Tal waited for Blaze to continue, his heart pounding in his chest, his instincts screaming he wouldn't like the punishment.
When longs seconds went by with no further word from Blaze and no sign from the One, a deity he couldn't be sure actually existed, Tal shouted through their mental link.
"Blaze! What the hell happens if they are not true mates?"
"If it is discovered the Alpha King tried to pass off someone as Alpha Queen who was not his true mate, they will both be consumed by fire for all eternity,"
Blaze whispered the words to Tal's mind.
His body frozen in fear, Tal began to look around frantically, his eyes searching for a sign from the One, hoping these wouldn't be his last moments alive. He hadn't found Josie, his parents were probably worried as hell, and, if he was being honest with himself, he'd like to have sex with Blaze at least one more time. He suddenly gasped when a warm heat surrounded his entire body before settling in his stomach. He glanced up at Blaze, struggling not to show fear, to not jump out of the seat and go running back towards Edifice. Certain the One had found his mating with Blaze to be lacking, he had no way to be prepared for the feeling sweeping over him, the feeling of a warm hand that settled over his flat abdomen. He felt as if he were being rocked or caressed from the inside out. The hand left as quickly as it had appeared and on the floor before his chair an array of flowers and gold appeared as if they were placed upon an altar as an offering. An offering to him? Or from him?
Tal lifted his gaze to Blaze, only to see his big mate's eyes swimming with tears. Very scary. He hadn't known his mate longer than a day, but he didn't seem the type to cry. They had received a visual acknowledgement from the One, hadn't they? Or were they about to be consumed by fire even as they stared at each other?
"What happened?" he whispered to Blaze, ignoring the mutterings and murmurings of the Elders before him.
He wanted Blaze to explain everything, no one else.
Blaze swallowed thickly before responding, "The One has blessed our mating and gave us a gift of flowers. We were also given gifts of congratulations to the children growing within you," he explained.
Tal's eyebrows flew to his hairline, "Children? What children? As in multiple?" Forgetting his need for decorum, he leapt out of the seat and gestured wildly, "What the fuck do you mean children, Blaze? How do you know? How would the One know? And how the hell can you tell that from some flowers and gold and—This. Is. Bullshit! How do you know?" he asked frantically, only vaguely aware of the room full of Elders taking their seats while they observed the royal couple.
"I watched as your belly glowed as if from within, which means the One was aware of the fact you are pregnant," Blaze began.
"But we don't know that! How could he… she… it… the One know, when I, the person actually having the baby, didn't know it?" Tal exclaimed, slightly hysterical.
He paced back and forth in front of his chair, aware that everyone was looking at him but not caring. "This cannot be happening. I just met him yesterday. We just mated yesterday. I don't even know him. He doesn't even know me. How can I be pregnant? I can't be pregnant. And he said children. Not child… children. How can this 'One' know?" he muttered beneath his breath before collapsing back into his abandoned throne.
"The One knows all," the small and tardy elder said with a small smile towards Tal.
Tal tried to smile back but found it slightly impossible.
"This is true Elder Saungfreid." Blaze nodded to the small elder with a smile. "It's just an accepted fact. Just as our being fated to be mates is an accepted fact."
"Okay, so how do you know it's children and not child? And how many children?" Tal asked dazedly. "Did the One tell you how many children I'm carrying?"
Tal sounded exhausted, but only because he felt that way. His emotions were scattered all over the place. He wanted to blame it on his apparent pregnancy, but he couldn't. His life had so dramatically changed over the last thirty-six hours. He wanted Josie. She always knew how to calm him down… he wanted his mother, he needed his mother. He'd even take his father or his cyber friend 'Mail S', anything to regain a sense of normalcy again.
Blaze nodded towards the gifts at Tal's feet. "There are six crowns there, one of them, the biggest one, is for you, all Alpha Queens receive their crowns directly from the One. The other five are for our children. The One has provided their crowns, and the flowers are given as blessings also. All one color, purple, with only one flower being pink, that means that we are having four boys and one girl," Blaze interpreted, his voice filled with excitement.
