19. Kitsuki

Chapter 19

Kitsuki

K itsuki's beast retreated as he walked back to their bedroom with Auslin. Once the door shut behind them, Kitsuki gathered Auslin into a tight embrace. Auslin returned the hug, whispering Kitsuki's name as the shifter monarch hid his face against the mage's shoulder.

They silently remained that way for several long moments before Kitsuki apologized. "Forgive me. I should have known he would seek you out for retribution. I should have come sooner."

"You came when it mattered," Auslin said. "I'm fine."

Kitsuki stroked the mage's neck, which had rivulets of dried blood from the scratches Nasume's claws had left. "None of this is fine." He leaned forward to lick Auslin clean.

It didn't escape Kitsuki's attention how his actions sent a shiver of want through Auslin. The tantalizing scent of his arousal reassured Kitsuki he had not done irreparable damage to their relationship.

Once Auslin's neck was clean, Kitsuki pushed his luck by kissing upward until he reached the mage's lips. He indulged in a deep, passionate kiss. Auslin imbedded his fingers in Kitsuki's hair as he held on with a moan. It was the best kind of heaven.

Even as Kitsuki comforted himself that Auslin was okay, it stirred his desires in a way he had to stop before he got too carried away. His need to claim Auslin ran deep, but Kitsuki knew it was still too early to mate his beloved. Their earlier disagreement was further proof of that, so Kitsuki forced himself to stop.

While he didn't wish to resume the argument, Kitsuki owed Auslin the truth. "I know you want to plead mercy on Nasume's unworthy behalf, but that was not an empty threat I made in there. I have endured too many centuries of his failure to respect my boundaries. I will not have him plotting against you to take you away from me."

Auslin sighed heavily, but his anger was absent. "I only have one request."

"And that is?"

"Please leave Maseo out of it," Auslin requested, surprising Kitsuki. "Your quarrel is with Nasume and Nasume alone. Nasume may be Maseo's father, but Maseo is not his father's son. Maseo doesn't deserve to die because his father is an awful person."

It took a moment for Kitsuki to realize why Auslin was asking for leniency for the half-shifter. "Be at ease, Auslin. I threatened to kill Maseo to show I had no interest in him. It was my attempt at stopping Nasume from going after his son as a perceived threat to his claim on me."

Auslin visibly sagged with relief. "In that case, thank you. For Maseo's sake, I hope that helped."

"I will still send one of Uncle Jaega's spies to warn him, just in case."

Auslin hugged Kitsuki. "Thank you. I know it's weird that I care that much, but I can't help but want to protect him."

The dragon king could only shake his head. "It is truly amazing how you can so passionately defend someone who hurt you for so long."

"Kio hurt us. Maseo and I are just two sides of the same coin. The only difference is I found true love with you, and he still has no one. I want him to have what we have. After all the terrible things he's been through, he deserves the chance to fall in love with somebody who loves him the right way."

Kitsuki stroked Auslin's black hair. "Do not let it upset you so."

Auslin closed his eyes with a sigh before opening them again. "I know it's stupid to care about him when he probably hates me. But how broken must we both have been to believe Kio was what we deserved? That we both knew so little about what real love could be that we thought being with Kio was better than being alone?"

"Your compassion knows no bounds," Kitsuki complimented Auslin with a nuzzle.

"I don't know what I would be if I hadn't met you." Auslin held the dragon shifter even tighter.

"Then do not think about such things," Kitsuki softly told Auslin while soothingly rubbing his back. "All that matters is that we have each other now."

When Auslin hid his face with a sniffle, the suddenness of his mood shift bewildered Kitsuki. "Why are you crying?"

"I never want to hurt anyone, and yet all I do is keep hurting everyone around me," Auslin said in anguish as he stared up at the ceiling to hold back further tears. "You, my brother, Kisano, Maseo, and?—"

Kitsuki interrupted him with a shush. "There is nothing I would not endure for your sake."

"I never wanted to live a single day without being by your side, but I made you endure six hundred years without me," Auslin whispered, his voice catching as he tried to express himself. "How could I ever be worth that much suffering?"

It broke Kitsuki's heart that Auslin had such a low opinion of himself. "Because you are all I worship and adore in this realm. I would pay any price to be with you."

When Auslin protested, Kitsuki cut him off again. "I love you with my everything, Auslin. Even if I had to live through another six hundred years without you, I could endure it to be together."

"Then why can't we be mates now?" Auslin asked with frustration. "I feel the same way about you."

"As I explained, I do not want to trap you in a life with the Ice King when you are expecting Kitaro," Kitsuki gently told Auslin. "It is for your sake that I hold back so you can make an informed decision."

Auslin took Kitsuki's face in his hands to hold his gaze. "I wanted to be with you back then. I want to be with you now. I want to be with the person you become in the future as we grow together. How many times do I have to say there is no changing my mind about it?"

When Kitsuki still didn't look completely convinced, Auslin opened further. "Even when I knew you only as King Kitsuki before I went through Fate's Gate, I wanted to know what it would feel like if you touched my cheek instead of always pulling back like I had burned you. I wanted you to let me in, even if I didn't understand why."

"But—"

Auslin continued talking over him. "I included the message to you in the letter to my brother because I worried about what you might think when I disappeared. I didn't want to ruin the tentative bond developing between us. It mattered to me you knew I was okay because I didn't want to be one more sadness in your life, which had already seen so many sorrows. I was more concerned about my brother passing my message along to you than I was about Kio knowing about me. I think it's because no matter if it's now or in the past, I was always drawn to you. Isn't that proof enough?"

Auslin's words gave Kitsuki a moment of pause as he reflected on the centuries. "The first time I trained you with a sword, you tried to mimic my stance," Kitsuki realized. "I was the one you were so worried about that day."

"Yeah." Auslin's blush was charming.

"I told you he was a fool if your kindness could not reach him," Kitsuki recalled. "That is truly some next level of irony."

"Because you were talking about yourself?"

"Your kindness had already reached me," Kitsuki replied. "Without even knowing it, you had worked your way through so many of my defenses."

Auslin looked surprised. "Really?"

"You did not find it strange that we frequently crossed paths?" Kitsuki asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Well, yeah, but I was secretly happy about it. I don't know what feelings I had toward you back then, but you had become someone important to me."

"I did not want you to be a substitute for Vanra." Kitsuki brushed Auslin's hair from his face. "Yet, I could not make myself stay away from you. I am grateful for you including a message to me in your letter to your brother because losing the Auslin I knew so suddenly the same as my Vanra would have been distressing. As it was, I missed you and our conversations a great deal. I had been longing for your eventual return despite my efforts to feel otherwise."

"Isn't that further proof that fate was bringing us together, no matter what?" Auslin asked.

Kitsuki's answer came in the form of a passionate kiss. He was deeply moved that Auslin had cared for him before he went through Fate's Gate.

"Please make me your mate," Auslin pleaded when they parted for air.

While Kitsuki's dragon was all too happy to jump at the chance, Kitsuki held him back. "I still need some time to prepare for our Fatebonding ceremony and invite guests."

"And then we can be bondmates?"

"Yes, at long last," Kitsuki confirmed with another kiss.

Auslin brightened considerably at the news. "Okay, but don't make me wait longer than I have to. We've waited entirely too long."

The dragon shifter lovingly kissed Auslin's forehead. "I would not dream of doing so."

"Good."

"But first, I need to make sure Nasume has indeed left," Kitsuki said, not trusting the contrarian wolf shifter to obey his command.

"Then I'll go pay Kisano a visit."