Guard the Crown: The Royal Alphas

by H Q Kingsley

  I blinked back at him for a moment in stunned silence. I hardly ever got to order for myself. Whenever we were out, father ordered for me so that nobody would ever have to acknowledge me, and at parties, I mostly ended up serving myself so as not to bother anyone. It was surreal to have Omar sitting there, looking at me like I had all of the answers. Nobody ever thought I had any answers.

  “Um, we’ll have the Lemonte Charcuterie.” I looked to Omar. “Is that okay? It’s my favorite.”

  Omar shrugged. “Sounds good to me.” He smiled at me as he handed his menu to the waiter without taking his eyes off of me.

  How could he ever think I could get bored with him? Just looking at him felt like it could take a lifetime. Taking in his every muscle, every perfect line of his face, the deep, dark color of his eyes, it took time. Time well spent. And then there was the way he made me feel, a feeling that was impossible to get enough of, let alone be bored with.

  “I’m having a really good time,” I said softly and was surprised at how much it made Omar light up.

  “Yeah?” He reached out and took my hand across the table, stroking it with his thumb. “Me too.” He grinned at me so wide that I felt like I could see each and every one of his teeth, and I just sat there staring at him, trying to memorize his smile so that I could think of it whenever I felt sad. Trying to capture the feeling of him holding my hand, the warmth of it, the way it completely covered my own.

  I hadn’t realized how long we’d sat there in silence, just staring at one another until the waiter came back with our food, plopping the plates down in the center of the table. He was clearly annoyed with us, well, probably more me than Omar.

  “There you go,” he said snidely. “Enjoy.”

  He turned to walk away and knocked Teddy out of his chair as he went. It was hard to tell if he’d done it on purpose or not, but he scowled down at Teddy and whirled back around on me.

  “These chairs aren’t for putting your toys in,” he spit, moving to take the extra chair away from our table.

  Omar reached out and firmly grabbed his wrist, a low, malicious growl rumbling from his throat.

  “Pick. Up. The. Bear.” He said each word intentionally, and his eyes flashed with an anger that sent a chill down my spine.

  The waiter looked at him, and the arrogant, self-righteous look on his face melted away, quickly replaced by fear.

  He slowly moved to pick up Teddy as Omar let go of his wrist.

  “Put him back in his chair,” Omar demanded.

  The waiter scowled, but it faded away as another one of those low growls echoed in Omar’s chest.

  The entire restaurant was watching us, every spoon was paused in the air, and it seemed every patron was holding their breath, knowing that any false move might send Omar on a rampage.

  “Apologize,” Omar said firmly to the waiter as he set Teddy back into his chair.

  “I-I’m s-s-sorry,” he stammered.

  “Not to me.” Omar nodded to Teddy.

  “Y-you can’t be serious.” The waiter frowned, but the look on Omar’s face said he was deadly serious.

  The waiter looked around the room, his face glowing with embarrassment from all of the attention on him.

  He reluctantly turned to Teddy. “I-I’m sorry.”

  Omar smiled, but it wasn’t like the smile he’d given me all night. No, this one was darker, wicked almost.

  “Good.” Omar stood up, and I was reminded of just how large he was as he towered over the cowering waiter. “And the next time you see him or his companion, maybe you’ll remember how to treat them. And if you don’t, my next reminder won’t be so kind.”

  The waiter frantically nodded, and Omar sat back down in his seat and picked up his fork. “What’s this stuff called again?” he asked me as if he hadn’t just taken the whole restaurant by surprise.

  I stared back at him with my mouth hanging open as I watched the waiter disappear in shame out of the corner of my eye.

  “Um, Lemonte Charcuterie,” I said, still in awe.

  “And it’s your favorite?” Omar asked, taking a bite.

