by Amber Kell
He'd almost reached the shuttle when the world started to spin. His skin burned, itched, burned again.
With a gasp he dropped the gun.
As the light started to dim, he heard one of the soldiers curse. "Shit, he's been bit. He's going into shock. We've got to get him back to the palace."
Then everything went black.
* * * *
"I heard from the palace. Your mate is having an allergic reaction to a Syphin sting."
Vohne shook his head. "Poor thing. Did they give him an inoculation?"
"Yeah, he's fine now, but apparently he's ready to hand you your balls on a platter."
"I'm not surprised." Vohne smiled. "He's tough." He wasn't worried. Syphin bites were brutal, but they'd long ago created a shot that easily reversed the symptoms.
"Not so tough a little bug can't take him down," Bleine taunted.
Sweat beaded his brother's forehead. Ignoring Blein's teasing, Vohne looked more carefully at his sibling. "Are you feeling all right?"
"No. My soldiers did their job. I offered them a reward if they disposed of Jallryne. When we land, find out who killed her. The killer is your new captain of the guard. I had to make sure your new right-hand man was loyal, and she had to die to discover where their loyalties lie."
A sick churning spun Vohne's stomach. Rushing over, he grabbed his brother's arm and lowered him back to his chair. "You can survive this. She was a bad match."
"No. My time is over. I only lived to see you return to your throne. It isn't my fate to live any longer. I outlived my first mate and now my second. It's time for me to fade into the stars."
"I can't let you leave me, brother."
Bleine gave a thready laugh. "Some things even you can't control, brother. Watch your back. Jallryne had accomplices."
Vohne ran to the intercom. "Medic!" he shouted into the speaker. "I need a medic with a cryogenic processor."
"Immediately, Your Highness," a tinny voice responded.
"What are you doing?" Blein asked. His brother's skin turned an unnatural grayish tint before Vohne's eyes.
"I'm going to freeze you until I can find you a new mate."
Bleine laughed, a bare whisper of a sound. "You're insane."
"Maybe, but I can't lose you. Not now. You're all the family I have left."
"You have your mate."
Vohne felt a warm spot in his chest. "Yes, but he doesn't have our history. I can't lose you, Bleine. All the others are long gone. We are the last of our line."
"You have to have children. I left you a list at the castle."
"A list of what?"
"Of appropriate king bearers. Choose one and get her pregnant. There are several half-Thresls who would do nicely."
Vohne laughed, even as he felt tears forming in his eyes. "If I got some girl pregnant, I wouldn't have to worry about being the last of my line. My mate would fillet me."
"I didn't say touch the girl. There are many other ways. Besides, you will want a child for your mate also."
He thought of a little girl with Kreslan's beautiful eyes and felt his heart melt. Bleine coughed, a deep hacking sound as if he were spitting out his soul. Vohne rushed to his brother's side and helped him to the floor, just as the doors swung open and a medical team rushed inside.
"I want him frozen. We'll keep him in storage until we can find him a replacement," he commanded.
"Vohne, don't do this. Let me go."
"No!" He turned his attention to the medic. "Do what I said."
"But, Your Highness, if he doesn't want to be frozen…" the man unwisely protested.
"I am the king. Do as I say." He turned back to his brother. "Bleine, don't fight me on this. I will seek you out a new mate with the help of the advisors. Surely we can find one person to be yours."
Bleine stared at him for so long Vohne thought he would fight him. Finally he nodded.
"Do it," he commanded the medics who rushed to comply.
Vohne stood up, stepping aside as the medical team placed his brother in the metal cylinder. A small clear window allowed him to watch the freezing gas fill the chamber. Bleine's gaze linked with his until his brother blinked no more, his frozen eyes focusing on nothing.
"Goodbye, brother," he whispered. A sense of incredible loss filled him. He hadn't even made it back to his kingdom and already he had a long to-do list. Oust the people who plotted against him, reunite with his mate, find his brother a mate of his own, and try to avoid Kreslan's knife when he discovered Vohne was looking for a surrogate to bear his children.
