A King to be Claimed Read online

  A King to Be Claimed

  Our King, Our Master Book 1

  Brea Alepoú

  ©Copyrighted 2019 A King to be Claimed

  This is a work of fiction and is for mature audiences only. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. No part if the publication may be reproduced in, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, including electronically or mechanical, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

  Edited: Kiki Clark Betweenthelines.com

  Cover Artist: Zoe Perdita

  Interior chapter headings artist: MBM Design Studios

  Interior Formatting: Mystic Lily Creations

  Warnings and Triggers

  A King to Be Claimed contains a HFN ending, scenes with multiple partners, mild blood play, and a king who just wants to be loved.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Glossary

  About the Author

  Also by Brea Alepoú

  1

  “Watch where you’re walking.” A man shoved Titos hard enough his small frame flew and hit the wall.

  He groaned from the impact, sliding down the wall unable to hold himself up. His body feeling too tired to even put up a fight. The man who shoved him kept walking, not caring that Titos now sat on the floor. His vision blurred for a second before he caught himself from slipping even farther. He pulled out his prepaid smartphone—that wasn’t all that smart—to check the date, and there, clear as day on the tiny screen, was a little note under the date. He banged his head back on the wall.

  He had asked for the day off, but Jeffery, his boss, had begged him to come in. Titos always needed a little extra money, so he’d said yes, completely forgetting why he’d needed the day off in the first place. He needed to get back to his apartment and lock himself away. He tried to push himself up, but he kept slipping. He didn’t even have enough strength to pick himself up off the floor. He wanted to cry for how stupid he was to allow himself out of the house during such a time.

  Sure, it only came about once every two months, but when it happened to him, he was no better than a corpse. He huffed out a breath, counting to three before trying to muster up all his strength. On three, he made it up the wall. He breathed heavily, tired from his exertion.

  He turned on shaky legs and went to find his boss. He had to let him know he was leaving. There was no way Titos could stay in his condition. If he passed out or—gods forbid—he ended up at a human hospital, they’d find out he was, in fact, not fully human. He had serious doubts that his human half would be enough to fool them.

  Titos calmed his nerves, taking deep breaths. He couldn’t afford to freak out over his blunder. He’d made a mistake and now he needed to fix it. Simple.

  Except it wasn’t simple at all.

  He couldn’t find his boss. Not even Greg, the manager, was around. He leaned against the wall next to his boss’s office door and brought his shaking hand up to wipe the sweat that had broken out on his brow. He felt cold and hot all at the same time, and he needed to leave now.

  He would leave and apologize to his boss when he came back to work, and if he was fired, then he would move on. It was about time for him to leave the little town of Laramie, Wyoming. He’d stayed longer than he’d planned, but Jeffery paid him well and even let Titos rent the little studio apartment above the shop.

  “Titos, you okay?”

  He did an internal dance of happiness from hearing his boss’s voice. He turned to look at the gruff man that was Jeffery Wilson, owner of Wilson and Sons General Store. Jeffery was a third-generation owner and had yet to get the sons part of the store’s name. Titos thought it was because the man wore what he ate, literally. He was currently wearing mustard and pickle relish, having most likely had a hot dog from the vendor that hung out in front of the shop.

  “No, actually, I’m not feeling too well. I really need to go,” he said.

  Jeffery’s dark brown eyes scanned over Titos. He was tempted to say fuck it and walk out on his boss, consequences be damned. He held back. Jeffery had never been mean to him, and he had always been understanding of the days Titus had asked off.

  “Yeah, you look a little pale. I called Megan. She said she should be here in a few minutes.”

  Titos didn’t feel like he had minutes, losing the small grip he had on his control. He was seconds from passing out, and really, he’d rather pass out behind doors that were locked. The hospital fear was real. Jeffery had called the ambulance once, because Megan had gotten a bloody nose. If that happened, he would have to go into deeper hiding. Like, find a cave and sleep there for months before he could come out, and even then, he might not be able to escape. Damn technology was so advanced that it was impossible to hide. He looked at his boss and gave the best puppy dog eyes he could muster.

  A door banged behind him. He tried to turn and see who’d walked in, but his head started to spin. He started to take deep breaths in through his nose and out threw his mouth. He was going to be sick. Turning had been the wrong move. The toast and water he’d had for breakfast felt dangerously close to coming back out.

  There was a hand on his shoulder, shaking him, and words were said, but nothing penetrated the fog that had claimed his head. He shook himself loose of the deep fog and followed the hand up to Jeffery’s face. His face was pinched with concern, and Titos tried to concentrate. Jeffery’s mouth was moving, but sound and words were slow to come to him.

