Rise of the King (King of Prey)

by Mandy M. Roth

  Every ounce of restraint was called for within Lazar. Sabrina was so close, tempting and so willing. Damned be the bird gods. He wasn’t what she deserved. She deserved more. Better than him, yet he couldn’t fathom walking away from her.

  Her tiny frame begged to be protected, loved, sampled for all eternity. Already he’d confirmed her kisses were identical to those he’d dreamed of. Would being in her feel the same?

  His cock throbbed with need.

  He didn’t want proper. He wanted to be balls-deep in her. He wanted to release so much seed in her there was no question she carried his offspring. He wanted more than he had a right to ask from her. He’d lain with so many women. He’d used countless cunts to try to satisfy his manly needs. None worked.

  Now, when he finally had the one woman created for him, he felt like a fraud before her. A whore. One who should be king of his people and Sabrina his queen. Now she was simply the mate to the whore traitor.

  Chapter Seven

  Lazar, still damp from his shower, finished dressing in a different set of clothing Gardelle had provided him with for the new day and headed out of one of the guestrooms just as Lisa was leaving the other. She caught his eye and smiled. While the smile held the temptation of sex, he didn’t get the sense she was offering, and even if she was, he wasn’t interested. Only Sabrina interested him.

  “Morning,” she said.

  “More like good afternoon,” he corrected. They’d returned from the nightclub after last call, spent the night deep in conversation about everything yet truly nothing at all and had only retired at the sight of the morning sun rising. It seemed as though the house had slept the day away.

  Lisa inhaled. “Mmm, smell that? That’s Brina’s cooking. I’d know it anywhere. The girl is magik in the kitchen.”

  She grabbed Lazar’s arm and tugged, hurrying down the stairs and in the direction of the kitchen. Lisa came to a grinding halt at the entranceway. She put a finger to her lips and then pointed to Sabrina.

  Lazar looked to find his mate busily preparing what seemed to be a feast of sorts. Her long hair was braided and wrapped up tightly, showing off her classically beautiful features. The dress she wore was similar in style to the one she’d had on last night. This one was pale pink and more frilly on the ends than the other. Her legs were left showing, and the very sight of them made him hard. Everything about Sabrina did.

  He wanted the feel of her lips upon his once more. Her kisses had chased away his inner demons. They’d filled the void he’d had in his heart for so long.

  Music played at a low level, and Sabrina danced her way to the stove. The action made Lazar smile like a lovesick fool. Lisa giggled softly and nodded, still pointing at Sabrina.

  Sabrina’s ass began to move in exact rhythm with the beat. It was all too easy to picture her above him, riding him with the same hip movements—taking him deep. She danced around the kitchen, preparing the meal, dancing the entire time. Her body was hypnotic. Never had he wanted a woman so. He wanted to rush into the room, toss her onto the counter and bury himself so deep into her that she screamed his name.

  He tensed. Since he’d come to live among the hawks, his bed partners for the most part had been hawk females. While they welcomed him willingly into their bodies, they still spoke to him as though he were the enemy. Some spit at him during sex, others clawed at his neck and face, telling him he was filth as they begged him to fuck them harder. He didn’t mind. He craved the rough, angry sex. It reaffirmed how he’d felt since he’d become an outcast among his own kind—like a traitor.

  He looked longingly at Sabrina, wondering if she too would spit at him, cursing his name as he pleasured her body. When still among the Falcons, he’d had countless lovers in his long lifespan. None really held his interest, and he loved none. They’d not spit and hit at him. They’d tried their best to ensnare him—praying and doing all they could to conceive the impossible. A child.

  Had one of them managed, it would have meant he was their mate. The woman would have found herself living a life of luxury. As a royal guard, for any side really, compensation and prestige followed. Even under Kabril’s rule, Lazar held a similar position as he had with his own kind. But the hawks didn’t view him as one of them yet. Money meant little to him. Respect meant everything to him. Or at least it had until meeting Sabrina.

