Guard the Crown: The Royal Alphas

by H Q Kingsley

  “I’m not trying to—”

  “Shut the fuck up,” he said, cutting me off. “You sit there week after week, being a coward, and now you want to speak up? So you can talk down to us like we’re the idiots here?”

  “Rehan,” Ezra said.

  “No, if he wants to be a big man all of a sudden, then fine. He can be a big man.”

  Before I had time to react, Rehan was reaching across the table. It felt like I was watching in slow motion as he grabbed Teddy in his hands and held it up, a menacing glint in his eyes.

  “Give it back!” I said, leaping up and grabbing for him.

  “No. You’re a big man, remember? You have all the ideas. Fucking grownups don’t have stuffed bears, you goddamned embarrassment.”

  “Stop—”

  “Rehan!” Ezra climbed to his feet, but he was too slow.

  In one smooth motion, Rehan took Teddy’s head in his hand and he ripped it right off, leaving a trail of stuffing coming out.

  And I just stood there. Gaping at him.

  I knew Teddy was stuffed and couldn’t feel pain, but I felt like I could feel it. The tearing going all the way down to my bones as I watched him throw the head down to the floor, giving me a triumphant look.

  I couldn’t breathe. I could only stare, trying to make sense of it all.

  I had a lot of stuffed animals in my room. Other bears, ducks, dogs. They lined my dresser and were in my closet, but none of them were Teddy. None of them were as special as the bear my mother had given me, the last thing I had...the only thing I had left of her. And just like that, it was gone. Torn in two because my brothers hated me so much.

  I could feel the tears burning in my eyes, threatening to fall, and I knew I was going to fall apart right there in front of all of them, giving them more fuel for their fire to mock me and call me a pathetic baby.

  But before the first tear fell, there was a growl of anger from the door, and a half-shifted Omar was vaulting over the table and lunging at Rehan, going for his neck.

  Rehan managed to get his guard up in time, and Omar’s bite missed, sinking into his shoulder instead, but I could see the bite was deep. Blood spilled down his face and down Rehan’s arm, and my brother gritted his teeth against the pain, his eyes flashing.

  The others stood up, knocking back their chairs, and one-by-one they started shifting, ready to leap to Rehan’s defense.

  My heart raced. Omar was a certified badass, but so were my brothers, and they more than outnumbered him.

  I put my hands on the sides of my face, trying to block out some of the noise.

  It was chaos. They were all yelling, and then clothes ripped, flesh splitting as fur sprang out. My brothers were all massive, big and hulking, their fur ranging in different colors from golden to brown to even paler, and they went after Omar, who had also shifted completely to fend them off.

  But he was outmatched, clearly. It was five on one, and even injured the way he was, Rehan was fighting back.

  They slammed into the table, threatening to topple it over, and I leapt back, trying to get out of the way, trying to fight through all of the thoughts running wild in my head to figure out how to help Omar, but I was frozen there, my head in my hands, being useless...what else was new?

  It was all fangs and claws and blood, and that sob that had been building in my throat burst forward. “Stop it!” I cried. “Just stop! Please!”

  Of course, they didn’t listen to me, and Avi grabbed Omar in his jaws and tossed him, sending him crashing into the chairs and to the ground.

  I wanted to run to him, but Ellis was there before I could move, teeth snapping, a growl building in his throat.

  But Omar wasn’t down for the count. He got up even though he was a bloody mess, baring his teeth still stained with Rehan’s blood. His growl snapped through the air, a clear warning for them to back off.

  But my brother’s didn’t understand warnings of any kind. They only understood violence, and Omar was an outsider who had come in and hurt one of their own. They weren’t going to stop until they had made him pay, no matter how much I begged them to back down.

  Tears were running down my face, and my arms clutched at nothing since Teddy had been destroyed. I had never wanted him more than I did in that moment.

