AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My mind’s eye flashes on seeing the cherry blossoms in bloom and eating sukiyaki from a hole in the wall restaurant in the middle of the night. My taste buds tingle with the memories of satiating our teenage appetites with the best food on the whole bloody planet.
Good times.
I dip into a low bow as I release her hand, pushing my hair off my face when I straighten again. “I’ve got enough charm to go round. Don’t you worry. Do you have any tips you’d like to share with the class before we’re thrown to the wolves?”
Through our pack bond, I feel Tai’s nerves skyrocket when I ask the question. It’s a well-known fact that my filter is on the fritz more often than it works. I want to kick myself for phrasing it that way, but I don’t.
We’re all nervous. Not that we’d ever admit it, but we’re about to be the stars of what is essentially the most widely watched reality dating show on the planet.
Tai and I have grown used to being in the public eye. We weren’t necessarily raised for it the way Kaz was, but I knew what my future would hold as soon as I fell into a bromance with him from the moment I met him.
It was the same for Tai. While we certainly don’t feel the same sense of duty and responsibility as our packmate, we put up with feeling his through our bond because we love the bastard. Despite the press and the Trials, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I know Tai wouldn’t either.
Yua regards me through gorgeous almond eyes, her worry shining clear as day from their onyx depths. “Do you really feel like you’re being thrown to the wolves?”
She steps forward to help me with the bow tie I’ve given up on. I knew either Yua or my mother would tie the infernal thing for me. They’re motherly, unlike Kaz’s Mum, who wouldn’t know a show of maternal affection from a declaration of war.
Once she’s done, I shake my head and wag my eyebrows at her as I stride over to the kitchen. A lock of hair falls over my forehead again, but I leave it this time. “Nah, wearethe wolves, and other wolves won’t feed on us even if we’re thrown to them.”
I don’t have the energy to figure out if that even made sense. Omega Mighty, I’ve always been so shit with words.
Pinching the bridge of my nose to stop the aching behind my eyes, I try again. “Let me try again,” I say as I grab three beers and uncap mine. “Wearebeing thrown to the wolves, but we will return leading the pack. Better?”
Yua and Tai both shake their heads when I offer them their beers, then Yua fusses over both of us some more for a minute. She glances between us with a stern expression suddenly on her face. “Have you told Kaz how you feel? What happens if you don’t fall in love with one of the selected Omegas?”
“Has any royal pack ever declined to bond with one of the selected?” Tai asks rhetorically. We all know no pack ever has.
Yua’s gaze grows stormy. “I suppose it doesn’t matter. Catherine likely wouldn’t allow it.”
Tai sighs and takes the beer from me after all. Yua and the queen have a turbulent history. It’s no secret there’s no love lost between them. If I had been William Althorpe, however, I would definitely have chosen Yua over Catherine as well. No contest.
My gaze lifts briefly to the ceiling, and I raise my bottle discreetly to the heavens far beyond.Good choice, mate. Good fucking choice.
“This is part of Kaz’s duty to the Crown, Mother,” Tai says quietly. “Which means it’s our duty now as well. He’s our Alpha.”
Yua’s chin dips in a curt nod, but when she finally picks up the last beer, I know his response wasn’t what she wanted to hear.
As she, Tai, and I bring our bottles to our mouths and take long sips, a knock sounds from the door.
I don’t need to look to know it’s not the missing member of our tripod coming to take one last drink with us before the games begin. Judging by the intense strain and disdain I feel coming from him, Kaz is still with his parents.
At least the hair of the dog is helping to calm my stomach and soothe the ache in my head so the others don’t have to feel the ghost of my raging hangover for the rest of the day through the pack bonds.
“Enter,” Tai calls, and the door opens to reveal one of the queen’s personal servants.
He casts a disapproving look at the beers in our hands, but since he can’t very well admonish us for it, he simply lets out a quiet sigh before he nods. “You’re expected in the Grand Hall before the ceremony.”
“Of course,” Yua replies, instantly draining her beer—a definite sign of frustration, but kudos to her for being able to put it back like that—before offering Tai one arm and extending the other to me. “Escort your old lady to the proceedings, won’t you?”
Tai nods, but I see the flash of sadness in those reddish eyes. I feel it reverberating all the way to my soul as the emotion takes root.
His father should’ve been here to escort her, and that’s who he’s thinking about as we make our way down the ancient corridors toward the Grand Hall.
As one, we stop at the doors, take a moment to collect ourselves, and then I nod at the guard to let us in. He and his counterpart reach for the ornate brass door handles, pulling them open in unison to reveal the room within.
Almost immediately, I notice my fathers are already here. They and the king consort are old mates, and they’re talking with their heads bent together. Turning to Tai and his mum, I release her arm and incline my head to them as I meet Tai’s gaze.
“I should go say hi before all hell breaks loose. See you in a minute?”