"F-f-five! You're trying to tell me I'm pregnant with five babies? Five?" Tal screamed.
The Elders all covered their ears at the high pitched sound but Tal didn't care. He'd like one of them to find out they were pregnant with five children all at the same time, and see how they reacted.
Blaze quickly knelt before him and Tal's face flushed hot, seconds before he got lightheaded and woozy. He had been passing out a lot lately… well, ever since he'd crashed landed on Tumaro. He never used to pass out on Edifice. It had to be either the atmosphere on the planet or all the changes occurring in his life, new mate, new title, new pregnancy… he'd have to go with the latter reason.
"Tal? Love? Are you okay?"
Blaze asked.
Tal had to reassure his mate, the concern and worry pouring through their mental link wouldn't be an image Blaze should be putting forth in front of the Elders.
"Yeah… sure… I-I just… I need… s-some air," Tal stuttered as he stood, before promptly passing out into his mate's arms.
CHAPTER TEN
Blaze closed the door to the bedroom and massaged the back of his neck. With a sigh, he turned to the other occupant of the room.
"How's he doing, Alpha?" Mailon asked.
Blaze shrugged and walked over to the electronic bar. "Drink?" he asked.
"Please," Mailon responded
Blaze nodded before pressing the necessary buttons to get two glasses of Volauntic Fire; sweeter than Vamprincian Flow and not quite as potent, it still did a very good job of calming the nerves. He walked over and handed a glass to Mailon before sitting in armchair next to the couch in the sitting room. He so wanted to take off his boots and his button-down blue shirt and black pants. He'd already tossed off the royal robe he never left the suite of rooms without, but no matter how close he and Mailon got, he never got too comfortable or in this case, too casual, in front of the man.
Blaze took a healthy gulp of his drink and Mailon did the same. He grinned when Mailon swirled the pale blue liquid around in his glass at the exact same time Blaze did, neither speaking as they both gathered their thoughts.
"Any word?" Blaze asked after a few minutes of silence. Mailon nodded before leaning back heavily into the cushions.
"Got a message from Lorthander. Master Torqran is planning to use someone here on Tumaro to carry out his plan," Mailon responded. He sighed and Blaze shook his head. "You know who he's using."
Blaze nodded. He appreciated Mailon not naming a name. Both knew who Torqran would use. Elder Bryce. Fury rolled in Blaze's gut at the thought of the Elder's betrayal and he took another sip of his drink to calm his anger.
"He tell you what the plan is yet?" Blaze asked before taking another healthy swallow of his drink.
"Nope. Just keeps saying that he can't fully betray his mate and that we just need to stay on guard." Mailon lifted a shoulder and shook his head, his lips lifting in a sneer.
Blaze sighed in frustration and annoyance. Mailon kept things held very closely to the chest and getting details sometimes felt like trying to squeeze blood from a turnip. He smirked at the old Earth saying that seemed to work so well in this situation. He knew, subconsciously, Mailon's refusal to be forthcoming protected Blaze and while grateful, he just wished sometimes Mailon would share everything that he knew when he knew it.
He looked over at Mailon. The smaller man smiled back and it took Blaze back almost a decade. Mailon's smile had drawn Blaze in from the very first. The long black hair, thick and soft to the touch, and Mailon's full lips coupled with the small, firm body only added to the package. Blaze immediately tried to hook up with Mailon, but had to stop almost as soon as he got started. He hadn't been aware of what type of shifter Mailon was, but discovered it almost as soon as he'd entered him. He had certainly felt the pull of power from the other man, but it hadn't been until the very moment of penetration when it had become clear why. Not even Mailon had known his true nature or position in the pack. Now they both knew, though no one else did, and they were using it to their every advantage.
"He doesn't know you're an Epsilon, right?" Blaze asked and used a warning tone.