  I was terrified that they were going to kill Omar and then turn on me because he had been defending me, and there wasn’t anything I could do to stop them.

  I turned my wide eyes to my father. He hadn’t so much as moved to stop them. He’d stepped away from the chaos, keeping himself out of the fray, watching with no emotion on his face.

  His eyes flicked to me then, and we looked at each other for a split second before he raised his hands and clapped them loudly enough that it echoed over the noise of the fighting.

  “That’s enough!” he roared, and even though he wasn’t shifted, his voice still carried.

  Everyone froze. My brothers backed off, and even Omar paused, and once my brothers had moved away from him, it was easy to see that he was hurt. Blood streamed down his fur, matting it to his body. He slowly picked himself up off of the ground, limping and gritting his teeth.

  With a ripple of fur and flesh, he shifted back into human form, and the sight was even worse. He was bruised and battered, blood running into his eyes and dripping from his fingers.

  My father just looked at him, his face changing from bored to angry and disgusted.

  “You’re fired,” he snapped. “And you’re lucky that’s all I’m doing. I could have you hanged for attacking my sons. Get your things and get out.”

  Omar just stood there, breathing heavily. His chest heaved, and his eyes still held that feral light from before. Even though he was in human form, he might not listen, and for a heart stopping moment, I was worried he wasn’t going to obey my father and would leap back in to attack.

  If he did, it wouldn’t be pretty. Either my father really would have him hanged or he’d let my brothers kill him. He didn’t give second chances.

  I tried to get him to look at me, staring into the side of his head and thinking let it go as loudly as I could, even though there was no way he could hear that.

  My hands curled into fists, and my heart pounded, but then Omar just spat on the ground and turned to leave, limping out the door and leaving his shredded and tattered clothes in a heap on the ground.

  The tension in the room popped like a bubble, and I breathed a sigh of relief, hurrying to follow Omar out before anyone could say anything to me.

  I looked a mess, I was sure, tears running down my face and still splotchy and upset, but I hurried all the same, not letting Omar get away.

  13

  Omar

  Packing didn’t take long. I didn’t own a lot of shit. Never had the money to start collecting crap, and even once I did have some money coming in, I’d never seen the need to have stuff just laying around gathering dust.

  Maybe it was leftover from the military. Either way, it was quick work to just start shoving clothes into my duffel, cleaning out the room I’d been given.

  Zyke was there, hovering around me, his eyes worried and anxious.

  “Why did you do that?” he asked. He’d been crying, and as much I wanted to take him into my arms and soothe him, I kept working.

  I was still so angry I was vibrating.

  My whole fucking body ached from being dogpiled by the asshole princes, but I was still standing. They hadn’t fucked me up badly enough to keep me from moving on, and I ignored the pain to keep working.

  “You know why,” I muttered.

  “One of these days, your temper is going to get you killed,” he said. “They could have killed you today.”

  “I only have a temper when it comes to you,” I told him. “And they got way less than what they deserved.”

  He nodded. “You’re not wrong...but...you scared me. I thought you were going to let them kill you.”

  I kept myself from looking at him as I zipped up my duff
le. The truth was, I was ready to die. I hadn’t been thinking about anything but ripping his brothers apart...hell, it was still all I could think about.

  Zyke was quiet for a long moment, and when I hefted my duffel, he moved toward the door.

  “Can you help me pack, too?” he asked.

  I stood there for a second, frowning. “What?”

  “If you’re leaving, then I’m going with you,” he said.

  “I can’t allow you to do that, Zyke. Life outside the palace isn’t easy. Especially life with me. I’m not...all the way put together. You’ve seen it. I drink too much. I get angry too quickly. I—”

  “There isn’t anything you can say to me that’s going to make me not want to go with you.” For someone who spent so much time being shy and afraid, Zyke had a pretty determined face. He lifted his chin and looked at me with those beautiful eyes, not glancing away. “I don’t care about any of it. Life may not be easy out there, but it’s not easy here, either,” he said. “And I wasn’t asking your permission. I’m coming.”

