Star-crossed Royals

Chapter Eight

“WE AGREED YOU WEREN’T GOING TO ASK ME FOR THAT AGAIN,” Yuri internally bellowed.

“I know! Like I said, it was intense. I completely lost myself in everything that happened after we bonded, and I honestly don’t know how else to explain it. I can’t exactly undo this otherwise. Imagine if, on top of everything, I had to tell my parents he got me pregnant too,” she said sheepishly.

Yuri wordlessly walked out of the room. She heard him walk down the hallway to his room and then open something. He came back quickly and thrust a vial into her hands.

“I have one Akiko. One. We’re not in Japan, so I can’t exactly get you more of this,” Yuri said grumpily.

“Thank you, Yuri. I won’t let it happen again, I promise. We both seemed calmer after we finished. I think it was part of the aftermath of Kaen. I should be able to control myself now,” she said much calmer now that she had what she needed.

“You know when you use that it makes you sick, and she said if you use it too many times you run the risk of becoming infertile. I’m not saying you have to have children because your parents want you to, but we both know it might be important for our survival. Inari’s servants only existed because she did,” he said worrying again.

“It’ll be the last time. I’ll have to take it now though, so just tell Hattori I asked to be left alone until tomorrow. Just tell him I’m tired from everything that’s happened, and I need time to think and sleep,” she asked him softly.

“Hattori, Fuji, Tomo you can come back inside now,” she said for everyone to hear, her eyes alight as she rescinded her prior order.

Yuri left and headed down the stairs to his brother. She could hear them talking once the door opened, but she stepped across her room and gently closed the door. Given their heightened senses, Akiko had her room outfitted with sound dampening panels. Once the door was closed, she couldn’t hear anything outside of it. Breathing a sigh of intense relief, she finally sat down at the edge of her bed and allowed her body a small respite from the nervous wreck she had just made herself waiting to see how Yuri would react and if he’d have what she needed.  

She looked at the vial in her hands. It was small and unremarkable to look at, but what it held inside was something magical and pulsing as if it had a life of its own. This wasn’t the first time she’d had unprotected s*x, although it was the first time she’d ever let anyone finish inside her, something she still couldn’t believe she’d done. Given kitsune’s healing abilities and physiology, normal human methods like the morning after pill wouldn’t work for her. Her thoughts wandered to several years ago when Akiko let things go further than she expected one night, and the boy she was with hadn’t brought a condom. The next morning, Yuri found her crying in her room wondering what she would do if her parents found out. He disappeared without a word, and when he returned, he handed her a vial just like this one. He told her that it was made by the Yōsei, fairies native to Japan and that she would need to drink it. He never explained how he got it, and he wouldn’t talk about it. She’d been so sick that night that she couldn’t leave her bed. It scared Yuri, and he begged her to be more careful from then on. Until now, she had kept her promise. Before they left for America, Akiko asked Yuri if he was able to get more in case she needed it in America, not intending to use it unless it was an emergency. That’s when he told her that he had gone back again when she got sick to make sure she would be ok. The Yōsei told him that her reaction was normal, but they cautioned him that if she used it too many times she ran the risk of never conceiving again. They reluctantly gave him another vial, but they said they couldn’t be sure how many times she could take it since she was a kitsune, a royal one at that.

Closing her eyes, she removed the stopper from the vial and drank it swiftly. Her stomach immediately rebelled, and she knew she wouldn’t be going anywhere for the night. Laying back in her bed, she hoped that Jamie was worth what was to come, both tonight and when everyone knew what had happened today. A mental image of him smiling at her before he ducked back through the window came to mind, and she couldn’t help but wish he were there with her again. A wave of nausea rippled through her, and the thought of Jamie was pushed from her mind as she leaned over her bed to find her trash can.

As a new dawn appeared over the horizon, William was already awake and stepping out of the shower. He had finished his morning training session as usual, and now he was getting ready for the day. With a towel around his waist, he walked into his bedroom.

