“Rolan, please.”
Stare unwillingly drawn to the crown prince in the reflection of a mirror behind the diner’s counter area, Arit shuddered. Wild lust pulsed through him, setting his teeth on edge. “On that much, we agree.” He squared his shoulders, fighting the hormone-driven desire as best as he could. “The mating pact between the imperial family and my tribe was voided by law after the war. Even if that wasn’t the case, Benjic surrendered any rights to me as his son when he abandoned us in the Urals to scrabble for power in the capitol.” His gaze flickered to his sire. “I want him to return to the train and head back to the cities where he belongs.”
Nick Goode, who was also Nika Marisek and the tribe’s last emperor, arched an eyebrow at him in the mirror. “Keep your friends close and your enemies…?”
Arit lifted the coffee mug to his lips. He gulped down half the steaming beverage, hoping the sting of his burned mouth might distract him from the unwelcome urge to toss the pretty blond prince to the ground and mount him. “Benjic isn’t my enemy.” He glared at his sire. “He’s nobody to me.”
“Wonderful.” His sire had the audacity to grasp his hands in front of him and nod, pleasure glinting in his eyes. “You should have little trouble with my presence at the lodge if I am no one to you.”
Arit scowled.
“We need to keep an eye on him, and the council sent him to keep an eye on Nick. None of us trust each other.” The human huffed out an irritated breath. “As long as everyone understands Nick doesn’t have to marry anybody, I’m okay with that.”
“Nick is still ironing out the details of the funeral and abdication ceremony, too,” the one called Rolan chimed in. “Benjic has council authority to negotiate the final arrangements. Sending for another elder would take time.”
“My parents, brothers, and sisters have waited too long to be laid to rest already.”
Wincing, Arit finished his coffee. In the rush of his mating heat and the unwelcome appearance of his sire, he’d forgotten the crown prince had traveled to the empire his family had once ruled to ensure his lost family was properly buried. A glance at Nick in the mirror showed the shifter as cool and collected as he’d been on the train platform, as distantly regal as he’d been during the media frenzy over the tribal fetes held in his honor. Fascinated, Arit’s dad had followed every report. He’d tried and ultimately failed to get tickets to the farewell gala hosted by the Ural tribe and would have dragged Arit along, too. His dad’s obsession with gossip about the last emperor knew no boundaries and he’d shared his excitement with Arit, who had never known the crown prince’s calm fa?ade to crack in the media spotlight. Not once.
He was royalty and proved it with every frown he smoothed away, with all the tears for his dead family he hadn’t shed.
Perhaps the mating heat attuned him to Nika more keenly because, despite the crown prince’s cool demeanor, Arit felt his heartache. He couldn’t see it. Nick stood at the door of the diner with the rest of the tour group. His body remained loose, his features placid. Even his eyes hid the depths of his grief, but Arit sensed the roiling pain in the prince’s chest just the same. He didn’t have to tell Arit that he needed to bury the bones of his family as rapidly as possible and delays caused by capitol parties and this trip to the Urals while scientists identified the remains had been excruciating to him. Arit knew the prince’s hurt in the marrow of his bones.
So fierce was the perceived agony, Arit couldn’t demand prolonging it a single day. “Fine.” He stood and snatched his mug. He swallowed the final dregs of his coffee. “As long as we understand no mating pact will be fulfilled here, Benjic can stay.” He pivoted to glare at his sire. “You’ll leave Dad alone, or I’ll—”
“I have no interest in causing Emyn more pain.” The elder frowned. “I loved him. We were a poor match, but I did love him. I always will.”
“You mated someone else, though. We’re due to meet with your son and daughters once we return to the capitol.” The woman narrowed her eyes. “I thought shifters mated for life.”
Arit sighed. “We do.”
Chapter Five
Built from native timber and granite mined from the Urals, the main lodge of Shifter Frontiers was surprisingly extravagant. Shuttles from the train station in the valley had climbed a third of the way up the nearest peak and pulled into a circular drive. The building boasted only two levels but seemed to stretch forever, partly due to natural stone patios that bled into the rugged terrain surrounding them. Rather than intruding into the environment, the place blended with the rocky plateau upon which it’d been built, despite acres of tinted glass windows intersected by stone pillars and rough wooden beams.
Nick hadn’t expected luxury. The business advertised itself as a retreat to learn tribal heritage in the wild. He’d anticipated a campground.
He was presented with a resort.
“This is the beating heart of Shifter Frontiers,” Benjic said, pride saturating his tone, as he, too, exited the shuttle. “I assigned the property rights to Emyn for our son when our mating failed. He began renovations to the tribe’s old headquarters, including the addition of an upper camp and updating a hunting cabin for use as their personal quarters. He improved the grounds around the lodge with extensive hiking trails and an amphitheater where bonfires are hosted during the summer. Cross country skiing and snow tubing are popular in the winter with locals and tourists alike.”
Nick frowned at the elder. “Didn’t you tell me this was your first visit to the resort?”
Mouth thinned to a grim line, Arit circled around the van. “His spies are everywhere.”
Benjic snorted. “I read the promotional package your dad sent.”
Nodding, Arit herded the group from the second and third vans plus the one Nick had taken from town toward the lodge’s front door. “And your spies report everything we do,” he told Benjic.