It was going to be a busy, busy time.
Chapter Seven
Vohne all but raced off the shuttle, his eyes scanning the landing area for his mate.
Ignoring the line of people eager to get a look at their king, Vohne moved through the crowd searching for Kreslan.
"I'm right here." The Thresl turned around. Pain exploded across his nose. "Ow, you hit me." He shook his head to get rid of the ringing in his ears.
"You shoved me into that damned pod, knowing you could die. Don't you ever do that to me again!" Kreslan's eyes glowed with rage.
Vohne blocked out the pain. Gripping his mate's handsome face between his hands, he forced the other man to meet his eyes. "I love you too."
Not giving Kreslan a chance to reply, he crushed his mate's mouth with his lips. Flavor exploded across his tongue. Licking inside, he wallowed in the taste and scent of his man.
Mine.
To have his strong mate in his arms again soothed Vohne's inner beast. Kreslan's heart thrummed beneath his touch. "I'm sorry I sent you away, but I'd do it again if your life was threatened."
His mate's eyes narrowed. "I should've hit you harder."
Vohne laughed. Wrapping his arms around his mate, he breathed in the scent of the one person in the universe who represented everything perfect in his life. Kreslan smelled like home.
"Your Majesty?" Vohne looked up to see a large Thresl soldier standing behind Kreslan's shoulder.
"Yes?"
"Your mate is still weak from the bite. He needs to rest."
Vohne leaned back to get a good look at Kreslan. His mate lifted a brow at him. "I'm well enough to kick your butt."
He kissed the tip of his human's nose. "I love it when you get feisty."
"You might like it less with my boot up your ass."
Vohne's sharp hearing picked up the quickly stifled laughter of the soldier standing at attention behind Kreslan's right shoulder.
"What's your name?"
"I am Nelrin, captain of the guard, at least until you assign someone else."
"My brother said the man who killed his mate would be my captain."
Nelrin nodded. "We are still investigating who killed her. Until then I will be happy to stand in place of your future captain. My mate is one of the contenders for the title." He waved a beckoning hand towards the crowd, and a blond human joined the other man. Vohne could tell they were a matched pair.
"We will meet and discuss strategy in the morning. First I need to reconnect with my man."
"I'd be honored to escort you to your rooms."
Vohne took Kreslan's arm, leading his mercurial mate along with him.
"I'm still mad at you," Kreslan whispered.
"Good, we can have make-up sex."
Kreslan laughed, tension running off him like water. Vohne knew he needed to clear things up with his lover and find out what had happened after his mate landed, but his body yearned for the man of his heart and wouldn't be denied.
He nodded politely to anyone he passed, dragging Kreslan along after him.
"Here you go, Your Majesty." Nelrin and his mate both bowed as the pair passed into the room.
Vohne slammed the door in the soldiers' faces, ignoring the snickers from the other side. Juveniles.
Turning to his mate, he let out a growl. "Why are you still dressed?"
Kreslan rolled his eyes. "Because we've been here about five seconds, an
d I didn't think you wanted me to strip in front of your soldiers."
Vohne snarled at his mate. "They are our soldiers, and I don't care what they see as long as they don't touch." He marched over to his mate and ripped his shirt in half. "You are mine, and I'll challenge anyone who tries to take you from me." Possessive before, now his feral nature pushed at him to claim his man. "There is one thing you should learn about Thresls, my love. Humans might form us, but make no mistake, you belong to me."
* * * *
Kres melted beneath his mate's hands and mouth. All the angry words saved for this moment vanished as his mind went blank and his body pliant. Moans rolled up his throat in a fair imitation of a Thresl purr.
"Yours. Anything." His bones damned near melted beneath his lover's onslaught. "Mmmm." Eyes rolling to the back of his head, Kres's body tried to mold to his mate.
A loud tearing sound and a sudden breeze alerted him to his absence of pants. Pulling away, he glanced down. "How come I'm naked but you're still dressed?"