  He swallowed the bile that had come up, and it burned a little going back down. He should have stayed in, and now he was regretting it. He felt someone put their arm around his waist, taking most of his weight. He groaned. Everything was so fuzzy. The arm around him wasn’t big enough to be Jeffery’s, but he couldn’t think of anyone else who would help him. He was about to ask, but they started to move. It took all of his effort not to give the stranger all of his weight and pass out.

  He blinked, and he was no longer in the store. Panic gripped him, ice cold fear running through his veins.

  “Calm the fuck down, Titos, or you’re going to fall over the railing.” Greg’s harsh voice came through the fog that permeated his mind.

  He blinked a few times, trying to clear his vision and brain. Sure enough, they were right outside his little place, and Greg was trying to hold him against the wall and open the door at the same time. Titos wasn’t making it easy for him either, his body shaking like a leaf. He needed to calm down.

  He was right outside the little place he slept in. He could never find it in himself to call any of the places he’d slept in home, no matter how long he stayed there. The audible click of the door opening was sweet music to his ears. He was moving to get inside when everything tilted sideways.

  “Goddamn it, Titos. You’re small, but you’re heavy as shit right now.” The exertion in Greg’s voice showed he was having trouble with Titos.

  He tried to lift himself up, but his body didn’t respond. Greg grunted as he pulled Titos over the threshold. Titos’s legs dragged on the floor, his knee banging against the small dresser he had in the corner. The pain radiated up his l
eg, but he didn’t have the energy to even whimper from it.

  His blow-up mattress was laying on the floor with a sheet and a thin blanket tossed on it. Just how he had left it before his boss had called him. He was so stupid to say yes to coming in when he needed to be locked away.

  “Come on, man, help a little,” Greg said as he struggled with gettingTitos to the bed.

  He tried, he really did, but every time he tried to force his body to move, it wouldn’t budge. It was frustrating, and he was seconds away from tears. With a hard push, Titos rolled onto the blow-up mattress. His whole body fit on it, and he was as comfortable as he was going to get for a while.

  He focused all of his energy, trying his hardest. “Fine. Thanks. Go,” he said.

  He only got three words out, but Greg eyed him suspiciously for a second before shrugging.

  “Sure. But whatever drug you’re on, I’d leave that shit alone if I were you. You can’t even stand.” Greg shook his head at him as he walked out the door.

  That was last thing Titos saw. He released all his control and relished in the feeling as sleep took him over. It was nothing but blackness in his dream, and that was the best kind of dream. He floated in the inky blackness, his body feeling weightless. It felt good to let loose and dream of nothing. He had no idea how long he slept, but a sharp pain made his back bow.

  The burning pain he felt was familiar, and he groaned as he started to come to. He moved his head first, turning to look out the small window. Sure enough, it was pitch black outside. He moved his fingers, testing his body’s responses. He tried his arms next, then his feet and legs. Everything was moving, a little sluggish, but it was moving. The mark on his back burned hotter, and he groaned from the pain. He got off the bed, shaking off the remainder of sleep.

  With the mark on his back burning so hotly, he wasn’t sure if he could concentrate long enough to check his surroundings. He took a few breaths to collect himself. He cracked the window open a little, the crisp cold air touching his lungs on the first inhale. It was refreshing and just as good as a hot cup of coffee. He leaned closer to the window, drawing more air into his lungs. The cold felt amazing to him. He could never understand people who hated the cold.

  He felt the first little piece of his power inside of him awake with the fresh, cold air. He wasn’t powerful, but he had a touch of power. He had enough to cast out and check his surroundings. He couldn't go far, but a few miles would be enough. If the hunters who stalked him were closer than that, he would know in seconds. Hopefully, they would be further out, and he could have time to get out of town.

  It felt as if he was a part of the wind, gliding and touching everything in its path. Everything seemed normal, except there was something drawing the breeze to it. He wanted to touch it, wanted to wrap around it and feel what this something was that called the wind. It felt as if the thing wanted to touch the wind too. He pulled the breeze back, unsure if it was dangerous. He reluctantly moved on, leaving the tempting object, needing to make sure he was safe. The object didn't seem to have hostile intentions, but he would keep an eye on it later. He first needed to check that he was safe, or as safe as he could be.

  As he did his last sweep with the little power he had, he felt the disgust and hatred coming off the ones who tracked him. He quickly checked how far they were. He had enough time to get out and run. He would need to catch a ride or get to the bus. He opened his eyes to check the time. It was midnight. No buses ran this late, and the hunters would be there before the busses started to run again. He panicked for a second, trying to think of a way out. Everything around him started to sway again.

  “Fuck, come on. Not right now. This is life or death,” he said as he clutched his head.

