The Lion's Share (The Lion Princes Book 2)

by Leslie Chase

  The Lion's Share

  Leslie Chase

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Also by Leslie Chase

  The Lion’s Share

  Cover Design by Kasmit Covers

  Editing by Sennah Tate

  Copyright 2016 Leslie Chase

  All rights reserved

  This is a work of fiction intended for mature audiences. All names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Created with Vellum

  1

  Being the secretary to the King had been a stressful enough job while he was alive, and it was so much worse now that he was dead. Sophie Havener looked forward to getting a new king on the throne more than anything she could imagine.

  Meeting one of the princes eligible for the throne was a good step towards that. She told herself it made up for the company she had to keep.

  "You know we're meant to be together, Sophie. We'd be perfect together."

  Sophie groaned inwardly, making an effort to keep her face calm and collected. Oh God, not this again, she thought, turning in her seat to look at the man beside her. Karl Praetor wasn't bad to look at, far from it, but the leer on his face robbed him of any charm he might have had. And there had been precious little of that to start with.

  "How many times do I have to tell you 'no', Karl?" she said, trying to be firm. He laughed as though she'd told a funny joke, and so did his two men in the car with them.

  It would have been a lot easier to ignore his unwanted advances if he wasn't Captain Karl Praetor, the head of the Royal Security Service. That made it hard for Sophie to stay out of his way, and harder still to tell him to shut up.

  "You can stop me asking anytime, babe," Praetor said. "Say 'yes' and we're good."

  She sighed at that, looking him in the eyes with her best glare. As Chief Secretary to the King of Leotania, she'd developed a pretty good glare. Unfortunately, it wasn't good enough. He just winked at her and matched her stare until she looked away.

  Why me? She didn't know what about her had attracted his attention; if she knew, she'd have changed it. He'd always been a little too familiar with her, and their jobs had brought them into contact all too often. In the beginning it was even a little flattering and she'd considered going out with him to see if it worked out. It would make her parents happy to know that she was seeing someone, after all.

  But there was always something about his attitude that put her off. He wasn't just confident, it seemed as though he had no concept of not getting what he wanted. Confidence on its own might have been charming. Praetor, though, went far beyond that, far enough that she was almost afraid of what he might do to make her say yes.

  "Why don't we focus on work, okay? We have a job to do, let's get it right." Maybe that would keep him off her back for a bit. Whatever other failings he might have, Sophie couldn't complain about his work ethic.

  "Fine," he said with a smirk. "My men have secured the airport for Prince Mattias's arrival, and there is no sign of trouble. Just to be sure, I've posted men at key points between the airport and the castle. Surveillance of the remaining rebel groups has also been increased. There is no pressing threat."

  Sophie nodded at that, pleased. It was, of course, overkill. But after Prince Roman’s arrival was met with an assassination attempt, no one wanted to take any chances. She'd settle for looking a bit paranoid if it made sure Mattias arrived home safely.

  A small smile showed on her face before she could suppress it. It had been long, long years since she'd seen Mattias, but they'd always gotten along well. Of course, they'd been children at the time, but she was still looking forward to meeting him again.

  "How about your preparations, Sophie?" Praetor asked, his voice light, almost mocking. He never thought work outside the military was real work, and it showed in his voice. "Are you ready to introduce the Prince to the best and brightest ladies of the land?"

  She blushed slightly at that, clutching at the folder in her hands. "Someone has to find him a mate, Karl," she said.

  Taking a deep breath, she composed herself, relaxing her grip and looking at him coldly. "The Prince needs to with his mate to see if the land will accept him as king, after all."

  "And since the poor boy can't find his own woman, you're stepping in to manage the deal," Praetor said with a laugh. "How... responsible of you."

  That was enough to make Sophie snap at him. "He's your prince, Captain! Show him some respect."

  The driver chuckled along with Praetor. Another one of his men, it seemed. That made sense under the circumstances, but it made Sophie feel uncomfortable anyway. They shouldn't be laughing at royalty.

  After a moment's amusement, Praetor held up one hand in surrender.

  "You're right, of course. That was inappropriate," he said, a smirk still on his face. "Don't worry, I'll show his highness all the respect he's due when we meet him. Still, I hope you have some promising candidates for your dating show...?"

  Sophie sighed again, exasperated and annoyed. "It's not as though there isn't precedent for this, Karl. The late King's marriage was arranged by his family, and so were most of his ancestors’. I'm just performing a function the royal family has provided for centuries."

  Praetor gave her a look that she couldn't quite read, and his smirk widened into an unpleasant grin. Sophie pursed her lips, looking out of the car window, trying to ignore him. It wasn't easy. She still felt his gaze on her, and the contempt he showed for her work rankled. Her work, and the royal family itself. The man had always been loyal to the King, but he didn't seem to have much time for his grandsons even though they were the heirs.

