The Forgotten Prince (Shifter Rebellion, 3) (6 page)

Pink tinged the prince’s cheeks, and
Ryllan got the impression Prince Aleth had put on a good show for
them but wasn’t nearly as experienced as he’d suggested with his
actions.

“
Why didn’t my power work
on you?”

Ryllan frowned, unsure. “You tried to
wipe my mind, did you?”

“
I did,” the prince said
unapologetically. “What power do you have that prevents me? No one
has ever been unaffected by me.”

“
Oh, I am affected, my
prince. I am very affected indeed,” Ryllan said with a sly grin. He
rolled his hips so the prince knew exactly how he’d been
affected.

Prince Aleth moaned lightly and then
gasped, as if he’d not meant for the sound to escape. Ryllan looked
down at the prince, shocked by the lust he saw in the depths of the
prince’s gaze. “Sorry to have ruined your plans for escape, but we
are your caretakers for the time being, and you’ll go where we tell
you.”

“
To another prison,” Aleth
sighed. “Just my luck.”

Ryllan shook his head, his gaze
falling again to the luscious lips the prince had. “We don’t plan
to imprison you—unless you can’t be trusted with those hands of
yours. Then we can chain you to the wall.”

Prince Aleth squirmed a little and
Ryllan felt the prince’s cock as hard as his, rubbing against his
abdomen.

“
Or perhaps chain you to
our bed,” Ryllan whispered.

Aleth’s eyes grew large again, but his
breathing quickened. The prince now stared at Ryllan’s mouth, as if
seeking another kiss. Ryllan felt obliged to give him one. He
lowered his head and captured the prince’s lips in a much fiercer
kiss, this one rough and heavy with desire. Ryllan drank from
Aleth’s lips, his hunger growing the more he kissed the
male.

Sweat beaded his brow and his cock
ached between his thighs, but Ryllan found the strength to pull
away from the tempting little prince. He climbed off the bed and
stood at the side, watching Aleth seem to struggle with his
desire.

Aleth sat up and stared at Ryllan.
“Why did you leave me? Did I not do something right?”

The question answered to Ryllan’s
assumption. Prince Aleth wasn’t the wanton. “You’re a virgin,
aren’t you?”

Aleth’s face reddened further and he
looked down at the bed—which was all the answer Ryllan needed. “Do
not play with fire, young prince. You know not what you tempt in
us.”

“
Why did you come for me?
Really? Why do I feel as if I … know you?”

Ryllan leaned against the wall,
stunned by the last question. “The Oracle told Prince Agarri you
were imprisoned in the castle, forced to help the invasion, and you
needed to be saved. We were chosen.”

“
Why the three of
you?”

Ryllan looked away. There
was no reason to tell the prince why it had been them. They didn’t
plan to mate the male, so why tell him and blur the lines?
Because your soul knows him, too. He is our mate,
and our bodies know it.
“It was the vision
the Oracle saw.”

Aleth was quiet, his stare intense.
“Why do I feel you’re lying to me?”

Ryllan gazed at the prince, not saying
a word.

Prince Aleth watched him closely, but
let it go after a moment. “What does my brother plan to do to
me?”

“
To
you? I don’t think he wants to do anything
to
you. Unless the
Oracle was wrong and you weren’t being forced to help against your
will.”

Aleth looked down again, and Ryllan
wondered what was going on in his head.

“
At first I wasn’t. After
all the years of abuse and begging on the streets, being laughed at
and taunted by other shifters, I didn’t mind helping enslave our
people. I actually … enjoyed a little … vengeance.”

Aleth crawled to the side of the bed
and placed his feet on the floor. “But then as I saw the things
they were doing to people, the fun of it all wore off rather
quickly. Anyone who spoke out against the Xakarrians was tortured.
Many were killed. The number of minds needing to be wiped and
memories altered grew staggeringly. I went to bed exhausted by what
they’d made me do day in and day out.”

