Aurora's Consort *ch. 51 added*

A/N: A quick drop and run today. Happy Mother's Day to everyone out there. Hope it's a good one! Big hugs and thanx to everyone who reviewed last time too. I really appreciate it!

Big huggins and Kudos to Madrachadevvi for the beta job on this one.

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Chapter 50 Master Control Freak

“Back straight and eyes to the front,” Kiran demanded as he circled Devin with calm authority, a muted crackling sound accompanying each step. Devin was currently in kneeling presentation on the hardwood floor of the entryway. It was covered in something that looked suspiciously like polished grains of rice and they stung the skin of his knees through his pants like a son-of-a-bitch.

Immediately he did as his Master had commanded and snapped his eyes to the front as he straightened his posture and fought the urge to grit his teeth in irritation. Unfortunately, while looking straight ahead there was little he could do to hide the anger glowing in his eyes like embers. A frown marred Kiran’s angelic face at the sight of it. Normally in this position Devin was expected to look down respectfully and he suspected that the small mage had ordered him to do otherwise so that he could better read Devin’s emotions. Well, Kiran had gotten what he wished for and if he didn’t like it then that was his problem.

“Permission to speak, Master,” Devin requested in a steady voice, devoid of emotion.

“Permission denied, boy,” was Kiran’s less than generous reply and Devin barely bit back a curse of frustration. “I’ve already explained why you are being punished. When you agreed to accept me as your Master, you agreed that you would answer to me as your Master in all things. Yet you blatantly ignored my authority by missing your session last evening. Then you carelessly laid your obligations to your guests at my feet without a second thought. As if that weren’t enough, you changed your residence without securing my approval beforehand. Your actions of late have been immature and reckless. They also display a lack of respect for my authority as your trainer and reflect poorly on you as a mage-in-training.”

Again, Devin clenched his jaw against the denial that begged to escape. Sure, he’d promised to give Kiran control, but that control was supposed to be over his TRAINING. All of the other shit was his personal life and really wasn’t any of Kiran’s fucking business in Devin’s opinion. He wanted to tell the small mage to go to Hell, but he also knew that if he pushed too far he’d never be able to get out of the uncomfortable position in which he’d unexpectedly found himself. He was starting to get really hungry too. Lunch had been a hurried and careless affair since he’d been unexpectedly rushed off to participate in other things. That meant he hadn’t had a really good meal since breakfast.

After the wonderful meal he’d had with his mate, Chris, and his father, Devin had been on cloud nine. Then he’d gone to his lesson with Master Benjamin and nearly fallen over in relief when Sarah hadn’t shown up. There had been a short break after that during which Devin had searched for Jayden, to no avail. He’d finally found him in the throne room still busy with what was left of the morning Assembly. Bored, Devin had sent a few guards off to gather his possessions from his father’s home and had then wandered down to the public dining hall to grab something to eat. That’s where Councilmen Townsend, Reese, Nichols, Elliot, and Lawrence had found him, all of them boiling over with excitement.

Apparently the official first day of building at the school required a big fanfare and he was the lucky guy who’d been elected to front the group. Immediately, Devin saw what a perfect opportunity they’d handed him and accepted, smiling and chatting with them excitedly as they went off in search of Jayden. Devin really hoped that his mate would go with them and be part of the celebration, but the large redhead didn’t seem all that taken with the idea. After claiming that he was swamped and was scheduled to speak in the Jondair Province that afternoon, Jayden sent them on their way with a massive group of guards and a carefully neutral expression on his face.

Jayden’s rejection of his invitation kind of stung, but Devin immediately understood what was going on with his large mate. Devin had unintentionally crossed the line they’d set only the night before and Jayden had redrawn it in a way that would be obvious to Devin but not make him lose face in front of the High-Ranking Genesis Councilmen beside him. They were supposed to keep their political and personal lives separate and even Devin was willing to admit that his plans for the school and boarding house were political in nature. For that matter, the speech he’d been quickly preparing in his mind since he’d found out that he would be representing the project was something that Jayden would probably take exception to.

He’d known the night before that things would be complicated for some time between them, so Devin pushed his disappointment aside and respected Jayden’s decision to not take part. When they arrived at the ground breaking ceremony for the ex-slaves’ school and boarding house, it became clear to Devin that he and his council friends weren’t the only ones who were hyped over the approaching opening and he was glad that Jayden had refused to attend. Nearly a thousand Aurorans had arrived to watch the proceedings and Jayden’s presence would have made Devin even more uncomfortable.

Devin nervously gave a simple, straightforward speech about what they hoped to achieve with the rescued slaves. The longer he spoke, the more comfortable Devin became and, under the approving eyes of Councilman Thomas and Councilman Reese, he also used the opportunity to remind the citizens who’d arrived for the occasion that many such slaves were still on Earth, in need and at the mercy of the Omega. This time, however, Devin didn’t use scare tactics or try to manipulate them as he had been. He laid it all out matter-of-factly and let them make of it what they would.

The response was remarkable. Many, having heard the rumors revolving around Devin’s own capture, stepped forward to ask questions. Devin was eternally grateful when they avoided asking anything that directly addressed his behavior toward that whore, Zachary. His best guess was that they were hesitant to confront someone in his position publically about such a thing. Instead, they asked about the rumors that he was pregnant, his treatment while under Ashcroft’s control, the return of Sir Kiran, and the conditions under which the slaves lived and their treatment under the care of the Omega. After he’d carefully skirted the questions directed at him personally, Devin frankly and openly described some of the atrocities he’d seen while at the compound. The Aurorans in the crowd soon began to murmur amongst themselves and a few even asked what could be done to rectify the situation.

With a smile, Devin praised them for their civic mindedness and then urged them to voice their concerns and opinions to their Assembly representatives and to encourage those representatives to bring the issue before the King himself. Finally, he reminded them that current laws prevented them from taking any real action before carefully guiding them back to topic of the ground breaking ceremony itself. They happily cheered as the ‘masonry workers’, at least that’s what they’d called them, began wielding their magic to literally shift the earth in the marked off areas a little at a time, gathering it into large mounds off to the side and continuing until everything was perfectly leveled.

It took less than thirty minutes to complete and, once the leveling was done, the builders began weaving large stones from what seemed like nothing more than the air and exposed dirt around them. Devin knew that what he was seeing was far different from what the others were because of his ability to see magical energy. The entire field was filled with a multitude of swirling colors, like hundreds of misshapen or mutating rainbows of strange hues dancing together as the mages increased the amount of power they were gathering around them and really got down to business.

Devin could literally see the energy as it was drawn from the air around them and the ground beneath their feet, while the large blocks began to form around the perimeter of the bared area, like they were appearing from a void. The only thing that belied this impression was the small whirlwinds of sandy earth that formed in front of each mage as he practiced his art. Within minutes, the outline of the foundation of what would eventually be the boarding house was in place and the focus seemed to shift to filling that outline in. As additional blocks began to form inside the outer ring, humans started moving forward and further perfecting the shape of the stones now in place. Then another group of mages took their place and summoned fire from thin air to finish the process.

In all honesty, Devin could have watched the spectacle for hours, even though the crowd began to disperse around an hour or so after the work was underway. That wasn’t to be, however. After only a short while, Kiran had appeared at his side, demanding that Devin report back to the castle immediately for a session. A little shocked at the sudden turn of events, Devin had excused himself from the festivities with no small amount of chagrin. Still, he’d missed his session the night before, so he had followed Kiran without argument. Once there, Kiran had led Devin to his and Jayden’s suite like a lamb to the slaughter, completely unaware of what he was walking into.

With a small sound of discomfort, Devin forced his thoughts back to his current situation, mentally checking his positioning and shifting his weight slightly as he tried to ease the burning sensation of the grains digging into his skin. Even Kiran had said that this was considered a stern punishment, but one that the small mage claimed fit Devin’s latest transgressions nonetheless. Apparently disrespecting your Master was seriously frowned upon in Aurora. No big shock there.

