A King to Be Feared

by Brea Alepoú

  “Is it alright if I attend?” Ginger asked.

  Titos’s head tilted to the side. As if he could do this without her. He was still very new, and although Adom assisted, he hadn’t been a part of the inner workings of a house. Ginger was an asset that Titos planned to have by his side forever if possible.

  “Yes, please. I don’t even want to imagine what it would be like if it’s just us,” Titos said.

  A beaming smile took over Ginger’s beautiful face. “You know how to flatter a lady. Very well, I’ll go take care of things.” She bowed, which wasn’t necessary, but Titos said nothing about it. He knew it was just her way of showing him respect.

  Once the room was cleared out, all who were left were himself and his keepers. Titos cleared his throat, but it was Kail who spoke.

  “You want Titos or all of us?” Kail asked.

  Titos glanced over at his man of darkness. His dark blue eyes were solely focused on Gin, awaiting the man’s answer.

  Mazki: Never asked that question.

  Titos was just as curious, actually. He didn’t mind his men being intimate with each other; in fact, he loved it. He could easily tell that Adom and Mazki had a special connection, and Kail and Seth had one as well, but they were just as involved as a collective as they were individually. And just because his men shared, not once had Titos felt left out or not the center of their steady attention.

  “All,” Gin said, sitting up straighter.

  Titos gasped in shock. “You know you don’t have to.”

  “If you are only interested in Titos, we can all accept that. It is not one or the other,” Seth said.

  Titos peeked at Kail. He nodded his head, but Titos could feel the hope through the bond not only with Kail, but Mazki and Alfrik as well. Already they had accepted him and were more than ready to open their arms and heart to Gin. Titos pushed affection throughout the bonds. Each of his keepers looked to him, and he gave them a shy smile.

  “Yes, I know that, and the first day of meeting everyone, I was pretty sure I’d only wanted to be with Titos, but the past two weeks of being here and being around each of you, I know that is not the case. My first duty will be to my master. Titos is above all else, but I also feel a pull to each of you.” His golden gaze landed on Kail and stayed for a heartbeat too long.

  Titos: I wish to have him.

  Seth: Then go bond with your newest keeper, Master. He is right for you.

  Adom: For us.

  Titos nodded and finally got up from Seth’s lap and went to take the seat next to Gin, but he captured Tito’s waist before he could sit and pulled him down, forcing Titos to straddle him.

  An undignified yelp escaped Titos. “Hey.”

  Gin grinned up at Titos, his pearly whites showing. Titos couldn’t stay upset, not that he really was. He cupped Gin’s face, the little stubble there prickling the flesh of his hand.

  “I’m so glad you want to do this,” Titos said.

  His keepers were all there, but it felt as if it was just Titos and Gin at that moment.

  Gin’s thick lashes fanned over his cheeks as he closed them. It felt as if the sun had disappeared.

  “I am too,” Gin said. He opened his eyes once more, and Titos gave in to the one thing he’d wanted to do upon meeting Gin. Their lips touched, and warmth seeped into Titos and filled him to his fingertips and toes.

  He groaned into the kiss and lowered his walls. He let his power leak out of him and wrap around them like a warm blanket.

  Much like the others, Titos was transported to another world mentally. He took a big whiff of the fresh air. It was so crisp and clean it felt amazing. His own power surged with it.

  His eyes opened, and a gasp left him. Titos stumbled back. The trees were massive, as big and wide as skyscrapers. Roots and wines covered a majority of the ground, making it hilly. Titos’s head tilted back, and he stared up at the jungle’s ceiling. There was no sky, and he could barely make out the top of the trees. There were branches everywhere and various ones connected.

  They looked thick and wide enough to climb on. It was magnificent as specks of gold light fluttered in the air. Titos held his hand out to catch a few, and instantly upon contact, he was filled with an enormous amount of warmth. It wasn’t hot like fire but more like lying outside on a summer day. The sun. For a place that was missing the actual sun, Titos found it odd.

  Something moved in his peripheral, and Titos’s head shot up instantly. Again, something whipped past him to his right. He turned his head to study all the branches but saw nothing but the mossy and vines covering the tree.

