The Wolf King Needs an Heir by Max Rose
CHAPTER FIVE
The next night…
Edric walked alone through the royal garden behind the palace.
He could hear the sounds of New York—traffic, music, planes overhead, people talking on their cell phones—in the streets beyond the palace walls. The royal garden was surrounded on three sides by the palace. The palace floor plan and wings gave the building a U-shape when viewed from above. The last side of the garden was walled in before the courtyard to the skyscraper tower. Edric came here to think. It was his escape from the weight of the crown.
The royal gardens were private, of course. They were exclusively for members of the royal family. He idly wondered if Julian would like this garden. Walking here relaxed Edric and soothed his wolf. The gardens had small groves of elm trees, beech, poplar and more, with a grassy meadow in the center. Several huge fountains could be found throughout. Roses. Flowerbeds. Hedges. Secluded benches. A small pond with koi fish, ducks, and an ornate footbridge.
Edric often came here when he wanted to think and escape from the nobles and security guards and servants hovering in the background. Sometimes he would shift into a wolf. Tonight, he stayed in man-form. He had too many things on his mind. The temptation to leave it all behind and run as a wolf was strong, but he denied himself.
It had been a long day. A very long, very hectic day. He’d been dealing with the fallout of his sudden betrothal to Julian Wilson since before dawn. Gossip traveled like wildfire in the palace and then beyond the walls. Everyone everywhere seemed to know about the marriage. Everyone from servants to nobles seemed to have an opinion about it. He’d had to listen to pack alphas whining all day that Edric was marrying a commoner—and an omega at that. A half-human, half-werewolf male. Not even a female. But a male. The scandal. The outrage. The handwringing.
He bared his teeth, even though no one was here to intimidate.
Edric’s problem with omegas had to do with the fact that they were half-human. He didn’t trust humans for good reason. But he didn’t believe any of that “abomination” bullshit that some shifters believed. They were somehow offended that a person with male external genitalia could bear a child, violating the sacred right of females everywhere.
Then again, he wasn’t exactly unbiased, was he? He was homosexual. He needed an heir. There you go. He could even admit that he’d been wrong to think of Julian as a commoner since the omega had noble blood on his father’s side. He might be a bastard, but no one was perfect.
Edric was a bit of a bastard himself. Not the technical definition, of course, but the “I’m a dick” definition. He didn’t need to apologize for it. It was part of being a strong king and alpha. Although he’d promised himself that he’d tone it down. Julian had agreed to marry him and have his child. That touched Edric. Even though he’d practically had to beg to get his way, he understood the omega’s reservations.
If dealing with the political fallout hadn’t been such a pain in the ass, he would’ve found it all amusing. He’d certainly stirred up controversy. To counter it, Edric had his loyal people, his advisors, intelligence agents, and so on, spreading word about the prophecy. They were seeding information on how Julian Wilson was a descendant of the Silvius royal bloodline, the last of a proud lineage once thought gone.
He walked down a path of mossy slate stones and planted his royal ass down on a bench. God, he needed this peace and quiet and a chance to think. He leaned back, stretching his legs out with his arm along the back of the bench. He stared at the twilight sky above the garden, the trees, and the palace. The sky was a deep blue-and-purple haze, and he couldn’t see any stars yet. After this whole marriage and prophecy nonsense was over, he needed to get out into the wild and away from the city. It had been far too long. His wolf was getting restless. The Summer Palace would do nicely.
Julian might enjoy some time in the countryside. By then, he would probably be more than ready to escape the royal court and all the palace intrigues. Those could be exhausting, even for Edric, and he was the damn king.
He hadn’t seen Julian yet today. He couldn’t help but wonder how the wolf was doing. Edric had been trapped in meetings with pack alphas all day. He’d sent a car to pick up Julian this morning. He’d asked Megan to take Julian around on a tour of the palace. Julian would have his own separate quarters at the palace until the two of them were wed. It was a security issue. It would keep Julian away from the media or wolves and humans who might wish him ill. Besides, Edric’s future mate wasn’t going to live alone in some low-rent apartments somewhere.
He was distracted from his thoughts when he caught his sister’s scent and heard her footsteps approaching. He glanced in her direction and couldn’t help but smile.