Vohne gave him a toothy smile. "I'm just lucky I guess."
Flexing his powerful muscles, the Thresl picked Kres up and carried him to the bed where he laid Kres down with tender care. Vohne looked at him with such love in his eyes that Kres blinked back tears.
"Don't cry, my love. I will never leave you, never lose you, and never care for another as long as I live. Our souls were entwined at the dawn of time, and we will be together until it ends."
Kres gave his lover a watery smile. "Strip, gorgeous. I need to bond."
Vohne purred. "Anything for you, my mate."
First he peeled off his shirt, exposing smooth skin and a set of rippled abs, then with a sexy swagger, he unfastened his pants, dropping them with little fanfare. The lack of underwear was almost as sexy as the expression of lust and love on his mate's face.
There was no doubt in Kres's mind. Vohne loved him.
When the larger man slid across him, Kres's back bowed with the sensation. Tingles of want and need sparked a firestorm of desire throughout his body. "Fuck me," he whispered over the lump in his throat.
The gentle touch of his mate seared his soul.
A soft rustling had him snapping his eyes open, eyes he hadn't realized were closed.
Vohne gave him a wide smile. "Just getting something to slick you up, my love."
"Hurry or I'll finish without you." It wouldn't take much effort either. His body was primed.
A low laugh met his words. "Hold on, my darling." Slowly, one finger then two filled him, replacing the gaping emptiness he'd felt over their separation.
"More." Not enough. He needed more.
"Patience, lover."
"Don't make me hurt you," Kres snarled at the teasing glint in his lover's eyes.
"You wouldn't hurt me, darling, because then I couldn't do this." Vohne pressed the tip of his cock at the entrance of Kres's hole.
"Please," Kres begged, pushing into the sensation. "I need you."
"You have me, always." Vohne filled his lover slowly as Kres gasped and writhed on his lover's cock.
"More."
"Patience, my love. I want to savor this moment."
"Savor it any more and I'll introduce you to my new knife."
Vohne laughed as he entered Kres, causing an odd sensation, but Kres didn't care. Finally, the Thresl filled him.
"Fuck me!" Kres demanded.
"Oh, I will." Vohne gave a throaty purr. With the same excruciating slowness, he moved in and out of his lover until Kres locked his heels behind Vohne's back and impaled himself on his mate's cock.
"Yes," he hissed.
Vohne gave a convulsive pump of his hips. "Sneaky bastard," he growled.
"That's me." He'd given up everything to be with this man. He deserved a reward. "Fuck me like you mean it."
Vohne gave Kres a long, slow kiss. "I always mean it."
With Kres urging him on, Vohne's movements became harder, rougher, until the lovers lost control and the smell of spunk filled the air.
Kres felt a momentary sense of abandonment when Vohne pulled out of his body. A soft cry of protest left him.
"Shhh, love, I'll be right back."
Vohne went through a doorway, returning quickly with a warm cloth. With tender care, he wiped Kres down, letting his love show through his touch. After disposing of the towel, he returned, sliding onto the bed next to Kres.
Vohne's eyes were warm and melty as they looked down at him. Kres smiled.
"I would cross the galaxies to see that smile," Vohne vowed to his mate.
Kres couldn't stop the soft laugh. "You already did, darling, you already did."
* * * *
The next morning Kres sneaked out of bed, dressed quickly, and slipped his knife into his right boot. Vohne made a soft sound as he left their bed but otherwise didn't awaken. Kres blew him a kiss before leaving their bedroom. Yesterday he hadn't gotten much of a chance to look over the castle before his mate arrived. From what Vohne had said, there were enemies within its walls, and Kres was more than willing to flush them out.
Closing the door, he was startled out of his thoughts by a voice behind him.
"Going somewhere, King-Mate?"
Kres spun around. Nelrin and Friln stood behind him, arms crossed in front of their chests as if they were ready to scold a recalcitrant child.
"Gentlemen." Kres gave the soldiers a respectful nod. "What are you two doing here?"
