Chapter 7
Sebastian
The sun rose higher in the sky as Gus and I walked through the royal garden. This was my favorite place to ponder big decisions, and it often provided a much-needed escape from the ever-watchful eyes of my guards or royal advisors.
“This is a Grandiflora Rose,” I said, gently cupping one of the lavender roses I loved more than any other flower in the garden.
“I had no idea they had names,” Gus muttered, an adorable blush tainting his cheeks. “I thought it was just called a purple rose.”
Smiling at him, because how could I not, I gently replied, “That’s a fine way to address them, too. Anyone here would know which flowers you meant.”
Gus seemed deep in thought as he regarded the roses, so I gently nudged him with my arm. “Want to see more?”
“Yes, please.”
I was glad that we’d moved beyond my title, and he now spoke to me as if we were friends.
So few people around me did, and only Elias was allowed to speak to me as an equal.
And now Gus. Well, there’d been one alpha who’d taken me through a heat once, but that was for my benefit alone.
There simply was no way we could continue with him asking me every second, ‘Is this good for you, Your Majesty? Do you need more, Your Majesty? Should I take you from behind, Your Majesty?’ I doubted Gus would’ve acted like that.
I somehow already knew he wouldn’t need to ask.
He’d just know what I wanted, what I craved.
“I want to show you my sanctuary,” I informed him casually, even though my insides were all jittery with nerves.
“What is a sanctuary?” Gus followed my pace perfectly as we moved between the rows of roses.
“It’s a place where I find peace and safety,” I elaborated, figuring he could understand the importance from that little bit of information alone.
After moving to the back of the rose bushes, the cherry trees came into view next.
I grabbed Gus’ arm, needing him to stay close as we moved between the denser trees on the back of the property.
After a few silent minutes, the largest of the lakes on the royal grounds appeared in front of us. My favorite one of them.
“Wow,” Gus breathed, looking almost giddy with excitement as he took in our surroundings.
“I know.” I smiled widely at the ripples in the water before us as they caught the odd ray of sunshine and glimmered like crystals. “This is likely the most private place in the palace, besides my royal chambers.”
And why did the thought of us being all alone here stir something in me? There was no reason for the king and the royal breeder to converse or even exchange pleasantries, but I wanted to get to know Gus. It was a need inside of me I simply couldn’t ignore.
Movement to my left pulled my attention away from the water, and I gasped. Gus was undressing! Right next to me.
“Um, what are you doing?” I blurted, already knowing where this was headed.
“I’m going in the water, of course!” he beamed as he tore his shirt off, then proceeded to step out of his pants.
Oh. My.
Gus’ undergarments were definitely too tight, not that he had them on for long.
No, in mere seconds, they were discarded, along with his knee-length socks, dumped on the ground by our feet.
I really should’ve averted my gaze, but his cock was right there, seemingly growing bigger the more I stared at it.
Was it my magic that had somehow heard my prayers and made it go hard, or—
“Everything okay?” Gus’ voice pulled me from my staring contest.
He definitely knew what had caught my eye by the heat in his gaze.
“Everything’s fine!” My voice way too high-pitched.
“Then drop your clothes and join me!” he grinned, his demeanor changing back to playful.
Join him?! There could be things in the water! Like… like…fish, or something! Weird water creatures. Was he mad?
Gus’ delectable ass moved in a tantalizing rhythm as he approached the water, his huge cock bobbing between his legs.
That cock had to be the largest cock in the kingdom!
No wonder Elias told me the servants had gossiped about it.
Could I even take him? Yeah, of course I could!
I was the damn king! No cock would beat me.
I might just need to do some stretches beforehand, get my limbs all loose and flexible before my heat began.
“C’mon in!” Gus yelled from the lake where he stood waist-deep and waved at me like a loon. “It’s the perfect temperature!”
I really shouldn’t… but damn, I wanted to.
The way Gus looked, his broad chest on display in front of me, his skin a golden tan, drops of water cascading down his prominent pecs.
The dark blond hair that started just below his bellybutton and disappeared into the water, way down to where that ginormous alpha cock was hiding.
Tilting his head, Gus grinned at me, drops of water clinging to his bangs, that annoying dimple winking at me all seductively. Ugh. Checkmate.
Before the voice of reason took over, I quickly unbuttoned my shirt and blazer.
Then, I unlaced my pants, stepping out of my shoes as the pants pooled at my feet.
My undergarments were my favorites for when I approached my heat; they were white and thin, offering me room to breathe when I got overheated, but that also meant they would become see-through in the water… .
Fuck it. I was the king! I could skinny dip in a lake, my lake.
I pushed them off, leaving me completely naked in front of Gus, who gaped as I slowly made my way through the water, ignoring the horrors that hid underneath, stopping only when I reached him.
I was about to ask what one did in a lake when a splash of water hit me straight in the face, startling me. Gus’ carefree laughter was enough to break through my moment of confusion.
“What did you do that for?” I scowled at him.
Gus offered me a shy smile in return. “For fun. Hal and I always did it,” he shrugged, a wistful edge to his voice.
At the mention of Hal’s name, something happened inside me. A strange sort of jealousy I rarely felt, because I never had a reason to be jealous. But I was of this Hal person whom Gus clearly cared for. Tentatively, I splashed the water, expecting some sea serpent to jump at me and devour me whole.
“You have to do it a lot harder than that, Little Omega.” Gus carded his massive paw through the water, raising another wave that hit me in my chest. I momentarily lost my breath, but it wasn’t from the impact of the water. Little Omega.
“I am not little!” I quipped, then slapped the water, splashing it all over Gus’ chest, not even reaching his handsome face, like I’d intended.
“You are little, but I like that about you.” He sent another wave my way. “Now catch me if you can, Omega!” he laughed, then dove under the water, disappearing from my view.