“There he is,” his sister said, plopping herself down next to him. “The wolf of the hour. Tell me, big bro. Is it still good to be king?”
His sister was known as a bit of a heartbreaker. A free spirit. She could have her choice of top-tier suitors. Her heart-shaped face, blonde hair, and blue eyes earned her enough attention. But she also had a smile that melted hearts combined with a personality that could only be called “sparkling.” People were drawn to her, both men and women.
Despite all his threats, he would never auction her off in some political marriage. There were kingdoms that did so. Edric’s father had a political marriage with Edric’s noble-born mother. Edric would follow in their footsteps with a political marriage as well. Sort of. It might be more accurately described as some kind of mystical prophecy marriage that could be the biggest mistake of his life.
Even though Edric looked to be marrying to keep the family safe from a prophecy of doom, he promised himself that his sister would marry the wolf she loved. Even a commoner, if that’s what she wanted. Even…a human. After all, he didn’t have a judgmental leg to stand on anymore, did he?
“Of course it’s good to be king.” He smirked. “Why are you asking? Jealous?”
“Positively green with envy. By the way, you do remember your fiancé’s name, don’t you?”
“I do. Thank you for your concern, dear sister.”
She laughed and shrugged. “Just looking out for my big bro. The palace is on fire with wild speculation and dirty gossip. The human media is all abuzz. Your media handlers have been holding press conferences and answering questions all day. Oh, and from what I hear, our ambassadors to the other kingdoms are freaking the hell out.”
He shrugged. She was right. He’d been fielding calls from them all day. Reactions ranged from confusion to irritation to outright panic. Never congratulations. It only made him double down on his determination. Sure, Edric hadn’t been sold on this marriage, but now that everyone seemed outraged by the omega who had agreed to marry him, it made him feel protective of his future mate.
She narrowed her eyes. “You’re enjoying this chaos, aren’t you?”
“Not really. I’m trying to be patient. I know it came as a shock. But I don’t want Julian caught up in all this ugly noise.”
“Hmm. I wonder what your fiancé thinks of all this craziness.” She rested her chin on her hand and stared at him frankly. “Speaking of which, why are you out here alone and not with your better half?”
“As far as I know, the omega’s still hiding in his room like a frightened cub.” He meant it to sound funny. It didn’t quite come off as intended.
She glared at him. “It wouldn’t hurt you to be nice.”
“Kings aren’t nice. Do I need to explain where being nice gets you?”
“You’re as impossible as ever.” She gave him a disgusted look before leaning back on the bench, hugging her knee, and looking off at the palace wings that flanked the park. “I need to meet Julian. It sounds like he could use a friend.”
His sister was such a bleeding heart. It was one of the things he adored about her. It actually made him feel guilty for behaving like such a dick. Mildly guilty.
“You’re probably right about him needing friends. Wolf friends, anyway. Maybe I’ll go see him after I head inside. I’ll ask him to dine with me tonight.”
“You can get to know each other like normal people. What a concept!”
“I always forget how amusing you are.”
“I get that from our mother. So why are you out here alone, anyway? Playing the brooding king?”
“I needed to think.”
“So you are brooding. Don’t break anything trying to use that royal brain. What are you thinking about? Love and marriage? Being a father?”
“The High Seer.” He hadn’t been thinking about the High Seer at all. He’d been thinking about Julian. But for some reason, he didn’t want his little sister to know about that. Not when she was in such a teasing mood.
A frown creased her brow. “Her? Why?”
“I want to talk with her about this prophecy in more detail. She’s not around, though. Seems she left her apartment in the tower with the help of one of her seer disciples, and poof, she’s gone.”
“She wasn’t a prisoner. She can come and go as she pleases.”
“Setting all of this in motion and then vanishing? I’m beginning to think she was senile. Or this was all a joke. A crazy joke.”
His sister’s expression turned serious, her blue eyes solemn. “Maybe she could be wrong, but I don’t think it’s a joke. If so, it’s not funny.” She put a hand on his arm, looking into his eyes. “Thank you, Edric.”
Her sudden sincerity caught him off guard. “For what?”
“For everything you’ve done for this family. I know I’ve been teasing you…but my big brother is getting married. Because of a prophecy you don’t really believe in. To keep the peace. That’s…noble.”
