CHAPTER 70: _COSMICALLY BAD TIMING

Elian’s POV

*****

"By the goddess!"

Elian nearly rolled out from under Beta Axel when he saw who had stepped into the room like he owned the place.

That’s right. The one and only Prince Lucian Stormborn. Aka, the biggest Douchebag in Lunaria.

Or the whole of Evaros if he wanted to be broader.

Lucian’s silver eyes glinted with unreadable emotions, his jaw tightening as he glared at Elian and Axel’s naked bodies.

Meanwhile, the Beta was completely calm, slowly pulling his length out of Elian and then using the bed sheet to wrap around his waist.

During all this Elian’s face heated up with embarrassment, anger... A whole plethora of things.

[Hey, on the bright side, if you’re lucky, maybe the Alpha Prince and Beta Axel can do some meaty sword fighting with all this tension between them. If you know what I—]

’Yes, of course I know what you mean you perv!’ Elian snapped mentally.

[Eesh. I guess getting your guts rearranged isn’t always the relaxing experience you mortals make it seem like.]

"Lucian. Haven’t you heard of knocking?" Axel asked calmly, sitting on the edge of the bed, his back facing Elian.

Lucisn was livid, a dry chuckle leaving his mouth. "Knock? But why? I mean, from the looks of things, you’ve already finished what you’ve got going on here."

Axel scoffed, folding his arms in front of his chest while Elian tried his best to look away from both of them.

"Why, Alpha Prince. Are you jealous?"

Lucian froze, his jaw clenching even more, his fists curling beside him. Elian glanced at him wearily, afraid he’d snap.

[Status on Alpha Prince Lucian: His jealousy meter is indeed going off the charts at the moment. Like, dangerously close to 100%.]

Well, well, well...

"Me? Jealous?" Lucian laughed again, shaking his head. "You’re mistaken, Beta. Just disappointed I suppose. Last night, you saw my... Concern when you called me about Elian collapsing. You told me you’d sleep here to watch him and now..."

He paused, his eyes actually showing disappointment as his shoulders relaxed. "Now you’re having fun while the Alpha class intruder is still out there."

Axel spoke up. "Our mate is going through his heat cycle, Lucian—"

"Which will come and go randomly for the next few days or so." Lucian snapped, his voice rising by an octave. "Yeah, that’s right. I’ve been doing my research on Omegas."

Elian blinked with shock, surprised... No, bamboozled that prince Douchebag would care enough to do that.

Lucian has never cared enough to do anything.

[That... Was unexpected.]

[His emotions seem to be all over the place. Like he makes the term "emotionally constipated" seem like an understatement.]

Elian’s lips pressed into a thin line as he and Lucian locked eyes. And in that moment, as he stared into his first mate’s silver eyes, images of all their first times flashed past his mind.

Their first kiss. Their first breakfast argument. The blowjob Lucian gave him...

[Wow... What a lovely repertoire you’ve got there. Any more memories and you could make your own little romantic slide show.]

Elian ignored the system, his gaze never leaving Lucian’s eyes. For a heartbeat, he thought he saw some form of regret within Lucian’s eyes.

But... Why?

"You know what?" Lucian eventually looked away, shaking his head. "Fuck this. Axel, I’m only here to tell you the committee is ready for our first meeting. But since you’re... Busy, maybe you should take your time. You’ll need it."

Without another word, and with one final death glare, Lucian spun on his heels, turning his back to them and storming out.

He slammed the door behind him, leaving Elian and Axel in an awkward silence.

The slam of the door still rattled in Elian’s ears. He flopped back onto the mattress with an exaggerated groan, covering his face with both hands.

"Well," he muttered through his fingers, "Nothing kills post-nut bliss like Prince Douchebag storming in with his royal temper tantrum."

Axel chuckled, leaning back on his hands and glancing over his shoulder at him. "You’re cute when you’re flustered."

"I am not flustered. I’m..." Elian peeked out from behind his fingers, "...okay, maybe slightly flustered. But only because he saw us during the knotting. Do you have any idea how humiliating that is?"