  I nodded, still unable to shake off what had just happened. Even more so, how it’d made me feel. I should have been mortified, or scared, or something, but instead, I felt...good. It felt good to see somebody suffer for treating me like a waste of space. It shouldn’t have...but it did. I shouldn’t have enjoyed knowing that Omar had that dark streak in him...but I did. It made me feel like for once, nobody could harm me, that they wouldn’t even dare to try.

  “It’s good,” Omar said, chewing slowly. “I think...Is it supposed to be so chewy?”

  I laughed, and the sound shook me a little. It had been a while since I’d heard myself laugh. “Yes, it’s a little chewy. It might be an acquired taste. Sorry,” I said.

  Omar shook his head. “You’ve got to stop apologizing to me,” he said.

  I flushed. “I’m sorr…”

  Omar laughed and reached out and took my hand again, and I felt myself swoon. I could still feel everyone’s eyes on us, but they didn’t matter. All that mattered was being there with him at that moment, swooning as I watched him eat my favorite dish.

  It was the best date ever. I didn't have much to compare it to, but it felt so special to me.

  Omar took my arm as he led us to the car.

  “Hey, I’m sorry if...if I scared you or embarrassed you back there,” Omar said as he pulled open the driver’s side door for me.

  I shook my head. “You didn’t.” I dropped my gaze for a moment but then forced myself to look up at him. “I...liked it.”

  Omar arched a brow. “You did?”

  I shrugged. “Nobody ever sticks up for me. And they definitely don’t treat Teddy with any sort of decency, and you did both in one fell swoop. It was...nice.”

  Omar grinned and stepped toward me, slipping his arm around my waist to pull me up and into him. My feet left the ground so quickly and easily that I cooed and flushed with embarrassment from it. But Omar didn’t seem to notice.

  “Well, that changes now,” he said. “I’ll always stick up for you. And Teddy. And anyone else you want me to protect. Consider me your own personal tank. Point me in a direction and I’ll take down everything in my path for you.” He reached out and gently touched my hair. “That’s a promise.”

  I swallowed as I looked into his eyes. He meant every word. I was safe now. With him.

  I relaxed in his hold, wrapping my legs around him and resting my arms over his shoulders as I settled into his grip.

  He held me there like that for a long time, the two of us staring at each other, breathing one another in. It was intimate in a way I’d never felt before, but I wasn’t nervous for once. It just felt right...at least for a moment. But then Omar spoke, and my palms started to sweat.

  “I’m going to kiss you now,” he said. “Is that okay?”

  I swallowed, my heart racing as a nervous knot formed in my stomach. “Okay,” I squeaked. “But I might not be good at it.”

  Omar smiled a smile that made my heart beat even faster.

  “Impossible,” he said as he dipped his head.

  I sucked in a breath, trying to keep breathing as his lips moved closer and closer to mine. I wasn’t sure if time was moving in slow-motion or if he was actually moving that slowly, giving me time to prepare myself.

  His fingers tucked under my chin, tipping my face up.

  His lips hovered just over mine as his eyes scanned me for a second, checking for any resistance. When he was satisfied with what he saw, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine.

  It was soft and gentle, and I didn't have time to worry about what I was supposed to do with my lips or my hands. I didn't have time to worry about anything at all because Omar took control.

  His thumb pressed to my chin, guiding me, as his lips moved over mine.

  I relaxed, sighing as he kissed me, and the moment I did, he kissed me more insistently. His tongue parted my l
ips and he licked into my mouth.

  His tongue was so big and insistent, coaxing mine to move with his.

  I kissed him back clumsily and put one hand on his chest to brace myself because it felt like the world was spinning out of control around me.

  But it was good. It was so good.

  My whole body felt warm, and it was like being drunk all over again, but without the confusing bits.

  And I could feel Omar wanting me. Every lick into my mouth, I could practically taste his desire. And it made me hard. Too hard for the way my legs were wrapped around him. I knew he could feel it, there was no way he couldn’t. The way he was holding onto me, leaning in and trying to hold himself back, it was obvious what we both wanted.

  It was nice of him to not overwhelm me, but I didn’t want him to hold back. I wanted all of him. Everything he would give me.