“Command, windows open,” he said blandly, waiting for the AI to do as he commanded. The black wall in the back of the room began to silently retract into the ceiling, revealing a brightly lit balcony overseeing the ocean behind a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows with double doors in the middle. He walked across the wide expanse of the room and opened the doors leading outside, walking through them. The cry of seagull greeted him, and he closed his eyes to enjoy the scent of the sea below him. No matter how much he visited, he could never get enough of Scotland. He didn’t regret moving to America to better control the Lycan population as it exploded after the American Revolution and the subsequent expansion of the country, but it would never feel like home. It had been many human lifetimes since he’d left his home, so he came back every chance he could. With Jamie now in school, it seemed a perfect time to step away.

Hearing his phone ring, William turned back to his bedroom with a sigh. He picked it up and answered, seeing it was from Erik, Leif’s father and the head of the Rìgh’s guard.

“Erik,” William said, his tone all business as Erik’s face appeared on the screen.

“I’m sorry to disturb you my Rìgh,” he replied bowing his head in respect, “but you asked for a report on Jamie since he and Leif have been at school for about a week now.”

“It’s fine, go ahead and report,” William said curtly.

“They had their first day of school, and so far, Leif has made his nightly check-ins with no problem. He told me the first day of classes went as planned, but…” Erik paused, a bit afraid to continue knowing it would upset his king.

William’s eyes narrowed and his voice became venomous, “Spit it out, Erik.”

“I’m sorry. It may be nothing to worry about, but I fear I would be remiss in not telling you,” Erik said, taking a deep breath to steady himself, “Leif didn’t report this, but he doesn’t know I have asked Pack Baird watching over them as an extra precaution.”

“Ok, and, your point?”

“They saw Leif and Jamie go to class together in the morning, but they saw him leave suddenly after a young woman ran out of the classroom onto another part of campus. They followed the girl, and there was some sort of confrontation with the girl’s friends and the boys. One of the girl’s friend’s stepped towards Jamie aggressively, and Leif intervened. Shortly after that, the girl was gone along with her friends. The boys seemed upset going back to their dorm and shortly after Jamie left by himself. I believe he ordered Leif to stay or he wouldn’t have on his own.”

“I’ll give him his space for now unless he makes leaving Leif behind a habit. Your foresight in having Pack Baird watch over them seems to have worked in our favor. I commend you on that,” William said a bit less on edge.

Erik sighed, “My Rìgh, there’s more.”

“That explains your hesitancy earlier, continue then,” the displeasure immediately apparent in William’s voice.

“Pack Baird said that the girl and her friends gave off an odd scent that wasn’t quite that of a Lycan, but it was similar enough to know they aren’t human. They’ve never seen them around, and they aren’t known in the area. It seems when Jamie left by himself it was to find her. When the man stepped forward towards Jamie, one of the betas tried to intervene. He was pulled back by the other beta with him, and they missed where she went. That being said, they weren’t just gone. They were gone in almost an instant, and their scent disappeared with them. I also believe Jamie left Leif in their dorm to find her,” Erik took a moment to prepare himself before continuing, “My Rìgh, most importantly, they are Japanese.”

Erik finished his report and awaited the wrath of his king. He’d never been afraid to tell William anything, but today it could mean the death of his son for withholding the truth from his reports in. He would willingly die for William, but he wasn’t willing to let Leif die for anything or anyone if he could help it, especially over a mistake of youthful loyalty to his best friend.

A long uncomfortable silence followed as William looked away from his phone. He again looked out over the sea, this time to calm himself.

“So, you’re telling me kitsune are on my son’s campus, and your advance with Leif completely missed this,” William spat murderously. “Do nothing, I want to see what the kitsune do now that they know Jamie is there. Given what you’ve told me about them disappearing, it sounds like the girl is of royal blood. This could work in our favor. I doubt they know he is my son yet. Tell Pack Baird to put every Lycan they have on watching them at all times without alerting the boys,” he said seemingly thinking aloud as he gave Erik his instructions, “I’ll stay away from the campus for now, so I don’t spook the kitsune and we can get an idea of what they’re doing in America.”

Williams' eyes flashed purple, no longer able to contain his rage, “I doubt they want to see me again.”