“I understand. My best friend and advisor has offered to be our surrogate because I must produce an heir but there will be no other mate, consort, or Prince I take as mine.” Then he turned around and pressed his lips to my ear so only I would hear him. “But you like to play. Can we still bring someone to our bed for a Hadley double pleasure fest?”
“Yes,” I chuckled, touched that he was so worried about me even then. “We just can’t keep anyone.” His eyes flared with joy at the idea. “It would be just you and me forever. Doesn’t mean we can’t try new things and spice up our bed once in a while.”
“So this perfect specimen of owl and man before me would belong to me and me alone forever?” I heard his heart flutter at the idea even as every nerve in my body tingled at the possibility.
“I would,” I agreed, clearing my throat when he started purring. Damn, that got me hot.
He spun back around and faced my director. “Yes, I will take no other. I can do my duty to my people by other means. Hadley and I would be true mates.
“Then you have my blessing to mate this fine man, Son,” Director Woodrow rasped, quickly wiping his eyes. “I pray to the gods that every day be filled with the happiness you feel at this moment and more.” I smiled brightly at him. “Do you need time to explain to him our ways or does he know and you can claim him now?”
“Um, no.” I winced. Yeah, should have thought of that. “The moment I saw you I knew what I wanted more than air and it just came pouring out.” Then I dropped to one knee and turned Torr to face me. “My dear, Torr, will you wear my permanent talon marks over your heart for all to see, and by doing so promise to love me forever, never forsaking me for another?”
“Yes, yes, I do,” he whispered, his eyes misting. “But you have to promise not to die on me again. I can’t go through losing you, Hadley. I won’t make it.”
“Then good thing I’m immortal.” I stood and hugged him tightly. “You asked me to be in charge of the Royal Guard if we mated. That means coordinating from a security room. No fieldwork, babe.
I swear
. I’ll never stop protecting you if we’re in danger but I won’t go looking for it.”
“Thank fuck,” Samantha and Abram exclaimed together. We both slowly turned and looked at them, but it was Abram that explained. “He
can’t
lose you, dude. He fell apart in a big way, forgoing his own safety, when you were already dead.”
“I have better hearing than you, Abram,” Torr snarled. “He
wasn’t
dead.”
“Right, I get that now, but you didn’t used to have better hearing than me, your grace,” he conceded. “It really just looked like you were in denial and flipping out.”
“Fine, but next time just listen to me and we wouldn’t have had a problem,” Torr snapped. “Now, glad you approve and are happy, shut your face because this is like my marriage proposal, you dick.”
“Right, sorry.” Abram held up his hands in surrender and sat down.
“Now, you were saying?” Torr blinked up at me with a big grin.
“I love when you get all feisty and tell people what’s what,” I teased, brushing my lips over his. “No more fieldwork. And you will listen to your guards.” He opened his mouth but I shook my head. “And I will train them better to listen to you and handle every situation perfectly.”
“Deal,” he purred as he stared up at me with such love in his eyes it made me shiver. “Samantha, make preparations for a royal claiming. There will be two rounds to show to everyone that my mate and I are equals. Incorporate any owl traditions in the second round as needed. Do we have a bird elder yet? We need to get him a treaty and—”
“Wait—what treaty?” I asked, Director Woodrow echoing the sentiment.
“Oh, this is fucking
priceless
,” Director Fabian chuckled. I recognized the man’s voice but I’d never met him. Then he broke into an all-out laugh, clutching his sides. “You courted him, want to
mate
him, and didn’t even know all the perks your kind gets now?”
“What perks?” I growled, looking between Torr and Fabian.
“Samantha, you told me you explained it to him,” Torr hedged, glancing at his friend.
“No, not that part, your grace.” She winced, staring at me with worried eyes. “You’re mating an heir, Hadley, our
King
.”
I shrugged and pinched the bridge of my nose. “Yeah, I just want Torr,” I shot back, tired of the foreplay.
“
Apparently
. Most other species without a royal line want one of their own to mate a King because it makes them regent of their people. If the new bird elder dies, you take over, Hadley,” Fabian informed me. “That’s why royals take consorts. It gives them no political power like a king or queen who can take over the throne. But the King just named you as his
mate
. You get the whole kit and caboodle and the birds get the Royal Guard as their protectors as well.”
“What?”
I bellowed as my world started spinning out of control.
“That’s the treaty between tribes when a royal mates another species. They get his protection and in the event of the elder’s demise, you and the King rule both birds and felines,” Fabian clarified.
I was out so fast I never knew if I even hit the floor.
“Look, it’s a changing world, okay? We need to adapt. Hadley doesn’t want to be a ruler,” I heard Torr argue distantly. “He’s willing to rule by my side and be in charge of my Guard. It’s a formality. We’ll talk to the bird elder and explain that. Obviously the PP kept a lot of that shit under their hats and unless people are older than dirt like Fabian, they don’t know the rules.”
“Thanks. I always wanted to be compared to
dirt
,” the man drawled.
“Shut it, Fabian,” Torr snapped. “You saw Hadley didn’t know and poked at him for your own amusement. He’s to be my
mate
. Do you think it wise to piss off the King? He might not want me now! And if that’s because you fucking poked at him, I’ll gut you and let you heal, and then gut you again.”
I wanted to groan at the next voice I heard. “Hey, don’t yell at Daniel because you didn’t tell Hadley there was a pile of shit with mating you! You were a dumbass and—”
“Finish that sentence and I’m going to kick
your
ass, Chicago,” I threatened. “Adults only at this conversation. You defend your own man and leave the one you bring to your bed at times to defend himself. Either way, you jump on
my
mate again and we’re going to have to reevaluate our friendship. Show some respect. He’s a fucking
King
.”
