Alpha King Luca's POV
"Are you the one who hired that child?" I asked, my voice bounced off the high ceilings as my mate and I ascended the grand staircase. The weight of the crown usually felt natural, but today, a strange restlessness stirred moved under my skin.
Luna Maris didn't look at me, her fingers traced the gold leafed the gold-leafed banister. "He wasn't hired. I heard Samson mention he was collateral....payment for a debt his father failed to settle."
I frowned, the image of the boy's wide, defiant eyes flashing in my mind. "But his mate... a child like that is supposed to be in school, not scrubbing floors in a palace."
Maris sighed, a sound of practiced boredom. "You are speaking as if you weren't the one who authorized these debt protocols in the first place, Luca. He is already here; there is nothing we can do about it now. Come on, baby... let's go inside."
I followed her into our private chambers, but my mind remained at the gates. Another day, another cycle. The thing with Luna Maris was her insatiable sexual urge. Ever since we began trying for an heir, she had become relentless. Every blessed day, every spare moment we had, she wanted to be hinged in the bed, desperate for a pregnancy that seemed to elude us.
I obliged, of course. I didn't want her to later lay the blame at my feet, claiming I was the reason she remained barren. As soon as my duties as King were finished for the day, I was expected to attend to my wife. But the spark had long since died. It was never exciting; it was a chore, a mechanical performance of duty.
But that child...
That child had something within him. When I had looked at him at the gates, I felt a magnetic pull so sudden it nearly stole my breath. I couldn't stop staring. How could a boy possess such a divine, luxurious aura? How could a mere servant be that beautiful? He made me feel a spark of curiosity of want.that I hadn't felt for my own wife in years.
I am the King of this land, I reminded myself sharply. I wasn't a man of taboo tastes. I was a King with a well-known liking for women. I wasn't supposed to be harboring dark thoughts of myself in bed with a boy. It was madness. He was just a child... or perhaps that was it. Perhaps his youth was the draw. And as the rumors went, Omegas were always meant to carry a scent that could drive a man to his knees.
"What are you thinking?" Maris's voice snapped me back to the present. I realized I had been standing in the center of the room, staring at nothing while she reclined on the silk sheets. "You've been standing on the same spot for a very long time. When are you going to fuck me???"
I looked at her, and for the first time, I felt a wave of genuine exhaustion. "I am sorry... I... I don't think I am in the right position for this tonight. I don't think I have the strength."
Maris sat up abruptly, her eyes flashing with indignation. "What? You know how much I want this! Do not defy me, Luca!"
I didn't argue. I couldn't. I simply turned around and walked out of the bedroom.
"Alpha! Come back here!" she screamed, her voice shrill with rage, but I didn't listen. I walked out on her, the heavy doors thudding shut behind me.
I needed to get away. I needed to purge the thought of that boy, Eren, from my head. Why couldn't I concentrate? Why were my feelings for the Luna drifting like smoke in a gale? Is this how the mate bond was supposed to feel? Was I losing my mind?
I stopped in the hallway, my voice booming through the corridor. "Who is there? Somebody call me Samson!"
"Yes, Alpha," a nearby guard scurried to obey.
A few minutes later, my Beta arrived, his expression neutral but his eyes observant.
"Tell me about that kid," I commanded without preamble. "Who is his father? He looks Asian... why is he bearing the name Eren? I know almost everything that happens in this territory, Samson. Why haven't I seen that face before?"
Samson cleared his throat. "Alpha, I am sorry to divert your attention, but the child is currently with the Luna. Do you want me to call him for you to question?"
"No," I said quickly, the thought of him trembling before me unappealing. "Let's not make him scared. I just want to hear from you, my Beta."
Samson bowed his head slightly. "Alpha, it's been a long time since you addressed me by my rank. Well... he is Mr. Yamato's child, Kiko."
"Koko?" I repeated, the name sounding foreign on my tongue.
"No, Kiko. Do you remember the man who came begging for a loan years ago for his child's injury? That child was Kiko. Your agreement stated you could take the boy if the father didn't pay up. It happened five years ago. That's the child. I'm told he just lost his mother and sister."
"And the father?"
"He is nowhere to be seen, Alpha. Disappeared into the wind."
A strange pang of sympathy tugged at my chest, though I suppressed it. "I feel for the child... but I have to fulfill my job. A debt is a debt."
Samson looked at me curiously. "Alpha, it seems you have a keen interest in this child. You have never asked after the history of a servant before."
"It's not as if I have a keen interest," I lied, my voice tightening. "I have simply never seen a child so delicate before. I just wish he was my own child, or perhaps I am old enough to be his father... how old is he?"
"He should be eighteen, nineteen... maybe twenty now. He is an adult, technically."
"Oh. Great." The news sent a strange jolt through me. He wasn't a child. He was a man grown, however slight he appeared. "Tell the servant head that Eren is to be the King's personal servant. He is not to be treated poorly. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir," Samson replied, turning to leave.
"Samson!" I called him back before he reached the end of the hall.
"Yes, Alpha?"
"Send him to my chambers now. I need to speak to him myself."
Samson hesitated, a flicker of confusion crossing his face. "Okay, Alpha, but..."
"But what?"
"She is getting ready to go attend to your wife"
"She???" I asked Samson stopped, coughing into his hand. "Sorry... he. I meant he. He is preparing to go to the Queen's wing."
I felt a sharp prickle of jealousy at the thought of him in her quarters instead of mine. "Tell him to come here first. When he is done with me, he can go attend to my Queen."
"Okay, Alpha."