The Forgotten Prince (Shifter Rebellion, 3) (13 page)

Agarri looked past Aleth and smiled at
Amaden, Greylin, and Ryllan. “I am so thankful to you for saving
him and bringing him here to me.”

All three males bowed to the prince.
Agarri turned to look at Aleth, a wicked grin on his face. He
lowered his voice. “Did they tell you what else the Oracle
said?”

Aleth wasn’t sure if there was more
he’d not been told. “I don’t know. Perhaps?”

“
That you are their fated
mate?”

Aleth nodded and looked away. “They
told me.”

Agarri’s smile faded as he looked at
Aleth. “But you don’t wish to have them?”

“
I do,” Aleth whispered.
“But I don’t know that they wish to have me.”

Agarri nodded, and smiled knowingly.
“Time. They simply need to learn they need you as much as you need
them.”

“
Prince Agarri, may I ask
a question?” Greylin asked, reminiscent of what Aleth was forced to
ask when in the midst of submission.

A smile came to Aleth’s lips as he
considered the last time he’d asked the same.

Agarri nodded. “Of course.”

“
You said you would repeal
the laws restricting mating between … those imperfect.”

“
Yes,” Agarri
answered.

“
When you do, we would
like permission to mate Aleth,” Ryllan said, followed by a half
bow. “If Your Highness allows it.”

Aleth could barely breathe. His heart
beat rapidly in his chest.

Agarri chuckled. “What loyalty and
gentleness. My own mates didn’t ask permission to mate me, even
though there really was no one to ask. You need no permission from
me. My brother’s life is his to lead.”

Aleth gazed at Agarri, sensing nothing
but truth coming from him. All the anger and jealousy he’d felt for
his twin was twisted within him, growing smaller by the
second.

“
You won’t use me to win
this war?” Aleth asked.

“
I won’t ask you to do
anything you feel is too much for you. Your help could even the
field, but you are free to give as little or as much as you feel
right offering us. And if that’s nothing, then so be it. I will not
judge you or the journey you’ve been on. I can’t know what you’ve
endured, starving on the streets and doing what needed to be done
in order to survive.”

Aleth stared at his brother, feeling
nothing but love coming from that direction. “I thought I hated
you, for the life you lived that should’ve been mine. I never
stopped to think your life with our father was more than likely
hell. It was easier to dislike you. Yet you humble me with your
openness and your ability to forgive.”

Agarri leaned closer and took both
Aleth’s hands. He placed kisses on the back of each and then looked
up at Aleth. “I hope we can become more like the family we both
deserved. If only I’d known about you sooner, I would’ve come for
you. I was so lonely growing up in the castle. A brother would’ve
made life a little more bearable. I hate what our father did to
you, to us. As twins, we were bonded in a special way, and he
robbed us of that.”

Aleth smiled. “We can’t let him win,
can we? I am willing to try, Agarri, if you are.”

Agarri smiled. “I am so very willing,
brother.”

Agarri’s robe drifted to the side
slightly, and Aleth saw the ridges of what appeared to be a scar.
He pushed the fabric away, curious of their differences. “What’s
this?”

As soon as Aleth touched the
star-shaped mark on Agarri’s chest, light filled his hand. “No … no
… no, no, no!”

The light soon overtook Aleth, not
stopping at his hand. It filled his arm and crept upward. Aleth
looked at Agarri and saw the light was flooding his body as well.
He yanked the hand away, but nothing happened. They were frozen in
place.

“
What is this, Aleth?”
Agarri asked, fear in his voice.

“
I don’t know! It’s never
happened before.”

The triad attempted to pull the two of
them apart, and more males rushed in, apparently Agarri’s mates. As
the light covered Aleth’s ears, he could hear the sounds of their
cries and screams.

When the light hit his eyes, all sight
was lost.

He felt the sensation of flying. A
connection to his brother, as if they’d become one entity. He saw
inside Agarri’s mind, saw his brother was without guile. They
shared memories, thoughts, dreams. It was as if their lost years
apart were given back to them in an odd way.

