The Alpha King (Kingdom of Askara #1)(31)
The knotting hadn’t happened again, which was a shame.
Kit sighed and looked at his breakfast tray disconsolately. He decided he wasn’t a breakfast person as the thought of eating was currently making him want to throw up. The coffee was really strong, and he’d just about managed three mouthfuls of orange juice. He felt physically fit though and he guessed his problem was more boredom than anything else. He’d spent the last ten years of his life working at least fourteen hours a day, and before that had spent his days begging or stealing to survive. He was a clever pickpocket but that wasn’t an ability he had any intention of sharing with Luca.
Kit swung his legs out of bed determinedly. He needed a job. He would go and get washed and then go find Luca. There must be something he could do to help. He’d remained vigilant after the incident with the horse, but he had no more dreams so there wasn’t anything to warn Luca of.
Kit stepped out of the bedroom to be immediately greeted by Asher. The day after the incident with the horse, Luca had summoned Asher to talk to them both.
“I have new duties for you.” Asher had swallowed and tried not to look like he feared for his life. It was Asher who had pushed Kit away from the horse’s hooves, but technically since Kit had then hit his head, he was also responsible for his injury. Luca had asked him to wait outside, intending to speak to him, but they had gotten so wrapped up in each other it was only when Luca had left the room to see Asher still standing to attention that he realized the man had been there, immobile, for over eleven hours.
Luca had regarded him silently for a few minutes, then asked, “Why is my omega’s safety so important to you?”
Asher had hesitated, so Luca had spoken again. “I need people I can trust. Speak freely.”
Asher had looked at Kit, a fierce expression on his face. “Because he is the hope for all humans. If Kit can stand by your side then it gives us all hope that one day there will be a chance of equality for everyone.”
Kit had held his breath while Luca had regarded Asher steadily. “I could have you executed for that. Some wolves would take that as sedition.”
“I trust you,” Asher had said simply. “You have done more for my race in a week than any other in a thousand years.”
“I want to appoint you as personal guard to my omega. Every second that I am not by his side you will be. You are being given a room here to be close, and I am arranging for Sam to give you extra combat training.”
Asher had looked stunned. “I will protect him with my life, Sire.”
Luca had smiled. “Well, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Go get some sleep and some rest. I expect you at 4 p.m. when I need to go meet Sam.”
“Thank you,” Kit had hugged Luca.
“I want you safe. I noticed the gamma guarding you didn’t judge any human as a threat to you because they weren’t a threat to him. That puts you at risk but I also need Caedra to come together quickly. Giving people hope works better than threats.”
“So you were just buttering him up?”
Luca had looked affronted at the teasing, but Kit hadn’t been serious. He knew Luca was a good man.
“No,” Luca said. “I actually agree with him.” Kit had been astonished and had thought about Luca’s words for a long time after Luca had left. He knew Luca was going to be a good king. He had always sensed his compassion and fairness and knew getting Luca to Neira was vitally important for everyone. Enough had suffered. Enough had died.
Kit smiled shyly as he was greeted warmly by a few of the gammas. Asher was—as he had been for the past week—sticking to him like glue. Kit found out quickly that Luca was near the competition arena. He wasn’t completely sure what a competition arena was, but he was told it was in the field next to the clearing used for the choosing ceremony that had been rescheduled for tomorrow. Luca had told him he didn’t want to get rid of all traditions of his people. There was a lot of upheaval and while Luca had immediately altered the things he couldn’t abide, like how the humans and she-wolves were treated, he thought it was important to foster the same sense of belonging.
The choosing was no longer going to be about getting drunk and pairing people off, but there were now going to be games. Each Alpha-heir would take part in physical tests of speed and strength. The omegas would each sponsor a champion and that champion or Alpha would battle in the omega’s colors and present any winnings to their omega formally at the banquet afterwards. What was interesting was that the humans would also get to take part. Each pack could select two humans to represent them, and the humans would also fight in the pack’s colors. They, of course, would only compete against other humans.
Then the formal choosing would happen, and the banquet. It sounded fun, but Kit still wasn’t sure how he fit in. All the packs there had house colors, but as Kit didn’t have a pack he wasn’t sure how it was going to work. He crossed the clearing, laughing as a half dozen cubs and children ran over to him. They were playing with a ball, and much to the humans’ delight, while the cubs could run faster, climb, and were stronger, none of those gifts lent themselves to kicking a ball more accurately than the human children. The human kids were obviously delighted, especially with them now, as a new rule, being allowed to interact with the cubs.
Luca had decreed no one under the age of ten was to be a slave. He was trying to get rid of the term slave altogether, but it was an uphill battle. At least the so-called slaves were fed better, though. He had asked Gabriel to investigate the pack’s finances more thoroughly and especially the profits from Hunterberry, the village near where Gareth had held Kit. Luca had told Kit he had an idea to use the money to start paying the slaves a wage.