Chapter Three
Xias hid his face against Zhuang’s neck, embarrassed by the tears he couldn’t seem to stop from sliding down his cheeks. He didn’t know this man, and yet Zhuang was offering him every dream he’d ever had on a silver platter.
He was afraid to believe it was true. His luck just didn’t run that way. He had always been picked on because he was smaller, but his life hadn’t truly begun to suck until he hit puberty and shifted for the first time. His pure-white fur was a dead giveaway that he was an omega.
Life had been hell from that moment on. He had been forced to live as a virtual prisoner, not allowed to associate with anyone except those the alpha trusted with his care. He hadn’t even been allowed to see his parents.
Considering how much his alpha had salivated when he found out he was an omega, Xias had always been surprised the man had waited until he turned eighteen before forcing him to provide cubs. He had been lucky in that respect and he knew it. Others hadn’t fared so well.
Now, Zhuang was telling him that everything the alpha had done was against shifter law. Xias still didn’t understand what that meant for him or his cubs, but he prayed it was true. It wasn’t as though he wanted revenge on the alpha—although that was still a possibility—but more that he wanted something that would keep the man away from him and his cubs.
“How can he break so many laws and just get away with it?” he whispered.
He didn’t understand that. Shouldn’t there be some sort of checks and balances? What good was a shifter council if all it did was make laws? Shouldn’t it enforce them, too?
“I don’t know, Xias. It’s not supposed to happen this way.”
“I don’t know how to stop him,” Xias said. “He won’t stop coming after us until he gets what he wants.”
“What does he want?”
“My cubs, but just the boy. He wants to kill the girls.” Xias knew his alpha wanted him, too, but just so he could produce more cubs, male ones. Xias had no doubt that any girls he gave birth to would end up dead if his alpha got his hands on them.
“This guy sounds like a real ass.”
“You have no idea.”
Zhuang’s sigh was deep. “I think we need to go see my father.”
Xias leaned back to look at him. “Why?”
“Well, for one, we need to register you with the council. We also need to register our mating. It’s important that as many people as possible know we’re mated. Having a paper trail will help back that up.”
Xias gasped. “You want others to know we’re mated?”
Zhuang frowned. “Of course I do.”
“But…” Xias was so confused. He had always been the dirty little secret, hidden away except for when his alpha wanted to try and get cubs off of him.
“I want you to remember this,” Zhuang said. “I can almost say with certainty that anything your former alpha said is wrong. How he has continued to remain an alpha, let alone became one in the first place, is a mystery I doubt we’ll ever solve, but the man is clearly an idiot.”
Xias giggled. He slapped a hand over his mouth. He had so not meant to make that sound. In fact, he’d be thrilled if he never made it again.
Who giggled?
“I’m going to go check the storm,” Zhuang said as he stood. “I want to get going as soon as possible. The faster we get you to council headquarters, the safer you and the cubs will be.”
Xias nodded, even though he was loath to give up having the man’s arms wrapped around him. It was the first time in a long time, maybe forever, that he had felt safe. But he also knew he had a duty to his cubs to keep them safe.
“I want you to remember something,” Zhuang said. He tapped the side of his head. “I can hear you up here. All true mates have the ability to speak to each other through their bond. If you have any problems, even if you get scared and just need someone to talk to, I can hear you. Okay?”
Too stunned to say anything, Xias just nodded.
“Can you hear me?”
Xias’s eyes rounded as he nodded again. He had heard Zhuang loud as day, but the man’s lips hadn’t moved once. “I can talk to my cubs like this.”
Zhuang smiled. “You’re their parent. All parents can talk to their cubs in this manner. They stay in cub form until they’re around two years old. It’s the only way you can really communicate with them.”