  A blur had him whirling around and tripping over a vine and then on a root. Titos caught himself before he fell face-first onto a root. He wasn’t sure if he could really get hurt in such a metaphysical state, but it was still better safe than sorry.

  He righted himself and saw a black tail whip in the air before disappearing behind a trunk. Titos’s head tilted to the side as he tried to think of what it could possibly be. He wiped his hands off and made the split decision to climb after it.

  He went about climbing up the huge tree, and halfway to the branch where he’d seen the tail, he heard a distinctive meow. Titos found a black cat with gold spots on it and antlers poking out of its head staring down at him.

  He froze as the eyes shone like the sun. Another meow came from the feline-like creature.

  A tree cat. Titos had only heard of them, never seen one in person. They had been rumored, worshiped at one point. There were even once multiple edoli houses dedicated to tree cats.

  Titos raised his hand, reaching out to the tree cat, but he got a hiss in response. Titos went still. He watched to see what the creature would do. He’d just hoped it didn’t run away from him. As the tree cat stayed still, Titos lifted his hand slower the second time around. He turned it, palm facing up, and rested it on the wood right in front of the beast.

  Titos was stretched at an awkward angle, his back slightly curved and pushing up on his tippy-toes. But he refused to move until the tree cat knew it was safe. Soft fur slid over his fingertips, and Titos watched in awe as the tree cat rubbed his face on Titos’s hand.

  Golden eyes that Titos knew all too well peered down at him, and Titos felt the moment he recognized him. Titos pushed up more on his tippy-toes, wanting to scratch behind his tree cat’s ears.

  Before Titos knew it, everything had changed, and he was staring at the ceiling of the jungle above him and air rushed past him. His brain was slow on the uptake—he was falling, and fast. He saw a blur rush by him before claws sank into his wrist.

  Titos’s mouth opened to scream, but no words came out. He could feel the pain, but it felt more phantom than real. He looked to his wrist in the tree cat’s mouth. No blood—his flesh hadn’t even torn. Titos stopped admiring his wrist and clutched at the tree. His hand slipped, and he started scrambling to get purchase.

  Ever so slowly, he made it up on the branch. It was wide enough he could spread his arms and legs. He lay on his back, breathing in the clean air.

  Something heavy climbed on him and lay on his abdomen. Vibrations followed shortly. Titos lifted his head and sucked in a breath as he stared at his tree cat curled up on top of him, his head raised and his beautiful antlers close enough to touch.

  Titos gave in after a few seconds and stroked the beautiful antlers. They were a dark brown that had gold flakes on them. All too soon, Titos felt the usual pull—the connection was cementing itself. He smiled at the tree cat that would soon become his keeper. He pressed his forehead to the tree cat’s.

  The tree cat got up and meowed once more at Titos before a rough tongue lapped at his nose. He got off Titos and stretched very much like a cat. A glow started to appear around the tree cat, and as it grew brighter by the second, the tree cat grew. It had been the size of a house cat but soon grew to be the size of a lynx. The antlers grew as well, and gold flowers appeared on them.

  Gin was absolutely beautiful. All too soon, Titos
blinked, and the library came back into view, his other keepers standing so close. He could feel them and hear them. There was nothing but wonderment and love rushing through the bond.

  “Wow,” Gin said. As they came back, someone handed Titos a blade, and he took it. His body knew instinctively what came next. There was no thought to it.

  Titos cut into the palm of his hand, the pain nothing but a dull ache. His entire body was full of power, blanketing everything else around him. Blood dripped freely, and he offered it to Gin, his sixth keeper.

  Gin’s beautiful golden eyes blinked up at Titos curiously, but there wasn’t a drop of uncertainty.

  “Drink of my blood so that you may be bounded to me for eternity.” He’d said the words to each of his keepers, and each time felt like the first. Sparks danced along his spine, and an unknown power swirled around in the pit of his stomach as he offered his blood to his keeper.

  Gin didn’t hesitate as he locked eyes with Titos. His tongue was warm as he lapped at the blood running down from the cut on Titos’s hand.

