Chapter Fourteen

Sébastien had only moved to close his coat. "I said to get out."

"Why don't you call your guards?" asked Remus. He still had the insane urge to find someone to fuck.

"I don't want to. Just fucking leave."

A hint of the usual anger was there. He didn't want them to see him hot for cock and think he had been or would be doing something. Those two guards on the way to Martin's had joked about him being frigid. More talk would likely get around and lead to yet more jokes at his expense.

In part, Sébastien's pretty boy looks were making something more unbearable down south. That also disgusted Remus, and another part of him wanted to hug Sébastien because he'd likely been quite young, and unlike Remus's friend, the Prince had been terrified into staying silent.

"I don't know those two and don't care to have them in my room," Sébastien said with a familiar note in his voice. The rage was building again.

"Okay. Are they dangerous? The eggs had something added. I thought you did that to me."

"Like I'd ever want your filthy ass after it's been filled with werewolves. You were probably getting knotted left and right and taking it from both ends. Fuck off or you'll never leave that room again. I gave you the damn egg the same way I'd give a scrap to a mutt."

Remus snatched the egg from the floor and then remembered he probably wouldn't be permitted to keep it. He backed out, shut the door, and paused in the sitting room because he didn't know what to do with himself or half of the thoughts buzzing around in his mind.

The bedroom door lock clicked a second later. Remus set the egg on the table and ran outside to the loggia. Leaving might not be a good idea, but he couldn't think straight when his dick was practically ready to cum on its own.

Two jerks were all it took, and ropes of his cum flew over the railing and into the garden below. He clutched a pillar with his other hand, bit back swear words, and tensed his legs from the force of it. An image flashed in his mind of Sébastien, smiling without malice, willing, and damn near plastered against him.

It was over, and he released his cock. Disgust replaced horniness, and when he went back into the sitting room, he plopped on the couch and tried to think as he stared at the eggs, one whole, and one in two pieces.

He still thought and wondered about his old friend, Diego. Remus had only been twelve when his thirteen-year-old friend had been raped by a Baron who tried to threaten him into silence, but he'd told.

Father had tried to explain things to him and Quintus and why the Baron had to die. The evidence had been undeniable, so the Baron had been whipped and hung for the rape. The healer had taken care of Diego physically, and he hadn't left his room in over a week before his parents pushed him to go out and socialize.

Remus's pal hadn't been the same after that. Later, Remus thought it strange his parents had tried to go on like everything was normal, but maybe they didn't know how to deal either and thought trying to act fine was the way to go. Clearly, it wasn't.

Diego became so withdrawn and quiet that he didn't want to talk to Remus or anyone. His parents finally decided to take him home.

Remus wrote and never got a reply from his friend. The Mother finally wrote and said Diego didn't mean anything personal to Remus, but he didn't want to talk to anyone from court. Since he wasn't doing very well, he'd left Rowland to live abroad with a relative because he needed to "get away" and find a fresh start. She hadn't said names, a country, or anything else.

Diego never contacted him again. Remus figured his friend didn't want to be reminded of court at all and needed to deal with things in his own way. He'd thought about trying to find him again in later years and always decided against it. It'd be selfish if Diego still didn't want to speak to anyone from before.

Sébastien had claimed in the Hall that he took people to bed when he felt like it, but maybe he'd been lying. Being picky or choosy about lovers due to status or whatever didn't equal frigid. He'd thought it was mostly the Prince's attitude that led to those comments, but maybe he'd been wrong.

The deaths of his family and the way his Father had gone likely helped to harden him, and something might have happened to him too. The physician had said he was so bright and cheerful once. Maxime was old enough to have dealt with all sorts of things, so he might have known signs to watch for. He'd even mentioned that he'd tried to help the Prince and insisted he wasn't a bad man.

He's been hurt.

It would explain the tightly laced clothes that would be hard to get off, the comments and insults, and why half of the guard was hot for him. Since guards would surely talk among themselves about those who employed them, and royalty was a good topic for gossip, rumors had gotten around.

If the Prince was a virgin, a royal, unexplored hole along with a pretty face was like gold to some people. It'd also be bragging rights and a way of saying the guy's dick was so special, the Ice Prince had melted for him. Remus shuddered and folded his arms. Sébastien likely didn't feel safe with such comments floating around.

