16. Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Fifteen
Briar
Elias and Seb were waiting for us in Seb’s office.
I knew they were eager to see me after my heat, but sadly, the morning would start with me telling them my biggest secret and hoping they wouldn’t treat me differently afterward.
Hal’s hand was in mine, a constant comfort as I entered the room first. Elias and Seb looked up from the desk, documents scattered in front of them, stacks of papers everywhere, piling up.
“Briar!” Elias beamed, then gave Hal a welcoming smile, too. “So good to see you.”
“Did you get plenty of rest this week?” Seb scrutinized me, ever the caretaking king. “If not, you can take more time off.”
I smiled gratefully, tugging Hal fully into the room, then joined them at the table.
The urge to climb into Hal’s lap again washed over me, and Hal, too, looked a little lost now that I wasn’t clinging to him.
I squeezed his hand, and he smiled reassuringly.
“We’re doing fine, and honestly, I need to get back to work; it feels weird not working. ”
“I get that,” Elias chuckled. “The routine helps me stay focused and not get distracted by my sexy alpha and adorable son.”
I could only nod at that. I knew about the sexy alpha thing, but the son part would have to wait. Although I’d begged Hal to breed me during my heat, I was glad now that he hadn’t. I wanted children, longed for them, but I wanted to be stronger first, both physically and emotionally.
“Everything okay?” Seb asked, tilting his head. “You look nervous? Or are you feeling sick?”
“Are you pregnant?!” Elias exclaimed, making Hal choke on air.
“Would be pretty impressive alpha seed Hal carries around if they knew that already,” Seb drawled, staring at Elias like he’d lost his head.
Elias smiled sheepishly. “I got excited! Don’t judge me.”
Seb laughed at that, his attention returning to me. “Tell us, is there anything we can do?”
“I, um,” I began, rubbing my thumb against Hal’s under the table, gathering strength. “I need to tell you something. Something I’ve kept secret for too long.”
Elias and Seb both sat up straighter, their eyes filled with worry.
“I’m cursed,” I said, feeling a weight lifting from my shoulders just from saying it out loud. They both gasped, hands flying to their mouths, but they let me continue. “My father told me about it when I was a teen. That the curse would come into effect once I turned sixteen.”
“What curse?” Elias whispered. He looked equal parts sad and afraid.
I blinked back the tears threatening to spill, the familiar feeling of shame invading my chest. “I kill any alpha I touch.”
Both their eyes turned to the very alive Hal next to me, their heads tilting with confusion before they returned their gazes to me.
“Hal is… different,” I explained. “The exception, I think. I don’t know why. I can’t explain it.” I sucked in a breath, shaking, and Hal wrapped his huge arm around me and kissed my temple.
“It’s okay, sweetness. You’re doing good. I’m here.”
I nodded, then continued. “According to Father, I had to avoid all touch so I wouldn’t accidentally kill an innocent alpha.
Then, when you returned from the country, bringing Hal with you, I accidentally shook his hand.
I was horrified by my carelessness. Utterly ashamed.
I waited for Hal to die a gruesome death, but he didn’t. ” I sucked in another breath.
“Take your time, Briar,” Seb said.
“I was so confused. I didn’t understand what had happened, only that I wanted to be…
” I gazed up at Hal, and his eyes pooled with tenderness.
Limitless love emanated from his large body, and it gave me strength.
“I just wanted to be close to Hal, even if it meant being at war with myself. Then, when my heat came, Hal helped me, although I’d told him about the curse. He didn’t care.”
I looked up at my beautiful alpha. “You didn’t care,” I sniffled.
“I only care about you, Briar,” he breathed.
“And you didn’t die,” I smiled.
“I didn’t die.”
“Oh gods,” Elias gasped, dabbing at his eyes. “You’re killing me. That’s the saddest, most romantic thing I’ve ever heard. Aside from me and Garreth, obviously.”
“But…” Seb began, looking truly confused. “Who cursed you? I thought curses were only used as punishments. Who would curse an innocent child?” His voice shook with anger.
“It’s a family curse,” I explained. “My father told me every second-born is affected, and that’s why I had to avoid all touch.”
“But Hal is special?” Seb was clearly trying to piece it all together.
“Yes. I mean, he must be.”
“I doubt the curse is real,” Hal grunted. “I do not doubt that your fear and your belief in it are real, Briar, but I’m no one special, so why wouldn’t it affect me? To me, it sounds like a pile of horseshit.”
Elias snorted.
“I have to agree with Hal,” Seb said. It looked like it physically pained my friend to admit that he agreed with Hal. “Perhaps Clive was wrong about the curse?”