Axel’s lips quirked into that slow, infuriating smirk. "The knotting part’s nothing to be ashamed of. It strengthens our bond. Every time I knot inside you, it’s... more than just physical. It’s a claim, spiritual, emotional and primal."

[Translation: He’s basically saying you’re stuck with him now. Like a branded toaster, except sexier.]

Elian rolled his eyes at the system, then stared at Axel. "So... You’re telling me that every time you do that, our bond gets tighter?"

Axel leaned in until his forehead brushed Elian’s, their noses almost touching. "Exactly. You’ll feel this pull between us stronger each time. Like gravity."

Elian’s throat went dry. "A dangerous kind of gravity."

"The best kind." Axel’s hand slid along Elian’s jaw, tilting his face up. "The kind you stop fighting."

Before Elian could sass back, Axel kissed him deeply, making his toes curl and his brain short-circuit. Heat pooled low in his stomach again despite himself.

[Wow. He’s already re-charging for round two. Are you sure you want to get out of bed?]

’Don’t tempt me,’ Elian thought, but he didn’t break the kiss, pulling Axel closer until their bare chests were pressed flush.

When they finally parted, Elian was breathless. "You’re dangerous," he whispered.

Axel grinned. "And you love it."

"Maybe," Elian smirked back, but his body still tingled from the bond talk. He’d never admit it, but something about the way Axel said it made him... Warm.

Like there was more to all this than just heat and hormones.

Axel stood and stretched, muscles shifting under his golden skin, making Elian’s mouth go dry all over again.

"I’m going to take a hot bath," he said, glancing toward Elian’s bathroom. "Join me if you want. Or... stay here and recover."

"Oh, temptation thy name is Axel." Elian flopped dramatically onto his side. "Go. If I follow you, it’ll be entirely against my will."

[Sure, and I’m the goddess of chastity.]

Axel chuckled again and padded toward the bathroom, the sheet falling from his hips halfway there. Elian caught himself staring, biting his lip.

"Stop ogling," Axel called without looking back.

"Don’t give me reasons to ogle," Elian shot back, smirking.

The sound of running water filled the air, and the scent of lavender bath salts drifted out moments later. Axel was humming something low, off-key but... weirdly comforting.

Elian rolled onto his back, staring at the ceiling, finally letting himself breathe. His legs still ached in the best way possible, but his mind wouldn’t stop turning.

Lucian’s face flashed in his memory, the clenched jaw, the flash of something like regret in his eyes.

[Still thinking about your first mate, huh?]

’I’m thinking about how complicated this is getting.’

[Complicated? Please! This is premium drama. You’ve got two mates in the same palace, one alpha prince emotionally constipated, and now the Beta who knots you like he’s writing love poetry with his—]

’STOP.’ Elian slapped a pillow over his face.

That’s when the system’s voice shifted, but this time no longer teasing.

[ALERT. Scanners have detected mission target ’Estella’ leaving the palace grounds.]

Elian froze, his heart skipping. ’Right now?’

[Affirmative. Coordinates indicate she’s moving toward the eastern district.]

He sat up so fast the pillow hit the floor.

The afterglow haze evaporated instantly, replaced by adrenaline.

Estella.

The one person who might be tied to his assassination attempt. The one he’d been supposed to be keeping tabs on instead of, well, getting knotted into next week.

[Don’t panic. She’s on foot. But if you don’t move your perfectly ploughed ass soon, you’ll lose her trail.]

Elian’s eyes darted to the bathroom. The sound of water still poured from the tub.

He licked his lips, mind racing.

"Axel?" He called, trying to keep his voice casual.

"Mhm?" came the lazy reply.

Elian hesitated. This was bad timing—like cosmically bad timing—but maybe...

[Oh, honey. There’s no ’maybe.’ You’ve got thirty seconds before she’s too far for palace security to track without a commotion.]

Elian clenched his fists, every muscle in his body tensing. This wasn’t just a mission update. This was the beginning of something messy.

"I guess it’s now or never..."