  No one had ever wanted me back. No one had ever made me feel desirable the way Omar had, and in that moment, I knew what I wanted.

  I pulled back a little, needing to catch my breath. When I licked my lips, I could taste him, and it was just like the chocolate cake we’d had earlier mixed with his own delicious flavor. I was so tempted to chase his mouth for more, but I knew I had to tell him first.

  “I-I’m an omega,” I said breathlessly. “I-I...you should know in case we…”

  Omar licked his lips, reminding me just how badly I wanted to taste them again. And then he laughed, surprising me.

  “What?” I asked. It wasn’t exactly common knowledge. The entire line of Heydar men were alphas, and father had kept that I was the freak in the family out of the press.

  “I know,” Omar said. “I could smell it.”

  My face scrunched in confusion. “You could smell that I was an omega?”

  “Yeah,” he confessed. “The night I changed you. You were...um...wet. And I, uh, I could smell it.”

  “Oh.” My face heated. “Oh my god.” I tried to look away, but Omar’s grip on my chin wouldn’t let me.

  “Don’t look away from me. Please,” Omar said as he placed a gentle kiss on my lips. “I hate it when you look away from me.”

  I swallowed, forcing myself to look at him. “Okay,” I squeaked. “I’m just...embarrassed.”

  “Why?” He placed kisses along my jaw. “Because you want me?” he asked, placing another kiss. “I sit up at night wanting you so bad that jacking off thinking of you is the only way to stop myself from crossing that hallway and…”

  I shivered as his breath tickled my ear. Nobody had ever said anything like that to me, and suddenly, I was hard again, and if he could smell it when I was wet, he certainly had to be getting a nose full.

  “We should do it,” I blurted before I had time to get too nervous about it. “I’m ready. I want to. Right now.”

  Omar laughed and stroked fingers through my hair. “All in good time, my little peanut,” he said, teasing. “How about for right now, you just let me kiss you for a while.”

  He licked my lips, nipping at them a little with his teeth, and I shivered. “How does that sound?” he asked, his voice a gruff whisper.

  I nodded. “Sounds good,” I answered breathlessly.

  11

  Omar

  I let go of Zyke’s hand as we stepped back into the palace. I wanted to hold it forever, but that would have been hard to explain if someone saw us. I was his bodyguard, and trying to bang him was definitely not on my list of official duties.

  But I needed to be touching him, so I let my hand rest on the small of his back, guiding him through the grand entrance hall and up the stairs.

  I always wanted to be touching him or smelling him, or just be close enough that I could feel him against me, so it would have to do until we got behind closed doors and I could take him in arms and kiss his still swollen lips. I had kissed him senseless, but it still wasn’t enough. I wanted more.

  “I want to grab a book from the library before I go to my room,” he murmured, and honestly, he could have asked for anything at that point, and I would have said yes.

  “Sure,” I agreed, and we swung in that direction instead of toward his room.

  Usually the doors to the library were closed, but I could tell as soon as we approached that something was different. Instead of just being closed, there was a chain wound through the handles of the doors and a large lock was holding them shut.

  Zyke frowned, stepping closer and tugging on it for a second before he looked at me in confusion.

  I didn’t have any answers for him. As far as I could tell, Zyke was the only one who really even used the library, so it didn’t make sense for it to be locked. But I had a bad feeling in my stomach that something shitty was going on, which was confirmed when Mykel and Rehan came walking down the hall a second later.

  They took one look at Zyke’s confused face and started snickering.

  It was that slimy sort of laugh that made it clear Zyke was the butt of their joke like he always seemed to be.

  “Oh no,” Rehan said, making a fake shocked face. “Someone locked you out of your library. Maybe now you can do something worthwhile instead of sitting around reading all the time.”

  “You could try to break in,” Mykel offered. “But we all know how that would go, don’t we? Poor little Zykey couldn’t break a chain if his life depended on it.”