And then Aleth’s feet seem to hit the
ground.

When he opened his eyes again, he was
standing in the throne room of the Xhythrian throne room, Agarri at
his side and holding his hand. The light emanating from both of
them diminished, but didn’t end.

Their father was sitting on his bed,
in his private rooms of the castle, a stunned look on his face.
“What is this?”

Connected in this way, he
could hear Agarri’s thoughts.
We need to
stop him, brother. I know you don’t want to hurt anyone else, but
he needs to be stopped.

Aleth wasn’t sure how he knew what to
do, but he lifted the hand grasped in Agarri’s and the light shot
out and struck their father in the chest. King Stugaati dropped to
his knees as the Xakarrian guard rushed to the door, beating it in
from the outside.

“
I need to know, father.
Did you give me to the captain of the guard to be put to death?”
Aleth asked.

Stugaati wavered a moment, clutching
his chest. “No, of course not.”

Aleth added more pain, and Stugaati
screamed.

“
Did you send me away and
to my death?”

“
No! Of course …
not.”

Aleth heightened the pain
again.

“
Yes!” the king screamed.
“I wanted you gone, you little freak. I should’ve killed you both
myself.”

It was all Aleth needed to hear. He
turned to look at Agarri and in that moment, they knew what needed
to be done. Aleth closed his eyes and let the light grow brighter.
It covered him once more. When it covered his ears again, his
father’s screams were drowned out.

And then Stugaati was no
more.

Aleth wasn’t exactly sure how the
sensation of loss hit him, but he knew the king was dead. The light
lessened and when he and Agarri could see again, he saw the
crumpled body of his father lying on the floor. Stugaati’s unseeing
eyes stared into oblivion.

The guards finally burst through the
thick doors of the bedroom, toppling in.

Agarri lifted a hand filled with
light, aiming it at the guards. “I’ve waited a long time to do
this.”

Agarri released a ball of light as
large as his head, bowling over all five guards in an instant. As
soon as they fell, Agarri turned to look at Aleth, his mouth
dropping open. “How are we doing this?”

Aleth shook his head. “I have no
idea.”

Agarri grinned. “I say it’s time we
took this castle back for our people. What say you?”

Aleth smiled back, squeezing his
twin’s hand. “Agreed.”

Chapter
Fourteen

Eight months
later…

Aleth walked into the throne room,
rushing to the dais to see his brother. This last trip into the
Carginian galaxy had been a long one, but the time with his triad
had been well spent, most of it with him in chains and collars. His
mates had used him well, and his body still bore tinges of pain
that reminded him of just how well used.

As Aleth neared the chairs where
Drayden and Agarri sat in audience every afternoon, he saw
something that made him pause.

He observed the two resting in their
chairs, Irylan and Bayjin seated on either side, just as they were
supposed to be.

“
Come closer, brother,”
Agarri said softly, holding out a hand, the other resting on his
rounded belly.

Agarri had been beautifully handsome
as a male. As a female, filled with child, she was stunning. Aleth
walked closer and took his twin’s hand.

“
I didn’t know you’d
planned this,” Aleth said.

“
We discussed it soon
after you left on this last trip. We were lucky almost from the
first moment,” Agarri said. “But then, I’ve been lucky since I met
my males.”

Aleth hugged Agarri, his happiness
overwhelming. He still wasn’t accustomed to life as it was now.
Loneliness was a thing of the past. He now had family, and mates,
and as it appeared, he’d soon have a nephew. “You look ready to
pop.”

Agarri rubbed her hand along her
swollen stomach. “Not really. I’m fuller because I carry
twins.”

Aleth looked at the rounded belly,
knowing these twins would have an easier life than he and Agarri
had shared. He pressed his hand against Agarri’s and smiled up at
his twin. “I wish them the world.”