  Someone has to keep this place functioning until there's a new king! She couldn't say it out loud, it sounded too plaintive even in her head. She could just imagine Praetor's laugh, and perhaps worse, his offer to help. If she saw too much of him now, how much worse would it be if he was in her office all the time?

  Still, she had ended up taking on a lot of the functions of the royal family since the late King passed. The royal family was down to just the three princes now, and there was no one else to make these arrangements. If someone was going to make sure that Prince Mattias met his fated mate, it had to be her. There wasn't anyone else to do the job.

  I hope he's keen to meet them, she thought, glancing at the folder again. The quicker the prince had his mate, the quicker they could go before the Well of Fate and find out if he was destined to be king. And once there was a king again, she could have a rest.

  Being the King's secretary was stressful enough when he was alive. Now, in the gap between his death and his successor taking over, she found it nearly impossible to keep up.

  High above the Leotanian mountains, Mattias Alexander looked out of the window of his private airplane and smiled. It was a bittersweet homecoming at best, being called back after his grandfather's death, but he was looking forward to seeing his homeland again.

  The mountains shone in the afternoon sun as they flew through the Alps. Leotania was a small kingdom, forgotten by most of the w
orld and ignored by the rest, but it was beautiful. And never more so than when seen from the air.

  Part of that was because, once he was on the ground, he knew he'd have to face his responsibilities again. Up here he felt free, aloof from all the problems his family and his country faced, but that wasn't going to last. There was a lot to do, and this might be his last moment of peace for a while.

  Or ever, if fate chooses me to be king, he thought. It was an exciting thought in some ways, but the challenges of modernizing a country as thoroughly stuck in the past as Leotania would keep anyone busy for a lifetime. Even the long lifetime of a lion shifter like himself.

  Maybe that long life isn't a great thing in a king. Grandfather ruled long enough that the world changed under him and he didn't keep up, Mattias mused. And we never got the education princes ought to have in how to rule, either.

  He worried about that. Maybe if he and his brothers been raised in Leotania, it would have been different — but they'd lived in the US since the assassination of their parents. Who knew what secrets of kingship they were missing?

  "You've gone quiet, Matt. Are you alright?" his brother Gabriel asked over the phone. His voice was tinny, crackly, the signal weak — but then, he was half a world away.

  "Fine, fine," Mattias answered. "I'm just looking at the mountains, that's all."

  "And worrying, I bet," Gabe said with a laugh. "That's one of the reasons you'll make a great king, you know. You worry enough about everything that you think about how to fix problems the rest of us haven't even spotted yet."

  Matt had to smile at that. "Not many people would say a worrier makes a good leader, you know."

  "Most people have no idea what makes for a great leader," Gabe said firmly. "It's easy to make a snap decision without thinking about it. It's easy to think yourself around in circles and never make up your mind. You can manage the hard job of worrying and still being able to act. You'll be great, you'll see."

  "It might not be me, you know. Fate's going to pick one of the three of us, that's all we know."

  Gabe laughed again, his powerful voice warm and loving over the phone. "Come on, we know it won't be Roman. Why wouldn't it be you?"

  "Because I don't have a mate," Matt said, staring out of the window. It wasn't for a lack of trying. He'd never been shy about meeting people, but none of the women had been right, none of them had been his. "You know the King has to have a mate, Gabe."

  "Yeah, yeah, I know. That's why I'm not rushing home, I'm going to see if I can find mine first."

  "I tried that too," Matt said, shaking his head. "No luck, though. So maybe it's meant to be you."

  He got up and stalked up and down the aisle, loosening his muscles. Since the princes had gotten word of the old king's death, he'd made an extra effort to meet women. It was an exercise in frustration. No amount of charity balls and functions had introduced him to anyone who felt special or chosen for him. It was enough to make him doubt that he'd ever meet his one.

  That wasn't how the old kings had done things, after all. Maybe the old ways really were the best in this case.

  "I've not had any more luck than you have, Matt," Gabe reminded him. "So I guess it's still anyone's game."

  "Not really a game, though," Matt said. "And what happens if neither of us can find our mate? The country can't wait forever."

  "Hurry up and find her, then!" Gabe said with a laugh. "Look, it has worked out for centuries. We Alexanders have always found our mates in time, haven't we? It's good that you worry about things and plan for problems, but there is such a thing as taking it too far."

  "We'll see," Mattias said, sighing dramatically. "Anyway, I ought to go. We're about to land, after all."

  "Sure. You have fun and say ‘hi’ to Roman for me. I'll join you soon as I can."

  With that, he cut the connection, leaving Matt alone with his worries. There were enough of them to occupy him.

  Matt nodded absently to himself, thinking in silence. What if our ancestors didn't always find a mate? What if that's all propaganda?

  He couldn't rule it out — after all, how many couples swore that they loved each other when they were only together for convenience? That royals married for alliances and the show of it wasn't unusual, and it would be pretty odd if every king of Leotania had found his love-match. But that's what tradition insisted happened.