The prince stood and crossed to look
at himself in the mirror. “I tried to escape several times, but
they caught me over and over again. I became a prisoner in the home
that should’ve been my birthright. I didn’t want to wipe any more
memories. I didn’t want to help them, but my father threatened my
life if I didn’t.”

“
King Stugaati
is
helping the
Xakarrians?” Ryllan asked. He’d held on to hope the news was
wrong.

“
Helping?” Aleth asked,
spinning around to look at Ryllan. “He’s leading them. The
Xakarrians are his paid enforcers. It wasn’t an invasion at all. It
was the creation of a police state with my father as dictator
instead of king.”

Ryllan couldn’t help but feel sick to
his stomach. The king they’d all sworn fealty to had let them
down.

Now Stugaati would have to be taken
down.

“
So, knowing I helped them
willingly at first, will I now be imprisoned?”

Ryllan was thoughtful a moment.
“Perhaps if you’re willing to redeem yourself, you can prevent
that.”

Aleth was quiet a moment. “Agarri
wants me to help him win.”

“
We want to free our
people. Without you helping the other side, we have a better chance
at winning. Information you give us could help turn the
tide.”

“
How do I know his motives
are better than my father’s?”

Ryllan knelt before the prince. “We
seek to make things the way they were before and give our people
their freedom back.”

“
The way things were? They
weren’t so great for me before the enslavement. Not that things
were much better after, either.” Aleth cast a glance at the silver
sleeve that hid his hand. “At least after the enslavement my belly
was always full and I didn’t have to worry where my next meal would
come from.”

A protective instinct roared up in
Ryllan’s chest. “You won’t have that problem again. I vow
it.”

Ryllan’s mouth went dry as he realized
what he’d just committed to—without his triad brother’s permission.
But he knew his brothers wouldn’t allow the prince to starve or be
abused, nor would Agarri.

Aleth looked up at Ryllan. “And why
would you vow that to me?”

Ryllan stood, unwilling to answer the
question. He backed closer to the door. “I’ll leave you to consider
our conversation.”

Prince Aleth looked up, capturing
Ryllan’s stare. “I’ve never wanted anyone before. Why do I want the
three of you so desperately?”

Ryllan was shocked a little by the raw
honesty the prince asked the question with. Did the prince sense
the connection Ryllan had to admit he felt? He’d attributed the
sensation to the oracle’s prophecy getting in his head and making
him feel things that weren’t really there. But if the prince felt
it—without knowing what the oracle said—perhaps there was some
truth in the claim.

“
I don’t know,” Ryllan
lied.

Prince Aleth looked defeated. “Do you
follow the old ways? Are you a triad?”

“
We are,” Ryllan answered,
willing to offer that up.

“
And you will claim your
mate together?”

“
No,” Ryllan said,
clenching his jaw. He wanted to scream yes. He wanted to lay claim
to Aleth then and there.

“
Why not?”

“
We’re freaks. We will
have no mate,” Ryllan answered after a moment of
contemplation.

Aleth stood and walked closer to
Ryllan. Once he arrived, he lifted a hand to the side of Ryllan’s
face, caressing his cheek just under Ryllan’s eye. “I think your
eyes are unique. They make you more handsome.”

Ryllan stood there, staring at his
prince, wanting to kiss him again. Instead, he turned his lips into
Aleth’s palm and kissed him there. If he did more, then he’d end up
bedding Aleth and breaking the promised he’d made with his
brothers.

“
I have to go, Prince
Aleth.”

Aleth stepped back, his lips turning
down. “If you must.”

“
I must,” Ryllan grit out,
but didn’t move. He couldn’t.

“
I’ve been very lonely my
entire life. I find the thought of being held in this room, alone,
very unsatisfying. You could remain here. Keep me
company?”

Aleth was so beautiful. And within
reach. He could sink into the prince’s soft body and find oblivion
there.

And Aleth would allow it.

Two lonely males, finding solace in
one another.

