The Alpha King (20 page)

Tal prided himself on always being right. He usually gloried in the fact and he often smug about the way he could almost foresee the future based on people's actions and reactions to different events, but this time was different. This time he didn't want to be right.

He'd never hoped to be wrong more in his life.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Tal blinked his eyes open with a groan, the sunlight streaming in through the windows, hurting his already throbbing head.

"What the hell?" he grumbled in annoyance, wondering whose ass he would have to kick for opening the blinds while he still slept.

He squeezed his eyes tighter together, turning over onto his stomach to go back to sleep, only to be encumbered by the small bump in his belly. His breath locked up in his chest and his eyes flew open. What the hell had happened while he slept? As a matter of fact, what the hell had he eaten last night? His mind raced and he tried to figure out the reason for the lump in his stomach. Finally, his mind caught up with the present and he gasped.

Sitting up quickly, he looked down at the now very apparent evidence of the children that he carried within him. "Oh. My. Scions. I can't believe it. I-it's real." He gently laid his palms over his stomach.

The sheer magnitude of what he carried within him weighed heavily on his mind and his heart. It had been two and a half months since he'd been to the Hall of Elders and discovered his pregnancy. Except for some queasiness, extreme exhaustion, weird cravings, and those horrible bouts of vomit that he had early in the morning, and then promptly forgot about, he'd been able to ignore being pregnant for the most part. Once those symptoms had passed he had felt practically normal. Well, as normal as someone in his position could feel.

A moment of sudden clarity rushed over his mind, and he gasped again, his right hand flying up to cover his mouth. Pregnant. Mated to a wolf shape shifter. Who just happened to be a king—the Alpha of the pack. The fucking ruler of an entire plane. And… pregnant… with five half-breeds. Oh… wow. Just… fucking… wow. Wonder and awe filled him, moments before confusion filled his every pore. Intense, extreme confusion, the kind that usually made him say something stupid.

"What the hell am I having?" he questioned aloud, aware of being alone in the room, but needing to have the question out in the open.

His couldn't even ask his pet flower. He'd had to remove it from the bedroom because the damn thing had been making him feel sick and freaking him out as well. After all these years of close companionship, he couldn't even stand to look at the godsdamn plant.

He should feel bad about it, but he just couldn't drum up the needed emotion. Too tired, too sick, too fucking pregnant with… whatever he'd be having, to care about his old plant friend. Gods, what a bastard he'd become.

"You're having a litter." Josie giggled from the doorway, a noise that effectively pulled him out of his depressing musings.

Tal swung his eyes her way to observe her color shrewdly. Edifician, just like their father, Tal always found himself checking to see if her skin grew any darker, something he'd been doing since they were kids, when he'd first noticed her tone changing shades. Her skin would tell him better than she ever would if she was sick or not. He didn't necessarily obsess over it, just checked on it periodically, but they'd barely seen each other over the last two months, both settling in with their mates.

If the beautiful brown color of her skin grew black it meant imminent death. When it happened as a result of age it would be of no concern. From an early age, Tal wanted to make sure Josie wouldn't die too soon. He didn't know why he'd always had that fear, though it could have something to do with losing his parents. He didn't think it the only reason though. An image of Josie, holding her belly and throwing up, flashed across his mind, followed by one of her covered in blood.

He gasped and shook his head, trying to rid himself of the vision. He reminded himself Josie had a mate now and while they didn't spend much time together, Gregor would never let anything bad happen to her. They both had very attentive, very overprotective mates. Not necessarily a bad thing, Josie with her royal guard and Tal with his Alpha King, but definitely strange for each of them. They had spent so many years practically living in each other's back pockets, always looking out for the other, and now they barely saw each other, unless they were passing in the hallway and then they merely waved and continued on their way.

If their parents could see him and Josie right now they'd be completely surprised by the huge change in their relationship, but they would understand the natural progression of life. Tal tried to take comfort with the notion whenever guilt crept up on him about neglecting his relationship with his sister. Or when he grew angry with her neglect of him. He once again pulled his mind from his musings and focused on her, making a mental note to check with the palace doctor about why he was having such a hard time concentrating.