“You’re welcome.”
She laughed. “That’s it?” She imitated his deep voice. “‘You’re welcome.’ I’m trying to have a moment with you.”
“Last I checked, we were having a moment just fine, dearest sister.” He rubbed his chin and cast a sidelong look at her. “Is this a good moment to tell you I’ve found you a husband? We can have a double marriage.”
“You didn’t!”
The shock and horror on her cute face made him laugh, even though he was desperately trying to remain serious.
“Fine. I was joking.”
“Maybe jokes about arranged marriages aren’t a good idea given the current situation.”
“Maybe you’re right.”
She glanced at him again, biting her lower lip. “I was wondering… Can you love him?”
“Julian?”
“I wasn’t talking about your butler.”
“Love is overrated.”
“You are such an ass. You know that? Love is everything.”
“Mother would agree with you. Father would not.”
“Yeah. So don’t take after him.” Her eyes flashed with anger. Anger wasn’t typical with Terra. She pointed a finger at him. “You better not use Julian and toss him out like a tissue you wiped your nose with.”
“This is how you speak to your king?”
“It’s how I speak to my brother.”
He leaned his head back, looking at the rows of palace windows rising above even the tallest of the trees. He always found it strange to be outside the palace, looking at it as if he were a stranger. As if he didn’t belong. Maybe that was one of the reasons he liked being in the garden. A change of perspective.
He took his time responding to Terra. He knew she wanted him to open up. He wasn’t really a “feelings” kind of guy. It had been hard enough letting the alpha mask slip yesterday to convince the omega to agree to a marriage.
He decided to be honest with her. She deserved that much. “It’s too late not to use him, Terra. This is a political marriage. He knows it. He’s okay with it.”
“Is he?”
That’s what Edric assumed since Julian had said yes to the betrothal. He wasn’t going to mention how Julian had turned him down. Several times. And he wasn’t going to mention how he’d needed to pull out all the stops and practically beg. A man had his pride, after all.
“I can be a generous man,” he told her instead. “Julian wanted to be involved in raising our child. That’s easy enough to grant.”
“And he doesn’t have a pack?” she asked.
“He lives with the humans.”
“Then he’s alone here. You need to be his friend, too. Do you find him attractive?”
“He’s pretty enough. I won’t have trouble consummating the marriage if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Actually, it wasn’t what I was asking.”
He ignored her. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure he enjoys himself too. I’m not a complete bastard.”
“You’re almost a complete bastard,” she growled. His sister growling was always amusing to him. She shook her head. “You deserve to be happy. But so does he.”
“We don’t always get what we want.”
“No, but we all can make the best of what we have. You can choose to be kind to him…or you can be as cold as our father was to our mother.”
“Is that what this is about? Our father? I’m a better king than he ever was.”
“A better king? Yes. But I think Julian will need you to be a better man.” She stood and walked away without another word. Apparently, she was done with the conversation and done with him.
He lingered on the bench for a few moments, but he was growing hungry. The palace chefs would be preparing dinner. They might even be done by now. There was no sense sitting around feeling hungry. He would keep his word and go see Julian. He’d invite the omega to dinner. Edric was even looking forward to it.
On his way back to the main garden entrance from the palace, he caught a new scent. It was a scent he instantly recognized. Julian Wilson, his omega fiancé.
Edric followed the omega’s scent through the garden, past clusters of trees to one of the huge fountains. Julian sat on the fountain’s marble edge. His face was delicately lit by the lights within the wide basin. He was looking down into the water, not able to hear Edric’s approach because of the bubbling and splashing of falling water. Edric smiled when he noticed the omega had his shoes off and was sitting with his feet in the water.
He came up behind Julian, still unnoticed. “You’re dipping your dirty feet in the sacred royal fountain?”
Julian jumped with a sharp gasp of surprise. He stood abruptly, which left him standing in the fountain basin water. His eyes went wide as he stared at Edric. He took a step backward, and his heel slid.
Edric shot out a hand and grabbed the omega by the arm, preventing him from falling. Julian clutched at his arm, steadying himself.
“I…I’m sorry,” Julian said. “I didn’t realize this was a special fountain.”
He couldn’t maintain a stern expression. “Don’t worry. It’s not special. If you want to dip your feet in it, that’s fine. After all, soon it will be your fountain.”