  Unable to stop himself, he stepped into the kitchen, wanting to pull her into his arms and kiss her. She turned, a knife in hand, at the same moment. Gasping, she looked up and let the knife fly at him. Lazar’s reflexes were far superior to any human’s, yet he found himself narrowly missing taking the knife to the head. It embedded into the wall directly behind him, in the exact spot his head would have been had he not moved quickly.

  Sabrina’s brown eyes widened and grew moist. She cupped her mouth and then ran at him, tossing her arms out wide as she threw herself against him. “Ohmygod. Ohmygod. I’m so sorry. Ohmygod.”

  “Nice!” Lisa exclaimed, ever the one to interject nonsense in a serious time. “You’ve got to teach me that, girlfriend.”

  Ignoring her friend, Sabrina patted Lazar’s body, checking for injury, and he smiled, taking hold of her wrists. She was so close, so perfect and so accessible. As much as he wanted to sample her lips, he knew better than to try. She wasn’t one of the whores he’d become accustomed to. She was a woman, a lady who demanded respect.

  She’s my mate.

  He could barely control himself. He lifted her arms, returning them to their position around his neck. He put his hands on her hips. As he bent to whisper to her, he inhaled her sweet scent. His entire body ached to be in her. “You missed.”

  Barely.

  She blinked up at him, and fat tears ran down her cheeks. Lazar dipped his head more and used his mouth to kiss them away. She didn’t protest. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his neck tighter, her heart beating madly. “I’m so sorry.”

  “All is well,” he encouraged. His lips brushed hers, and they both stiffened at the act. As Sabrina closed her eyes and tilted her head to one side, Lazar realized she was welcoming a kiss. He went in for it, pleased to know her feelings had not changed come morning light.

  Their tongues had only just touched when the kiss was rudely interrupted by Lisa. Her laughter filled the room. “Enough with the lip locking, or just get a room before Gardelle spots you. I played heck with him when he noticed the two of you making out on the dance floor. Man, he is overprotective.”

  Sabrina teared up again. “I’m so sorry, Lazar.”

  “Take it easy, Brina,” Lisa said. “The guy is fine. You missed him by a long shot.”

  Lazar wasn’t sure what a long shot was in her world, but in his, that was not it. Seasoned warriors threw with less accuracy than he’d witnessed Sabrina doing.

  “Someone want to tell me what’s going on?” Gardelle asked, entering the room. He arched a brow, his scarred side pulling slightly at the sight of Sabrina in Lazar’s arms. “And why, exactly, is there a knife in the wall?”

  Sabrina’s tears returned, and she cried harder this time.

  Lazar lifted her in his arms, her feet dangling. He put his forehead to hers, their noses touching. It was intimate in a way he wasn’t used to. “Little mouse, I am fine. Cry no more, or I will be forced to lay you out and kiss every inch of you to chase away your sorrow.”

  She hiccupped and tensed.

  He laughed softly and kissed the tip of her nose. “Something smells delicious.” He wagged his brows. “In case you’re wondering, it’s you. The food is a very close second though.”

  Gardelle made an odd noise as if choking on nothing but thin air.

  Lazar set Sabrina down, and she scurried away, glancing nervously over her shoulder to him and then to the knife in the wall. Lisa moved into action, assisting her best friend and taking Sabrina’s focus from the events at hand. The two women began taking food into the dining room.

  Once alone with Gardelle, Lazar faced the man.

/>   Gardelle was eying the knife. “She did this?”

  He nodded. “I startled her.”

  “Lucky she’s not a better aim,” Gardelle said with a slight smile.

  Lazar didn’t laugh. Shifter males had amazing reflexes, and to narrowly avoid something such as a knife being thrown at them was saying something. “Her aim was excellent. I only just missed taking that to the skull.”

  Gardelle pried the knife from the wall and stared down at it. “The force she must have thrown this with to embed it as far as it was…”

  “She is more like our kind than I believe even you suspected,” Lazar said, slight pride welling in him.

  “Even our women would not be able to throw a knife in such a way,” Gardelle countered. “I can barely think of any of the young male recruits who could do as much. And they have been raised in the ways of knives and weaponry and have centuries under their belts.”

