Percy turned towards the bed, snubbing, dismissing, and ignoring his errant mate.
"You know we don't consider you a servant, Percy," Blaze stated.
Tal placed his hand on Blaze's elbow and slightly shook his head, stopping whatever tirade the Alpha had been about to get into. Percy could tell Tal advised Blaze to not get involved, but Percy could have saved Tal the effort. They had nothing, nothing to get involved in. Ignoring the re-breaking of his heart at the realization he would truly never be with his mate, Percy squared his shoulders and mentally put up walls around his fragile emotions to guard himself from any further run-ins with Buck. They were unavoidable. They both lived in the palace. The Beta Prince and the assistant to the Alpha, and the pack's…well, his secret role within the pack wouldn't be significant. No one suspected him of being such a precious member of the pack. Nobody had ever stopped to wonder why his presence would always be requested and why their feelings seemed to be controlled or tempered by it. They thought him an orphan, taken in by the royal family after the untimely deaths of his parents, and for the most part people pitied him. The pity and their own egos kept most of the pack from discovering his real value, which Blaze had discovered within five minutes of meeting him. Percy didn't care about the pack and their view of him, however. The only thing that mattered? His fated mate didn't think Percy worthy, and he would be destined to always be reminded of that fact.
Every. Single. Day.
"Thank you for the kind sentiment, Alpha King," Percy bowed, going overboard with the formalities, but using them to distance himself from the Roughshires.
He would bide his time until he either met someone else or he could leave Tumaro. He couldn't stay, not now.
"You know we consider you a member of our family, Percy, don't be ridiculous," Buck said in a tight voice, his hands clenched by his side.
"And anyone that tells you different is a liar and I want you to bring them to me so I can deal with them," Blaze interjected.
Percy struggled not to turn accusing eyes in Buck's direction. It would be so easy to tell Blaze how Buck had been the one to say those very words the night before. Given it as the reason why they couldn't mate. But Percy couldn't do that, because regardless of all of the hell and bullshit his mate put him through, he still loved him. He would do anything to protect Buck, even keep his pain buried as much as possible, as well as the secrets he held within himself. He'd planned on sharing the secrets he held with Buck when they mated, but that would never happen now it seemed.
"You made it perfectly clear last night that I'm nothing more to you than just a lowly servant," Percy hissed underneath his breath so only Buck could hear him.
Quickly composing himself, he turned to formally bow to Blaze and Tal. "I'll return shortly with a fresh breakfast tray for you," Percy bowed again before throwing an angry glare at Buck and rushing back through the door and out into the hallway.
* * * *
Blaze watched Buck when Percy rushed off. Blaze felt extremely sorry for his brother and Tal's own sadness filtered through their mate bond.
He followed his brother's gaze when it swiftly turned towards Tal who couldn't contain his sniffles.
"Baby, what's wrong?" Blaze asked, pulling Tal to his chest.
Tal gulped and Blaze knew it was in an effort to soothe his wayward emotions. "How can you deny your mate like that?" He whispered in a broken voice, his eyes boring into Buck's.
Hearing someone voice his suspicions out loud, Blaze felt confusion swirl through his mind. Buck wanted Percy. Blaze could smell the arousal and need on his brother's skin whenever he got within Percy's vicinity, and yet Percy remained unclaimed. A blind man could see they wanted each other. So why the hell were they still apart?
Now that he'd found and claimed his own mate, Blaze couldn't understand why Buck would deny his. A great guy, Percy would be perfect for Buck—they would be perfect for each other. Blaze was confused by his brother's reticence. A memory of his brother, battered and bruised, smelling of different species, blood, semen, and urine niggled at the back of his mind and Blaze wondered if perhaps Buck's hesitation had something to do with what happened to him at the age of sixteen. Not wanting to bring up such a painful subject, especially in front of his new mate, Blaze kept his mouth shut.
"It's not that simple. There are complications, problems, things I can't get into or explain." Buck sighed and stared at Tal, his face open and vulnerable, his eyes filled with grief, despair and hopelessness, begging for understanding. "I would like nothing more than to claim my mate, but it's too dangerous for him if I do. And his safety is the most important thing to me," he explained then added, "Your Highness."
Though Blaze couldn't understand denying a mate for any reason, especially when he'd found his own, he did understand the need to go to any lengths to keep your fated life partner safe and did not comment on the matter further. He knew Buck. There would come a time when he would explain all, just not now. Blaze could feel Tal's need to press Buck for more information, the questions swirling through their mating bond, but Blaze squeezed the younger man in his arms and breathed an unnoticed sigh of relief when Tal merely closed his mouth.
"Did you need something, Buck?" he questioned instead.
"Oh, yes, of course. Elder Mailon Saungfreid has requested a private audience with you and your new mate," Buck informed them. "At your earliest convenience, of course."
"Wow, word sure does travel fast. Blaze only claimed me yesterday," Tal exclaimed. "No one knew except you, me, and Buck, that we were mates. Unless you went and told everyone this morning. But I don't think that would have been enough time for it to reach an Elder. What do they have? Cameras and sensors watching or something?"
Blaze smiled, finding Tal's freedom in speaking his mind very refreshing. "Whenever the Alpha King is mated, when he has found his true mate, the candles in the temple flame blue and then red before turning white. They then flicker out until the mating is complete and then they light again. That won't happen again until a new Alpha King is named and has found his true mate," Blaze explained.
"Oh! That sounds so cool. I would love to see that." Tal exclaimed, blushing when he realized the impossibility.
Blaze gazed down fondly. "Maybe with our firstborn son, baby," he told Tal, kissing his temple.
He cleared his throat and sat up at the sight of Buck raising his eyebrows in shock at the open display of affection.