Was that the only reason
he wanted Aleth? There was more to this than willingness, Ryllan
was sure. Ryllan couldn’t ignore the chant of
mine, mine, mine
going on in his
head.

“
I must go.” Finally he
tore himself away and rushed out of the door. He stormed down the
hall, toward the bridge. He and his brothers had to have a
discussion.

Aleth was theirs to have.

Why did they have to choose to be
alone?

Chapter Eight

“
So far the Oracle has
been right. Prince Agarri has a twin, he was found in the castle as
expected, and we’ve rescued him. Why is it so far out to think the
prince could be ours? Prince Agarri seemed content with the idea,
so why are we fighting it?”

Because we don’t deserve
him.
Amaden stared ahead as he listened to
Ryllan’s plea. He wanted to succumb, just like both his brothers
seemed willing to do, but there was more to the prince then what
met the eye. “Prince Aleth has been toying with us from the first
moment. I won’t fall into a trap.”

“
He’s a virgin,” Ryllan
claimed.

Shock filled Amaden. A virgin? “And
you know this how? Did you sample him while you were back
there?”

Ryllan scowled in Amaden’s direction.
“No, I asked him. The resulting blush and response was all the
knowledge I needed.”

“
He could be a practiced
actor, for all we know,” Greylin added.

“
Yes, that,” Amaden
growled as he pointed in Greylin’s direction. “At least one of you
is considering there could be more to this than it appears. He has
done his damnedest to keep us on our toes since the first moment we
laid eyes on him. And how do we know he hasn’t wiped your mind and
added whatever information he wanted to? We don’t know the limits
of his power. We must be vigilant.”

Ryllan let out an exasperated sigh.
“Then come with me. One of you, come with me and let’s go and test
him.”

“
Test him how?” Greylin
asked.

“
We’ll see if he’s a
virgin or not,” Ryllan answered.

Amaden laughed. “Oh, that’s rich. You
test his honesty by taking his body. And give him the opportunity
to clear your mind as well?”

“
He tried,” Ryllan said.
“He made the attempt to wipe my memories, and his power didn’t work
on me.”

“
Or maybe it did,” Amaden
said. “And you only remember what he wants you to.”

Ryllan growled, jumping to his feet
and showing his temper. “Why must it always be moving in circles
with you, Amaden? I know we’ve never had happiness in this world.
We were raised to think we were less and undeserving of anything.
We’ve been given a gift in the prince, and we will continue to be
alone and unhappy if we don’t take the blessing set in our lap.
Yes, it might be a trap. Yes, we might be asking for trouble. But
the reward is worth it.”

“
You’d give up our kingdom
for that shifter?” Amaden asked. “Because if he wipes our minds,
our people are lost.”

“
Before we left, you were
wondering why we were helping to fight this war. Now it’s a shield
you’re using to fight your feelings for the prince,” Greylin said.
“We both know you’ve had eyes for Agarri. We see how you’ve stared
at him, with longing in your gaze. His twin sits in the bedroom,
alone and scared, wanting to be touched. Wanting to be held. And
you sit here refusing to give in.”

“
And you were sure we’d
prove ourselves to our brethren and have them accept us for once by
fighting at their side. What do you think they’d think of us if we
failed here?” Amaden asked Greylin.

“
I think we follow in
Prince Agarri’s footsteps and trust the Oracle, just as he does.
Prince Agarri said that his brother would need us to overcome the
anger he feels. Leaving him alone to ponder his future won’t make
that happen,” Greylin shot back.

Ryllan cut in. “Greylin, come with me.
Let Amaden stew in his own mind if he can’t see reason.”

Greylin looked to Amaden, as if
seeking his permission.

“
This is Agarri’s brother.
A prince. Not some whore from the whorehouses in the quadrant.
We’ve fucked our share of males, but this one is different. Once
you’ve had him, you can’t just walk away,” Amaden said,
exasperated.