Agarri leaned over and kissed Aleth’s
cheek. “How I’ve missed you, brother. We have much to catch up on.
Come, let’s eat something and you can tell me about your trip. I’ve
always wanted to see the Carginian galaxy. I’ve heard it’s lovely
this time of the year.”

Aleth took his twin’s hand and settled
in to share his news. The feeling of peace swelled within him as he
told Agarri about their adventures. Family was something he’d never
had, and now that he did, he couldn’t explain the happiness in his
soul.

To think he’d been so angry and
hesitant to meet his twin. Now, he couldn’t imagine Agarri not
being there for him to come home to.

* * * *

“
I can’t believe Agarri is
pregnant. With twins,” Aleth cried as he sat in Amaden’s lap eating
his dinner. After so many years of being alone, he couldn’t seem to
sit in a chair by himself any longer. His mates were much better
seats, anyway. Aleth didn’t like not touching them when they were
close. Sometimes he wondered if he feared they’d leave if he wasn’t
looking. “I go away for a few months and he’s a she with a huge
round stomach. It was a bit of a shock.”

“
Drayden and his brothers
love Agarri and want to cement themselves as a family. You had to
know it would happen eventually.” Amaden brushed a hair out of
Aleth’s hair and behind his ear. “As we will one day.”

Aleth paused, the thought completely
foreign to him. He’d never even imagined himself as a mother. Fear
spiraled in his chest. “What if I pass on my deformity? I can’t do
that to a child.”

Greylin snorted. “You
quite literally saved this planet,
single
handedly
.”

Aleth scowled at Greylin. “That wasn’t
funny eight months ago, and it’s still not funny now. Plus it
wasn’t single handedly. Agarri was there, too.”

Greylin leaned back in his chair. “My
point is, your hand did not stop you from saving a million plus
souls. Thanks to you and your twin, we are all enjoying a new
tolerance of our differences. It will only improve with time. A
child of ours, if born differently abled, will flourish in the new
world you’ve helped create for him. You think yourself weak, but
you’re not. You’ve changed our world, mate. Don’t be afraid to have
a son just as strong as you are.”

Aleth climbed from Amaden’s lap and
wrapped his arms around Greylin’s shoulder, dropping a kiss on his
cheek.

“
I deserve more than
that,” Greylin spat and pulled Aleth into his lap, claiming a
proper kiss.

The kiss started playfully, but soon
turned into something heated and hard. Greylin’s fingers bit into
him, drawing him close. Aleth’s body reacted to the caresses of his
lover, and his cock grew harder. He was ready for his males
whenever they wanted him, never sated. Before he knew it, his robes
were on the floor and he was naked in Greylin’s lap.

Greylin rose, lifting Aleth in his
arms. He carried Aleth into their bedchamber and deposited him
Aleth into the middle of the bed. Amaden and Ryllan had followed,
peeling off clothing as they went. In a matter of moments, they
were all nude, hard, and ready.

Greylin climbed into the bed first,
trailing his lips along Aleth’s hip and side as he moved up Aleth’s
body. “I need you, little prince.”

Aleth nodded, understanding Greylin’s
desire. There was no time for play or toys right now. Greylin
wanted to claim Aleth, and Aleth was more than happy to succumb.
Greylin grasped a vial and quickly spread a small dab of the liquid
against Aleth’s entrance. Then he moved behind Aleth and pressed
his hardened flesh against Aleth’s bottom. Aleth’s body was now
more accustomed to the males, and he could take them without pain
or discomfort. Greylin slid inside, pressing against Aleth’s tender
muscles.

Once Greylin was seated, Ryllan
clambered onto the bed. He pressed his body against the front of
Aleth, kissing him fervently. Aleth knew Ryllan preferred the
darker play, but there were times when the traditional became a
treat as well. “Ryllan,” Aleth whispered.

“
It’s okay, my prince.
Simple can be as mind-blowing as complicated, when the time is
right. I just want to be inside you as well. My brother is needy,
and we will give in to him.”