Kenzie finally freed Aries from his grasp and, as though it were an afterthought, wiped at Areis’s lips with his thumb. He then stared at Aries closely. The tiger-beast looked as though he had been bitten by a cat—one that had, in turn, been bitten by a far larger beast with sharp teeth, a wild and rciless one at that.
Once released, Aries hurriedly reached up and checked his neck, fingers trembling as he searched for evidence that there wasn’t blood dripping down his skin. When he found none, he let out a shaky breath before lifting his gaze to Kenzie.
"Why exactly have you done this?" he asked, his voice strained and confused.
"I’d get the sa reaction from Lucien whether I did this or raped you," Kenzie replied calmly, his tone disturbingly casual. "So I realized it was better to do this instead."
"But—it’s a love bite," Aries protested, his brows drawing together. "You don’t just get this from rape. When soone sees it, they’ll think you lay with soone in a loving way. They wouldn’t think you were assaulted or forced or anything of the sort."
Kenzie looked at him then, a slow smile playing at the corner of his lips, sharp and cruel.
"How innocent are you?" he said mockingly. "Yes, I gave you a sex bite—a love bite, whatever you want to call it. And just as you described, that’s exactly why it’s better. I’m giving you this because it works perfectly. Lucien will see it and think that his brother laid with his mate."
His smile widened. "Wouldn’t that be so fun to watch?"
Aries stared at Kenzie in stunned silence, realization dawning. For soone who wished for his own brother’s death so openly, this wasn’t news to him as it only proved how utterly rotten Kenzie already was. There was nothing, absolutely nothing he wouldn’t do if it ant inflicting pain on the one he wanted dead.
Aries let out a quiet sigh, his shoulders sagging as a bitter thought crossed his mind.
’At least I wouldn’t have to be raped,’ he thought grimly.
"Now," Kenzie said sharply, pulling him back to the present, "don’t forget the deal. Or I’ll help you rember it."
His eyes darkened. "Give a clean strike or at least try to."
Aries nodded imdiately as there was no point discussing anything further with Kenzie. He already knew how twisted and rotten the man was, and he had no intention of giving him any more ideas than he already possessed.
As Areis made his way toward the courtroom, his face burned a deep shade of pink, embarrassnt clouding all his senses. The fact that he was carrying what the beastn called a sex mark which ant that everyone would assu he had just slept or previously slept with one of them made him irritated to the core. With every step he took, he swallowed down that humiliation, forcing himself to keep moving until they finally reached the courtroom doors.
Kenzie and he had eventually settled on Aries striking Lucien. Now, he could only brace himself and see how it would unfold.
When they arrived at the entrance, the guards announced their presence. Kenzie stepped into the courtroom first, with Aries following closely behind. The mont Aries crossed the threshold, he felt it—every single pair of eyes turning toward him.
It was as though he had beco the very center of attention. Every living being in the hall stared openly, whispers rising faintly from one corner of the room. His gaze lifted unwillingly to the center, and Lucien’s eyes t his.
The sensation was like an electric shock.
Aries quickly averted his gaze, his heart pounding, and looked instead toward the king. Rembering himself, he dropped to his knees imdiately and bowed low, pressing his hands to the floor.
"Long live the king," he said, his voice steady despite the chaos swirling inside him.
As Lucien watched Aries enter the room, he was once again struck by those tiger eyes, the ears, the tail—everything that made Aries unmistakably what he appeared to be. He had to reassure himself, again and again, that nothing was going on. That his mate was not standing on the sa side as his sly brother, just as Kenzie had claid.
Now that both Lucien and Areis were present, the king finally spoke.
"Prince Kenzie," the king said sternly, his voice echoing through the hall, "why were you late, and why did you disregard my instructions?"
Kenzie knew the king would ask such a question, and he already had the answer prepared in his mind. Without hesitation, he stepped forward, posture straight and expression composed, and said, "Your Majesty, it is because my brother tends to be illogical and impulsive. He could have attacked if I had followed the guards directly to his quarters. In a bid to preserve our dignity, and to avoid unnecessary conflict, I decided to accompany the tiger-beast instead."