Devin had to admit that he wasn’t in any hurry to disobey Kiran again, whether he agreed with his Master’s opinion or not. He’d had more than enough pain and discomfort to last him a lifetime while at the Omega compound. Even though his current punishment paled in comparison to most of the things he’d gone through there, it still sucked and, if it meant avoiding it in the future, Devin was willing to play along to some degree. After all, finding a new Master and starting his training all over again wasn’t even an option and, from what Devin had been told, Kiran had trained a few mages in his time and was widely viewed as a stern but fair Master. Still, Devin’s compliance with Kiran’s punishment didn’t mean that he regretted his decision the night before or that he would have done anything differently given the chance.

“You may rise,” Kiran murmured gently before stopping in front of Devin and holding out a helping hand. Devin immediately took it with a sigh of relief and stood up before reaching down to brush the offending rice-like objects from the knees of his pants. He could feel the indentions they’d left in his skin through the thin fabric and once again shot an annoyed look at Kiran. A single black eyebrow raised in challenge was Kiran’s response and Devin immediately diverted his glare and tried to get control of himself.

“Once you’ve cleaned this up, you will be given a ten minute rest period to do as you wish,” Kiran announced when Devin finally met his sapphire gaze with a calmer one of his own. “After that we will discuss what is and is not appropriate for a mage-in-training and set down some ground rules for the future. I’d assumed that you were already aware of the proper behavior, if not from your former Master then from watching your father and stepfather.”

Devin bit back a scathing retort that there was nothing NORMAL about his father and ‘stepfather’s’ relationship. Once again, Kiran seemed to pick up on Devin’s hostility but didn’t comment as he handed him a broom and dustpan before turning to walk into the living area. Devin quickly swept up the offending little grains and took great joy in tossing them into the small trashcan beside the liquor table. Satisfied, at least for the moment, Devin then poured himself a glass of water from the pitcher nearby before dropping tiredly into a seat near Kiran.

“I need to eat something before we do anything else,” Devin pointed out resignedly before taking a deep drink from his glass and setting it on the table beside him.

Kiran’s eyes immediately snapped to Devin as a firm expression settled over his beautiful face. “I decide when and under what circumstances we train. In the future you should request the things you need rather than demand them. To do otherwise would seem disrespectful, especially when in the presence of others.”

“There’s no one else here right now and you said this was my break time so give me some slack just this once, okay?” Devin murmured as he sank back into the cushions of the chair with a contented sigh. Kiran nodded his head a single time to let Devin know that he’d heard his request before sitting back in his own seat and getting comfortable. True to his word, Kiran didn’t interfere again and remained silent when Devin closed his eyes and allowed his exhaustion to take hold.

When Devin awoke, it was to the sound of angry voices in the entryway. It took a moment to clear out the cobwebs in his brain enough to understand what was being said. Once he had, the subject grabbed him and it took every ounce of his self-control to close his eyes and pretend to still be asleep so that they’d continue.

“…punishment was completely acceptable under the circumstances,” Kiran asserted, his irritation at being called out on his actions clearly evident in his voice. “Your mate needs to be reigned in now, before he becomes even more uncontrollable. While I’ll admit that at least some of his unpredictable mood swings are a result of the pregnancy, he’s still a far cry from the strong, straightforward young mage I met during his first days at the compound.”

“There has to be another way,” Jayden rumbled, the quietness of his voice doing nothing to hide his anger. “There are other, less extreme punishments and in his condition…”

“Do you honestly think me a fool, Your Majesty?” Kiran shot back in a cool but respectful tone. “I asked for Master Alan’s approval this very morning and he assured me that the punishment wouldn’t put the unborn child at risk. Thus far, I’ve worked closely with King-Consort Devin’s physician on every facet of his training. If anything, by delaying his training we are all putting both him and the child at risk. He needs to learn self-control, not only in relation to his gifts, but in his personal life as well. Even if that weren’t an issue, there’s also the matter of his political influence to consider. Only last night three separate mages asked me to confirm or deny his energy signature. Surely, as his mate, you know who he was. You’ve taken your spiritual journey and must realize how people will react if they discover that he was once…”

“I’m well aware of that fact,” Jayden barked, frustration winding its way into his voice. Devin could just imagine his mate in that moment dragging his long fingers through his fiery hair. “I’ve gone out of my way to avoid the topic in his presence and everyone close to us has carefully remained silent on the subject. Master Alan and Master Benjamin are both aware of the situation, as are many of the High-Ranking Genesis Council members and several members of the Assembly.”

“Although it is against our ways to speak of such things in the presence of an untrained mage, there are no edicts that prevent the other mages from discussing it amongst themselves. As word spreads, the King-Consort’s desires and opinions will carry more and more weight with the people of Aurora,” Kiran murmured, his worry over that fact clearly evident by the way he stressed the words ‘more and more’. Devin wasn’t entirely sure what they were talking about and it was very tempting to simply stand up, walk into the entryway, and demand that he be told. Instead, he remained where he was, sure that they’d refuse to enlighten him anyway based on what had been said already. Still, his curiosity was almost more than he could bear and Jayden’s next words did little to help matters.

“There’s nothing I can do to stop that. We’ve kept him fairly isolated until now in hopes that we would be able to contain things to some extent. He’s so new to our culture and High Councilor Adam feared that to have him suddenly thrown into the midst of adoring hordes might have a detrimental effect on the character building portion of his training.”

At those words, Devin couldn’t help but open his eyes for just a moment and look over in the direction of Jayden and Kiran’s voices in disbelief. His father and mate had told him again and again that the reason they’d kept him so isolated was for his own safety and because he didn’t understand the way Auroran society functioned well enough to play a part in the decision making process. Had that all been a lie to keep him quiet and out of the way? Either way, it hadn’t worked.

Devin had fumbled his way into the joint meeting, against Adam and Jayden’s warnings to stay away, and had openly scolded the Aurorans for their failure to follow their own teachings. That he’d been able to sway their opinions so quickly had seemed like a godsend. Even then, the High-Ranking councilors’ eagerness to accept Devin into their fold afterward had made his head spin. Looking back, their reactions seemed out of proportion to the events preceding their change in attitude. Did Kiran and Jayden’s current topic of conversation have something to do with that?

As if to confirm Devin’s suspicions, Jayden sighed and added, “With the exception of a few trips outside of the castle before his capture, we were successful in our endeavors. Then, after Devin made a show of authority in the council chambers, the High-Ranking councilors rallied around him and began to draw him into the political sphere more and more. Once he began the introductions for High-Consort Chris, he was increasingly exposed to outsiders. Luckily, at that time most of the Assembly members invited were distracted and caught up in the issues surrounding the High-Consort. Still, Chris’ presence is more widely accepted now and the rumors surrounding the King-Consort have caused their attentions to refocus on my mate. Word has already begun to spread rapidly, alongside the rumors surrounding Devin’s time at the compound and even his questionable mental state afterward.”

“I’m well aware of that, King Jayden,” was Kiran’s tired response. “I feel partially responsible for King-Consort Devin’s issues immediately following his return. If only I’d acted sooner or been stronger, I might have been able to…”

“You can’t continue to carry that burden. You weren’t strong enough to break Ashcroft’s binding on your own, especially after going so many years without access to your powers. No one holds you responsible for what happened there. You’re still regarded as a hero in Aurora and I reinstated your position on the council because I felt that you’d gone above and beyond the call of duty in your service to the crown,” Jayden explained, his admiration for the smaller mage coloring his voice and sending a streak of jealously through Devin. He immediately felt guilty about it because he knew that Kiran was a good man and deserved it. He had no clue why Kiran was so highly regarded in Aurora, but there was little doubt in his mind that the small mage had earned their admiration.

“I wanted to speak to you about my position. I feel it best if, for the time being, I withdraw from my political obligations to more fully focus on the King-Consort’s training. While it’s true that many councilmen have trained mages while fulfilling their duties, none have ever done so under these circumstances. Not only am I training a mage who is not my mate, I’m also training one who has many social and political obligations. Normally a mage-in-training has nothing of the sort and is free to completely immerse himself in his sessions and is available at his Master’s whim. Add to that a pregnancy and restitution sessions and I fear that things are simply too complicated to make our current situation practical.”

Devin held his breath as he waited for Jayden to reply. His mate had claimed that he had no intentions of standing in the way of Devin’s training and his answer to Kiran’s request would mean so much to their relationship in the near future. As the moment stretched out in nervous silence, Devin felt as if the tension building inside him would drive him insane. Then he heard a softly spoken, “King Jayden?” and thought he might scream.

