Kari sighed as he dragged his feet towards Ryedir’s private quarters.   He had spent the afternoon helping Nevis run errands in the market square and was tired after all the activity. Not to mention that his head still reeled over what had happened that morning.   Yhieris, what had possessed him to agree to let the alpha touch him so intimately?   Instincts most likely and he had let himself be carried away by the situation. Had it been anyone else, he would have been mated and bonded by now, Kari was sure. Ryedir must have legendary self-control. He had seen other alphas lose their mind over just the scent of an omega, let alone touching them so intimately.   Ryedir had sent him over the edge of pleasure multiple times and at the end came again virtually untouched. Which showed just how much Kari affected him and yet he didn’t act on it. Sure, the man too

  Ryedir didn’t miss the suggestion that he would die if he ever lost his powers. It was not something to bear thinking about, but it was the reality of the situation. While Kari might not want to say his choice yet, Ryedir knew he needed the omega to come to him because if he broke the young man’s will then he would lose him irrevocably. Their power was connected to their beliefs and their own wills, of that he was certain. Force him into something and the doubt would eat away his power as had happened to the two previously captured Daiyans.   Silence reigned while those words sank in. It was Jaid who finally broke it. “That may be, but that’s not common knowledge here. Who would know about such things and have been in contact with him? Few notice a slave, even out in the city.”   “Knowledge about Daiyans is more prevalent within the army as they are something that has been fought against in the past.”

  Kari glared at the commanding tone but Ryedir drew up to his full height while his voice dropped. His voice was soft and deep but no less authoritative.   “We will be outside of the safety of my domain and it’s exceedingly important that you follow my rules while we are away. Remember that everyone who sees this collar,” he stood close enough to reach up a hand to trace his fingers along the soft leather at his throat, “will know you are my pleasure slave and will treat you as such. Which means that they will mostly ignore you or they might look but not touch. Other servants and slaves at the palace may approach you and will most likely treat you with indifference or even malice. I need you to not react and carry on with whatever task you were doing. As you do here, you will stay with me and serve me. Once in the capital, you will have to sit at my feet when not serving and you will not interact with anyone. You are to be a pretty p

  Hooves sounded behind him and Ryedir came level with him almost immediately, rising to his challenge. Kari shot him a wild grin and then they were off, hooves pounding into the road as they galloped ahead.   He laughed with unrestrained joy at the feeling of freedom. The wind rushed in his face and the horse underneath him gave the impression they could go anywhere he chose.   It was like the weight of the travel and the impending worry over their upcoming visit to the capital slid off his shoulders. It wasn’t long before they slowed to a walk again. It wouldn’t do to tire the horses too much as they still had a way to travel and Kari laughed breathlessly in exhilaration.   “Feel better?”   “Yeah.” He flashed his alpha a beaming smile and received a soft look of affection in return. Embarrassed and a little shy over the openness being displayed, Kari turned his gaze back

  “Well, I can see why you like this one, Rye. So fiery.”   Millicent swept into a large entertaining room in front of Kari. The women had bullied him into the bath with her, dosed him with scented oils, and dressed him up in a white short-sleeve tunic ornamented with gold and yellow patterns. He was in a red breech with knee-high boots. A fabric was tied on his waist as always but now, a sash accompanied it from his left shoulder across his chest. Sparkling silver chains decorated both his arms placed just above his elbow. There were even two tiny silver bells attached to it so he tinkled as he moved.   It was super embarrassing.   Worse still, she had put something oily through his hair and painted around his eyes with a dark, almost charcoal-like stick. He was feeling ridiculously self-conscious when the crazy woman had dragged him from her quarters and through the palace. That had changed