  “Ah, Gardelle,” Lazar said. “You’re forgetting one thing. Sabrina is far from any woman I know. Our kind or not.”

  Gardelle nodded but seemed lost in thought while looking at the knife. “Do you think someone has trained her? Or do you believe the act purely instinctual?”

  Lazar thought upon it. He wasn’t sure he liked his response. “A touch of both?”

  Gardelle met his gaze. “The only other shifter I am aware of her knowing is Latravis. I do not think he would train her to protect herself, do you?”

  Lazar snorted. “No. A woman capable of splitting his skull is not a woman he would wish to have around. I believe he would keep any and all sharp objects from her for fear his personality would gift him a slit throat from her.”

  “You two coming?” Lisa asked, peeking her head into the kitchen.

  Lazar couldn’t help but notice the way Gardelle’s gaze lingered over the female. For a man who was supposedly terrified to be alone with the vixen, his gaze seemed to say otherwise. It said he was busy undressing her in his mind.

  He was an unmated warrior. As far as Lazar knew, Gardelle had never found his life mate, nor did the man seem to take much interest in the opposite sex. Perhaps he did have his sights set upon a female, but for reasons all unto himself, he denied it to all around—possibly even himself.

  *

  Gardelle entered the dining room and was surprised at the feast his niece had prepared. She’d taken to cooking at a young age, and he never ceased to be amazed at how well she did it. He noticed the way her gaze slid to Lazar and how her mood lightened as Lazar pulled out a chair for her to sit in. Lazar sat next to her, leaving Gardelle no choice but to sit by the she-devil herself.

  Curse the bird gods, she was something all right. Never had he met a woman as forward as she, and he knew some of the most famed whores of the bird realm. Lisa was different. She wasn’t a harlot, but she wasn’t virginal either. And damn it all if Gardelle didn’t find himself oddly attracted to her.

  She was too young for him. He had centuries on her. And she wasn’t of his kind and out of the question as a mate. Still, his gaze slid to the tight shirt she wore. It cupped the outline of her ample breasts. Gardelle squeezed his eyes shut as he held the chair out for her.

  “My lady,” he said with a curt nod.

  She sat, her shoulders brushing his fingertips. He sucked in a large breath as his cock responded to her.

  She is your niece’s best friend, he mentally chastised himself. And human. Focus.

  He cleared his throat and looked up to find a knowing smile upon Lazar’s face. Gardelle thought of getting the knife from the kitchen and finishing what Sabrina had started. He resisted. It took much restraint.

  Lisa patted the empty seat next to her. “Come on, big boy, sit by momma.”

  He gulped.

  She laughed.

  It was going to be another long evening. He and Lazar would need to head back to their home realm soon. Gardelle had perfected the art of being gone long enough to spend time with his niece without drawing suspicion in the bird realm. Lazar’s absence would not go unnoticed. He was a close friend to Sachin, and the head of the guards would notice if his friend was missing for too long.

  Gardelle raised a hand, gesturing to all. “We should eat. Lazar and I will have to leave soon. He’ll be attending a few meetings with me out of town.”

  Sabrina’s smile faltered. “You have to leave again?”

  “I do.”

  “And he has to go too?” she asked.

  It broke Gardelle’s heart knowing she didn’t want either of them to go. He looked to Lazar to find him equally distraught over Sabrina’s obvious emotional state.

  Lazar lifted Sabrina’s hand. “Little mouse, we will not be gone long.”

  “You’ll come back?” Her eyebrows rose.

  Lisa snorted. “I’m guessing you won’t be able to keep him away long. Have you missed the fact the guy sticks to you like glue?”

  “I have not missed that,” Gardelle said sternly. “I’d rather he stick less to her.”

  Lisa laughed. “I’m sure you would.”

  Chapter Eight

  Accipitridae Realm

  Lazar stalked through the castle corridors. He didn’t want to be there. He wanted to be with Sabrina. Gardelle had convinced him that in order to keep suspicions from rising and any word of him being in her life from reaching Latravis, Lazar needed to be seen doing his normal duties. He hated it.