“I apologize, Sir Kiran,” Jayden murmured so quietly that Devin wasn’t completely sure if he heard the big mage correctly. “We’re working through uncharted waters at every turn it seems. A mage getting pregnant during his training is rare and a mage training while in the position of King-Consort is even rarer. In the past, Auroran Kings have always been of a more advanced age before taking the crown and the training of their Consorts completed before they ever took up the weight of that responsibility. I did the best I knew how to balance my duties to my people with my responsibilities to my mate but in the end I fear that I’ve failed everyone.”

The pained sound of Jayden’s voice at this admission tore at Devin’s heart and everything in him cried out for him to comfort his mate. Before he could do that Kiran replied, “All we can do is our best and I’m sure that your subjects understand what you’ve been dealing with. Many of the Genesis Council members who agreed to transfer the King-Consort’s training to another Master did so based on the opinion that you couldn’t carry out both roles simultaneously without spreading yourself too thin and becoming distracted. It had nothing to do with a lack of belief in your abilities to train your mate or a lack of faith in your leadership.”

Both men fell silent again for several moments, perhaps mulling over what had been said; Devin didn’t know. Then Jayden cleared his throat and replied, “Thank you, Sir Kiran. Those words mean so much to me coming from you. High Councilor Adam has often assured me that that was the case and that with a little more effort I could build myself in their esteem. Still, with all of the rumors floating around and the disquiet of late, I have trouble deciding who or what I should believe. That’s especially true where the King-Consort is concerned. Every day it’s as if the rumors surrounding his capture and the events that followed grow and multiply and the situation with Zachary is driving me to distraction. Augustus insists that I need to bring closure where Zachary is concerned and pronounce an appropriate punishment and yet I hesitate.”

“Have you spoken to your mate about what happened between the two of them at the compound,” Kiran asked warily.

“I’ve broached the subject on a few occasions but he always reacted so viciously. Master Alan suggested that we leave it be for a while until my mate is more settled and prepared to discuss it on his own terms. The King-Consort refuses to acknowledge any guilt over his transgressions and I’m at a loss as to how to proceed with Zachary’s punishment. Many of the High-Ranking Genesis Councilmen are asking for the death penalty but our laws forbid such things where humans are concerned. Imprisonment and/or banishment are acceptable, but those options seem too light a punishment in comparison to the crimes Zachary committed against Aurora and the crown.”

“I fear that in this instance I am prone to agree with the other High-Ranking Genesis Councilmen,” Kiran replied confidently. “As much as Zachary would like to play the victim because of his treatment at the compound, in many ways he brought that upon himself. If not Devin, then someone else would have been ordered to carry out a similar punishment, assuming Victor hadn’t decided to do it personally, and Zachary’s treatment while at the compound would have probably been far worse. In many ways, your mate sheltered his enemy from other, more painful acts because it simply wasn’t in him to allow another to be completely brutalized and dehumanized. Still, Zachary would have gladly seen the King-Consort suffer more than he did. The human was furious with Victor when he found out that your mate had been allowed to live. Their original agreement was that Victor would murder the King-Consort and leave his body in Aurora as a sign of his power. When Victor took the King-Consort back with him, Zachary demanded, on more than one occasion, that Victor end His Highness’ life to satisfy his end of their deal, despite the fact that Zachary had yet to fulfill his own promises.”

Hearing those words spoken so matter-of-factly sent chills down Devin’s spine even as the desire to see Zachary die a slow and painful death began to well up inside him again. Devin had realized weeks ago that his obsession with the little whore was an unhealthy one and had forced thoughts of what had become of the bastard out of his mind. After all, Zachary had already been taken into custody and was well outside his reach. The desire to go find him and cut his heart out was almost overwhelming in that moment. So much so that he barely heard Jayden’s next words.

“Zachary has yet to admit to anything of the sort, but we know from High-Consort Chris’ vision that that is the case. I also hesitate because of the rumors surrounding the King-Consort and Zachary. Many say that Zachary has already been punished on some level and should therefore be offered some small amount of leniency because of that. High Councilor Adam advises me to disregard such opinions and do what I feel is best when I feel the time is right. Augustus, on the other hand, feels that whatever decision I make should be made quickly and that once the Zachary issue is no longer looming over us that things will settle quickly and die down.”

“He might have a valid point. Pushing such important matters to the wayside can often compound an issue. Are you also aware of the fact that, because of the recent estrangement between you and your Consort and the lack of any official announcement about your unborn son, many believe the babe he carries to be Victor’s?” Kiran asked quietly.

Devin’s eyes popped open at that and he looked straight through the living area door to where his mate and new Master were standing as all thoughts of Zachary disappeared from his mind. Without warning, his stomach did a nasty flip-flop and his pulse began to race. Kiran’s face was a mask of sadness and, although Jayden’s back was to Devin, Devin could tell by the sudden tensing of his massive frame that Kiran’s words had been like a physical blow to the large redhead.

“Master Alan assured me that the child was mine on the night of Devin’s return and, to my knowledge, no one has questioned that fact. Why have I heard nothing of this?” Jayden growled.

“Who would dare say such a thing in your presence, Your Majesty?” Kiran asked simply, compassion pouring from his eyes as he folded his hands in front of him and shrugged. That gesture reminded Devin so much of Chris. Suddenly, he wished selfishly that Chris were there with him to soothe the ragged, hurtful emotions now racing through his body. Like Jayden, Devin had heard no such rumors and to find out that they existed was like a punch to the gut. He’d known this was coming, yet so much time had passed and nothing had happened, so he’d lulled himself into a false sense of security.

“Let them say what they will. Even if the child does turn out to be Ashcroft’s, I plan to raise him as my own. It’s none of their concern,” Jayden replied as he finally turned toward the living area and froze at the pained expression on Devin’s face. Hearing those words pass through Jayden’s lips, regardless of the reason, had cut Devin to the core. Quickly, he blinked away the tears burning his eyes as he tried to hide the heartache they’d caused. Then he gave Jayden a wavering smile, at a loss for what to say in that moment and completely unsure as to whether or not he’d be able to get the words past the lump in his throat anyway. “Devin,” his mountain of a mate half-whispered before moving toward him with determination. “You know that I don’t really believe that. I was just angry and…”

Devin swallowed hard and took a deep, calming breath before blowing it out again. “I know,” was his shaky reply. “I’m just a little thrown that people actually think that…” Unable to speak the words out loud, Devin placed a soothing hand over his upset stomach just as Jayden dropped down on one knee beside him and pulled Devin into his strong arms. Devin immediately melted into Jayden’s embrace, his mixed emotions settling back down to something he could handle more easily as he soaked in his mate’s presence. “What should we do,” Devin whispered against Jayden’s shoulder. “I don’t want people to think that. I don’t want that kind of doubt surrounding our son’s existence.”

“I fear that some of the rumors have been fueled by your own behavior, King-Consort Devin,” Kiran explained gently from somewhere close by. Despite the softness of the small mage’s words, their meaning was anything but and the pain they caused was enough to knock the air from Devin’s lungs. Jayden immediately pulled away from Devin and stood to glare down at Kiran from his full height, clearly fighting back the urge to strangle the other man.

“Master or not, my mate has already suffered enough without your pointing out things over which he had no control,” Jayden stated levelly, his eyes swirling dangerously as he fought for control. Devin understood that he was fighting within himself for some type of balance. On one hand, Devin was Kiran’s mage-in-training and Kiran had every right to say such things. On the other, Jayden could easily see the pain that Kiran’s words were causing Devin and wanted to protect him from that. Unfortunately, what Jayden still didn’t seem to understand was that Devin didn’t need to be protected that way. What Devin needed was for Jayden to give him emotional support so that he could deal with the things he needed to face, not to hide him from those things completely.

“Kiran’s right,” Devin admitted as he rose from his seat and placed a soothing hand on his mate’s forearm. “I’ve already admitted that I was acting crazy, Jayden. So many of the things I did were stupid and reckless, but that doesn’t excuse it. I have to take some responsibility for the damage I’ve caused you. I’m just sorry that it’s affected our son. I never thought about that and now…”

“You’re thinking more clearly now, however,” Kiran pointed out compassionately, a reassuring smile on his face and approval in his eyes. “By working to mend the rift in your relationship with King Jayden, you’ve already taken a large step in the right direction. What we need now is a show of solidarity from you both. Something to prove to the people of Aurora that you are truly reconciled and not simply pretending for the sake of stability. There is also the issue of the announcement ceremony for the child.