  For the thousandth time he wished that they'd known their family better growing up. Memories of his childhood told him that his parents had been in love, but were those just the rose-tinted memories of a boy who missed his Mom and Dad? And while in his letters Grandfather had always insisted that he'd loved his Queen, he hadn't ever written much about her. That part of his life was kept private.

  Maybe what I need to do is find someone who's a good match politically, and hope that we grow together, he thought with a grimace. It wasn't something he'd relish, but if it was necessary for the good of the country, he'd do it. His own happiness would be a small price to pay to keep the country whole.

  Who knows, I might even end up happy with her, whoever she might be.

  The intercom chimed.

  "Your Highness," the pilot said. "We're about to begin our descent. Please take your seat for landing, sir."

  Matt's lip quirked in a grin as he sat back down. His pilot hadn't called him 'Highness' before, but he seemed to be enjoying the chance to ferry a royal home. Who am I to deny him that small pleasure?

  2

  Standing on the tarmac, Sophie and Captain Praetor waited to meet their prince. Airport staff bustled around the private jet, attaching a staircase and unloading luggage. Andrew, the royal photographer, snapped away. He was trying to capture anything and everything that might be interesting on film. Sophie smiled at that — she couldn't imagine who'd want to see the prince's bags being unloaded or his plane being refueled. Still, the return of a prince was a momentous occasion, and pictures were cheap to take.

  In the long years since the princes fled the country, Mattias had never been back home. Sophie wondered what he'd make of it now. The country hadn't changed much in the years he'd been away, of course, but he probably had. He'd grown into a man, and done it abroad where he had access to all kinds of new and strange ideas. Maybe we'll be able to talk about them, once we've both got some free time, she thought. It was a pleasant idea, though at the moment the idea of having any free time at all seemed like a distant hope at best.

  Still, she couldn't help remembering the times they'd spent talking when they were young. They were fond memories, though she made sure to remind herself that they'd both been children then. Who knew if they'd even get on now?

  A glance at Praetor told her that everything was secure. For all her problems with him, he wasn't one to shirk his duties. Privately, Sophie suspected that was more because he'd look bad if something happened than because of any actual commitment to a cause. Whatever his reasons, though, he and his men were thorough. They checked the airport from top to bottom, and a couple of his men were still visible. Carefully looking around them for the hundredth time, they made sure nothing was missed.

  Others were out of sight, vigilant for any danger that might be creeping up.

  Sophie tried to relax, though it wasn't easy. The last time a prince came back to Leotania, he walked off his plane into an ambush. Despite the fact that it had been Prince Roman's idea to arrive without a proper reception, she couldn't help feeling a little responsible for that failure. She should have insisted on proper security that time, and she wasn't about to make the same mistake twice. Not even if it meant spending more time with the Captain.

  "Think His Highness is going to keep us waiting long?" Praetor said. "Or is he scared to come out where someone might see him?"

  Just when she'd started to think of him as a professional, he had to go and spoil it. Clearly, he expected her to share the joke, not that there was anything funny about it. Even if the Prince was being cautious, who could blame him? His brother had been attacked
in this very airport.

  Before she could muster a response, there was movement at the top of the stairs. Praetor snapped to attention instantly, and Sophie straightened up. She put a smile on, a professional welcoming smile appropriate for the returning prince.

  Then he stepped into the sunlight at the top of the stairs, and she clamped down hard on her response. The smile froze on her face, and she felt it turn hard and plastic, but there was nothing she could do about that. Not when she was fighting to control her reaction.

  Oh my God, he's gorgeous! She knew she was staring, she knew she looked ridiculous, but she couldn't help herself. The man descending the stairs towards her was simply unbelievable. He wore a tight t-shirt which showed off his body, the muscles rippling as he moved. And the tight jeans didn't help her focus, either.

  His long blond hair flowed past his shoulders, a mane for the lion he was. The five o'clock shadow on his cheeks made him look more manly, more rugged than she'd have expected. Nothing could have prepared her for the sheer presence of the man. When his amber eyes turned to her the force behind them was enough to rock her backward.

  When did he get so damned hot? She wanted to fan herself, or preferably dunk herself in ice water. This was no way for her to be looking at one of the princes, dammit, she was supposed to be a professional. To be calm, collected. Not to be thinking about what Prince Mattias would look like if he wasn't wearing those clothes...

  It was impossible. He was impossible, and Sophie felt her body responding to him, to being near him. Mattias smiled, and it was the sexiest smile she'd ever seen. It made her whole body throb with desire. Her cheeks heated up and she desperately tried to think of anything other than him. Anything other than that delicious body that came nearer with every step he took.

  She mentally shook her head, trying to clear it, and wondering what he was thinking. Could he see her response, was it obvious to everyone watching her? Sophie couldn't imagine that she was succeeding in hiding her reaction from anyone.