Page 40 of Devil May Hunt
Was it a lie? Was he masking? Hiding from Gunho?
He didn’t like that idea. Didn’t like the thought of his mate keeping things from him, out of fear or any other feeling. There was no necessity for secrets between them, which was why he’d rushed this process, only allowing the cadet a few days in his normal life, with his normal routine, before Gunho had ripped the rug out from under him.
And he knew that was exactly what he’d done. He wasn’t trying to pretend otherwise. Unlike Brennon, he was presenting his true self, unapologetically.
Dangerously.
“Should we get to know one another better? Will that help soothe you?” Gunho suggested, only for a flash of indignation to alight behind those warm brown eyes. They were pretty eyes, filled with all sorts of raw emotion. They gave him away, even when Brennon was trying so hard to shield the rest of himself.
The only crack in the calm exterior.
“I don’t need soothing,” Brennon said dryly.
“What do you need then? Tell me.”
“Freedom.”
Gunho held out his arms. “I’ve given you that.”
“This is a prison,” he corrected, but his tone still lacked bite. It was as though all the fight had drained out of him the second Gunho had used the term Royal Consort.
Why?
“The door is unlocked. You can come and go as you please.” He half expected Brennon to take him up on that offer, but he remained rooted in his spot. Gunho pursed his lips. “Talk to me, pretty lover.”
“That doesn’t work,” Brennon said. “There’s no point trying to reason with someone who refuses to listen.”
“I took you. You’re rightfully upset. I hear that loud and clear.”
“What’s the importance of being able to smell me? I get that if I were of your kind it would matter. But I’m not.” He brought them back to that topic. “I’m not an omega, I can’t give you children, and I won’t be accepted by your family. What’s the point of going through all this trouble for someone like me?”
Was that… self-doubt?
From the man’s records and their interactions in the past, Gunho had assumed Brennon was another cocky Royal, used to getting his way. The type that thought highly of himself. He’d been sure any anger displayed over becoming his mate would be due to Gunho’s status more than anything, which was why he’d gone to great lengths to officially name him his Royal Consort.
That title meant something. There was power and prestige attached to it that would be recognized throughout the entire universe.
And yet, that was the part that seemed to bother his pretty lover the most.
“Being able to smell you makes you special,” Gunho tried to explain, carefully choosing his words and closely inspecting him as he did. “Pheromones dictate everything. Every being hasthem, Brennon. Pheromones aren’t exclusive to my people. The fact that yours has any sort of effect on me at all is a sign we’re a good match.”
“Children—”
“Aren’t something I’m interested in.” He debated whether or not to continue, then blew out a breath, opting to lay it all out on the table. “My grandfather has been pushing me to procreate for years. It’s gotten to the point I have to actively avoid planets with my kind during my ruts.”
“Why?”
“He’s tried to force a bond on me before. During a rut, I can impregnate someone. He’s selected fertile omegas and planted them around me as temptation. Fortunately, I discovered his deception. Unfortunately, it happened midway through after I’d already bedded one of the woman he’d sent me.”
Brennon’s brow twitched, but that was the only sign he gave that Gunho’s words affected him.
“She didn’t get pregnant, but that was the last time I trusted my own while at my most vulnerable.” His rut came every three months, and he’d spent the better part of the past two years hopping from planet to planet to avoid his grandfather’s entrapment. “I told you we were similar before. I know what it’s like to crave freedom, especially from family that’s trying to weigh you down.”
“Drown me,” Brennon corrected softly, and there was something in his voice now that gave the impression Gunho had hit another nerve. “Everything is trying to drown me.”
“I’m not.” He set the empty mug down on the counter, but didn’t do anything else, allowing the space to remain between them. “I can give you anything you want, pretty lover. All I ask in return is for you to be mine. Is that so much to ask for? Youfeel like you’re drowning? Let me pull you up. I won’t let you stay under the weight of the world.”
“You don’t know what you’re saying.”