“As I’m sure that High Councilor Adam has already pointed out, because of the turmoil between the two of you, many of the expected formalities have fallen to the wayside. That in turn has added weight to the argument that the child doesn’t belong to you, King Jayden. Only this morning I stumbled upon a conversation between two of the Assembly members during which one claimed that the ceremony hadn’t been held because the King was waiting to make certain that the child was his before he staked claim. Yesterday evening another asked me if the reason King-Consort Devin had left his beloved so rashly was because he knew that the child he carried belonged to Ashcroft and wished to spare his mate that indignity.”

Devin dropped back down into his chair and let his face fall into his hands as the full weight of what he’d done crashed down on him. For a few moments he thought he might be sick and he cupped his hand over his mouth as he began taking small, shallow breaths in an attempt to fight down the urge. He’d only been trying to protect his mate from more suffering by leaving. Not only had he failed miserably and put them through Hell for nothing, but he’d cast doubt in the hearts of some Aurorans over the paternity of his child as well. That Jayden didn’t hate him was a miracle. Then again, Jayden wasn’t that type of person. Even after Devin had stripped away his mate’s illusions about Devin’s character, the tall redhead had insisted on standing beside him.

“What can we do to fix this?” Devin finally asked, raising his head to meet Jayden and Kiran’s worried looks with a determined one of his own.

“We’ll make the official announcement tomorrow morning as we should have from the beginning,” Jayden replied, equally determined to make things right. “Then we’ll hold the ceremony Adam has been planning and hopefully that will be enough to put some of the rumors to rest.”

Devin’s eyes widened in surprise at that statement. “What ceremony? I have yet to hear about it,” he declared with growing irritation. “Are you saying that you and my father have once again taken it upon yourselves to make plans without me?”

“It’s not as if we were on speaking terms before now,” Jayden replied with a clench of his strong jaw that was completely at odds with the soothing hand that began stroking up and down Devin’s back. “We’ve barely spoken since you moved out of my suite and there were things that needed to be taken care of. How was I supposed to notify you of our plans when you acted as if my presence was…”

“Fine,” Devin cut in, not wanting to get into an argument over something like this, especially when Jayden had made such a good point and they were supposed to be on the same side anyway. “That doesn’t explain why my father didn’t mention it, though. He’s spoken to me on a daily basis so there’s still no reason…” Suddenly, Devin remembered a comment that Master Alan had made during their talk the day before. “And what about the fact that I’ve been undergoing psychiatric treatment without my knowledge or consent?” Devin grumbled, his exasperation with his mate evident by the way he began tapping his foot impatiently as he pulled away from the hand on his back and turned his full attention to Jayden.

“Enough of this,” Kiran declared, moving forward to pin Devin with a stern look. “I’ve allowed you a longer rest period than I’d intended because you seemed to need it, but your marital problems will have to wait until another time. For now, we need to order you a well rounded meal since you claimed that you were hungry earlier. You’ll be calling upon your powers later in the evening and learning to release them safely. After you’ve eaten, we’ll do some public submission. Until then we’ll focus on some concentration exercises.”

“I can’t,” Devin replied with dismay. “I still have my restitution and I have to begin planning for Chris’ next introduction party. I also need to meet with Councilman Townsend about some of the details on the building project and then I have to find Sarah and speak to her about…”

“Silence!” Kiran barked impatiently and Devin immediately snapped his mouth shut, quickly biting back a scathing remark at Kiran’s highhandedness. Jayden merely raised a blood red eyebrow, as if impressed with Kiran’s ability to rein Devin in. “Has nothing we’ve said here gotten through to you? I’ve already requested a leave of absence from my Genesis Council duties so that we may focus on your training.” With that, Kiran turned to Jayden with a questioning look and after only a brief pause Jayden nodded his agreement and Kiran turned back to Devin.

“Starting now, with the exception of your restitution, we will be in one another’s company for the majority of the day. If you have a meeting or public appearance, then I will be present. If I have an obligation that needs my attention, then you will be expected to accompany me. From this point forward there will be no more distractions. Your training will come first and all other things will come second, unless I deem otherwise. The details of the building project can be overseen by the High-Ranking councilors and the introductions that you have been planning will be handed off to someone capable of planning such events. You will need that time to focus on our sessions.”

Immediately Devin opened his mouth to argue that Chris’ introductions were far too important to be ignored. As if reading Devin’s mind, the small mage held up a finger for silence and added, “From this point forward you are to limit your involvement to the actual events and leave the details to others.”

A bit bewildered by Kiran’s longwinded speech, Devin looked up at Jayden for support only to find a smile of approval on his mate’s face and a gleam of admiration in his eyes. Not sure what else to do, Devin replied, “Yes, Master,” and hoped like hell that he wouldn’t live to regret it.

His biggest fear since his ‘rescue’ from the Omega was that they’d return to snatch him away again and he’d once again be at their mercy . . . or worse, one of his loved ones would take his place. He’d hoped to get the ball rolling before now and change the laws so that the Aurorans could attack first before the Omega was able to regroup. Still, it had been over a month since he’d murdered Ashcroft and returned home. He’d made very little progress since then and the Omega could have very well found a new leader and be preparing to take revenge by now.

If he wasn’t ready when that time came, because he had no doubt that it would come eventually, then he would have no way to protect himself, his unborn son, or his family. He’d known from the moment he’d returned that his training was the most important thing, but he had allowed himself to be sidetracked again and again. He couldn’t allow himself to lose sight of that anymore, especially now that Jayden had finally fallen into line on the issue.

Kiran took Devin’s continued silence as acceptance and suggested that Jayden order his mate’s food before turning to Devin with a nod of his head and demanding, “Standing presentation, boy. I want you to find your center. I’ve already cleared your absence with Master Alan so let’s get down to business.”

With his recent thoughts still running through his mind, Devin immediately stood from his seat and did as his new Master commanded without complaint. His only choice for now was to trust in Kiran and the fact that his new Master agreed with Devin’s ultimate goals. In many ways, their new arrangement would be beneficial to him because he’d have Kiran’s constant presence and council to add to that of whomever Devin chose as his advisor. Not to mention, Kiran seemed to carry a heavy punch politically. Either way, he was determined to milk this opportunity for all it was worth.

~*~*~*~*~

Chris moaned softly as Adam pushed into his body from behind at a slow, steady pace. They were lying on their sides, Chris’ upper body wrapped in one of Adam’s strong arms and his lower body held in place by the other. Adam had limited them to this one position since he’d found out about the twins and, now that Chris was used to it, he liked it…a lot.

Besides, Adam’s huge cock was as addictive as a drug and Chris was more than happy to take it any way he could get it. That’s why, when Adam had stopped in for a quick change of clothes and Chris had stumbled in on his Adonis standing there as naked as the day he was born, there’d been no other choice but to jump his man’s bones and lure his mate into a little one-on-one time. It hadn’t taken much. Just a lusty glance and a hungry lick of his lips on Chris’ part and Adam had been well on his way to hard as a rock.

Two strong fingers gave Chris’ hard nipple a squeeze and a gasp escaped his throat. He couldn’t help but push back in a vain attempt to pick up the pace. Adam’s hand tightened on Chris’ hip to hold him in place as his mate ran a teasing, hot tongue down the side of Chris’ throat and nipped at the base of his neck. Chris hungrily leaned his head back and offered up his lips, anxious for a taste of his yummy man while he endured the slow, sensual torture. Adam immediately knew what Chris wanted and angled his head so that their lips met. Chris opened to him with a moan of delight and Adam began thrusting his tongue into Chris’ mouth hungrily.

Chris’ already throbbing cock jerked at the pleasure he was receiving and he couldn’t help but reach down and wrap his hand around its aching length to give it a good tug. At that moment, Adam pegged Chris’ joy button and he was forced to rip his lips away from their heated kiss as a gasp of ecstasy escaped. Desperate for more, Chris tightened his ass around Adam’s big dick and once again pushed back against him with urgency.

A hiss of pleasure and a firm swat to Chris’ hip was Adam’s response to the move as he scolded, “Be still, Love.”

