9. Chapter Eight
Chapter Eight
Hal
“I need your help!” As soon as I’d slammed the door to my chambers behind me, the words tumbled from my mouth.
Lord Willoughby rushed to my side and grabbed my hands, clenching them firmly in his. “Of course, son. Anything.”
Gratitude coursed through me. I was so happy they were here.
“Is it Briar?” Kenneth smiled knowingly, wrinkles adorning the corners of his eyes.
“If you are worried that we won’t approve of him…
” He exchanged a look with Lord Willoughby.
“We were hoping you’d return home eventually and take over the farm one day, but we understand you want to stay here at the palace now that you’ve found your mate. ”
My mate. Gods, they felt it, too, like I did in my heart: Briar was my omega. He was meant for me. Mine.
“How did you know?” I whispered.
“Oh, Hal, we know you, son. And the way you looked at him, the tenderness in your voice… There was no doubt,” Lord Willoughby smiled.
“Oh,” I murmured. I didn’t think it was that obvious.
“Besides,” Kenneth chuckled. “One look at Briar was enough to know how smitten he is, too.”
Hope bloomed in my chest. “Really? You think so?”
They shared a look, then both nodded. It felt reassuring that they’d also been able to tell just by seeing me and Briar together.
When I didn’t say anything, they both looked at me with concerned expressions. “Oh dear, what is the matter, Hal?” Kenneth, who’d always been more direct, asked as he placed a hand on my shoulder. “We should be celebrating. You’ve found your omega, Hal!”
“Unless… Is he… is he already spoken for?” Lord Willoughby ventured. “I didn’t get the impression that he is, but…”
“No,” I whispered, wiping my hands across my face. “He is not spoken for.” I wanted to tell them the truth so desperately, but I didn’t want to betray Briar’s trust either. It was hard now when I stood facing the two people who’d taken me in and given me a home when no one else had wanted me.
“Then what is it, son?” Lord Willoughby coaxed. “You can tell us, you know that. Whatever it is.” I knew. Of course, I knew. They’d never once judged me or treated me like I was less because I was an alpha. They’d treated Gus and me like we mattered and were just as worthy as any omega.
I swallowed, my heart racing in my chest. I needed to tell them the truth because otherwise I couldn’t ask for their help. And I really needed it. I was so out of my depth here. “He’s cursed,” I murmured. “Briar is cursed.”
“Cursed!” they both gasped simultaneously, taking a step back, disbelief in their eyes. “What do you mean, cursed?” Kenneth asked, his face bathed in evident shock.
With a sigh, I went to my bed and dropped onto it, my shoulders slumped in defeat.
“It’s a family curse. The second-born is the only one affected.
” I looked up at my fathers, tears in my eyes.
“Briar is dangerous… Any adult alpha Briar touches will die. I don’t know the specifics, but I saw the fear in Briar’s eyes when he told me, and I heard the sadness, too.
He’s doomed to a life in solitude, deprived of touch and companionship.
He—” my voice broke, and I buried my face in my hands.
“He spends all his heats alone even though he knows it’ll eventually kill him. ”
They both rushed to my side, dropping next to me, wrapping me in a hug from both sides. “Oh, Hal,” Kenneth whispered, then pressed a soft kiss to the top of my head. “That’s just awful. Poor child.” He hesitated. “But a curse? Are you sure?”
I nodded.
“Why would anyone do that?!” Lord Willoughby boomed, his deep voice echoing off the walls of my room. “Curses are savage, inhuman, and they belong in the past!”
I looked up at him, then at Kenneth. “What can I do? I need to do something. I need to—”
“Hal!” Kenneth warned. “I’m afraid you don’t understand, son. Curses are dangerous. They are strong and forceful. That’s why hardly anyone uses them anymore.”
I jumped from the bed, pacing the room as I tugged at my hair. “But I need to do something! I can’t just abandon him. You need to help me! Please.”
They both stared at me, sadness in their eyes. “It’s too dangerous, Hal. We wouldn’t even know where to begin. If we could help you, we would.”
“But… but don’t you see? I don’t have a choice.
Briar has no one. No one! And… you said it yourself.