The other wolf scoffed and tried to hide his grin. Of course Mailon hid his true nature from everyone just as much as Blaze did. Epsilons were rare, even rarer than Omegas, and before the Great Destruction, when Tumarons and wolf shifters were spread out over the galaxy and all over Earth, Epsilons had been hunted by their Alphas. Blaze had never understood why, but his father explained that because Epsilons were small but deadly warriors and more powerful than Alphas, most Alphas felt threatened. They didn't realize Epsilons were to be used to help the pack, to strengthen the Alpha. Most could be used to gain power as spies, or secret weapons. Their small frames usually lulled their opponents into a sense of security, and most Epsilons were thought to be Omegas for that very reason. But once the opponent had been drawn into a sort of false peace, the Epsilon could get all of the information they needed and then were able, if necessary, to dispose of the informant with little to no fuss.
Omegas were peacemakers, oftentimes changing the atmosphere of an entire room just by walking into it and willing it to be so. Omegas were small in stature, wolves full of emotion and a special power that allowed them to be able to control the feeling of a person by touching them. While there weren't many who knew it, Blaze's father had left notes suggesting Omegas were extremely fertile, with the men capable of getting pregnant. There hadn't been many Omegas born on Tumaro, perhaps due to the fact they had been mistreated centuries before, held against their will, raped, and beaten by the Alpha King in power and his beta. The One had obviously seen fit to prevent Omegas from being born on the planet until they could be appreciated and when Blaze had discovered he had one in his own kingdom, he'd been beyond excited. Having an Epsilon as well as an Omega exceeded anything he could have hoped for.
Now if only he could have a Zeta, Delta, Iota, Kappa and a Theta or two, his kingdom, his 'pack' would be the strongest in the galaxy and he wouldn't have to worry about trying to keep his mate and their children safe.
Blaze might enjoy having an Epsilon in his pack, but he didn't want Mailon being used against him, so it remained imperative Mailon's true identity always be kept a secret.
"Of course he doesn't know. No one knows except you and me, Alpha. As a matter of fact, I wanted to ask you a question about that. If I get mated—or you know when"—Mailon gave a self-deprecating smile—"should I tell him?"
Blaze smiled in return. "I wouldn't tell him at first. Only if you need to. There are some things our mates just don't need to be aware of," he responded.
"Oh really? And just what are these things?" Tal said from the open doorway.
Blaze's head swung around. The younger man had obviously changed and now wore a shimmery gold shirt with tight, form fitting brown pants, though his feet were bare and his hair hung loosely about his shoulders. In one hand he held the messenging device Blaze had given him earlier that morning and the other hand rested on his hip. He stared at Blaze awaiting a response.
Blaze grinned sheepishly. "Matters of royal business, my dear. Things that even the Alpha Queen can't be privy to," he lied.
Tal nodded but Blaze knew the other man didn't believe him and he'd landed in trouble… again. He seemed doomed to keep fucking up when it came to his mate.
Tal merely smiled before he lifted up the messenging device. "Look, Blaze! My friend Mail wrote me. He must be really worried that I haven't written him back yet."
Blaze opened his mouth to respond when he noticed Mailon's face had paled and the other man stood to his feet slowly.
"Tal Vers?" Mailon whispered in wonder and Tal froze in place.
"No shit! Mail S?" Tal exclaimed.
Blaze watched in bemused amusement when both men nodded and then he growled possessively when they raced towards each other and embraced in a fierce hug. He rose to his feet quickly and pulled them apart, wrapping his arms around Tal from behind and growling at Mailon. He looked down at Tal when his mate started to laugh.
"Forgive him, he's a little possessive," Tal chuckled.
"No, no. It's my fault. Forgive me, Your Highness. I forgot myself for a moment," Mailon apologized.
Blaze nodded in acquiescence though he couldn't stop the growl that still rumbled in his chest.
He also couldn't keep the possessiveness at bay. "Mine!" He rubbed his face in the crook of Tal's neck, his hands moving all over the other man's body, and he became aroused by the feeling of his mate in his arms.