The urge to come almost overwhelmed Chris at that growling tone and he wanted more of it. “Harder, Adam. Fuck me like you mean it,” Chris ordered breathlessly as he ignored Adam’s command and pushed back yet again.

Immediately Adam stopped the slow, agonizingly wonderful grind of his cock into Chris’ welcoming ass and tightened one big arm around Chris’ upper body to hold him in place. Then the hand on Chris’ hip tightened as well to stop the backward motion of his hips. “Do you want me to stop, boy?” Adam demanded, his hot breath brushing the sweat-dampened hair at Chris’ temple and sending a shiver of raw need through his body.

“Please don’t stop, Master,” Chris panted, tightening his grip on his aching cock until it bordered on painful to keep himself from shooting. “More, please. HARDER.”

“No,” Adam replied with an amused chuckle before reaching down to pry Chris’ hand from his throbbing length and gathering both of Chris’ wrists up in his large hand. After pinning them flat against Chris’ chest so that he couldn’t move, Adam bit out, “I decide the pace, my sweet angel, not you. You’ll just have to be satisfied with what I give you for now.”

A soft whimper of frustration mixed with satisfaction was Chris’ response as he melted back into his mate’s large frame, relishing the feeling of being under his sexy man’s control. “I’m sorry, Master,” Chris groaned excitedly, trying his best to hide how happy he was to have gotten what he wanted.

Adam made a satisfied sound before leaning forward to nibble at his shoulder, slowly easing out of Chris’ ass before pushing back in again. This time the movement was slightly rougher but still perfectly controlled and achingly slow. Chris closed his eyes against the overwhelming pleasure of it as he wallowed in the tightness of Adam’s arm holding him in place while his mate fucked him. Soon he was fighting against the urge to thrust back onto Adam’s thick cock as his arousal rapidly built into something almost painful.

Without thinking, he tried to reach down again to jerk himself off while Adam continued the slow and steady grind of his hips, but Adam just nipped Chris’ ear in warning and held him in place as his mate continued to thrust into him carefully. Adam carefully worked him over for what seemed like hours and Chris completely lost track of time as their sweat-slicked skin rubbed together and their passion continued to build. In some ways he felt like he was in Heaven and in others like he was standing at the gates of Hell. His balls ached and his cock leaked and throbbed, begging for a little hands-on attention. The feel of his husband’s huge cock splitting him open over and over was enough to drive him out of his mind, but not quite enough to push him over the edge into orgasm.

The head of Adam’s erection brushed across Chris’ prostate again and a low, guttural sound escaped from between his open, panting lips as his muscles tensed with his impending release. He could barely think past the haze in his brain and when Adam released his hold on Chris’ wrists he didn’t even notice until he felt his mate’s big, warm hand close around his rock hard shaft and begin working the tight, satiny skin roughly. “Come for me, Angel,” Adam ordered, his words slurred by his arousal as he also neared his limit.

No sooner were the words out, than Chris’ body seized with his release and he shot his milky, white juices all over Adam’s insistent hand with a loud groan as he clamped down around the hard cock still pistoning in and out of his body. Adam thrust into him a few more times and then pulled out, leaving Chris feeling empty yet sated, then began jerking himself roughly, his breath coming faster and faster as he neared the edge. Chris knew what his lover was doing and his deflating cock jerked with excitement as he eagerly leaned back to capture Adam’s lips with his own and slipped a hand down to wrap around Adam’s long fingers and help him finish himself off.

It didn’t take long and soon Adam let out a harsh, breathless cry against Chris’ lips as his come shot between them onto Chris’ naked back. A moan of pleasure was Chris’ response as Adam melted into the bed behind him and began massaging the sticky, white come into Chris’ skin with an amused chuckle. “You’ve become more and more insolent of late, Love,” Adam rumbled against the sensitive pulse point of Chris’ neck. “Once Jiro and Taro are born and you’ve fully recovered, I’ll have to punish you properly. For now, accept this as proof that I’m YOUR Master and not the other way around.”

Those words sent a shiver down Chris’ spine and a feeling of anticipation began to well up inside of him. He couldn’t wait for that day to come. No pun intended. “I love you Adam,” Chris whispered as he rolled over to face his husband. Adam smiled down at him with adoration glowing in his eyes and Chris wondered for a second how he’d ever gotten so damn lucky.

“I love you, too, my sweet angel. Come,” Adam offered with a grin as he rose up from the bed and gathered Chris into his arms, “let me clean you up before I have to return to the castle.”

Chris tried his best not to pout at that. He didn’t want Adam to go back. He wanted his husband to stay there with him and just…be together. Even he was willing to admit that having sex again anytime soon was a no-go. His body just couldn’t take what it used to and his muscles felt rubbery and his back was aching like a son-of-a-bitch.

Maybe it was selfish, but he wanted Adam to stay and just hold him and talk to him. He didn’t say that, though. He knew that his husband was already having trouble keeping up with everything and that his introduction parties were cutting into Adam’s almost nonexistent free time. Now Devin had gone back to the castle and that meant leaving early to do their morning sessions. Add to that, Chris still hadn’t figured out how he was going to manage the evening one without pissing Adam off.

Once they reached their bathroom, Adam set Chris down on his feet and reached over to start running them a bath. As much as he hated the idea of washing his back now, Chris looked forward to relaxing with his sexy husband in the warm water and his aching back and hips agreed. With a sigh of sated exhaustion, Chris sat down on the gilded bench nearby while he waited and let his eyes run critically down his swollen, misshapen body. His stomach was huge and his ankles were swollen like they’d both been sprained. By the end of the day, Chris usually couldn’t even wrap his hands around them and get his fingers to meet. Of course, Adam and Master Alan had been on his ass to prop them up, but that was such a pain and Chris usually ignored them unless it got too bad.

Still, a little swelling and some aches and pains were a small price to pay to see Adam so happy and excited. Chris only had two more weeks before the twins were supposed to be here and the days seemed to drag by and fly all at the same time. Like they were aware of Chris’ thoughts, Jiro and Taro woke up and started thrashing around again. They usually did that right after Adam and Chris got their freak on. Probably because of all the jarring or something. Chris didn’t know. It was a little creepy, all the same. One of them gave an especially hard kick to Chris’ bladder and he let out a little grunt of discomfort as he watched the skin of his stomach rise and fall as the twins got situated.

“They’re very active lately,” Adam observed, smiling like the cat who ate the mouse as he approached Chris and knelt down in front of him to run a tender hand across Chris’ tummy. Another kick was the twins’ response, followed by what looked like a knee pushing out the skin from beneath. Adam let out a laugh of delight as he rubbed the little bump gently. It immediately disappeared and a small hand-shaped outline took its place further down. “Which one is this?” Adam asked, like he often did lately when they tossed and turned like that.

Chris focused on the place where the little hand had been and saw a purple aura begin to form in that area. “That’s Jiro,” Chris murmured with a grin. Then he flinched as another hard kick distorted his abdomen further up. “He’s gonna be trouble some day.”

Adam raised an eyebrow at that and gave Chris an amused grin before rubbing Chris’ tummy a final time and standing up to offer Chris a hand. “What a thing to say,” Adam murmured as he helped Chris to his feet and led him to the tub. Then he stepped in first and helped Chris up the three steps and over the side to settle onto the smooth, marble bench inside.

“Think what you want,” Chris replied with a shrug as he settled back against Adam’s chest and tried to get comfortable. “I always say you should call it like you see it. He’s a pushy little devil and he has been since they started kicking around in there. Sometimes I think he’ll be a soccer star with the way he likes to kick my mushy bits around. I’m just glad he can’t reach my balls from where he is. If he could, I’d be dropping to my knees every half hour and begging for mercy.”

Adam stilled at those words and Chris couldn’t resist looking back over his shoulder to see what was up. The shock on his stuffy mate’s face was priceless and it took every ounce of Chris’ willpower not to giggle. After a second Chris’ words seemed to sink in and Adam’s face split wide with a smile and his pale, blue eyes lit up with amusement. “Perhaps you have something there, Angel. I can still recall that Devin was quite athletic before birth. At times it felt as if he’d knocked the air from my lungs while doing summersaults.”