He’s my mate.” I pounded my fist against my chest, feeling the truth in my heart.
Briar was mine, my omega, my mate, and mine to save.
If I only accomplished one good thing in life, it would be to save Briar from his horrible fate.
I didn’t care about myself; I only cared about him.
“I need to find a way to break the curse! It’s urgent.
I need to find a way before Briar’s next heat. ”
Images of Briar suffering through his next heat alone flashed before me. His small body trembling in agony as he succumbed to a lonely and painful death. I couldn’t bear it.
They both stared at each other, fear and resignation in their eyes.
“Only the witch who placed the curse can break it again,” Kenneth sighed. “I’m afraid that’s the way curses work, son.”
“But—”
“It’s too dangerous.” Lord Willoughby stood. “Please promise us you won’t do anything reckless, Hal. You and Gus—” his voice broke, tears gathering in his eyes. “You boys are everything to us. We love you like you’re our own flesh and blood. We can’t lose you.”
Kenneth rose too, wrapping his arms around Lord Willoughby. “There now, my love. Don’t upset yourself. Your heart.” It was true. He shouldn’t upset himself. Lord Willoughby was born with a heart defect, and it was important that he didn’t get too upset.
“I’m sorry,” I said, holding out my hands. “But if it were you, wouldn’t you risk it? Your life. For the one you…” I swallowed, my heart speaking the word before it fell from my lips, “love.” Love. I loved Briar. How could I not? He was already a part of me.
Silence stretched between us, and eventually Kenneth nodded. “I would. Of course, I would.” Lord Willoughby smiled sadly, then said, “If you are truly serious about this, Hal, then you need to find the witch who created the curse. But it will be dangerous and difficult. You might not succeed.”
“It doesn’t matter if I don’t. I will have tried at least.” I was determined. “I need to find Briar. He needs to know he’s not alone in this. That I will fight for him, for us.”
“Yes,” Kenneth nodded. “Go, son. Go be with your mate. We love you. If there’s anything you need from us, just let us know.”
“We’ll ask around, too,” Lord Willoughby said. “If anyone knows anything about these kinds of curses and who might be responsible for it. As Kenneth said, we love you, son, and there isn’t anything we won’t do for you and Gus.”
“I love you, too,” I croaked, crushing both of them against my chest in a fierce embrace. They might not have brought me into this world, but they’d given me life. I was just a shell of a person before they took me in.
I hurried from my room. I needed to get to Briar. His days of suffering in solitude were over, as far as I was concerned. I knew he’d fight me on it, but I wouldn’t relent. As soon as I entered the hallway, a gut-wrenching scream tore through the quiet, followed by distant whimpers.
Briar! Every fiber of my body reacted to the sound of his agony.
I took off in the direction of his room, and halfway there, another desperate scream sounded.
Pain, unlike any other, slashed through my body, and I curled over as I breathed through it.
It was Briar’s pain, I was sure of it. I felt my mate’s pain as if it were my own, and there was no doubt about the source of that all-consuming anguish.
Briar was in heat, and he needed me. My omega needed his alpha.
I pushed through the pain and ran down the hallway. As I turned the corner, my body slammed into something rock solid, and I nearly lost my footing until two strong hands wrapped around my arms.
“Hey! What’s going on?” Gus looked at me, Seb beside him. “What’s the hurry?” He chuckled. “It’s not dinnertime yet.”
I pushed away from him. “Get out of my way!” I gritted, way too harshly, but I needed to get to Briar.
Gus frowned at me, an edge of worry in his voice. “Hal? What is it? What’s wrong?”
Seb eyed me suspiciously.
“I need to get to Briar. His heat started, and he’s in pain.” I squeezed my eyes tight, then blurted, “He’s my mate, and he needs me!”
“Your mate?!” Seb gasped, then whispered to himself, “Of course, I should’ve known.” I opened my eyes. “But you can’t go to him, Hal. He doesn’t… Briar spends his heats alone. You know that.”
“Not anymore!” I gritted, puffing out my chest. “Not now that I’m here.” I hurried past them, Seb calling out after me, “Hal! Stop! You can’t do this,” then followed by Gus’ mellow voice, “Briar is his mate. Let him go.”