Edric gently held Julian as he stepped out of the fountain and back onto the decorative paving stones. When Edric was certain there would be no more missteps, he let go of Julian and sat down on the fountain’s edge. Julian hesitated for a moment before joining him.
The return of the omega’s skittishness mildly annoyed him. Where was the feisty wolf he’d verbally sparred with yesterday? The one who had basically told a king to shove his offer of marriage up his royal ass. The wolf who had forced Edric to get down on his knees. He’d liked that wolf. He’d respected him. Now it seemed as if Julian had returned to the nervous, awkward wolf he’d been at first.
He cast about for something to say that wouldn’t spook Julian. “How do you like your rooms? Quite a change, aren’t they?”
“That’s an understatement,” Julian replied with a shy smile. “I have a video screen on the wall that summons a manservant to help me get dressed. Stuff like that is going to take some time to get used to. I might never get used to it. Yesterday I was working at a fast-food drive-thru.”
“Has everyone been polite and respectful to you?”
If anyone—servants, nobles, guards, or anyone—messed with his future mate, there would be hell to pay. With last night’s yes, Julian had come under Edric’s protection. Something Edric took very seriously.
“Oh, yes. Yes. I mean, I didn’t leave my rooms much. Except for the tour. But the people I’ve met have all been nice. Understanding. I mean the servants and the guards. And Megan. So…that’s good.”
“My sister and I were raised in this palace, so all this is normal for us. I imagine it must be a lot to take in for someone new.”
“It certainly is.” He hesitated. “Yesterday, you said your sister was vexing…”
“I didn’t lie.” He raised an eyebrow. “Care to marry her instead of an arrogant jerk like me?”
Julian’s cheeks flushed red. “Your sister? Oh. Ah. No, that’s okay. I mean, I’m sure she’s great. But…I’m gay, remember?”
“Lucky for me,” he replied with a gentle laugh. “Otherwise, I doubt you would’ve agreed to marry me last night. Then where would we be?”
“Where? Well, life might be a lot more boring. That’s where.”
“Exactly. I’m pleased to see you enjoying the gardens, by the way. Technically, they are only for members of the royal family.”
“Oh. I asked if I could stretch my legs and get some fresh air. They sent me here…”
“It’s fine, Julian. You’re free to come to these gardens any time you wish. I try to come here when I have time. It helps soothe my wolf. Especially when I’m in a city, aka trapped in a huge urban environment.” He smirked. “Like, say, New York City.”
“Thank you. I really enjoy this garden.”
At least his future mate was polite. He liked that. It helped make up for that awkward skittishness. Luckily, Edric had seen plenty of evidence of Julian’s spine and spark last night. Even though Julian was half-human, he still had some fine traits to pass on to their offspring. Traits worthy of the Rylan name.
“I was actually on my way to invite you to dinner,” he said. “I’d love it if you would dine with me. It would be a great time to talk. Get to know each other. I can boast about the palace chef. I stole her from a Paris wolf pack. And you can tell me all about you.”
“I would love that.”
“Good. How about we make it an everyday thing? Our private dinner, just the two of us. Either in the dining room, the gardens, or even the theater if you wish. We can watch any movies you like while we eat.”
It pleased him to see Julian’s eyes light up. “That would be great.”
He found himself smiling at the omega as Julian smiled back. He stood, holding out a hand to the wolf he was going to marry.
Julian took his hand. The other wolf’s skin was smooth and warm. Edric couldn’t help but be curious how those smooth hands would feel on his body. On his cock. Or how the omega’s full lips would feel when Edric kissed him. It surprised him a little how his mind shot straight to sex with a simple touch. Either he was horny beyond imagining, or something about Julian stirred his desire more powerfully than anyone in a long time.
Either way, the unexpected swell of lust told him he’d gone too long without getting a piece of tail. But that was going to change soon, wasn’t it? The marriage would take place as soon as the planners could manage it. And then Julian would be his.
Was it strange that part of him was actually looking forward to it? He doubted it would take him long to get Julian with child. After that enjoyable experience, the prophecy of his family dynasty’s fall would be avoided, and all would be right with the world.
All thanks to this omega who had no pack but who had the softest, most trusting eyes…