He turned his head and found those soft, bow-shaped lips just there, only inches away. All he had to do was lean slightly forward and…
“Alpha Lucas?” Queen Ashlan said. “Would you and Kai lead out the first dance for us, please?”
Ignoring the muffled laughter coming from his end of the table, Lucas arose and held out a hand to Kai. He noticed right away that she was trembling, and he thought she must be shy. “Come Kai, let’s get it over with, and then we can find a quiet nook to talk and get to know one another. ”
Kai nodded and Lucas led her to the floor. The top of her head came just past his chin, and their bodies fit together perfectly. She slid her arms around his neck and he pulled her close to him. Kai’s body felt wonderful against him, both leaner and harder than he would have thought. He knew she was active and athletic, as all the Scythians were, but he had no idea she’d be so muscular, without the soft, feminine curves of most females. She felt perfect to him, yet when he lowered his head to her neck, he was overcome again by her unique scent. There was something else in the scent that he thought he might recognize, a slight smell of arousal that reminded him of something. Hells, it smelled like—pre-cum. That was impossible—or was it?
Seized by suspicion, he decided he’d get to the bottom of this mystery one way or the other. He pressed his body to hers, but felt no tell-tale bulging. When she felt him pressing against her, she tried to angle her body away. Was that because of modesty, or some elaborate subterfuge?
The two of them didn’t do a lot of dancing—mostly they stood in one place and swayed to the music, but it seemed to satisfy the onlookers, and soon other female couples of Scythia joined them on the dance floor.
As soon as he finished one dance, Lucas led Kai from the floor, whispering to her. “Let’s see if we can find somewhere quiet to talk. ”
Kai indicated a balcony on the side of the large reception room. “We could go there, if you like,” she said in her soft, almost whispery voice.
Lucas took her hand firmly in his and moved through the dancers toward the door. He caught Blayde’s eye. A nod and a silent message passed between them, and Blayde stood up to station himself by the door to make sure they weren’t interrupted.
Lucas led Kai outside to the balcony railings. They were on a top floor of the castle, so a large courtyard sprawled out almost four stories below them. Above,
Scythia’s moon hung in the sky like a golden lantern, not as big as the moon of Lycanus 3, but still exerting its arousing influence on Lucas’s wolf. He could feel its restlessness inside him. Lucas looked down at Kai, and then nervously away. He didn’t quite know how to broach his suspicions with her. He had no wish to insult her, but something was very wrong, and he needed to understand what it was.
She was shifting nervously from foot to foot beside him, so he turned to her and took her hand in his. “Princess Kai, I don’t wish to seem insulting, but something is—not right. Please, Princess, tell me what it is. ”He softly repeated his earlier question. “What exactly are you, Kai?”
A sudden intake of breath was the only indication that she’d even heard him. A long moment passed and Lucas began to think she wasn’t going to answer him. Her shoulders slumped and she turned slowly toward him. She looked deep into his eyes and there was an expression of bleak sadness in her own. Speaking in a deeper, much more masculine voice, she heaved a sigh and said, “I think you must already know what I am. ”
Fury swept over Lucas so rapidly and overwhelmingly that his hand shook with it. This was a male in front of him. It was so obvious now that he was amazed—and furious—that he’d been fooled for even a moment. Kai’s eyes were pleading with him, but all Lucas could focus on was the deception. These people had taken the Lycans for fools, and tried to trick them. He was so completely angry, his hands shook, and his wolf leaped forward, uneasy and restless.
“You son of a bitch,” he said, keeping his voice soft, but the look on his face must have been menacing. Kai took what looked like an involuntary step backward. Almost immediately, he seemed to gather himself. His entire façade changed as if someone had flipped a switch inside him. His body tensed, becoming harder and more aggressive. His golden brown eyes turned dark and hard.
“It wasn’t meant to harm you. ”
“Fuck that,” Lucas snarled, taking a step toward him, stalking him. “What the fuck does that mean? You and your mother and your council set out to trap me—to trick me and make a fool of me. How could that not harm me? They were going to foist you off as a female—and you…” Lucas paused, his voice trembling with rage, “You went along with it, pretending to be a woman. ” He let his gaze travel up and down him. “What’s wrong with you?”