  “Zyke, no,” I said. He was a prince, and even if his brothers and father were trash, he belonged in the palace where he was safe. “You have to stay here. Where I’m going is definitely not safe for someone from the royal family.”

  His determined face fell apart as his lower lip trembled, and for a moment, I was scared he was going to start crying again.

  “I love you,” he said all at once, his voice coming out in a rush. “I love you, and it’s going to break my heart if I can’t see you every day and fall asleep in your arms.”

  My chest tightened. His eyes were so wide, and he was just so fucking beautiful standing there telling me he loved me, begging to follow me into the wilderness.

  Fuck.

  I swallowed past the lump in my throat and took a deep breath. I loved him, too, with every goddamn thing in me. If I couldn’t see him every day, I didn’t know what I would do.

  I wouldn’t be able to handle not having him with me. Not holding him close at night, smelling his sweet scent, and watching all the worry and sadness smooth from his face as he drifted off to sleep.

  Even worse, I’d just be thinking about him being stuck in the palace with his shitty family, being bullied and treated like crap with no one to stand up for him.

  I couldn’t do that. I cared about him too much.

  “Goddammit, Peanut.” I sighed. “Fine. But you only get to take one bag. Choose wisely.”

  His eyes lit up, and he smiled finally, chasing some of that desperate misery out of his eyes.

  “Okay. But one big bag, right?”

  I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, waiting for someone to accuse me of kidnapping him or for the king to change his mind about hanging me, but nobody paid us any attention as we slipped out of the front door.

  Even as we packed our things into the back of a car, nobody came out to see us off or try to stop us. And just like that, the palace was in our rearview.

  I wrapped my arms around Zyke, wincing as I pulled him into me in the backseat of the cab. I could already feel myself starting to heal, but I was still hurting like hell. I needed to get somewhere and treat my wounds and lie down. I was already bleeding through another shirt, which didn’t go unnoticed by Zyke.

  “Are you okay?” he whispered up to me.

  “Shh,” I hushed him, stroking his hair. “I’m fine.”

  It was a quiet ride after that, Zyke looking out the window as we left the palace district behind and all the buildings became less grand and over-the-top. I’d gotten us a hotel just outside of the gates. It wasn’t lavish by any means or anything Zyke was probably used to, but it wasn’t a complete shithole. I’d saved up a good bit of cash from the king. It wouldn’t last forever, but I could get us a reasonably-priced place that wasn’t in the slummiest of the slums. Zyke deserved at least that much.

  I gave the driver his payment as we pulled up to the hotel. The pain wracking my body was getting worse by the second, and I nearly bit the check-in woman’s head off before we got our room key.

  By the time we reached the door, I was drenched in sweat and breathing way too hard.

  “Omar?” Zyke asked and I could hear the panic in his tone.

  “I’m okay. I’m f…” I trailed off as the room started to spin. I braced myself on the frame of the door, just trying to keep myself upright, but my arms were shaking, and before I knew it, everything went dark.

  I blinked and panicked for a moment when I didn’t recognize my surroundings, but then I heard Zyke’s voice.

  “Oh my gods! Finally!”

  He lunged at me, throwing his arms around my neck and sending a shockwave of pain through my body.

  “Oh, sorry,” Zyke said. “I forgot about your stitches.”

  My brows pulled together. “Stitches?”

  My hand went to my side and, sure enough, there were rough stitches there holding me together.

  I looked around, realizing I was in the bathroom, spread across the floor with about a million bloody towels around me.

  “What happened?” I asked.

  “Well, you passed out and scared the shit out of me. Also, you almost crushed me, so maybe the next time you’re not actually fine, you should just say that.”

  My eyes widened. It was the first time I’d ever experienced sass from him. “Yes, sir,” I said. “How did you get me in here?”