  Rehan laughed. “There’s an idea. How about we chain you up and throw you in a lake, just to see.”

  Rehan stepped toward him, and I pushed Zyke behind me, feeling a feral growl build in my chest.

  Their laughter ignited something in me that I’d been pushing down since I took the job. All Zyke wanted was to be left alone to read and mind his own business, and these assholes just couldn’t let him have that, clearly.

  I saw red, and I was halfway to shifting and ripping them apart when Zyke burst into tears.

  We all froze, and it felt like my heart was breaking to see his face crumpled like that, twisted in sadness with tears spilling down his cheeks. Especially when he’d just been so happy a second ago.

  He put his hands over his face and then took off running, bolting away from us.

  I was after him immediately, forgetting about his brothers. They’d get theirs in time.

  Zyke ran to his room, throwing himself on the bed while his shoulders shook with silent sobs. I eased the door closed behind him and locked it for good measure, approaching slowly.

  I’d never been very good at comforting people. Most of the people I knew never really cried, but I knew I had to do something.

  Carefully, I sat down on the bed, and when he didn’t tell me to fuck off, I put a hand on his back, rubbing it soothingly while he cried.

  That seemed to just open the floodgates more, and he started bawling harder, his body shaking and his breaths coming in small gasps while he sobbed.

  “It’s okay, Zyke,” I murmured. “You’re okay.”

  “I’m sorry,” he managed to get out, not lifting his face. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t—I didn’t mean to ruin the night. Everything was going so good, and then—” He broke off for another bout of crying, and I shook my head, shushing him.

  “Hey, you didn’t ruin anything, okay? It’s fine.”

  “No...I messed it all up. I’m sorry.”

  “I told you to stop apologizing to me,” I said. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

  Fuck, my heart was breaking for him. He was so hurt, so beaten down by the way they treated him, and I had to wonder how many times he’d cried like this before because of something they’d done or said to him. And had anyone ever been there for him? Had anyone ever held him or stroked his hair and told him it was going to be okay?

  I was willing to bet he’d always been alone in his pain, and I sighed, reaching for him, bundling him into my arms.

  He curled up against me, small and shaking, and I rubbed his back, trying to do whatever I could to help.

  “I don’t know why they hate me so much,” he cried. “I do
n’t know what I did.”

  “They’re fucking assholes, Peanut,” I told him, placing a kiss to his forehead. “It doesn’t matter what you did or what they think you did. No one deserves to be treated the way they treat you.”

  He just kept crying, so I kept holding him, stroking his hair, murmuring soft assurances that it was going to be okay, even though I didn’t know if I really believed that. It was my job to protect him, but I couldn’t keep him safe from getting hurt by his family, no matter how much I wanted to.

  And I really, really fucking wanted to. My desire to keep him safe went past it just being my job. I cared about him, more than cared about him. I was fucking devoted to him. And it was tearing me up to listen to him cry like that, knowing there wasn’t really anything I could do about it.

  I didn’t know how much time had passed while we sat there, but eventually, Zyke calmed down some. He stopped shaking, and the sobs turned into small cries and then stopped altogether. He took shuddering breaths, still curled up against me, and I didn’t rush him, letting him pull himself back together.

  “I really wish I had a book,” he said, sniffling after a while of sitting in silence.

  I’d go get him one if I thought I could trust myself not to beat his brothers to a pulp, but since I didn’t, I stayed put. “What else do you like to do besides read?” I asked him.

  “I like to draw, but I’ve never been very good at it, so I stopped.”

  “If you like it, then it doesn’t matter if you’re good at it,” I told him. “You should draw something. Take your mind off things.”

  “I don’t have anything to draw with. Or any paper or anything,” he said. “I haven’t had art supplies in years.”

  I could imagine the reason behind that, but it wasn’t time to get pissed off again. Not when Zyke had just calmed down.

  I fished in the inner pocket of my jacket and pulled out a pen, handing it over to him. Zyke took it, but looked at me, confused.