If the Prince had been threatened into silence, Remus supposed that would cause anger. Diego had withdrawn into himself, but perhaps others lashed out at others. His rapist likely ran free and possibly came to court. Who knew how many times it happened? A person should be safe at home, and that had been destroyed. Remus wondered if the culprit had been in the room when Sébastien unleashed the werewolf. He'd said children should be free and could sin later.

He'd looked young and childish at fourteen and probably tempting to some sick bastard who liked touching kids.

The stab to the throat, while excessive, said he'd viewed Remus as someone who'd tried to indirectly harm him in the same way. His obvious terror earlier and refusal to call his guard said a lot too. The cacao eggs had been tainted with something, he'd known after eating his, and he'd hidden in his room to wait for it to pass. Except Remus had come barging in with a huge erection.

He got up to pace. What if he was reading the signs all wrong and seeing something that wasn't there? Losing a family was bad enough, and some people would turn on the sons of the culprits. Giorgio had done something Remus didn't like thinking about.

Maybe the Prince was just a spoiled brat and a shitty bastard. He wouldn't be the first higher-up like that. Some people had their families and anything else they could want and still turned out to be horrible when they grew up.

Remus had no personal experience with rapists and child abusers, but he imagined a good deal of children wouldn't tell. They'd probably blame themselves because they were too young to know better, and a sick bastard would say anything to keep them quiet.

As time passed, it would only grow harder to speak up.

That didn't explain who poisoned the chocolate, and Remus was already getting the urge again. The woman wouldn't say anything if she was oddly aroused later. Not with her husband furious at her and all that drama.

Whoever else had won an egg might not have eaten it yet, so they wouldn't know.

He looked at the locked doors. Those new guards would assume Remus was either bent over for his Master or slobbering on his dick. Or the Master liked being pounded into the bed by his slave. It didn't take that long to hand over an item.

Maybe the frigid comments would lessen if Remus stayed overnight. The Prince didn't seem inclined to come out and order him entirely away.

Also, if there was something more to this, he could stay and act as an alarm if needed, although he doubted anyone was coming.

Still, what if the rapist was here and planning something?

He shouldn't give a shit about the safety of the man who'd enslaved him, stabbed him in the throat, acted like an ungrateful brat after Remus dealt with him being poisoned, and twisted things around to make it seem like Remus still owed him for deaths he wasn't responsible for.

He could see a person growing cold and short-tempered after a bad event or several, but there was a limit. There was a difference between that and stabbing people in the throat and acting like a total prick at all times.

But Remus should stay because if the situation were reversed, he'd want someone to try to help if he couldn't speak out about something.

He had to jerk off again over the railing because his second erection refused to go away. That one took longer to rub out, and he focused his mind on a cat fairy he'd been with once. That guy had been a biter, and Remus had enjoyed spanking his perky ass.

There was a third round before he could get to sleep on the couch. Good Elira, he'd never tried such herbs before and never would.

***

He awoke on his stomach with uncomfortable morning wood and one arm hanging off the couch.

"I asked what the fuck you're doing on my couch," hissed Sébastien.

"I stayed because-oh, fuck." Remus planted an elbow on the cushion and looked toward the open doors leading out to the loggia. The sky was barely light yet, but the Prince dressed as usual with his typical cold glare focused on Remus.

"While you spend forever getting what little brains you have in working order…" The Prince stalked to his doors and opened them to look out. "What the fuck are you doing? This is how you act on the first day of the job by my quarters?"

"What? I don't know what you mean, Your Highness."

"Both of you were slouching, and you looked to be nodding off," snapped the Prince.

"I swear, I wasn't!"

"We've been alert."

"I better not ever see either of you again. And that goes for you too!" The Prince slammed the doors and returned to stand by the table in front of the couch. Usually, a person sitting or lying was in control, and the subordinate had to stand there.

Remus still felt like a subordinate.

"Well?" demanded Sébastien.

"I stayed in case someone came in to rape you because of the eggs." Remus practically withered under the look he received. It was too early to deal with him.

"Are you absolutely retarded?"

"Are you going to pretend the cacao eggs weren't poisoned and that we weren't both hard as rocks for no reason?"

"Elira, you are fucking stupid." Sébastien shook his head and stared up at the ceiling for a long moment. "Do you think someone slipped me vigor herbs so they could rape me?"

"Uh…"

"Do you think I'd simply lay down and spread my legs for anyone who wandered in just because my cock was hard? Would you do that?"

"No, but-"

"Vigor herbs don't make you lose all sense. Or at least most don't. I wonder about you. My old dog was smarter."