  “I called the front desk. It took eight of us, but we managed to get you in here and then I sewed you up.”

  I touched my stitches again. “You did this?”

  Zyke gave me a shy shrug. “Sometimes I read medical journals.”

  I smiled up at him. “So damn smart.”

  He smiled back at me. “Just don’t ever make me have to do that again.” He sighed as he gently settled in next to me.

  “I’ll do my best,” I promised. “So, the front desk lady helped you after I was such an ass to her?”

  Zyke chuckled. “Yeah, she really doesn’t like you. But she liked me, which was weird. People never like me.”

  I shook my head. “People don’t know you. If they did, they couldn’t possibly not like you.”

  Zyke let out a soft breath. “I wish I saw me the way that you do.”

  “You will, Peanut. One day, you’ll love yourself as much as I love you. I promise.”

  14

  Zyke

  It had only taken Omar a couple of days for his lion to heal him before he was back up and at it like his normal self. Thank the gods his lion was as strong as he was and he healed quickly, because he was excellent at being a caretaker but not so great at being the one taken care of. It was something I didn’t understand because I enjoyed it so much when Omar took care of me. But letting me take care of him seemed like torture for him.

  “Glad to see you’re feeling better,” I said, as I watched Omar buzz around the room, laying out my clothes for me.

  He smiled and walked over me to give me a quick and easy kiss. “I’m glad to be feeling better,” he said with a grin. “I’m sorry if I was a bad patient, Nurse Peanut.”

  I chuckled and waved him off. “No, you weren’t that bad,” I lied.

  “You’re a terrible liar,” Omar shot back, giving me one last kiss before helping me out of bed to get dressed.

  “Are we going somewhere?” I asked, noticing that he was already fully dressed for the day.

  “I’ve got some money saved up, but we can’t live in a hotel. I thought we’d go apartment hunting.”

  “Oh,” I said as Omar guided me into my jeans. “I don’t think I’ve ever been apartment hunting.”

  Omar shrugged as he slid my shirt on over my raised arms. “Honestly, me neither. I usually just crash anywhere that will have me, but I don’t want you to have to live like that. You deserve more.”

  I tried to force a smile, but the truth was, I always felt a little guilty that he tried so hard to give me what he thought I deserved. I deserved very little in life. I’d do
ne nothing. I’d helped no one, and it baffled me that Omar had put me up on such a high pedestal. But I knew better than to try to argue with him about it. If Omar felt like he could give me something he felt was owed to me, there was no talking him down.

  Once I was dressed, I followed Omar out of the door, reaching for his hand to cling to. The world without Teddy made me anxious, but holding Omar’s hand helped. And he didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he went out of his way to always make sure he was touching me in some way. I wasn’t sure if he did it on purpose or by instinct, but it always soothed me, his hand holding mine, on my shoulder, or at the small of my back. He was always there.

  “So, where to now?” I asked as he guided me along a sidewalk that had seen better days. All of the roads around the hotel were old and filled with potholes and faded street lines, but according to Omar, this was the nice part of town.

  I tried not to let any of it shock me. The last thing I wanted was for Omar to feel like he wasn’t giving me enough when all I really wanted was to be with him. I could sleep anywhere as long as he was next to me.

  “There was only one two bedroom available around town that we could reasonably afford, so that's where we’re going. Let’s hope it’s great,” Omar said as he led me around a corner.

  “I’m sure it will be,” I said before really processing his words. “Two bedrooms?” I asked, stopping in my tracks. Panic started to set in. Why did we need two bedrooms? Did he not want to sleep with me anymore?

  My heart started to race as Omar looked down at me, his face pulled in an expression that I couldn’t quite read.

  “Oh, yeah...I, uh…” He scratched at his head. “For...the kids.”

  “The kids?” I cocked my head as I looked at him.

  “Yeah,” he said, dragging the word out. “The ones I’m realizing I never asked you if you wanted.”