"Ha ha ha. Funny, bitch," he teased back.

She sauntered over. Her hair had been braided back, and her eyes twinkled with happiness. She wore a skintight, black, one piece leather pantsuit. Her heeled black boots came up mid-calf and were tightly laced and pulled over the legs of the suit. She looked like the perfect image of a Dominatrix, like the kind he saw on the vids he'd snuck and watch as a teenager. He'd never been interested in the role of the person wielding the whips and floggers, but he'd found himself very intrigued by the role of the subservient one.
Well I guess that works out pretty well as Blaze is very obviously the Dom in our relationship. Although, knowing that my sister fancies herself a Dominatrix, even in dress is very disturbing.

"Well, don't you look beautiful and fierce all at the same time?" he mused, raising his voice and adopting the accent of the Doralians who all had very musical tones.

Josie sat in the chair next to the bed. He raised his eyebrows at her choice of seating and she smiled. They'd always sat cuddled up, even when they were teenagers and their boyfriends came over. Probably why they didn't have boyfriends for too long, he realized. He shrugged. It worked for the best in the end. Those guys were assholes, and he had Blaze and Josie had Gregor now.

"I passed Blaze on my way in. He told me I could sit in the chair but his wolf would probably go feral if it smelled any scent other than his on the bed mixed with the scent of his pregnant mate," she explained to his unasked question.

Tal nodded, not the least bit surprised she knew exactly why he'd raised his eyebrows. She'd always known him so well. As children, they'd been able to have entire conversations without ever speaking. He missed they didn't do it as much as they used to.

"Aahh," Tal replied in understanding, just a little thrilled by his mate's possessiveness.

He didn't doubt Blaze cared for him, but maybe he did to a small degree. When they were alone, Blaze was so attentive, but out in public… "He has gotten a little more Alpha possessive over the last few weeks, since we found out about the babies…" His words faded and his mind returned to its earlier dilemma.

"What's the matter? What are you thinking about?" Josie asked. "You look like you're trying to figure out the exact light year equation from Edifice to Namprince or something."

Tal snorted. No one had ever been able to figure that out. Namprince was a very weird planet and seemed to jump in the galaxy rather than rotate like all the other planets.

Tal gave himself a mental shake, not wanting to be teased by his older sister over his insecurities. "It's nothing. To be honest, I'm surprised to see you without your shadow. Where is Gregor anyway?" he asked slyly, changing the subject.

"He's doing kingdom patrol this week rather than palace patrol, and don't try to change topics. I taught you how to do that. Don't forget, I know all your tricks. What were you thinking about that made your mouth pull down into that frown?" she asked, crossing her arms across her chest, her face turning into its stubborn lines.

Tal sighed deeply, aware she wouldn't let it go until he answered, and answered truthfully, since she could always tell when he lied. It was just as annoying now as it had been when they were kids.

Closing his eyes he resigned himself to answering. "I was thinking about my children. You know, my unborn children with Blaze. What exactly am I giving birth to? Humanoid children or wolves? Vermithians or Tumarons? Will they come out looking like humanoid babies or will they come out half human, half wolf? Or, am I actually giving birth to a litter of dogs?" he admitted, ashamed, tears filling his eyes at the slight edge of hysteria he heard in his words.

"
Love? Are you okay?
" Blaze's concerned voice spoke through their mental link

Too ashamed, Tal couldn't respond. How in the world would he be able to tell his mate he feared giving birth to his children because he was afraid he would be giving birth to monsters? Babies who would come out looking like half Vermithians and half Tumaron wolves? Blaze would be furious and disappointed, but worse, he might think he had the wrong mate in the end.

"Oh, honey," Josie whispered in sympathy.

He refused to lift his eyes to hers, not wanting to see the pity or the disgust on her face at his vanity.

