“Show him your good manners, Alexei,” the handler said.
My stomach dropped. I didn’t want to beshownanything. But it was too late. The alpha prostrated himself on the floor and reached for my boot, ready to worship me. It took every ounce of willpower not to jerk myself away. An angry heat filled my cheeks.
“Aw, Seb’s blushing,” Elian snickered in the background.
I could’ve wrung his neck.
As the alpha’s lips pressed into my ankle through the leather, I’d had it.
“Thank you,” I said. “That’s enough.”
The alpha paused, puzzled, then shot his handler a confused glance. The handler seemed similarly perplexed. Was he expecting me to swoon at the first sign of subservience?
Choosing intelligently to obey me instead of his handler and his deeply ingrained training, the alpha drew away and stood back up to fit in the line. He didn’t meet my eye.
Father must have sensed a tremor of tension. He said politely to the handler, “They are fine alphas, indeed. Perhaps Prince Sebastian requires a private session with each alpha before he makes his final decision.”
My stomach practically churned at the idea. “That won’t be necessary.”
The entrance hall filled with uncomfortable silence. Father was trying to keep his expression under control for appearance’s sake, but I knew I had embarrassed him. That was just too bad. I wasn’t about to debase myself for his sake.
Flashing him a beautiful smile, I turned to the handler, whose name I had already forgotten. “Thank you for your services, but they won’t be needed any longer.”
His face cracked. “Your Highness?”
Father was so incensed that he stood up, sending a wave of tension throughout the hall. “Sebastian?”
Even the alphas, who were trying their best to maintain composure, seemed clueless about the sudden shift in atmosphere. This definitely wasn’t part of their training. I didn’t let it get to me.
“I have the right to choose my own alpha donor,” I announced, “and I’ve decided not to choose any of the ones before me today. I’m deeply sorry for wasting your time.”
I heard a smarmy gasp-cackle from Elian behind me before he slapped a hand over his mouth. Everyone else was silent. Shocked faces surrounded me.
Finally, as if finally getting the message, the handler thanked the King and I for the opportunity, then gathered up his alphas and left the same way he came. I let out a thin sigh of relief through my nose when the grand doors shut behind them. I praised myself for getting rid of the problem without too much drama.
But when I turned to face my family, it was clear I’d committed a grave faux pas.
Father was furious. His cheeks and ears turned a peculiar shade of red when he was angry, and he was almost purple.
Elian finally let out the peals of laughter he’d been holding in. “Holy crap, Seb, you really messedthatup—”
Father’s booming voice cut him off. “Elian Lacehaven, do not speak another word.”
Elian turned into a meek little lamb, though his cheeks flushed with embarrassment and resentment at being told to shut his mouth.
“Leave us,” Father said. “I wish to speak to Sebastian alone.”
Oh, dear,I thought.
As Elian and Cecil scurried out of the hall, along with any other lingering servants, I stood alone facing my father. It was, from experience, not an experience I enjoyed, especially when it looked like steam was about to blow out of his ears.
“What were you thinking, son?” Father asked, in the sort of fake pleasantness that indicated he was very cross with me.
“I was thinking, Father,” I said calmly, “that it is my choice who I allow into my bed, and I did not like the choices presented to me.”
His fingers gripped the arms of the throne harder. “It is not complicated, Sebastian. You use a donor once and that’s all. You are free to throw it away after use.”
What a charming way to describe a man,I thought with mild amusement, though I didn’t entirely think he was wrong.