"The coroner declared Friln the winner. He is your new captain of the guard, but as I am the most senior, I came to watch his back. We never travel in less than pairs, preferably with our mate."
"Makes sense." Unfortunately to Kres, it meant two men to distrust at a time instead of one. "Well, go ahead and continue your guard. The king is still asleep inside."
Kres spun on his heel.
Nelrin stepped in his path.
"Is there a problem?" He didn't want to hurt the other man, but he wouldn't be stopped either.
"I doubt the king would approve of you wandering around the castle alone. Let me call a guard for your escort."
Kres gave Nelrin a vicious smile. "The king knows I'm a big boy and can handle walking down the corridor without incident."
"But it would cause an incident," Nelrin argued. "As king-mate you are the second most valuable person on the planet. There should be a pair of guards with you at all times."
"Well, you'd best get back to guarding the first most valuable person and leave me alone."
Kres shoved Nelrin aside, only to be stopped by a hard grip around his wrist.
"Good morning, my love," Vohne purred. "Going somewhere?"
He could tell by the look in the king's eyes, he'd heard everything.
* * * *
Vohne saw the determination in his mate's eyes, and his heart sank to his feet. "You can't just go into the court and hunt down anyone who disagrees with me."
Kreslan gave him a feral smile worthy of a Thresl. "I can if that disagreement leads to them trying to kill you. Somewhere, someone knows who is behind this entire thing, and we know it wasn't just Jallryne. She said someone in the castle was going to finish you. She sounded extremely confident."
"And you think marching around and threatening people will get you the answer you seek? No one is going to raise their hand and say it was them. Planning a coup takes a great deal of stealth."
Kreslan's beautiful eyes narrowed. "So what should I do then, hmm? Wait around for someone to stab you in the back? Wait for one of your adoring courtiers to poison your food?"
Vohne sighed. It would be difficult to rein in his love. "We have to be discreet."
Nelrin cleared his throat.
"Yes?"
"Pardon, Your Highness, but I've asked around a bit. Since most people couldn't stand Jallryne, I paid attention to those who were most concerned about her death. The royals who expressed the most worry about her demise and your ascension as king were Duke Hellbur and Lady Nelb."
"What
do you know about these two?" Kreslan asked with a frown of concentration on his face.
"There is still the question of what or who prevented me from reawakening. We should've been together the past hundreds of years. Something stopped us."
Kreslan's brow furrowed. "What are you talking about? I'm human. I get the one life and then I'm done."
Vohne gave into the temptation to touch his mate, running his fingers through his lover's hair. "You are my Thresl mate, and we are bound by fate, time, and the gods to meet in every lifetime. In the next few months, your memories will return, and you will know all that you've known before. I'd love to know what you did in those lives where we never met."
Kreslan stepped away from his touch, making Vohne's heart skip a painful beat.
"Are you saying I get born over and over again?"
"Yes, but according to my brother, this will be our last incarnation."
"So if we die this time and aren't reincarnated, what happens to us?"
"No one knows. I've always thought eventually we become one with the stars like the other Thresls." Vohne's gaze snapped to the guards. Shit, he probably shouldn't have said that out in the open hallway. His enemies would love to get their hands on that type of information. No matter how many times he reincarnated, there was always some power-hungry idiot who thought they could lead the Thresls better.
"Don't worry, the hallway is secure." Nelrin's gaze swept the area. "Any words between you won't pass from me or my mate."
The blond nodded his agreement of the Thresl's words. "I won't say anything."
"Nevertheless, let's take this into our room." Vohne pulled Kreslan along, slamming the door in the guards' faces.
"That wasn't polite," Kreslan commented.
"I don't want them to know everything. The less people know, the better our odds of winning. We need to see who is on our side."
"I still can't believe I reincarnated."
"Believe it. However, because we reincarnate, we have long memories and even longer grudges. I need to reacquaint myself with my old allies along with my old enemies. Over the years, people change sides and I won't know until I see them."