  He didn’t want to leave her. He wanted to return to her home and dine with her before sleeping under the same roof as his mate. Gardelle was right. He had to maintain the pretense of normal. There was no telling what Latravis would do should he learn Lazar was now back in Sabrina’s life.

  One of the kitchen serving wenches stepped into the hall. She stared up at him and offered a seductive smile as she grabbed hold of her bosoms, cupping them so they nearly fell free of her dress. “There you are. I was looking for you.”

  He tried to step around her, the sight of her no longer stirring his cock as it once had. She planted herself before him and smashed her chest against his.

  “The kitchen is empty. I know how much you like to fuck me there.” She clawed at his exposed upper chest. “Be a good falcon and do as you’re told.”

  He caught her wrists. “I’m not interested. Find someone else.”

  She huffed, her eyes growing wide. “Not interested? Since when? How many days ago was it that your prick was in my mouth and then my ass?”

  Lazar cringed at the reminder. During it all, it had felt right, like he was chasing away an emptiness. Now it felt as if he’d betrayed Sabrina. He stared down at the wench. “Go from here. I have to report for duty.”

  Boldly she ripped her wrists free from his grasp and shoved her hand down the front of his loincloth. She grabbed his cock and stroked it. “You want to fuck me. I know you do. You’re a dirty traitor, but you can fuck.”

  He went to yank her hand from his loincloth when Gardelle entered the corridor from the other direction. He came to a grinding halt, his gaze narrowing on Lazar and the wench.

  Gardelle was suddenly there, separating Lazar and the woman. Gardelle twisted and punched out, connecting with Lazar’s jaw. “You bastard!”

  Lazar swayed from the force of the impact. He looked up at Gardelle. “It is not what it appears to be.”

  “Looked to be like you were getting your cock taken care of by the help!”

  The wench sneered. “I can give you release too, if you want it.”

  Gardelle turned a furious glare on her, and she hurried off. He then faced Lazar. “Stay away from my niece.”

  Lazar shot forward fast. “The wench grabbed me. I turned down her advances.”

  “She is the same one I and half the castle have seen you cramming your dick in anywhere you can. The buttery, the kitchen, the dining hall, the hallways,” he said, ticking each location off with a finger. “You sicken me. How Brina could be destined for a man with no shame is beyond me.”

  “Is there a problem?” asked Sach
in, pursing his lips as he entered the hallway.

  “No,” Lazar stated evenly. He didn’t want to lose his temper with Gardelle, but it was hard. “All is well. It was just a misunderstanding.”

  “My arse!” spat Gardelle as he shoved Lazar. “You are the chosen one to my niece, and yet you whore yourself out to every wench in the castle.”

  Sachin blinked and then grabbed the men each by the elbow, escorting them into one of the sitting rooms. He shut the door and pointed to Gardelle. “Explain.”

  Gardelle grew quiet, and Lazar knew then the man realized his error. “Nothing. It was merely a misunderstanding.”

  Lazar narrowed his gaze. He knew better than to think Gardelle believed him. Gardelle simply wanted Sabrina’s name kept out of it.

  Sachin snorted. “Right. That is why half the castle heard you yelling?” He looked to Lazar. “What have you to say for yourself?”

  “This is between Gardelle and me.”

  Sachin shook his head. “Not when it interferes with me training the men. Speak or I shall drag you both out to the courtyard to explain this in detail to the king who is standing before half the royal guards.”

  Lazar and Gardelle shared a look. That would not be good.

  It was Gardelle who cleared his throat and spoke first. “I happened upon Lazar with one of the kitchen wenches.”

  Sachin shrugged. “He beds them nearly daily.”

  Gardelle clenched his fists.

  Lazar stepped forward. “Not on this day. Not for the past few days. Not since finding Sabrina again.”

  With an arch of his brow, Sachin put an arm out. “Do enlighten me as to why your cock has not found its way into them? It seems to favor them greatly.”

  He looked to Gardelle who nodded. Lazar licked his lower lip. “Because three days ago I thought my mate perished. It came to my attention she is alive and well.”