“Try having two of them crammed in there,” Chris exclaimed, pointing down at his huge belly as proof of his discomfort. An elbow or knee made an appearance on one side and a butt or head made a big appearance on the other. “At first I thought we had circus performers in there, but they’re running out of room fast. No summersaults for these little guys anymore. Sometimes it feels like they’re wrestling for the most comfy spot!”

“I’m sure,” Adam replied, looking into Chris’ eyes with a mushy, sickeningly happy grin on his handsome, smug face as he ran both hands around Chris’ body and began copping his feel of the Buddha Belly. “It’s normal for them to be more active as they grow, however. It simply means that they’re awake more now and getting stronger.”

“I know,” Chris murmured with a satisfied smirk. “Master Alan told me that the only thing I needed to be worried about in that department is if they STOP moving so often. I think it was something like 10 movements every four hours or something like that. Of course, Master Alan said it was a little more complicated with two but that I’d notice if something was off. He also said that hiccups didn’t count.” That said, Chris melted back against his mate again and sat there, enjoying having Adam’s full attention for the moment while the twins wore themselves out playing ‘Kick the Organs’ and squirming restlessly.

“Did Taro have them again?” Adam asked softly, his breath brushing Chris’ cheek as he ran a finger around another tiny knee or elbow poking out.

“Yeah, he’s usually the one who does,” Chris said with a big yawn as he melted further back into Adam’s embrace and closed his eyes while he wallowed in his mate’s attention. After a while the kiddies settled back down so Adam gave up and started gathering up water in his strong hands and massaging it into Chris’ hair. Chris let him without complaint. He loved the way Adam’s fingers felt massaging his scalp and couldn’t wait until they got to that part.

Chris heard a loud pop and smelled the vanilla scented shampoo that Adam liked on him and couldn’t hold back a sigh of contentment when those long fingers began working his hair into a soapy wad. As he scrubbed behind Chris’ ear, Adam murmured, “Your hair is so beautiful. Are you purposely growing it out or have you just been too busy to have it trimmed?”

Half asleep and foggy-headed, Chris just shrugged and replied, “Whatever you want, Adam. I could care less.”

Adam dropped a kiss on Chris’ soapy forehead before going back to work. “I think that I like it either way. When we first met, it was short, after all, and it brought out your lovely features to perfection. At the time I could barely tell that it was wavy. Now it has these adorable curls beginning to form. I love the way they frame your sweet face. They make you look even more angelic than you did before.”

A giggle escaped Chris at that thought and he risked opening an eye to peek out at Adam through his wet lashes. “I’ll never understand why you call me that. Don’t get me wrong, I like it and everything, but I’m about as far from an angel as you’ll ever meet. Well, except for my stupid dad. He was the biggest bastard that ever lived.”

“And you, my love, are nothing like him. Besides, you’ll always be my angel because no matter what you’ve done in the past, you’re still an innocent and loving soul who’d never willingly harm another. You’re instinctively a nurturer and I know that you’ll be a marvelous birthfather to our sons.”

Once again silence fell between them and Chris quietly thought over his mate’s words while Adam carefully poured handfuls of water over his head to rinse out the shampoo. Once he was done, he nudged Chris in the shoulder, wordlessly telling Chris that it was his turn. Used to the drill and happy to help, Chris stood from Adam’s lap and let his husband stand up before settling back on the bench and watching as Adam knelt between his knees with his back to Chris. Then Chris leaned forward slightly to begin the process of wetting Adam’s long, thick hair with a small glass container he now kept handy for that very purpose.

He loved this almost as much as he loved Adam doing the same for him. Despite its thickness, Adam’s hair was fine and silky and Chris knew he’d never get enough of running his fingers through its long strands. Add to that, Adam normally kept it tied back during the day so Chris only got the chance at times like this or on the rare days he left it down. It had to be a pain in the ass most of the time. He’d often wondered why Adam kept it that long since he was a fairly no-nonsense kinda guy.

For some reason, Adam’s earlier words popped back into Chris’ mind. His husband really didn’t know much about his life during the time between getting kicked out of the house by his mom and moving in with Devin. Chris had wanted to tell his mate about that stuff but something always held him back. For some reason, he felt reassured by what Adam had said about not caring about his past and when he leaned over to grab Adam’s shampoo and squirted a large blob of the clove scented liquid into his hands he murmured, “I used to do things that would turn some of the people around here green.”

“I have no doubt,” Adam replied gently, his voice completely lacking any hint of disapproval. “People do what they have to in order to survive, be they human or mage. Most of the citizens of Aurora have never faced the trials that you did as a youth.”

“It sounds so simple when you put it that way,” Chris whispered half to himself as he spread the shampoo around in his palms and began running it through Adam’s hair from roots to tip. “Still, they’d probably run me out of town if they knew even half of it.”

“Your past is none of their business and they need never know unless you want them to,” was Adam’s confident response as he glanced over his shoulder to give Chris a gentle, reassuring smile. “I love you regardless. You’re my mate and soon to be birthfather of two of my sons. I know that you carry heavy burdens in your heart and would never judge you for what you did before we met. I’d gladly share them with you, though, if it would lighten your load even a little.”

At those words, Chris started scrubbing the heavy mass of hair with determination as he thought things over. He made sure to pay extra attention to the back of Adam’s hairline and around his temples, just the way his sexy Adonis liked it. Adam melted under his touch, a sigh of contentment escaping his lips as Chris finished up and began the long process of washing out the bubbles. His husband didn’t push or bring up the subject again, but when he turned to face Chris again there was a deep curiosity burning in his pale eyes.

Chris gave him a tiny, self-deprecating smile and shrugged before looking down at the swirling clumps of bubbles floating around Adam’s muscular chest. “I’ve been with a lot of guys,” he finally admitted, “and some of them for money.” Once the words were out, Chris’ heart sped up and he nervously glanced up to gauge Adam’s reaction. His husband’s expression was decidedly blank, but there was definitely pain in the depths of his eyes as he met Chris’ worried gaze with a calm one of his own.

“Was that how you met the man that hurt you?” Adam asked quietly and Chris’ eyes widened in surprise as his breath caught in his throat. Immediately Adam stood and eased Chris up from his seat to wrap his arms around him comfortingly. “I’m sorry. It’s too soon, isn’t it? I’ve known since we met, but I hoped that you’d tell me in your own time. I never meant to push you.” Even as he spoke, Adam reached up a hand to trace a finger idly across the scars that crisscrossed Chris’ pale back. His husband had never drawn attention to them before but it didn’t bother Chris as much as he’d always thought it would if someone asked about them, like it had when Devin had asked about them the day they’d met.

“His name was Jacob and he was a regular of mine who offered to take me in,” Chris explained sadly as he buried his face against Adam’s strong chest to hide his embarrassment. “He wasn’t that bad at first and I went into it knowing that he wanted a sub instead of a lover. I was barely eighteen and really hard up for cash, so when he offered me a steady place to live and food to eat, I jumped at the offer.”

Adam’s arms tightened around Chris’ shoulders for a moment. Then he pulled away just enough to slip a finger under Chris’ chin and urge him to look up. “There’s no way you could have known what would happen,” he offered gently as he slowly led Chris toward the steps and out of the bath. Then he calmly and patiently dried Chris’ steadily growing body and hair before carrying him back into the bedroom and laying him carefully on the bed. Once Chris was settled, Adam pulled the quilt up to his hips and sat down beside him to run strong fingers through Chris’ damp hair.

He tried to relax into the soothing touch and his body was crying out for some food and a nap, but no matter how hard he tried, Chris couldn’t get his mind to stop racing. It was like, now that Chris had starting talking about it, he felt like he wouldn’t be happy until he’d let it all out. “The thing is, Jacob wasn’t that bad at first and it was one of those deals where things changed a little at a time. I liked the sub thing at first and for a long time thought I’d hit the jackpot. Then he started moving on to stuff I wasn’t comfortable with, like using toys or whips or tying me up, but I figured, ‘What the Hell?’, ya know?” Chris murmured with a shrug as he looked up at Adam to see if he was making sense or not. Adam nodded for him to continue, a solemn expression on his handsome face as he continued to stroke the hair at Chris’ temple gently.

