Chapter Seventeen

(Thane)

It was not often that Thane found himself nervous, the emotion had long been buried, he was trained from an early age how to respond appropriately to all different types of situations. Until this moment he had all but figured that the feeling had disappeared. Now that he was King, was it normal that now the old feeling should resurface and why was it resurfacing? There were so many questions and none that he thought would have a well laid out answer for him. Since he set eyes on his Firefly things had changed, his feelings had changed, the way he seen the world around him shifted. In his heart of hearts, he knew that Celeste belonged to him and he to her. Finding ones Mate was a rare thing but that pull he felt had to mean something, there was no way it was all in his head. A scary thing assuming someone was your Mate, if she was not his, then the claiming mark would kill her. That was the best alternative, there was the slim chance that it would not kill her, and she would just end up a vegetable. Unable to form a coherent thought or fend for herself, Celeste would no longer be the woman she is, could he chance that on a feeling?

Thane had wanted to take his time and woo her, see if there could ever be any feelings shared between them. Celeste had been through so much in a short span on time, it would be natural for her to feel like a prisoner, in all rights she was one. In part for her protection, now that word was out that an Omega was found, there would be people from all around the realm coming. Thane would have to be calculated, he was King, and Celeste was under his roof. The one way to offer her the security she needed was to make her his Queen, that would stop his foes from trying to buy her from him, thinking her no less than a Concubine. Concubines were often offered up to guests all the time, no doubt other Kings would come now, just to be offered the chance to sleep with the Omega. The rumor of their sexual appetite was renowned, but no Alpha has had the opportunity to experience in such a long time. The sinking feeling that his little Firefly was going to send them into a war was right at the top of his worries, because for her he would fight.

By making Celeste his Queen, it would take her out of Concubine status, keep her from being the object of another male's fantasy. Like his mother had so eloquently suggested though, it would put another sort of target on her back, he would end up going to war to keep her either way. Not to mention how the other Concubines would react to her being placed so high in such a short amount of time. Just Thane seeing her alone would arise a lot of competition in the women, more than it already had him buying an Omega. The women on his Harem were smart and petty, they would play dirty, if they thought their opportunity for advancement was being taken away buy a newcomer. Until now they had been complacent, because Thane had not favored anyone in the Harem, so there had been no reason to be aggressive. As soon as Thane started stirring the pot, he would be opening Celeste to the full brunt on the Harem, would he be able to do that to her? On some level if she were to be his Mate, she would need to be able to handle herself, especially to be his Mate and his Queen.

Thane drummed his fingers against the cool surface of his desk. There were so many decisions to make and no good option to choose from, either option he chose, there was a less than appealing outcome. "Fuck." He cursed and swept his hand across the desk, knocking everything off the surface into a clutter on the floor. A knock on the door sounded, Thane pinched the bridge on his nose, "Come in."

"Your Grace," Jubal bowed respectfully, when rose his head he took in the mess, raising an eyebrow he gave Thane a look of concerned amusement. "There is a letter for you." He said cautiously.

"Great, just what I needed." Thane let out irritably.

Jubal handed him a little stack of letters, "Well more like a few letters for you." He let out hurriedly, placing the letters on the desk in front of him.

"Fuck me." Thane let out again with more force.

"Might be a little tricky but I'm sure we could work around it." Jubal joked trying to lighten the mood.

Thane looked up at his old friend, Head Eunuch of his Harem, it was nice to see that Jubal's humor had not dulled over the years. With that comment Thane relaxed a little, what would he do without Jubal by his side, he always knew just how to make him feel a little more at ease. "Great, so all the Kings from around the surrounding realms would like to come for a visit to see the rare Omega." Thane beat a fist against the wooden surface. "I have literally had her here a few days and already they wish to take what is mine. How am I supposed to woo her and win her affection over, if I am being backed into a corner, with no way out?"

Jubal frowned at his friend, "You are King Thane Rysling, feared Alpha of the Realm, you will do what is best for you and for your Mate. I may be out of line here but I hope that out many years of friendship will permit me to say this," Jubal looked at Thane sincerely, "You have a good heart, you often let it run you, but in this situation you need to think more with your head. You have what every Alpha King wants, what every man will want in every Kingdome, you need to play your next move wisely."

Thane let out a sigh, "You are right, I know you are right, though that does not help me with what is the right next move. There are only so many options I can make and none of them Celeste will like."

Jubal put a reassuring hand on Thane's shoulder, "You are the kind of King that people respect, you have won the heart of your people, you can win the heart of your Mate. Being King is often hard, I had seen your Father make many the hard decisions, and not all of them people agreed with. In the end you will know exactly what to do, you are your father's son."

Those words penetrated deeply, and Thane swallowed hard, "Thank you my friend, I do not know what I would do without your counsel." He said taking a deep breath, there was a moment of silence, finally Thane nodded to himself. "I want you to send word to all the Kings of the neighboring Realms. I am going to hold a feast in all their honors, a peaceful event, they shall see the Omega that they are so desperate to lay eyes on."

Jubal hesitated before bowing his head, "Yes your Grace." And he took his leave.

Thane stared at the letters in front of him, heart racing, he had made a choice. Now he was going to see if he would be able to live with the consequences and if Celeste would ever come back from what he was about to do.