"Your son?" Buck asked incredulously. "You two have already discussed finding a surrogate? Blaze! You only mated him last night. I mean… Your Highness, don't you think you were being slightly hasty in speaking about a surrogate with your mate of twelve hours?"
"Tal is Vermithian," Blaze stated proudly, pulling his mate close to his side and chuckling at his brother's amazement.
Tal smiled sheepishly, his fingers nervously plucking at the golden sheets covering the huge king-sized bed.
"Really? Congrats, bro! Vermithians only have a gestational period of six months." Buck clapped Blaze on his bare shoulder.
Blaze became extremely aware of his bare chest as well as Tal's state of undress. Unable to stop the growl emanating from his throat, he glared at his brother, blinking in surprise when Tal giggled. How could his mate laugh when Blaze growled about another man being in the room with him while he was naked?
"Your growl is so sexy, Blaze." Tal grinned and pressed his lips against Blaze's softly.
Unable to control his lust for his mate, Blaze kissed him back deeply and passionately, dimly aware of his brother leaving the bedroom and closing the door behind him.
"God, baby, you're so beautiful," Blaze rasped, gazing down at the features of his gorgeous mate.
"You don't have to say that, I'm already your mate," Tal joked.
Blaze had despaired of ever meeting his true mate. He had to hide his sexuality and love for men from the Elders since they didn't approve of a same-sex mating by their ruler. He'd come so close to finally deciding to find a female to marry, genuinely considering Anglania, in order to obtain heirs when he had been told of the crash and had walked into the clinic to find his true mate. A man so beautiful he took Blaze's breath away and to show the crazy wisdom of fate, his mate turned out to be Vermithian, more than capable of providing him the heirs he wanted, while still being a man which he so desired.
"I know I don't have to, but you are beautiful. And since I'm not using flattery or compliments to entice you to mate with me, you know I'm speaking the truth. And as the Alpha, I have to speak the truth, and since I am king, you must never doubt my words," Blaze pointed out, pleased with his brilliant, quick thinking.
"Yes, Your Highness," Tal responded cheekily, before sticking out his tongue.
Blaze grinned when Tal squealed after Blaze swooped down to plant a smoldering kiss on his mate's lips, drifting down over his chin before Blaze placed his nose in the crook of the smaller man's neck to sniff deeply. His wolf growled and panted happily at the scent of his mate, wanting to mark him again. He detected the smell of his wolf on his mate, but it wasn't enough. Rubbing his face on either side of Tal's face, he spread his scent all over him, smiling when Tal giggled.
"Blaze! What on Edifice are you doing?" Tal gasped out in between bursts of laughter.
"Covering you in my scent," Blaze stated before raising his head.
Tal smiled, then jokingly asked with a sarcastic tone, "Did you mark me enough or would you rather piss around me just to be sure?"
Blaze's eyes widened at his mate's words before a startled laugh escaped his throat. "You are absolutely delightful."
"Glad you think so," Tal stated cheekily before climbing from the bed and walking naked towards a closed door on the other side of the room.
"Why are you going to the closet, my love? Have you no desire to shower before you dress?" Blaze teased, aware the other man probably didn't remember the location of the en suite bathroom.
Tal paused and gave a sigh of exasperation, "Well, where the hell is the bathroom?"
Stifling his laughter, very aware it could cause his mate to retaliate in an unwelcome fashion, Blaze rose from the bed and strode forward. Taking Tal's arm gently, he led him across the large master bedroom.
"This is our en suite bathroom"—he directed the younger man before gesturing to the set of double doors directly across from them—"those lead to our sitting area which is right next to our library and on the other side of that is the nursery."
Tal stiffened at the mention of the nursery before turning slowly to face Blaze. "Why is the nursery so far away from our bedroom?" he asked.
"So the nanny won't be scandalized by our lovemaking," Blaze informed him honestly, seeing no problem with the distance between the nursery and their bedroom.
It had always been the tradition. How things were done. Why change things set up before he'd even been old enough to experience his first shift? His father had been the greatest Alpha King that Tumaro had ever known, everyone always said so. It had even been recorded that way in the history books. He followed his father's instructions to the letter and nowhere in there had it said for him to question anything.
"What nanny?" Tal asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Our nanny. The one who will raise our children," Blaze explained calmly, aware his mate had not come from royalty and might not understand.
He escorted Tal into the bathroom with a hand on his elbow.
Tal stopped their forward movement and peered up questioningly. "Why is someone else raising our children? Someone other than us?" he queried.
"That's the way it has always been done, love," Blaze explained. "The Alpha King and Queen of Tumaro are too busy to raise their own children. They birth them and then the nanny raises them for the most part. They visit occasionally of course." He shrugged and tamped down the deep-seated hurt at the non-existent relationship he'd had with his parents until he'd come of age at fourteen and could be trained and educated to be an Alpha. He had vague memories, flashes of images of his mother singing to him and rocking him to sleep, but until he'd reached puberty, his life had been filled with nannies, tutors, and Elders. Buck had received more attention from their mother, which had made Blaze extremely envious, but by that point, he'd finally become useful to his father and spent most of his time with the then Alpha King. It could have been much worse. His parents had regaled him with stories of royal Alpha families from centuries past and he'd been lucky, but he still felt as if he'd missed out on so much those first fourteen years because of tradition. He missed his parents a lot now, missed the fun times they'd had together once he'd come of age, but perhaps he missed the times he could've had with them even much more.
He wouldn't mope or complain about it though. His father had been raised the same. Besides, Blaze hadn't been adversely affected by it. He'd become well learned, well-traveled, and now mated. Even now he could be expecting his first litter. His people weren't revolting. As a matter of fact, most said he'd become just as good an Alpha King as his father. Blaze couldn't possibly hope for anything better. His children, his and Tal's, would be fine being raised by a nanny.