“Yes,” Elias agreed. “I mean, have you… um, ever hurt anyone with the curse?”
“No,” I whispered, suddenly feeling like my breakfast was rebelling inside me. Could my father have lied? Or been mistaken?
“Your father was banished from the kingdom because of his deceit,” Seb reminded me. “But if it makes you feel safer avoiding alphas, then we’ll respect that.”
“Except me,” Hal added, shooting me a wink.
“Of course,” I blushed.
Seb cleared his throat. “I’m going to look into this curse thing, alright? I know you have Hal now, but I still want to see if there’s anything I can do. As I said, this all sounds very strange to me.”
“Thank you,” I whispered, suddenly feeling emotional. “I… I was so afraid you’d both turn away from me.” It physically hurt to admit my worst fear.
“Briar!” Elias gasped, his eyes filling with tears. “Oh, my sweet, sweet friend. We would never do that. Never.”
“Never,” Seb agreed. “I only wish you had told me sooner. It must’ve been an awful burden for you to carry alone.” Seb then looked at Hal. “I’m grateful Hal was able to gain your trust.”
My alpha just nodded, an adorable blush coating his cheeks.
“Thank you, Seb, Elias,” I said.
“Anything for you, Briar, you know that,” Seb smiled. “Anything else before we go back to work? As you see, there’s plenty of it.” He waved at the chaos of papers.
I stole a glance at Hal. “Well, there’s one other thing we both wish to discuss with you, if you have the time?”
“Oh gods, you are pregnant!” Elias squealed, clapping his hands.
I shook my head, chuckling. “No.” I looked at Hal. He cleared his throat, his respect for Seb evident in the most adorable way.
“I, um…” Hal began, looking lost for words. “I think…” he squeezed my hand to the point of pain. My poor alpha.
“Hal prefers to work using his body and hands,” I cut in, then realized how that sounded.
“I mean, being a royal advisor isn’t something he can lean into, even though he truly tried.
The years of working on a farm have made paperwork seem too daunting and, plainly speaking, boring.
I think he’ll be happier doing something else. ”
I felt Hal relax next to me. He’d previously mentioned that although he’d learned to read at the orphanage, it was only the bare minimum and that he still struggled with more formal language.
Seb nodded at this, thankfully not looking disappointed. “Is this true, Hal?”
“It is. My whole life, I’ve worked with my hands; it’s all I know. And I like it. I prefer it.” He paused. “I also… find the paperwork difficult since I don’t read very well.” Gods, the courage it took for my sweet alpha to admit this.
“Of course. I never considered that. Very well. I’ll see what I can do,” Seb smiled.
“I don’t know if Adrian needs help, not with Corin there all the time now keeping him company, but they need time off, too, so I’ll ask Adrian first. Perhaps some gardening as well?
We also have chickens, but they aren’t always kind to strangers. ”
Hal scoffed. “Pfft. I can woo any chicken, just you watch. They don’t call me the chicken whisperer for nothing.”
“They call you that?” I asked, awe filling my chest. Seb groaned, but my attention was fixed on my amazing alpha. He already seemed lighter, his posture less tense.
“I do have one request,” Seb said, looking pointedly at Hal.
“I would love your help to choose the next royal advisor to take your place. I already found one for the other position, a former royal guard who got hurt during training. He is a fine alpha, and he happily accepted the job, knowing he could do it sitting for most of the day.”
“Gods,” Hal breathed. “What happened to him?”
“He fell off his horse,” Seb grimaced. “The poor animal got spooked while they did some training laps, and his leg broke in a way that simply couldn’t be mended again.”
“Poor guy,” Hal shuddered.
“Indeed. I’ve known him as a loyal guard for years. I’d prefer to have someone who’ll slip into the role naturally. Not everyone will be able to relax around me, firstly because I’m an omega and secondly because I’m the king.”
“I get that,” Hal nodded. “I’ll stay on as long as you need me to.”
“Splendid! Now that everything’s all sorted, when will you be able to come back to work?” Seb frowned at the scattered papers in front of him.
“I was hoping we could take today off and then start tomorrow,” I said.
When I didn’t say anything else, Seb gestured at me to go on. “To what?”
“To move.”
“You’re finally moving into Clive’s old rooms?” Elias looked excited. “If you need help, I have a ton of ideas!”
“Thank you,” I chuckled. “Now that Hal is here, it’ll be less…
daunting.” Hal gazed at me softly, and I couldn’t contain myself any longer.
Eyeing my two best friends, I slowly climbed into Hal’s lap, snuggling up against him.
My alpha sighed with relief, like he, too, had been missing my closeness.
Seb and Elias just looked at us, but didn’t seem to care the least.