Page 174 of Heart of the High King
The two men and their wolves left the room, and once Aleksander got them into their suite, he pulled Rafe into the circle of his arms.
“I don’t think you should’ve called them out like that,” Rafe complained, holding Aleksander tight.
“You don’t need a champion; you’re strong enough for ten men, but I’m your mate and I’m not going to stand for our family hurting you. You’ve been through enough.”
“I’m okay,” Rafe murmured into his chest. “I mean I know I’m fucked up, and I’ve got scars inside me, but I’m doing okay. I know I’m strong and I like who I am.”
“In spite of everything, Rafe. That’s the point.”
“Rafe wonderful person. Rafe kind to Nox.”
Aleksander shook his head as his wolf spoke to him. That voice was going to take some getting used to, but now it was as if he were sort of magickind as well as shifter, and that was awesome. “I agree, Nox. Rafe is wonderful.”
“Of course he’s going to say that. I feed him and I scoop his shit out of our backyard.”
“Rafe funny too.”
All Aleksander could do was laugh at the absurdity of the situation. “He likes your sense of humor.”
“I know. For some reason, Mortis thinks I need a play-by-play of everything Nox is telling you,” Rafe groused. Putting a tiny bit of space between them, he turned to his wolf. “Sander’s awake now, he can tell me what Nox says.”
“Come on you three, let’s go relax in the living room for a while. We have a lot of time to make up for.”
“I’m expecting some making out.”
Aleksander kissed him softly. “Me too, babe.”
∞∞∞
With shaking hands, Dra’Kaedan picked up the folder Rafe had tossed onto the coffee table. Embarrassed, he ached for the hurt they’d unintentionally inflicted on Rafe. “I want to know who in this fucking house would believe for one minute that Rafe had in any way exaggerated his pain,” Dra’Kaedan growled. “We’re going to sit here tonight and go through every slip of paper in here so you can see for yourselves what Rafe survived. For months, he was beaten, starved, tortured, and he barely escaped with his life.”
Brogan got up and laid a hand on his shoulder. “I think you guys deserve to know that it was his family who chose to brutalize him. King Kestle and Duke Sullivan wielded the weapons and put in him in manacles because he was gay. Or because they’re sick fucks. Probably both.”
“For fuck’s sake,” Noirin muttered. “That’s awful, and we fucked up. We thought we were protecting him by keeping issues out of his hands. Instead, he thought we didn’t trust him and that we didn’t think of him as High King.”
Brogan nodded. “I’ll take the responsibility for that, and I intend to apologize at the first opportunity. Our thought process was to reduce his stress, and instead we increased it. No wonder he retreated to his room. I’d like to know which of you purposely hurt him by talking shit. If you prefer not to tell the whole family at once, then you can speak to me privately, but I can assure you that one way or another, Aleksander’s going to figure it out. It’s better to fess up than wait and let him get more pissed.”
His mother got up and went to Dra’Kaedan’s side. “Dear, why don’t you start with the file. I’ll warn you the pictures are gruesome and graphic, but it’s important for you to see what a warrior our High King is, though there should be no doubt in your soul that he holds his title legitimately. I can’t imagine how anyone in this wonderful family could not see the fight in his eyes or the love he holds for Aleksander. We made a mistake in giving him space when he needed our succor, and all we can do now is ask for forgiveness. And just as importantly, give him the caring we’ve held back. He needs us, and we cannot fail him any longer.”
There were gasps as Dra’Kaedan used his magic to enlarge the first image inside the folder, which was taken within hours of him being found when the only thing that gave him a fighting chance was the wolf Chander had married to his soul. “This is High King Rafe D’Vairedraconis, and this is what Court Kestle did to him. This is why we should do nothing but protect Rafe, and this is why he will always have my undying devotion,” Dra’Kaedan said, flipping through photos that still brought tears to his eyes. “The only reason he is in our house today is because he found the will to survive. Each of us would be lucky to have such strength in our hearts.”