Remus's face grew hot. "Then who the fuck poisoned them? It had to be to get to you."

He wouldn't dare ask if Sébastien had been raped. They weren't friends, and he'd get a denial and an ass-kicking that he couldn't deal with before the sun came up.

The Prince folded his arms. "It was a prank."

"What-you did that for a joke?!" Maybe it wasn't too early for an ass-kicking, except Remus would be the one to dole it out.

"I didn't do it, stupid. One of the servants likely did it. Or a courtier. It's not the first time. Sometimes, we chip money in if we're playing games outside. The Regent's always made sure the cook has enough money to stock some of those eggs, and they're just a sort of extra fun thing to give to the winners because it's Morian cacao, and they come in a gold shell. It's not hard to open them and slip something in."

"But…why?"

"Someone did it once years ago when I was too young to win against adults. A couple realized they'd been dosed after eating their prize, and the court had a good laugh over that for ages. It hasn't happened for years so I suppose someone decided to do it again as a joke. The drug technically isn't harmful."

He didn't look bothered, just angry. Big fucking surprise there.

"But…" Remus paused. Perhaps he should approach things in a sort of roundabout way.

"But, but," mocked the Prince.

"You were so mad-"

"I don't enjoy ingesting unexpected things, and I think even you can remember why. I was also pissed because someone knocked, and I said to go away, and you still came barreling in."

"I didn't hear what you said, and neither did the guards-"

"On top of that, you come to my door ranting about me slipping shit into your egg like I'd ever care to make your dick hard."

"I thought you were playing some long game to get up my ass."

"Yes, up the ass that's probably stretched out by werewolf knots and unable to be satisfied by a normal fairy cock."

Remus clenched his fist. "Can you knock the shit off? I've never fucked or sucked a werewolf, and I think you damn well know that."

"Mmm," the Prince hummed in his patronizing way.

Less than ten minutes and Remus couldn't stand him. What he said made sense. It could also be a lie to hide the past.

"I guess you're not mad at me. Not really since I haven't been dragged out by guards."

"I don't know those two or the one by your door, and I don't like them. They likely transferred from some lord, and whatever idiot is cobbling together the schedules in the guardhouse has forgotten that I don't like newcomers outside my door. Do you think I wanted them to see me in that state?"

Remus pursed his lips. He was still thinking abuse because of everything put together. Maxime had surely been trying to tell him without actually saying the words, and the Prince likely viewed Remus as an absolute piece of shit now for his reaction. "I'm sorry I grabbed you and burst in like that. And for the stuff I said. I didn't mean that when I said to bend over-"

"You better be sorry, and that's the last chance you'll ever get."

Remus huffed. "Maybe the comments about you being frigid will stop since I was in here all night."

If looks could kill.

"I'm picky, and I think everyone knows I wouldn't stoop to Rowland ass."

Remus's morning wood was a little bit more manageable, and he sat up. "Are you going to sack whoever dosed the eggs?"

"No."

"But that's beyond fucked up!"

"I don't know who it is, and they're not going to come clean since I got one."

"It must be a long-time servant or a return courtier."

"I'm sure all of the servants have blabbed about that, and new courtiers have heard the story. Anyone could have gotten the idea again. There are too many people to figure out which one did it."

Remus rubbed his face. "Well, it's not safe. I heard older men can have a heart attack from those herbs. Is that okay?"

Sébastien paused as he looked outside. "Lord Smith got an egg since he won at archery. He keeps talking about how he needs to lose weight for his heart, so he won't eat sweets. Except he pounds back dinner like there's about to be a famine."

"What if he eats it anyway?"

"I'll slip in and take it later. He'll think he lost it because he's always misplacing things. He probably won't even miss it. You can get the fuck out of my rooms now."

Gladly. Remus stood and fought the urge to ask if he wanted a hug or to talk about it. If anything had happened, kids and teenagers didn't deserve that kind of shit, and it probably made him feel isolated. Maybe even dirty. It took a truly sick person to do that to someone who had to live with that memory for the rest of their life, and bottling it up couldn't be healthy.

But how would he even ask or get the Prince to say anything if he was still scared to speak up years later?

"Didn't I say to get the fuck out?" demanded Sébastien. "When I told my dog to do something, he didn't stand there and gawk at me."

Fuck hugging him. Not in a million years. He'd probably get a dagger under the ribs if he dared to utter the words or offer any kind of comfort. Remus sighed and headed toward the doors.