"Have you asked Blaze?" she questioned, sighing when Tal merely shook his head no. "Tal, you need to ask Blaze. I'm sure he knows. Besides, he needs to know you're struggling with this, that this is a fear for you, that—"

The rest of Josie's words were cut off by a hesitant knock on the suite doors. They turned their heads in the direction, neither entirely sure who would be knocking on the doors to see Tal.

"I'll go see who it is while you get up and get dressed," she offered.

She stood up and made her way through the bedroom doorway to the suite entrance, closing the door firmly behind her to give Tal some privacy. Tal scrambled from the bed and rushed over to the armoire in the corner to pull on some clothes, hoping they would still fit. Blaze had hired a personal tailor and the man had been working around the clock to create a new wardrobe for him, but with his new baby bump, he didn't know if anything would fit his formerly thin frame. Tugging on a pair of royal blue silk pants, he was happy to find the waistband stretched to fit around his waist. He settled for slipping on a black tunic, embroidered in royal blue around the collar, the cuffs of the long sleeves, and the hem. Hearing Josie talk with whoever had arrived out in the sitting room, he rushed over to his new vanity Blaze had purchased for him just the week before and quickly brushed through his hair, which had grown thicker and longer during his pregnancy. He'd teasingly told Blaze he had his own version of wolf fur, which had caused the bigger man to roar with laughter. Tal loved to make his mate laugh and after hearing his chuckle that first time all of those many weeks before, he'd set out to make sure that Blaze made that sound as often as he could.

He often thought Blaze took being the Alpha King way too seriously, but Tal understood. His mate did very serious work. Well, if the things Tal had responsibility for could be anything to go by, he could only imagine the stress of his mate's position. The word position sent his mind into a very vivid image of him and Blaze making love the night before and Tal struggled to keep from groaning, more than aware wolves could scent arousal. Clenching his fists and squaring his jaw, he tried to think of something that would get his mind off of his mate… unclothed and waiting for him in the bed… or wet and in the shower…

Grunting, he imagined his father in the small pair of blue shorts that he loved wearing back home and his erection promptly deflated. Thanks, Dad. Slipping his feet into the black slippers he'd left beside the bed, he walked towards the door, prepared to greet his visitor. Unless it might be Mailon or Percy, or hell Buck, it would be a long time before he'd be ready to deal with anyone else. Taking a deep breath to calm his racing heart, since he had no idea who could be waiting on the other side, he placed a hand over his just noticeable bump and murmured softly to the babies who lay within.

"Okay, Daddy's gotta go out and act like an Alpha Queen, which is a title he still really hates, so no making him nauseous, okay?" he pleaded.

He hadn't had morning sickness in a while, but according to his mother, Vermithians were sick during their entire pregnancy. Opening the door with a smile, and a final plea for composure and a visit free of nausea, to the One and whatever deities existed that listened to the prayers of mated Vermithians, he stepped into the room and saw Josie talking with one of the Elders… what was his name again? Oh yeah, Elder Bryce Morgasen. The one who always wore a perpetual scowl on his face and had his long, gray hair braided tightly down to his waist. Tal didn't really like him, Mailon didn't either, but whenever Tal had asked the other Elder about it, Mailon just grinned and said something along the lines of differing personalities, and had left it at that. Elder Bryce stood in the middle of the room, silently watching Josie when she turned her attention to the other two visitors, both of whom were almost as startling beautiful as Blaze and Buck. Almost. Tal would be very hard-pressed to think anyone more beautiful than his mate… except the vid star Bohn Jarrowman, that man was beyond beautiful. Tal had to watch him when Blaze wasn't around. Blaze had destroyed two large vid screens because Tal had sighed when Bohn had appeared on the screen. He absolutely didn't understand the big deal. Bohn might be nice to look at, but Tal knew he belonged to Blaze and wanted it just that way. Maybe he should tell Blaze the next time he went to watch Bohn on the vid screen. It might just save them from having to buy another one.