  The blood ran slower coming from his hand than from his wrist, but Titos wasn’t a normal edoli; he couldn’t bleed as much as the others. He couldn’t offer nearly as much to them.

  Titos watched as Gin lapped up the blood, and as power rushed throughout all the bonds, the room was filled with groans. Every single bond within Titos hummed to life. His head fell forward as he breathed through the intense feeling.

  “This—” Gin moaned, and it only turned Titos on.

  Gin: This is more than I thought.

  Mazki: Yeah, our master is full of surprises, especially bonding.

  Gin’s eyes widened, and Titos chuckled. Adom had been just as surprised to hear everyone in his head.

  Seth: You grow accustomed to it.

  Gin: Wow.

  There was a small inkling of sadness in the bond, and Titos studied Gin.

  Titos: What is wrong?

  Gin licked his lips and looked at everyone. “Yeah, that is going to take me a second to get used to.”

  Titos worried he’d made the wrong choice, and as he tried to get up, Gin tightened his arms around him.

  “Wait, that wasn’t—I was only sad because I had been looking forward to bonding individually with everyone,” Gin said.

  Mazki: Hundred percent can still happen.

  Titos laughed, and his shoulders dropped back down. “I agree.” He leaned forward, ready to kiss Gin once again. His power was surging high, and his need for his keepers had his cock thickening.

  The new bond with Gin had the bond overruled with heat. Alfrik’s lava bear was more than ready to bask in the power surge. They all were. Being Titos’s keeper felt more like being a part of a family. If he’d followed his house wishes, he’d have missed out on something so warm and inviting.

  Titos was no doubt their master and the king of the territory, and yet he treated them as equals. He laughed and bickered with each of them and listened to what they had to say. That was unheard of.

  Alfrik looked to Seth. He was the alpha—he’d know what to do next. Even if everything inside of him said to go to his master and offer himself.

  Alfrik had thought his bonding moment had been intense, but to be on the outside while their master took in another keeper was something he wasn’t prepared for. Mazki whimpered, and the little vixen instantly drew everyone’s eyes to him. He was an attention whore, to say the least, but it’s what made him so easily loved.

  Alfrik didn’t question his growing emotion for the rest of the keepers. It was impossible not to feel for them. It went beyond just surviving under Titos; they were quickly becoming something more to him. Especially Kail—he was the first one that Alfrik had realized he was drawn to.

  “Mazki, are you turned on?” Titos said in a cool voice that rushed down Alfrik’s spine.

  He hadn’t even been talking to him directly and the bear was still affected. Glowing green eyes pinned him in place. Sweat broke out over his brow. Being under the scrutiny of his master was both exhilarating as it was nerve-racking. Alfrik’s breathing picked up, but he noticed he wasn’t the only one.

  Gin: What’s happening?

  Alfrik cleared his throat, trying to swallow down the ball of nerves that stayed locked there. He couldn’t answer Gin, not with his brain short-circuiting. A slow, easy smile curved Titos’s lips, the very ones Alfrik knew were soft to the touch and looked absolutely amazing wrapped around a cock.

  He absentmindedly rearranged himself, trying to relieve the pressure on his hardening member. Titos groaned, and his glowing green gaze followed Alfrik’s hand hungrily.

  Titos opened his mouth, and Alfrik was ready for whatever order his master gave—they all were. Mazki moved closer to the couch, and Gin clutched Titos’s hips. But whatever was about to happen came to a screeching halt as Titos’s smile dropped instantly and a faraway look came over his face.

  Alfrik’s head tilted to the side as he tried feeling through the bonds what was wrong. Curiosity thrummed through the open bonds with everyone.

  “What is—”

  “We are under attack,” Titos said. He was up and off Gin in a flash.

  His eyes were still glowing and power still at all their fingertips. Growls filled the room, and Alfrik moved instantly.

  Seth: Guard Titos at all times.

  Alfrik nodded and moved closer to his master. They needed to get him somewhere safe, but Titos seemed to have other plans. He moved from their inner circle and was at the door before any of them realized what was happening. He yanked the door open and headed down, leaving all his keepers to scramble behind him.

