The Forgotten Prince (Shifter Rebellion, 3) by Kelex Read Free Book Online Page B

departure. As soon as all was quiet, his mind began to
process all he’d just listened to. He didn’t like the thought of
his brothers getting a chance to touch the prince without him there
to participate, but he wasn’t going to be fooled into acting too
quickly, either. Trust was earned, not given. If they wanted to put
themselves at risk, then they did so with open eyes.
    What if Ryllan was right? What if the
prince sensed their connection? What if they could find happiness
with him at their side? Agarri said he planned to lift the laws
preventing them from taking a mate. They’d be free to have Prince
Aleth if they chose.
    Amaden shook his head. He didn’t trust
Aleth and wouldn’t rush to climb into the prince’s bed. Without
knowing what Aleth was capable of, his brothers were endangering
them all. But how could he stop his brothers from doing what they
wanted?
    He would stand sentinel, and save them
from themselves when the time came.

Chapter Nine
     
    Aleth lay on the bed, unable to rest.
His mind was churning. Confusion and need warred with each plan for
escape he started to devise. At that point, he had little choice.
He was already on a collision course with Agarri. He would finally
face his brother, and that thought frightened him.
    Was Agarri like their father? The
prince had been raised in the castle, attended to by servants. He
was more than likely spoiled, just as the king had been. Stugaati
expected his people to bend to his will, no matter the situation.
Aleth had watched as the king had broken male after male, and not
been upset when death or dismemberment had resulted.
    After he’d watched the first killing,
Aleth had vomited right there in the throne room. Stugaati had
called him weak and snarled at him with condescension. Like father,
like son. Agarri was more than likely as evil or more so than
Stugaati. And that thought made Aleth tremble in fear.
    Yet Agarri hadn’t stood by his father
during the invasion. Did that account for anything? Probably
not.
    Stugaati had wanted all the power. A
son would only get in the way. Aleth had been sure that his murder
had been in the cards. It was only a matter of time.
    There had to be a way to escape.
Perhaps his warriors held the key. If he could show them who he
was, that he was a good, decent male on the inside, perhaps he
could sway them to his cause. Aleth would succumb to them, to their
desires, and then lay at their feet, begging for mercy.
    Aleth turned as he heard the door
opening. Ryllan and Greylin entered quietly, but their energy was
loud enough to give Aleth goose bumps. Something had changed within
the two, a need unleashed. Even in his inexperience, Aleth sensed
they wanted him. And it seemed their control had
shattered.
    His body trembled at the
thought.
    “ Why have you returned,
Ryllan? You said you couldn’t be here.”
    Ryllan stared at Aleth, lust filling
his gaze. “Once I left, I realized how desperately I wanted to come
back.”
    The words made Aleth’s body throb with
want. “And you, Greylin. You came with him?”
    “ To test his claims you’re
untouched,” Greylin said, slowly walking to the bed Aleth sat
upon.
    Aleth closed his eyes and tried to
regulate his heartbeat. When he reopened them, he saw that Ryllan
had approached as well. “And how do you plan to test my
virginity?”
    Greylin climbed on the bed and smiled.
“By venturing into uncharted waters.”
    “ But if you take that
which no male has taken before, you will leave me no longer a
virgin,” Aleth said lowly.
    Ryllan lifted Aleth’s chin to make him
look away from Greylin. “Do you want to remain a virgin? If so, we
will leave now.”
    Aleth shook his head. “I don’t want
you to leave.”
    Greylin drew Aleth’s robes down off
his shoulders and then gathered Aleth’s hands in his. He started to
slowly pull the silver sheath off, but Aleth stopped him.
“No.”
    “ I must,” Greylin
whispered. “You could use it to hurt us.”
    How would he