Such a pompous ass.
I wish he wasn’t so damn attractive, or good in bed. It would make hating him a whole lot easier.
“We’ve arrived,” Aurus says, and I feel the vehicle shudder to a halt. He stands and strides to the door, with me following behind him like a loyal little puppy. Then he steps onto a platform which seems to be hovering in the air. It’s like a magic carpet made of glass. I hesitate. It’s a long, long drop if I stumble.
“Is this thing safe?” I ask. I might be a badass, but this is a little weird.
“The best way to travel shorter distances,” Aurus says, reaching out and helping me onto the contraption. It feels sturdier than it looks, but I wish it wasn’t transparent. I don’t need to see just how far I would plunge to my immediate death if I fall.
“How do you steer it?” I ask.
“With this.” Aurus taps a joystick before seizing it and pulling it towards him. I almost lose my footing as the platform zooms off.
“Jesus!”
“Hold on, little Omega.”
I would, but there’s nothing to hold on to. Except him. And I refuse to touch him right now. Let him beg me to touch him for once.
I curse under my breath as we pick up speed. The air is a little thin, but the mountains in the distance are stunning, rising to greet the clouds. The platform zooms low over the smooth blue-black surface of a lake, and goosebumps rise on my arms. Altrim is beautiful, with deep valleys filled with mirror-smooth lakes. The homes are built right into the mountains—sleek, dark, modern designs that are somehow perched on top of waterfalls.
By the time we pull up to what I assume is Khan’s palace—a huge mountain face dotted with glass and stone structures layered between waterfalls—I’m in love with the zooming platform. When I get out of the palace, I’m definitely figuring out how to get one of these. So much more fun than a car.
“King Aurus.” An insanely tall, broad Ulfarri with long, midnight blue hair and intense eyes strides towards us. Goddam, they grow these Ulfarri Alphas big. Although Aurus’s muscles have more bulk, this one is no slouch. His yummy lean muscles flex as he stops and assumes a commanding pose.
This has got to be Khan. But where’s Emma? There’s no sign of another woman on the stone slab we’ve landed on. No one peeking around the door.
Khan looks down at me from his impressive height. “And this must be Kim.”
“My Omega,” Aurus says, gripping my bicep and drawing me right up against him before wrapping a possessive arm around me. “Indeed. Is she not exquisite?”
“Tiny,” Khan agrees, as if that were the same thing. I suppress a sigh.
“Nice to meet you… er…” I cast about for the right honorific, then figure I can use the universal one for royalty, “Your Grace.”
“Likewise.” As imposing as Khan looks, his expression is warm and friendly. Not threatening.
“Is Emma here?” I blurt out before I can stop myself.
“She’s in her painting studio,” Khan says, “I will have Calla take you to her.” He beckons a hooded servant over and turns to Aurus. “I thought we might speak alone. Unless you had other plans?’
He’s careful not to look at me for anything longer than the briefest cursory glance. Is that protocol, or is it because of the huge golden beast beside me glowering at him with barely disguised jealousy all over his handsome features?
“I take it Emma is alone in her studio?” Aurus asks.
“Of course. Aside from the occasional Beta attendant to bring her refreshments, should she request them.”
“Female attendant, I presume?” Aurus continues.
God. The guy needs to work on his obvious jealousy issues. “Calla, please take me to see Emma,” I cut in, using the imperious tone I learned while in the harem.
Aurus stiffens. I try to push away from him but he holds me still. Khan blinks at me. The servant is frozen between us. Slowly, she—Calla is a she—lowers her hood and gives her king a questioning look. He, in turn, raises a brow at Aurus.
“Very well,” Aurus says, sounding amused. He slowly releases me, pressing a brief kiss to my head. “Behave yourself,” he murmurs under his breath, and I have to bite my tongue. I want to see Emma, and I’m aware that he could take me back to Aurum at any moment. I need to behave.
“Of course,” I say sweetly, before following Calla onto another platform transport thing.
The palace is truly beautiful. Where Aurus’s is all pomp and gaudy, gilded columns, almost more gold than you can stand to look at, Khan’s is built into the side of the mountain. The giant rock platforms lead to towering rooms of black obsidian, closed off from the elements by several stories’ worth of glass. The structures are built in sleek architectural lines, very modern but close to nature. Streams flow in grooves down the sides of the rock platforms, and turn into waterfalls crashing onto the rock platforms below. The air is cool from the mist. Calla and I zoom around a waterfall to an unassuming entrance hewn into the rock. The platform pulls to a halt, and Calla offers me her hand to help me off.