  Gin: What is he doing?

  Alfrik grumbled. It felt as if his master planned on confronting their attackers.

  Mazki: What about the barrier?

  Gin: The outer one is just to warn Titos. It won’t keep anyone powerful enough to pass it out. And it’s made so the king knows if edoli enter his territory. The only one that can keep people out is the one around the main house.

  Titos came to a screeching halt at the front door, Liby and Kyo both joining in.

  “What’s happening?” Kyo asked.

  “Your barriers are foolproof, right?” Seth asked.

  Kyo didn’t hesitate. “Within reason. Let’s say if—”

  The house shook as a resounding boom rocked through the place.

  “Like that. If it’s attacked repeatedly, it can be broken,” Kyo said.

  Titos glanced over to her, and she gasped at the sight of his glowing eyes. “How long do we have?”

  Kyo shrugged. “Depends on how many are attacking.”

  Titos: This is my home.

  Seth: Then we defend it.

  Alfrik nodded in agreeance.

  Liby pulled out her sword, and Alfrik was already letting his lava bear come forward.

  “Titos, can you feel how many?” Kyo asked.

  Titos’s head tilted to the side, and he closed his eyes. A shiver worked its way down Alfrik’s spine as he felt Titos brush against the bond before he went further away from them. Alfrik reached for his master just in case, although he could clearly see Titos hadn’t moved an inch.

  The others did the same.

  Titos was back all too quickly. “It was a group that entered, but I can’t seem to feel them individually.”

  Kyo tsked. “The barrier is still new, and you have only been connected to it for a short while.” She pulled out two magical pistols.

  “Thought guns don’t work?” Kail asked.

  Kyo grinned at him. “Oh, these babies are special.”

  Titos opened the door to the house, and they rushed to the front. Another bomb went off, and everything trembled around them. Alfrik glanced up, and the barrier that was around the main house shimmered and showed itself for a short second before becoming invisible again.

  “Damn, they are hitting us hard,” Kyo said.

  Seth growled. “Everyone, shift. Adom, Gin, and Kail, stay close
to Titos.”

  Alfrik nodded and took in a breath, allowing his bear to come forward. He was bigger and hotter than ever. In fact, it felt as if he’d grown even more since Titos bonded with Gin. His body grew to be at least eight feet, and his skin sizzled, forming into lava rocks with magma flowing right under the surface.

  Once Alfrik was fully shifted, he let out a roar, letting his enemies know that he’d destroy them.

  Titos: Wow, you have all grown.

  Alfrik caught sight of Seth in his manticore wolf form. The spikes on his body were large, and Alfrik knew any enemy pierced by one wouldn’t survive. If Alfrik was big, Seth was ginormous. The only reason Alfrik might have looked a tad bit bigger than Seth was that Alfrik stood on his hind legs.

  There was a screech, and fluffy white feathers fluttered in Alfrik’s view. Adom in his owl-griffin form was a beauty to be held. He lowered himself, and Titos got onto the man’s back. If only Alfrik wasn’t molten lava; he’d love for his master to ride on his back. Kail was nowhere in sight, but there was a cloud of darkness that shimmied around Titos.

  Alfrik realized it was Kail, and again he wondered what Kail was. He was neither a magic user nor a true shifter. Something glowed like the sun, and Alfrik’s gaze fell to their newest member. Gin was a mostly black cat with gold spots on his face and down his back. Antlers that held flowers that Alfrik had never seen before.

  When all grouped together, they were a force to be reckoned with. Alfrik pitied the idiots who thought it was okay to attack them. Liby and Kyo were right there with them, their weapons drawn.

  “They are toward the back,” Titos said.

  Mazki took to the sky, his wings pure red flames, and sparks rained down as he flew. Alfrik watched him for a second before he was on all fours and racing around the house to the back. He made sure not to hit the trees with his hulking form. The last thing he needed to do was start a fire.

  Seth breezed past him, the manticore wolf twice as fast as him. Alfrik broke the tree line right behind their alpha and came to a halt at the number of edoli outside the barrier.