“I mean, he gave me a place to live, a bed to sleep in, food to eat, and he was really good to me most of the time. Sure, he punished me when I messed up, but that was nothing compared to some of the things Janice had done when I was little and the things he said to me when he was mad was nothing a hundred other people hadn’t said before…” Chris paused for a second as he searched for a better explanation. Then he sighed and looked up at Adam with a frown. “I don’t know how to describe it. It was like one day I woke up beat half to death and miserable and sure that things couldn’t get any worse. I tried to run away, but he came after me and brought me back every time. Eventually I gave up on that too because it seemed to get worse every time that happened.”

“How did you get away?” Adam asked quietly, his voice strained with emotion as he ran a shaky finger down Chris’ cheek to his bottom lip where he traced a path across it before moving on to Chris’ chin.

“He finally went too far and I decided that it was me or him. I was in pretty bad shape, but way better than I had been for days, so I caught him not looking and bashed his head in with a huge lamp we kept beside the bed,” Chris admitted, tears finally burning in his eyes as he looked away from the shocked expression on his husband’s face. “I never heard from him again after that, so I don’t know if he…He might be dead for all I know.”

“Shhh…” Adam cooed as he crawled up on the bed beside Chris and wrapped him up in those powerful arms. “No need to worry over such things, my sweet angel. It would take far more than that to kill another.”

Chris immediately rolled over in Adam’s arms and snuggled into his neck with a sigh of contentment. He didn’t know whether to feel relieved that Adam had heard all that crap and still loved him or to feel guilty for telling him in the first place. Either way, it was out now and there was no taking it back.

“I love you, Adam,” Chris whispered against his husband’s neck, Adam’s wet hair tickling his nose as he burrowed in closer. “I’m sorry if I dumped all that on you. I just…I don’t know…It just seemed like a good time to tell you.”

“I’m glad that you did,” Adam murmured as he pulled back to look down at Chris with a smile. Chris could tell by the expression on Adam’s face that he really meant it and sighed in relief. A raised eyebrow was Adam’s response as he once again grew serious. “You should know that I’ve been aware of your experiences with your ex-Dom for quite some time. I found you and Devin through an email he sent to a website under the direction of the Earth-Branch of the Genesis Council. He didn’t give your name, but asked for guidance and vaguely explained your situation. I knew the moment we met that it was you he’d been so concerned about.”

Chris knew he should be irritated over that, but suddenly he found himself too tired to care. “Stay with me,” he mumbled selfishly as he closed his eyes and tightened his arm around Adam’s waist.

Adam dropped a kiss on the top of Chris’ head before falling silent for several long moments. Then he pulled Chris even closer as he began running a soothing hand up and down Chris’ back. “Rest,” he whispered quietly. “Your body needs it. I’ll hold you while you sleep.”

“Thank you, Adam,” was Chris’ drowsy reply. “Can I have a little shot of the gold and shiny stuff too?” Before he could pry his heavy eyes open to give Adam a puppy dog look, he felt his mate’s energy source surround him and let out a contented moan. Adam chuckled as his large hand found its way back into Chris’ hair again and within minutes Chris was lulled into sleep, happy and feeling closer to Adam than he ever had before.

~*~*~*~*~

Devin dropped down onto his favorite chair with an exhausted sigh as he tried to build up enough energy to walk the short distance to his and Jayden’s bedroom to dig out some pajamas. His mate had been called away at the last minute for some kind of security meeting with Augustus and Paul over a loophole they’d found here and there in the wardings. They were meant to keep mages from opening portals outside of the designated areas. The castle and surrounding grounds were as tight as Fort Knox, but somehow they’d missed a few spots in the outlying areas on the far side of the capital city. It was the same old shit over and over again and only strengthened Devin’s belief that no matter how diligently they worked to strengthen Aurora’s defenses, the Omega would find some way around them eventually.

At first, Devin had been determined to stay awake until Jayden got home. That was looking less and less likely with each passing minute, though, and Devin had already ordered and eaten his meal alone after Kiran had left for Adam’s house. They’d spent hours and hours working on different aspects of his training and Devin hadn’t managed to accomplish much of anything the entire day. It was a little frustrating, especially since he didn’t feel any closer to controlling the release of his energy than he did from the beginning. Then again, he’d had a little trouble finding his center because of all of the other crap racing around in his mind.

Every hour that passed without word from Sarah had made him that much more nervous that he’d gone too far this time and she’d washed her hands of him altogether. He was beginning to wish she’d shown up in class that morning so he’d at least know where he stood with her. It was driving him crazy not knowing one way or the other. He’d even gone so far as to send a messenger to Adam’s house when his dinner had been delivered asking for her to stop by his suite. She’d yet to show her face, even to tell him to go to Hell.

With a growl of frustration, Devin reached up and pulled his crown from his head before standing up again and moving to sit it in its stained-glass case on the fireplace mantle. Then he walked over to the liquor table and poured a glass of water, downing it quickly before heading for the bathroom to brush his teeth and drain his bladder.

His biggest regret was that he’d hoped to have a chance to be intimate with Jayden again. The chances of his lover waking him up when he returned were slim to none and Devin needed to feel that closeness with his mate right now. He scolded himself mentally for thinking that way as he made his way into the bedroom and stepped into the large closet to find something to change into. There was a new pair of cotton-like pajamas hanging with Devin’s things and he knew that Jayden had put them there for him. With a smile, he grabbed them and quickly changed into them. Then he started toward their bed, but stopped halfway as he remembered that he’d forgotten to take the vitamin drops that Master Alan had left after his check up earlier in the evening.

He quickly crossed back into the living area on his way back to the bathroom and as he reached for the handle a loud knock sounded at his door. He let out an exasperated huff and stopped yet again, turning impatiently toward the door to tell whoever it was to come in. Before he could get a word out, though, the knob turned and the door opened as a worried looking Sarah pushed her way into the room. “Devin! Are you alr…” Just then she caught sight of him standing there in his PJs and immediately the worry was replaced with irritation. “I swear to God, Devin,” she declared with a huff as she stormed through the entry hall and into the living area to stand before him with her hands on her hips. “You’re in deep shit with me right now, so this had better be important.”

Devin immediately realized that he’d probably scared the crap out of his best friend by asking her to come over the way he had. He’d said it was urgent, but he had just assumed that she’d know it had something to do with the job he’d suckered her into. “Fuck! I’m so sorry, Sarah,” was his pathetic response as he held up his hands in a vain attempt to ward off her wrath. “I sent that message three hours ago and I only wanted to apologize for the mix up on the job thing.”

A huff of disdain passed through her pink lips as she backed off and made her way over to one of the couches and plopped down on it with another glare in Devin’s direction. “Yeah, I’d say that you have some real explaining to do over THAT one. What the HELL were you thinking to leave me out in the cold like that? Do you have any idea how hard it was to cover you last night when your council friends started walking up and congratulating me?”

Devin had the decency to blush under the weight of her accusing glare as he made his way closer and sat down beside her. “I was wrong to keep that from you, but I didn’t want to get your hopes up since I didn’t know for sure whether you had the position until yesterday. Then I got sidetracked and didn’t get back in time to warn you.” Sarah raised an eyebrow in disbelief but Devin plowed forward anyway. “I did it because you were miserable and bored and…I got the idea from what you said that day we moved to Adam’s house. You know, when we were talking in my suite down the hall?”

“You’re so full of it, Devin,” Sarah declared as she threw her hands up in exasperation. “And I guess that you hooking me up with this new position had nothing to do with the fact that you’ve been pushing me to make up with Jonas.”

Her no-nonsense tone left little doubt in Devin’s mind that he needed to do a lot of ass kissing if he was ever going to make up for this one. Instead of admitting it or denying it, though, Devin just melted back into the cushion behind him with a sigh. “You’ve worked with exes before, so why is he so different? Besides, this job’s right up your alley and you’re more than qualified to do it.” Again he was met with disdain so Devin let out a huff of irritation as he stood and began pacing the floor nearby. “What do you want me to do? It’s a done deal. Should I go tell them that you changed your mind or that I hid it from you and forgot to ask your permission first?”

“You can’t do that. It would either make me seem like a flake or you seem like an idiot. Then again, you have been acting like an idiot a lot lately, so that probably wouldn’t come as a huge shock to most people,” Sarah grumbled as she shot Devin a scathing glance.