Catching my breath, I looked around, but before I could move in any direction, something grabbed my ankle.
I screamed in horror.
Then Gus broke through the surface of the water, and his face appeared in front of me as he hugged me into his chest, laughter rippling through his large body. It was so infectious, it immediately spread to mine, and before I knew it, I was laughing too. Damn him!
“I thought you were a sea monster!” I accused, still laughing.
“No monster would dare take you on,” he chuckled, still hugging me close. “You’re very fierce. You’re the king. My king.”
And yes, I doubted a sea monster would be the death of me. More likely, it would be this huge alpha who kept saying things that did unexpected stuff to my insides.
I wanted to stay in his arms forever, his scent a heavenly mix of cedar and sweat as he made me forget about my royal responsibilities. All I could think about was the two of us in this lake, with Gus’ strong arms wrapped around me. I’d never felt freer.
“Ready?” His voice held a teasing sort of promise.
“For what?”
“To fly.” A wide grin spread across his face, and then, I was airborne and catapulted back through the water. The bastard threw me! The scream erupting from my lungs was anything but regal or graceful, but I couldn’t stop it. Then, the water swallowed me up.
Kicking through the water, I resurfaced and sputtered as I glared at him.
“Oh, this means war!” I yelled and swam over to him as we both giggled with laughter.
Gus tried to escape my wrath by swimming further into the deep end, but I followed him, splashing water after him as I continued to laugh until my throat ached.
He dove under again, and when he grabbed me under the water this time, I welcomed his touch. His strong hands grabbed my ass cheeks as his face broke the surface, smiling widely at me. I focused on his lips. How wet they were. How full. Leaning in, I closed my eyes—
“Your Majesty!” The appalled tone in Clive’s voice was enough to break the momentary spell.
I glared back toward the bank, seeing all four of my advisors staring in what appeared to be horror at me bathing in the lake.
“What?!” I yelled back, my anger rising. I was finally having fun!
“You cannot just go out on your own, Your Majesty!” Brennan argued. “It is not appropriate!”
“Appropriate!?” I shouted. “You’re the ones watching the king bathe!” That had them murmuring amongst themselves, so I added, “And my rule regarding Alpha Gus still remains! You aren’t exempt from that!”
“Just please return to shore, Your Majesty!” Jerold pleaded, covering his eyes. “Your heat is closing in, and we fear for your safety should it happen outside the palace walls!”
“Fine,” I sighed. “But we aren’t leaving the water until all prying eyes have left us.”
They nodded and disappeared through the trees, taking my good mood with them.
“Stop pouting,” Elias laughed. “It’s beneath you.”
Glaring at him, I resumed my work as I read through the many bills that needed paying while, yes, pouting. I was allowed to sulk. By the time Gus and I had gotten dressed and reached the roses, my advisors swiftly pulled me away with the subtle demand that I rinse the dirty lake water off me.
Now I was in my study, working instead of having fun with Gus. I much preferred having fun, something I rarely indulged in. Elias was just being a nuisance, but I enjoyed his company too much to ask him to leave.
“Is time moving slower than usual?” I asked, watching my wall-mounted clock tick away steadily, then glaring at the pile of correspondence I needed to attend to.
Elias groaned. “I can’t wait for your heat to be over! You’ve never been like this before your heats. Is it the thought of breeding that’s got you all hot and bothered?”
Scowling at him again, I admitted, “It might be the breeding thing.” It wasn’t as if I could admit to him that Gus was different, that I actually liked him.
Because I did like Gus. He gave me so much unexpected joy by just being himself.
Even if he was an alpha, he still seemed so innocent and kind, so attentive and careful with me.
He didn’t seem to want to impress me like other people did, and I really liked that.
There were even moments where he made me forget I was king.
“Well, if what the servants said about his cock then yes, I get why you’re this angsty.”
My grip hardened around my pen, and ink splattered across the many papers I’d yet to sign.
“Seb!” Elias sat up on the small couch by the windows as fast as he possibly could with his big belly. “What happened?”
“Pen slipped,” I lied, my voice a tad squeaky.
He eyed me with suspicion. “You might need a good fuck before your heat. I fear for your clothes if you wait.”
I eyed my navy shirt with the gold buttons, now splattered with ink dots all over it.
Sighing, I stood, abandoning my work. “I’ll go change.”
I left the study and pondered if Elias was right and that letting Gus help me out before my heat would ease some of the tension I carried around.
Back in my royal chambers, I undressed, noticing my pants had been attacked too. Placing all my stained clothes to the side, I hoped one of my servants could save the fabric. A bath wasn’t necessary, but I still had to wash my hands as well as I could manage it.
A sharp pain suddenly tore through my middle as my skin turned clammy and slick.
The telltale signs of my heat rippled through my body as my nipples hardened and my hole clenched with need.
Now wasn’t the time for my first heatwave to come.
Gus was somewhere on the property, but I had no idea where.
Breathing through the pain, I slowly made my way to the door, hoping I could alert a guard, but then I froze.
It wouldn’t be safe. No one was allowed to smell me.
During my other heats, I’d had the alpha close by at all times, so this didn’t happen, but Gus had been sent away to gods knows where doing gods knows what while I worked.
He could be anywhere. I should’ve objected to it, but I’d been too annoyed with my advisors to think clearly.
Slumping on the floor, I tried to calm my breathing. Gus would come by soon for dinner. Or Elias would waddle his way in here when I failed to return to my study. I’d be fi—
Another wave of pain sliced through my body, and with it, more slick built and trickled into my undergarments.
I groaned with anguish, then rested my cheek against the wooden floor as I panted for release.
I felt empty and alone. Hollow as intense need echoed through my omega soul.
I needed to be filled. I need to be owned.
Gus… I needed Gus.