Another scream tore through the silence, and a wave of pain slammed into me, threatening to pull me under into an ocean of darkness.
I gritted my teeth, focusing on my breathing as I pushed through.
I reached Briar’s door, only to find it locked.
It was made from solid oak, but did nothing to muffle Briar’s desperate whimpers and moans from the other side.
I pounded my fist against the door. “Briar! Open up!”
A scream was the only answer I got.
I pounded harder, the hinges rattling. “Briar! It’s me, Hal. Open the door right now!”
“No! Go away, Hal. Please!”
“I won’t. I won’t go away. Let me in, you silly omega.” My voice softened as I spoke the words. Gods, he was silly if he thought I’d go away when he needed me the most. What kind of mate would that make me?
“I can’t. I can’t risk it. I’ll—Oh gods. I’ll kill you.”
“You’ll kill yourself, Briar.” I brushed my fingers against the smooth wood, imagining it was Briar’s flushed, flawless skin. My determination rose. “Let me in, Briar, or I’ll kick in the door. By all the gods, I swear I will.”
“You can’t kick it—” he screamed in agony again, and my body ached to get to him, wrap him in my arms, and comfort him.
“Can’t I? Oh, you don’t know the strength of a determined alpha, silly omega. Now, open the door.”
“I can’t,” he whimpered. “I’d rather die than—” The rest of his words drowned as I threw myself against the door. Pain shot through my shoulder, but it was nothing against the need in my soul. I needed to get to Briar.
“Hal, stop it, please!”
I lifted my leg, and with all my power, I rammed my boot against the hard wood. The door rattled and creaked, but it didn’t open. I kicked it again, once, twice, and on the third blow, the door flew open, slamming loudly against the wall as I burst into Briar’s room.
I felt it before I saw him. The pull. The bond between us.
The scent of Briar’s slick, of his arousal, hung heavily in the air.
My mouth watered as instinct took over. My cock pulsed in my pants, stretching the fabric.
Briar was in his bed, surrounded by mountains of blankets, his pupils blown wide with lust as he stared at me.
His cheeks were flushed, and he looked feverish, his wild curls surrounding his face, some clinging to his sweaty forehead.
He was naked and oh so lovely. His gaze dropped to the clear outline of my hardness.
His nostrils flared, and then he licked his lips.
“Please,” he whispered. “Hal…” His eyelashes fluttered with need.
“I’m here,” I rasped, then kicked the door shut behind me, fixing it in place before I prowled toward him. With a hushed whimper, he shimmied backward on the bed until he reached the headboard.
“You need to get out of here!” He held up a shaking hand. “Now. I’m in—”
“Heat. I know. That’s why I’m here. You need me, Briar.”
He shook his head, desperation in his eyes. “I don’t. I don’t need you, Hal. I don’t need anyone.”
“Of course you do.” I smiled at him, tenderness pooling in my chest. “Everyone does.”
“I’ll kill you.” Fat tears trailed down his pink cheeks.
“I don’t think so.”
“I will.”
I shook my head, my eyes feasting on his pale, peach-colored skin. He was so beautiful, and he was all mine. “You silly omega,” I tsked as I neared him. “I’m not leaving until you’re knotted safely against me. Until you are sleeping, all sated and content in my arms.”
A gasp flew from his lips, and I smelled it then, the slick that leaked from his trembling body like an endless stream of need. His green eyes swam with intoxication, pure and magnificent.
“But…” a loud moan built in his chest, and he rubbed his swollen pecs, his pointed pink nipples beckoning for my lips.
He was so ready for me, for his alpha. My little Briar was made for this: to be fucked, to be bred, to be claimed.
There was no fighting nature. Just look at Seb and Gus. They’d changed our fucking world.
I took a step closer, sniffing the air. “Gods, Briar. You’re so ready for me.”
“The curse,” he whispered, but I heard the resignation in his voice as his instincts took over. “What about the curse, Hal?”
“Fuck the curse!” I roared, then closed the space between us in long, determined strides.