace underwent on Calluvia dissolved his first bond without any lasting harm to him. He can bond again.” He looked at Devlin with a hint of approval on his face. “I see that you followed my advice and already started courting Liam Blake. A very good choice, Your Grace.”Devlin gave him a flat look. He didn’t like the way the beta always danced around the issue. “I’m hearing a but somewhere.”“Unfortunately, the courtship alone isn’t enough to distract people and raise morale. A royal wedding is another matter entirely. You need to marry as soon as possible—and prod
And yet the thought of this omega having kids—and an alpha—was… strange.His brows furrowed, Devlin said, “In my defense, your naive views about marriage did make you seem like a child. Your brother’s pragmatic approach is what I would expect from an omega of your age and upbringing.”Julian chuckled. “You’re the naive one if you think Liam is pragmatic. He’s anything but. He’s just fooled by your face.”A slow smile stretched Devlin’s lips. “My face? What about my face?”“You know what I mean.” Julian glowered at him, his cheeks becoming pink again.Devlin’s fingers twitched, itching to pinch them. “No, I don’t. Do enlighten me, Julian.”“You know exactly what I mean, you arrogant ass!”Devlin grinned. “Are you saying you think I’m handsome?”“Everyone thinks that! But I don’t. It’s not my fault people have no taste.”Devlin wondered if it was too weird that he kind of wanted to rub his face against the brat’s flushed cheek. Probably.“Your Grace?”Devlin tore his gaze away from Juli
“Liam is just being polite,” Julian said. “He’ll say that even if he secretly agrees with me.”“I will not,” Liam said before taking in a sharp breath. He took his hand off Devlin’s arm and all but ran forward. “Oh my! This is amazing!”Devlin’s gaze followed Liam.It was a giant sea exhibit, filled with various water predators from all over the Union. Sharks—and big creatures that looked a lot like sharks—were battling it out, with smaller fish trying to hide among the picturesque caves. A huge white shark tore into the blue one right before their eyes, coloring the water with blood.“This is sick,” Julian grumbled. “Figures that Liam would like that.”Amused, Devlin smiled, but when he glanced at Julian, he looked genuinely nauseated, his face pale.Frowning, Devlin hesitated. A glance at Liam confirmed that he wasn’t going to leave the sea exhibit anytime soon: the golden-haired omega was gesticulating animatedly as he talked to their guide.“Let’s go,” he said, steering Julian awa
Sighing, Devlin followed Julian into the jungle. He consoled himself that it was a good thing that his alpha side already felt protective of his future mate’s family—it should help him bond with Liam.As soon as he entered the force field separating the habitat from the rest of the park, it was like he was in a different world. The noise of the crowd outside was cut off, leaving only the natural sounds of the jungle. Devlin found himself relaxing, the beast in him settling more comfortably under his skin.There were fewer visitors in this part of the park. It was a relief, because otherwise finding Julian here would have been more difficult. Devlin followed the shoe prints, his nostrils flaring in a futile attempt to catch a whiff of the omega’s scent. He still didn’t know why Julian suppressed his scent so much.He found him sitting by a small waterfall, watching a pair of doe-like creatures. Julian had his legs drawn up to his body, his arms wrapped around them, and he had his chin
Julian shook his head. “I feel weird,” he mumbled into Devlin’s neck, his fingers gripping his shirt.“Bad weird?”“No,” Julian answered after a moment.Devlin hummed, unsurprised. “When your mate dies, it’s always painful. There have even been cases when the broken bond killed the surviving bondmate. Thankfully, it happens rarely, only if the bond is abnormally strong and you’ve been mated for years. The tradition to marry your dead mate’s sibling existed because the broken bond heals only around an alpha the omega trusts, whether it’s a sibling, a parent, or a new alpha partner. A broken bond never heals without alpha pheromones, you idiot.”“Don’t call me an idiot,” Julian mumbled half-heartedly. “And if you’re implying I trust you—”“You do,” Devlin said, propping his chin on top of Julian’s head. “Or you wouldn’t feel ‘weird’ now. Your suppressants might be suppressing your sense of smell and hormones, but your body is still somewhat receptive to alpha pheromones. You feel better
But while many articles online really recommended increasing the dose of suppressants after losing one’s bondmate, they also advised caution and didn’t recommend that course of action for long. The articles said that an omega needed either to be around an alpha they trusted or to employ the services of alpha doctors who specialized in that kind of therapy.Frowning, Jules considered the latter option, but he knew it wasn’t viable for him: Uncle Wayne couldn’t find out that he had been bonded—it would be too easy for him to put two and two together and realize that Jules must have been bonded to the Xeus. The mere thought made him cringe. No, he couldn’t employ the services of a professional.That left only Westcliff.But should he really accept help from Westcliff, of all people?“Why not?” Liam said when Jules told him everything over breakfast.“I don’t like him,” Jules said, poking at the sausage on his plate moodily.“I don’t think you’re being fair to him. If he’s offering help,
Jules ôm lại anh trai mình, nhưng cảm giác lo lắng, bất an dưới da anh không thể biến mất. Ngược lại với ý muốn của mình, anh thấy mình đang nghĩ đến cảm giác an toàn như thế nào trong vòng tay của Westcliff ngày hôm qua, như thể không gì có thể chạm vào anh hay làm anh bị thương. Có lẽ có Westcliff làm alpha của họ sẽ không phải là một điều tồi tệ. Có lẽ anh nên cho anh ta một cơ hội. *** Quyết tâm của Jules để cho Westcliff một cơ hội kéo dài chính xác cho đến khi Westcliff gọi điện cho họ - trên Liam - vào buổi chiều. Anh không biết điều gì ở người đàn ông này đã khiến anh nổi gai ốc, tự ý thức và chỉ trích thái quá. Đó là một sự kết hợp kỳ lạ giữa các cảm xúc, nhưng anh không thể không nhìn Westcliff bằng ánh mắt dò xét, hoài nghi khi công tước đang nói chuyện nhỏ với Liam và chú Wayne. Thằng khốn thậm chí còn chưa liếc nhìn anh một lần kể từ khi bước vào phòng. Jules khoanh tay trước ngực, sau đó không bắt chéo chúng. Nhặt chiếc máy tính bảng trên chiếc bàn trong góc, anh n
Several weeks passed like that. Westcliff called on Liam and took him out on dates, putting on that disgustingly charming mask he wore in public. More often than not, Jules accompanied them, serving as a chaperone, for appearances’ sake—officially. Unofficially, he kind of… he went because he wanted to be around the duke. It freaked him out that he felt addicted to the way Westcliff made him feel, but he couldn’t help himself. It felt so good, especially when Westcliff allowed him to rub his face against his scent gland—the euphoria was beyond his ability to express properly. Afterward, Jules felt so embarrassed, but thankfully, Westcliff didn’t make fun of him and always acted as if there was nothing weird about his behavior. “Better?” he would say in a quiet murmur, and Jules would flush and nod and look anywhere but at him. Every time he told himself it was the last time, but his resolve melted into a mass of goo the next time he saw the duke. It was horrible. Horribly addictive.