Devin immediately stopped in his pacing to stare down at her in disbelief. “That’s a little harsh coming from you, Sarah, especially after the way you’ve acted toward Jonas,” he grumbled back before resuming his pacing.

Impatiently, Sarah jumped up from the couch to grab Devin by the hand and pull him back over. “Sit down. You’re wearing me out doing that and you already look exhausted anyway. Forget about the job thing for now and tell me why you’re here instead of at Adam’s house. Last I heard, you and King J.J. weren’t on the best of terms. Did the sky fall down? Or maybe Hell froze over and I didn’t hear about it?”

If it weren’t for the serious look on her face, Devin would’ve thought she was teasing him like so many others had throughout the day. By the time breakfast had been cleared from the table that morning, the rumors had spread throughout the castle that Devin had come back home. By lunch, the entire capital city had known. For that matter, Jayden had even laughingly mentioned that someone from the Jondair Province had asked him about it while he’d been there giving his speech about security earlier in the afternoon.

“Are you shitting me?” Devin asked in disbelief, even though he already knew that she wasn’t. “What rock have you been hiding under all day?”

“Just tell me what’s going on!” Sarah shot back, a bright pink blush coloring her cheeks as she rolled her emerald green eyes impatiently.

“It’s kind of hard to explain how it all happened,” Devin said evasively, “but the long and short of it is that Jayden and I have made up and are going to give it another shot. I’ve moved back in with him as of last night and had my things brought over this afternoon.”

If Devin had dropped a bomb, it couldn’t have caused a bigger reaction. First Sarah’s mouth dropped to the floor and her eyes bugged out of her head. Then she snapped it shut and opened it again before letting out an ear piercing screech that would have put the fear of God into a lesser man. Devin immediately cut her off by covering her big mouth with his hand.

“Would you shut the Hell up before you have the guards falling over each other to check on us? Jeez!”

Immediately she let out a giggle over the way Devin rolled his eyes at her as she lunged at him and bounced him up and down roughly. Then she realized what she was doing and let him go, patting apologetically at the small baby bulge on his lower abdomen before turning excited eyes back to him and squealing again, except this time she slapped her hands over her own mouth and stopped without being told.

“Oh my God!! I can’t believe this! King J.J. must be over the moon right now and…Wow! I just…” Again she bounced and Devin smiled at her grudgingly as he sank back into the cushions again and got comfortable.

“Jayden’s pretty happy about it and so am I. I’ve finally realized what an idiot I’ve been and I’ve promised to make it up to him. Oh, and we’ve decided to name the baby Raphael Brian Jamison, just so you know.”

Another happy squeal was Sarah’s response as she eyed Devin’s stomach longingly and asked, “Can I call him Raph?”

“No, you can’t call him Raph,” Devin replied with a snort. ‘As if,’ he thought to himself as he reached up to grab one of her frantically flailing hands in his own. “About the job thing, Sarah. I really didn’t mean to…”

“Oh, that,” Sarah said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “I was just giving you a hard time. I was really mad about it last night but I know why you did it. I wasn’t going to tell you so soon, out of spite for being such a bastard, but it worked!”

This time it was Devin’s turn to be confused as he eyed her carefully for any clue of what she meant. “What worked?” he finally asked when nothing came to mind.

“Your plan to get me and Jonas back together of course!” she gushed as she started bouncing again and clutched his other hand excitedly. “We’re going to do it. The joining ceremony . . . or whatever they call a wedding here. He asked me again and I finally decided to give in and give us a chance.”

The guilt he felt over his true reasons for getting her the position was almost enough to make him throw up, but he hid his dismay under an excited gasp, knowing there’d be Hell to pay if she ever found out. “Are you serious?” Devin demanded with a huge smile. His heart was racing about a hundred miles per second and that was the last thing he’d expected to hear from her. From what Chris had said earlier that morning, Devin was as good as dead. Now Sarah was bouncing beside him on the couch, something he hadn’t seen her do since before he’d been captured by the Omega, and smiling her brightest smile and Devin couldn’t have been happier for her or more relieved for himself. “But how? When?”

“Last night, when we met up at the party. We ended up leaving early and going back to his place to work some things out and we talked for hours. I finally got it through his thick head that I had every right to be nervous about the whole thing. Then we talked some more and he kept swearing that he wanted me and didn’t care about anything else. He finally convinced me that he wasn’t going to just wake up one day and change his mind and that we could make it work, so I figured, why not? At least it would get you and Chris off my back!”

A sentimental grin spread across Devin’s face as he studied her glowing expression. She’d always been pretty, but in that moment she looked absolutely beautiful. “We just want you to be happy, Sarah. I’m glad you worked things out, though, and I can’t wait until the wedding.”

“We should make it a double wedding,” she declared, too wrapped up in her own excitement to notice the way Devin instinctively flinched at those words.

Rather than piss on her parade by telling her that Jayden had nixed that idea indefinitely the night before, Devin shrugged, smiled, and patted her hand encouragingly. “Nah, your wedding day should be all about you and Jonas. If the King and King-Consort were thrown into the mix, it’d take all the attention away from you guys. Besides, Jayden and I have been there and done that already. We’re going to take it slow and easy for now instead of jumping straight back into the deep end of the pool.”

Immediately, some of the spark went out of Sarah’s spunk as she took a moment to study Devin carefully. This time he was ready and met her questioning gaze with a confident one of his own. “So you don’t plan to get married again before the baby gets here?” she asked, clearly not thrilled with the idea.

“What is this? The 1950’s?” Devin countered with a carefree laugh and a happy smile. She took the bait hook, line, and sinker and settled back in to happily plan her wedding.

“You’re right, Devin,” she admitted. “The two of you have to figure that out for yourselves. Besides, you’ll be able to focus more on helping me plan my wedding, or joining ceremony, or whatever they call it here, if you’re not busy worrying about your own. Just think of how much experience we’ll both have with it by the time we need to plan yours!”

Devin knew she was just trying to look on the bright side of things and get him involved with her happiness, but unfortunately that was no longer up to him. “I’d like that, Sarah, I really would, but my new Master has turned out to be a total control freak who’s determined to run every aspect of my life for the foreseeable future. I’ll have to ask Kiran for his permission before I can commit myself to anything like that.”

Once again, Sarah’s eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at Devin. Then she let out an amused giggle as she declared, “Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Someone has finally managed to do the impossible. So, tell me. How did Kiran do it? I honestly didn’t think I’d ever live to see the day that you, the man who invented the words stubborn and inflexible, would bow to another man’s will…or another mage’s in this case.”

“Fuck you, Sarah, and the horse you rode in on,” Devin grumbled, not the least bit amused at Sarah’s teasing although he was still very glad to see her so happy. “Just get on with the gushing so that I can go to bed and…Oh,” Devin stammered suddenly as an idea hit him. “Are you staying here tonight since it’s so late? I could have one of the staff change your sheets real quick for you. For that matter, I can have your stuff moved back here tomorrow if you don’t want to stay at my father’s house anymore.”

A naughty twinkle lit up Sarah’s eyes as she gave him a grin. “I’m fine, so don’t worry about it. And just so you know, I’ll be moving in with Jonas soon, so there’s no point in moving back here before then. Besides, I want to be there when Jiro and Taro are born to spoil my new nephews while they’re still tiny. When I do move out, it’ll be to Jonas’s house.”

Devin tried to hide his disappointment with a nonchalant shrug. It must’ve worked because Sarah gave him another smile before standing and stretching like a lazy house cat. “I think I’ll leave now and let you get some sleep. Congratulations on working things out with Jayden and I wish you guys the best,” she chirped as she made her way toward the door. Then she paused in the entry hall and looked back. “By the way, let me know what Kiran says about the wedding thing. I really do want you to be a part of it.”

Before he could answer a big yawn worked its way out and he stretched lazily before replying, “I’ll ask him tomorrow,” and lying down on the couch. Another yawn hit him, this one enough to make his eyes water. He blinked to clear them and when he looked back up he just caught Sarah’s back as she walked out the door.

“Goodnight,” she called happily over her shoulder. Devin waved, even though he knew she couldn’t see him. He was too busy yawning again to speak. With the last ounce of his energy, he reached over to tug one of the smaller cushions on the couch closer for a pillow and the last thought that floated through his head was that apparently sleepless nights were no longer going to be an issue.

~*~*~*~

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