Taken, Lane L.V. [free novels to read .TXT] 📗

the four of us brothers. And twice as easily now that she’s with child.”

Yes, Belle’s antics have also become a source of joy for the castle residents. She certainly knows enough cursing words that she is happy to teach to Priya.

None of this was unusual for an Alpha who has claimed an Omega. They need attention, rutting, and discipline. It is an Alpha’s duty to deal with both needs whenever and wherever necessary.

“I thought she would be less trouble once she was mated,” Bram says, staring pensively at the letter from the King that sits upon his desk.

“Belle?” Silas asks.

“No, Priya,” Bram says, gesturing absently toward me.

“I dare say she is less trouble,” I say dryly. “For you have passed that trouble on to me.”

Silas chuckles. He was a surly bastard before claiming Belle, and his newfound bouts of humor still catch me off guard. The laughter draws a rueful smile from Bram. “There is no easy path to travel when one acquires an Omega. Belle has a capacity for mischief that is a constant source of wonder. Do you know she has claimed the last litter of piglets as her personal pets?”

My lips twitch. It’s good to have a distraction from my worries over Priya. “Is it a big litter?” I venture to ask.

“Ten pigs,” he says. “Where the fuck am I supposed to put ten pigs?”

“She has named the fucking things,” Silas states sourly, his earlier humor gone. “Nate is incensed. He only has to look at a pig to break out in a cold sweat. Now we have all but adopted ten of the cursed things.”

I’m amused by this tale, but my amusement never lasts long, for sadness waits on my periphery. “I would suffer ten pigs gladly, if only Priya’s scent would change.”

“Have you considered who it might be?” Bram asks.

I shake my head, but my mind immediately returns to the cryptic letter I received from Raglan all those months ago. He is gone now, an enemy of the King, sentenced to death, and subsequently escaped. That he was once like a brother to me has no bearing on the now. “I can think of no one,” I say. “And the lads have lived at the castle for the most part. They have little memories of the before.”

I find Bram studying me in a way I find disconcerting. “No one at all? I’ve never heard of bonding outside brothers where the mates were not existing friends . . . close existing friends.” He leans back in his chair.

 “She keeps sneaking out,” Silas says. “This behavior is well documented where an Omega’s scent does not change. She cannot help herself from seeking her final mate . . . or mates.”

My eyes narrow on Silas. It would seem he is either suspiciously knowledgeable or has been talking to Ubold.

“There will not be a fucking fifth mate,” I say with more vehemence than is respectful to a man who is as much my lord as Bram is.

Silas grins and turns to Bram. “That’s fifty silver pieces you owe me.”

“It is assuredly not yet won,” Bram counters, gesturing toward me like I’m not enraged that they have been placing bets upon me. “He has not confirmed he knows the fourth man. Perhaps he is merely expressing disgruntlement that there may be a fifth, or even sixth, mate required before Priya is sufficiently sated. Speaking from practical experience, the bed can get crowded enough with four . . . And then there is the rutting. One might need to employ a rostering system.”

My jaw turns slack at the mention of a sixth mate and rostering before I snap my mouth shut.

“He knows him,” Silas says a little smugly, and I barely temper the urge to punch him. “Don’t you?” Silas turns to me, facing me boldly, challenging me to dispute that I do, in fact, know who the fourth man and mate to Priya might be.

“Aye,” I say, unable to keep the bitterness from my voice. “There is such a man who was like a brother to me. During my time in the Imperium Guard, we fought together against the Blighten. But he is not for Priya. Likely, he is already dead. But if he is not, you can rest assured that I would be the first in the queue to end him. Raglan is a former close friend to the King. The man was sentenced to hang by said King’s command, has subsequently escaped and is on the run. I pray that Priya never crosses paths with such scum.”

Only, I don’t think Raglan is scum. But I think he is a man who skirts the edge of chaos. He always has and always will. The humor that filled the room so short a time ago is gone. “The Goddess is indeed mysterious,” Bram says sadly. “For without him, or an opportunity for Priya to meet and reject him, her scent may never change.”

I’m sick to my core, for I know had Priya met the version of Raglan I once called my friend, she would have easily come to love, accept, and bond with him. Once, he was like a brother. Now he is a traitor that I would gladly kill on sight.

CHAPTER SIX

Hawthorn

CADEN AND BROOK are still on patrol when I collect Priya from her mother’s day room where she is taking tea with Belle and her mother. The three women are sitting before the window, laughing over some mischief. Before them on the table, a former honey cake has been reduced to crumbs.

I shake my head. She will never eat any dinner tonight.

She turns toward me as she hears my entry, dark ringleted hair cascading over her shoulder, dark eyes flashing with merriment, and cheeks a little flushed. Shep sits leaning against her chair, head laid upon her lap. Knowing Priya, the mutt has been receiving regular treats.

Her beauty momentarily robs me of thought and breath.