The king nodded slowly at his explanation, considering it for a brief mont before responding, "Well, that seems acceptable."
Then the king’s gaze shifted, settling squarely on Aries. He sighed deeply, the sound heavy and weary.
Finally, it seed they had reached the last stage of the mission and the contract and everything could now be concluded. Since leaving the Tiger Kingdom, all Areis had wanted was a proper al and uninterrupted sleep. He could hardly believe that he had survived for days on nothing but water and a few pieces of fruit.
His stomach growled loudly in protest, twisting painfully, and he felt dangerously close to fainting where he stood.
As the king’s gaze lingered on him for a mont longer, it eventually moved to Lucien instead.
"Prince Lucien," the king commanded, his voice firm and authoritative, "stand up and defend yourself."
Lucien straightened imdiately.
"Did you," the king continued, "or did you not lie with a tiger-beast?"
Lucien had known this question would co. Still, when it finally did, his mind went blank. He honestly didn’t know how to answer it. Should he say no? Or should he say yes?
The truth was complicated...he had indeed lain with a wolf beast who could shift into a tiger beast, yet that sa being was, in reality, human.
Lucien found himself standing at a crossroads, torn between revealing Aries’s true identity and keeping it hidden.
Rather than answering imdiately, he bowed slightly and said, "Your Majesty, would you permit to speak with the tiger-beast first?"
The courtroom fell into an uneasy silence. The king studied the second prince for a long mont before finally replying, "You may proceed."
Lucien bowed once more and walked toward Aries. When he reached him, he suddenly raised one hand, the air shimring as a transparent mist spread around them, enclosing the two of them in its barrier.
"What is that?" Aries muttered quietly, his brows furrowing as he stared at Lucien in confusion.
"A sound barrier," Lucien replied calmly. "They won’t be able to hear our discussion."
"Oh..." Aries murmured softly. With that reassurance, he finally allowed himself to focus fully on Lucien.
For a mont, neither of them spoke. They simply stared at each other. Lucien’s gaze slowly traveled over Aries’s face, from his brown tiger eyes, to his slightly parted, plump lips that Lucien had co to like far more than he cared to admit, and then down to his neck.
’Wait... what is that?’ His eyes lit up.
The thought struck Lucien sharply. Acting on instinct, he reached out and held Aries’s head firmly in place.
"What are you doing?" Aries asked at once, startled by the sudden contact.
"Wait—don’t move," Lucien said hurriedly, his voice tense. Areis complied, freezing in place. Lucien gently tilted his head to the side, exposing Areis’s neck fully.
"What the actual fuck?" The words fell from Lucien’s mouth the mont he saw the marks.
Aries said nothing. His lips pressed tightly together as he felt Lucien’s piercing gaze bore into him. They stood like that for what felt like an eternity—perhaps a minute, perhaps longer. Aries couldn’t tell anymore. All he knew was that the intensity of Lucien’s stare was overwhelming, and he needed it to stop.
"Erm..." Aries began softly, lifting his head just enough to et Lucien’s eyes. "So... what did you want to say?"
Lucien’s jaw tightened. "Tell that my brother’s words aren’t true," he said quietly, yet firmly. "Tell you know nothing about this. Change back into your wolf-beast form, and I’ll believe you."
’He’s giving one last chance,’ Aries thought inwardly, his chest tightening. ’But I can’t do anything, at least not yet. I have to let him be punished first before I can tell him the truth. He’s ant to experience that heartbreak.’
The weight of it all pressed down on him heavily.
’So emotional.’ Aries sighed softly and yet still said nothing, maintaining that muteness.
Lucien waited, eyes searching his face. When no answer ca, his expression hardened. "If you don’t say anything," he said at last, his voice low, "I’ll take that as a yes."
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