“Doesn’t make him a good one,” Chicago snapped. “And forgive me for not blindly trusting any leaders anymore.
Silly me!
”
I lost some of my anger at that. Torr was still my man and I would jump to defend him always. “That’s fair, but back off.”
“I love when you get all growly and tell people what’s what,” Torr purred in my ear. “Thank you, my love.”
I blinked up at him, my head killing me. “Am I still your love? Even after fainting like a goober?”
“Yes, because no one risks bashing their head in to fake a reaction like that,” he chuckled.
I rubbed the back of my head and found dried blood. “Thanks for catching me.”
“I bumped into Director Woodrow trying to get to you and neither of us made it.”
“So I was the fumble of the game?” I chuckled, sitting up slowly and feeling like I might go back down. “Okay, so everyone chill the fuck out for a minute.” Then I moved out of Torr’s lap, faced him, and sat back on my feet. “So if I was, say, the son of a tribe leader or whatever, and we mated, I would get his territory if he died and we would rule both together. That’s the theory of the treaty? Both sides protecting the other and the alliance. But you have the best Guard so that’s coveted.”
“Right,” he hedged, eyeing me with a smirk. “What is that sexy brain thinking now?”
“But I’m not the son of the leader, so us mating basically maneuvers me into that position so I’m the next automatic elder of the birds. Right?”
“Yes,” a few people agreed.
“So it moves my family into a place of power. Wouldn’t that mean my
father
would be the next bird elder before me?”
Torr held up a hand to silence everyone. “Would that make you more comfortable if I made sure that was the answer? That way there would be two in front of you and me ever ruling the birds?”
I nodded, grabbing my head again. Too many injuries lately.
“Wait, who is his father?” Fabian growled. “You could be giving Joe Idiot huge power here over a few different species.”
“And here I thought you had such a great friendship and alliance with Director Woodrow?” I smirked as Fabian’s jaw dropped open. “Be careful who you poke at, Fabian. Not everyone isn’t willing to poke
back
.”
“You will make a perfect Grand Major,” Torr praised.
“Is that what we’re calling me?” I chuckled as Torr stood and helped me to my feet. “We might need to seriously work on that title.”
He wrinkled his nose and shook his head. “Yeah, I didn’t like that one either. I was just trying out the options they brought me.”
I laughed when Chicago raised his hand. “Yes, Chicago?”
“Right so, sorry, King Torrance, but I want Hadley happy, so yeah, I didn’t, um, want him to get hurt. But the next down in British linage is Prince
and
something else. So why can’t you be like Duke Hadley, Royal Guardian? I mean you’re going to be in charge of the Royal Guard too, right? So you’re really his overall protector and have his heart, so, yeah. That’s my idea. Sorry. I’ll shut up now.” He snapped his mouth shut as he stared at his feet.
“Are you going to think I want Chicago over you again if I say I like his idea?” I murmured to my man.
“No, because I like it too,” Torr admitted with a one shoulder shrug. “Thank you, Chicago. We will look into that.” Then he glanced from me to Director Woodrow. “Yeah, I see
no
family resemblance.”
“I didn’t say he was my birth father,” I muttered, my turn to feel uncomfortable. “Director Woodrow took me under his wing when I was just an owlet.”
“You need to tell him, Hadley,” Woodrow chastised gently.
“Yeah, later. I wanted to wait until we had some quiet to talk so he could let it digest. We just haven’t had any.” I glanced at Torr, begging him to let it go for now. He nodded his head but moved away from me a bit. Fuck! I decided to switch topics and get the information we’d actually come for. “Who attacked us?”
“They were no one,” Samantha answered. “Humans who wanted whatever was in the armored truck they followed until they could get the chance to take it. It wasn’t the government or anything against the King. Just random bad luck that had you driving right through major gang turf and they went for the prize.”
“Did they get it?” She shook her head and I sighed. “Anyone else hurt? What happened to the humans?”
“Everyone’s fine, just the SUV got trashed and you saved everyone in there with your quick reflexes. And the humans won’t be a problem again,” she chuckled. I raised an eyebrow at her. “Glenda and I got hungry. We were in the other vehicle and went right for the threat while others helped you guys.”
“They were a little fatty for my tastes but clean of drugs so that’s always good meat,” Glenda added as she and Samantha high-fived.
“Okay then,” I snickered, shaking my head. “All right, so what’s the next drama?”
“You tell me whatever your adoptive father wants me to know before you claim me forever,” Torr murmured. I realized he’d moved even further away from me and I got pissed.
“I’m a serial killer, okay? I like to eat babies and drop old people off bridges. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner but I’ve been so busy saving your ass, dealing with the end of our way of life, getting you to even acknowledge me, healing all the time, and navigating all the pitfalls not knowing feline customs. Thanks for making this
such
a big deal when I’m doing
everything I can
to be with
you
.
“And now that there’s something private to discuss you’re moving away from me like I could turn on you.
Again
you’re acting like that.” I stared at him and shook my head. “Forget it. I need to eat before I pass out again from the next bomb dropped on me. I’m supposed to be resting, healing, and my eyes hurt. Now my head and neck do.”
I stormed towards the food line, ignoring all the shocked faces. I loaded up a couple of plates of pulled pork sandwiches, grabbed chips, a pop, and a Gatorade before plopping down at a table by myself.
Emrys choose that moment to pop up next to me. “He thinks you were mated before and Director Woodrow is your father-in-law who you called
Dad
like humans do in the movies or whatever.” I glanced over to where Woodrow was talking quietly with Torr whose shoulders were shaking from silent cries.
“No, that’s not it at all,” I mumbled as I rubbed the back of my neck.
“I know.” Emrys clapped me on the back, practically knocking me out of my seat. Now I was a big man at six-eight but he had height and bulk on me.