  It throbbed with the beat of his heart. He needed to run. His hiding place had been discovered, and at the worst time possible. He couldn’t use his ability to check his surroundings again. If he did, he risked passing out. He did not want to end up in their hands, knowing his fate if he was ever caught by them. They would kill him and not quickly. He waited for the dizziness to settle down before he attempted to move.

  Standing on shaky legs, he waited another second for them to feel stronger. On steadier legs, he moved and went to grab his emergency bag. He looked at the mini fridge in the corner of the room, knowing he would need plenty of water. He went over to grabbed some, pleased he’d made the decision to stock up.

  He went into the half bathroom, bent over, and the dizziness started up again. He swallowed the rising bile and reached behind the toilet where there was a small box. He opened the box and took out the stack of cash he kept just in case he had to run.

  He had collected the money from odd jobs here and there and from different places. Each place he traveled to, he always asked to be paid in cash. Most of the money was spent for living, but he put away as much as he could.

  He stood, with all of his stuff ready to go, and looked over the room that he’d stayed in for the past three months. He didn’t feel anything leaving it. It was never home to him, but he’d liked living in Laramie, Wyoming.

  He felt bad for ghosting on Jeffery, but his boss could keep his last paycheck to make up for the way he was leaving. He walked out the door, making sure to leave the key under the mat with a note. Through his years of running, he found that people tended to leave the police out of it when there was a note. The last thing he needed was for the human police to hunt him down too. The note was simple, saying he left to go live with family and that Jeffery could keep his last check for payment of the room.

  Of course, he wouldn’t go stay with family. That's who he was running from. He felt the sadness of thinking of his family try and take over, but he had no time for it. He rolled his shoulders, determined to get out of town before the hunters found where he was staying. He ran down the stairs.

  He was in a rush but running down the stairs was the wrong thing to do. He bent over and threw up; his whole body shook with the effort of holding himself up.

  He wiped his mouth. Grabbing one of the waters from his backpack, he took the first sip and swished the cool water in his mouth. He spit and did it a couple of times before swallowing some water. His stomach cramped with the emptiness of it. He’d sat during the ordeal and now had to work to get up. His body ached, and the marking on his back burned.

  The marking had been the reason why he’d often avoided danger. It wasn’t perfect, and there were times his mark didn’t warn him at all, but when it did, he didn’t hesitate to run. He stood, moving at a slow pace. He couldn't afford to stop or pass out at this point, so it would be best if he just moved at a pace his body would allow. It wasn’t fast, but at least he was moving away from the danger.

  2

  He walked for a while, unsure of the time, but it was still dark outside. The cold air calmed him as he walked, the wind winding around him as if it protected him. He knew it wasn’t true, but he wished it was. The marking on his back burned less the farther he traveled. He didn’t travel the usual roads. He’d grown up in the Valtruse House, and they were known for hunting and tracking. He’d been a pariah growing up, but he was still taught the basics, up until he’d had to run.

  That day still gave him the chills. Sixteen should have been the best year of his life. He had already been a late bloomer. When the time came for him to be tested, to see if he had a beast inside of him or had power that would benefit a king or queen, he had nothing. He couldn’t even swallow blood.

  Many of his house said it was because he was half human, but he’d never met his father. His mother had passed when he was five, leaving him in the care of his aunt. She had been nice enough, but she had her own children to tend to. It hadn’t helped that he was nothing like the other edoli. He didn’t drink blood, and he had no desire for any of the edoli that stayed in the house. That had made him strange in many of their eyes. Most edoli gained their power at the age of fourteen.

  His sixteenth birthday.

  He’d just got back from h
unting, and he had a huge haul. He walked into the home he shared with his three cousins, aunt, and uncle. It was more like he shared it with no one, since all of them were normally gone, but it still wasn’t Titos’s. His aunt was a keeper in the Valtruse House, and she stayed at the main home on most days. She only came back to the small house on occasion, usually to see her children and to make sure they were okay.

  Two of her children had already been sent to other houses as gifts, since his cousins Denzi and Sakoi were both powerful. They had good blood running through them. He had heard they both were taken as keepers, and his aunt and uncle were pleased. It meant that they were held in higher esteem, since two of their offspring were taken as keepers by strong households. There was only one cousin left in the Valtruse House, Klaido, and the queen wanted to save him for an alliance.

  Klaido was extremely powerful for his age. He wasn’t near a king or queen’s level, but he was powerful to say the least. The queen wanted to save him for an alliance that would truly benefit her.

  “How much longer must we keep him? He is a stain upon our family,” Klaido said.

  Titos stopped right outside the door, listening. He knew that he was weak, and they all looked down on him. He couldn’t do anything about the human side of him. He hated it about himself. His mother had been one of the strongest keepers, but he was born so weak. Because of his mother’s power and legacy, everyone had assumed he would be just as powerful. Or at least half.

  But he wasn’t.