* * * *
Since Kai was a child, he’d had to maintain a great deal of willpower and self-control to keep up this mask he was made to wear. From the time he was aware enough to realize that he wasn’t female, that he was different from everyone else around him and a non-person, he’d had to struggle to hold onto the tatters of his self-esteem. He had to try not to loathe himself, and that was still something he still struggled with. His entire society thought of men as defective, as less than a female, and over the years, this attitude had taken its toll.
Feeling neither fully male nor female, he struggled with his identity, and now here was this powerful male, this man who fascinated and attracted him, one who was fairly dripping with testosterone, insulting and accusing him. Partly, at least, it seemed the alpha held him in contempt because of the clothing and makeup he’d been forced to wear.
The unfairness of it all rushed through him in a torrent of rage. Kai’s usually impressive control over his temper snapped, and he put a hand on the alpha’s chest and pushed him violently away. Lucas staggered back a step or two and looked at Kai with surprise before moving toward him so quickly, Kai never even saw him coming—just a blur of movement and then he was on him. He was just there, with his hand around Kai’s throat, pushing him roughly back against the castle wall and leaning down into Kai’s face. He wasn’t exactly hurting him, but exerting enough pressure to keep him still.
His other hand moved down between Kai’s legs and he parted his robes roughly, throwing them aside to put his hand at Kai’s groin. Feeling the leather straps there, he cursed in some other language that Kai figured was Lycan, and took his other hand away from Kai’s throat to rip open the pretty blue robe and undershift he wore from the neck down. He looked down his body to the strap that fastened around his waist and cursing again, he unbuckled it and threw it to the floor.
Released from their prison, Kai’s genitals fell down between his legs and even Kai could smell the arousal. He looked down at the long piece of flesh between his legs and was horrified to see it thicken. A white drop appeared on the head and Kai bit his lip, moaning in embarrassment and shame.
Lucas glanced down at it and back up to his face. Then deliberately, he wrapped one big hand around it, his thumb softly stroking the mushroom-shaped head, smearing the drop over the top. No one had ever so much as touched him there that he could remember. His genitals had always been an object of shame, and an outward sign of his inferiority. He could only gasp for air like a landed fish as Lucas moved his hand over the silken flesh.
“You like that, don’t you? Tell me how much you like it, Kai. ” Lucas’s voice was gruff and hoarse with some strong emotion, but Kai moaned and pushed at his chest again, throwing him off. Lucas growled and for a moment something peeked out of his eyes that frightened Kai. Lucas thrust Kai back against the wall again, shoving him hard and pressing his body back against Kai’s.
Unprepared, Kai’s head slammed back, almost stunning him for a moment. He quickly recovered and lifted a knee to jab it into Lucas’s groin. The alpha’s reflexes were quick, and though he twisted his body at the last moment, Kai still inflicted a little damage. Lucas gasped and winced, hunching his body over for a few seconds and breathing hard. His hand around Kai’s throat, though, never loosened its grip.
Kai drew up his knee again, but this time Lucas was ready for him. He shifted away, and Kai’s knee landed on the side of his hip. Lucas bumped his head into the wall again, and this time, Kai saw stars dancing in front of his eyes.
He let his legs collapse under him, and Lucas, startled, pulled his hand away from Kai’s throat to catch his biceps and hold him up. Kai straightened and caught Lucas on the chin with a quick left hook. Staggering backward, Lucas shook his head, making a little huffing sound. He lowered his head and plowed into Kai before he could dance out of his reach, shoving him back against the wall. He didn’t really hurt Kai, but his shoulder caught Kai in his solar plexus and knocked the breath from his body. Kai hung from the wall, gasping, and Lucas took him by the shoulders, holding him in place and staring into his eyes.
“You done?” he snarled breathlessly and Kai nodded shortly, struggling to take in a breath of his own.
Lucas stared down at him another few seconds before he loosened his grip. Kai knew he was only toying with him, and that his strength was much greater, but Kai was fighting for his life. Even though it was probably too late, he couldn’t seem to make himself stop. He kept his head lowered, wanting the alpha to think he was finished and presented no further threat. His stomach and chest were aching, not to mention the pains in his head. He thought he felt blood trickling down the back of his neck from his scalp. Lucas was obviously much stronger than he was, but some sense of pride wouldn’t let Kai quit. The man already had no respect for him, and Kai couldn’t live with that. As soon as Lucas shifted his hands, Kai stomped down on the alpha’s foot as hard as he could. He was wearing soft slippers, so he mostly managed only to hurt his own foot, but it must have surprised Lucas because he shifted backward, allowing Kai to make a break for the door.