“I will be very cross if you peek,” I warned Rourke, who looked amused even with a hand placed over his eyes.
When everything was removed, I said, “All right. You may open them.”
The shock and awe on Rourke’s face was worth every kanis I’d spent on this project. I couldn’t help but smile widely at his reaction, and that of Amos, too. They gazed up at not one, but two statues in the center of the newly renovated fountain. One was familiar—the statue of the omega God of Fertility in all his glory.
But he was no longer alone. Beside him stood the alpha of the mythological pair, the God of Virility. They stood on equal ground on the pedestal, neither one taking up more space than the other. Their hands were crossed in the air, and they seemed to gaze into each other’s eyes in a position that was so natural no one would’ve known the original scene was any different if they hadn’t seen it for themselves.
“Sebastian,” Rourke murmured, unable to look away. “Did… did you do this?”
“No, it was the statue-renovating fairy.”
He rushed over to me with a breathless laugh and embraced me tightly. My cheeks hurt from smiling as I held him in return, neither of us caring who saw this public display of affection. In fact, I hoped my citizensdidsee it. I wanted them to know how much I cared for my alpha mate.
“You know, I said ‘in writing’, not to make an entire statue,” Rourke said.
“I always go above and beyond.”
“That you do,” Rourke murmured before kissing me right in the middle of the courtyard.
* * *
There wassomething else I wanted Amos and Rourke’s opinion on. When a nearby knight saw me heading for the elevator down to the lower quarter, she offered her assistance, but I laced my hand with Rourke’s and dismissed her. I doubted I had any need for a knight’s aid ever again. What better protection could any knight offer compared to a giant wolf?
This time, I saw the lower quarter with fresh eyes. It no longer filled me with disdain. Instead I felt only disappointment—at myself, at my father, and at the whole kingdom. This wasn’t the Lacehaven I wanted to rule. I made a silent promise to change more than just a statue.
We stopped outside the doors of the alpha market. Rourke reassuringly squeezed my hand, which I hadn’t noticed was tense until now. Amos frowned at he gazed up at the building. I knew it must’ve been a bittersweet memory for him, though more bitter than sweet. Rourke had given up his freedom, his name, everything just to create a brighter future for his younger brother, and Amos knew it.
I turned to Rourke. “Well?”
“Well what?” he said.
“What are we going to do about this?” I said, gesturing to the building.
Rourke’s brows raised when he realized where I was going with this. He turned to the market with a pensive expression. It was my turn to comfort him now. I stroked the back of his hand with my thumb. The lashes from Melchom’s whip had healed but left physical scars on both of us. I didn’t mind. They were memories of our Therianthrope awakenings that day.
“I don’t know,” Rourke admitted quietly after a long pause. “We can’t just tear it down. The alphas would have nowhere to go. They have food and shelter, which is more than some people from the lower ring or even the outskirts can claim,” he mumbled, then lowered his gaze. “But they don’t have their freedom. So… I don’t know, Sebastian.”
An ugly memory returned to me. I remembered the flash of weapons the guards inside the alpha market had used to bully Rourke into submission.
“Tell me all the ways the guards used to force your subservience,” I asked Rourke.
He told me. The break sticks, the power-tripping guards, the threat of a solitary confinement cage ironically named the Kennel… Before I met Rourke, none of it would have phased me in the slightest. In fact, I probably would have approved of the methods used to keep alphas in line. Now, hearing it turned my stomach. I never wanted my mate to be treated like a lower life form ever again.
“Wait here,” I said.
Rourke and Amos exchanged a glance as I disappeared into the building. The entire staff went rigid with respect when the King walked through the doors. I stifled a smile. If there was one situation in which I had no trouble using my kingly authority to make citizens bow to my will, it was this one.
I exited the market half an hour later, followed a few minutes later by a string of betas trickling out of the building.
“What did you do?” Rourke asked.
“The majority of the guards have been dismissed. And there will be no more use of weapons or involuntary confinement,” I told him. “The only remaining betas are the ones who will continue to accept alphas into the market’s care, as well as the groundskeeping staff.” I paused. “Perhaps we should think of a better name, while we’re at it.”
Rourke’s jaw dropped. Amos looked just as surprised. As the moments passed and neither of them spoke, my cheeks went hot and I lowered my gaze to the ground.
“I apologize,” I said quietly. “I know I have a lot to do. Not just in the alpha market, but in the lower quarter, and the outskirts, and in the whole kingdom. It will take a long time to figure out a solution that pleases everyone involved, but in the interim, I hope this will prevent some suffering.”
Before I gathered the courage to face him, Rourke crashed into me, his arms grasping me in a tight embrace. His warmth enveloped me, and the scent of him flooded my nose as I buried my face in his chest. I wordlessly raised my head and our lips met in an eager kiss of peaches and oranges.
