25. Kitaro

Chapter 25

Kitaro

U pon returning to their room after lunch, Kitaro worried about Vanra. He had said little since Mitsuki's earlier outburst over breakfast. They sat in the chairs by the fireplace.

"Please do not feel badly about Mitsuki," Kitaro urged the human.

"What happened? Because I feel like I missed something important."

Kitaro held back a sigh. "Mitsuki lost his temper, as per usual. He is so disagreeably unreasonable."

"But why? It seemed as if he was mad about a lot more than just the fact that I'm human."

Kitaro uncharacteristically hesitated.

Unable to sit still, Vanra began pacing. "And what's so special about the end of this week? What temptation was your father talking about? What is the ‘that' he was referring to? And what are Enchanters? Why do you seem so reluctant about them? None of this makes any sense."

Kitaro started with the basic issue underlying all the problems. "How familiar are you with shifter mating habits?"

The question stopped the human in his tracks. "What does that have to do with any of this?"

"Please." Kitaro gestured for Vanra to return to his seat.

He dropped back into the massive chair with a heavy sigh. "Fine. I know shifters mate for life usually. There are obviously exceptions, as your father proves."

"Correct. Do you know how shifters attract a partner?"

"In the higher ranks, I would assume it has to do more with building alliances through arranged marriages?"

"You are correct about that. What about those who are free to find their own partners?"

Vanra thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. "I assumed it was the same as humans: you find someone you like, and you mate."

Kitaro got to the point. "Have you ever heard of a heat?"

"Isn't that part of the shifter mating rituals?"

"It is a period of time, usually about a week long, when someone's scent changes in order to attract a mate to them," Kitaro explained .

"Like animals go into heat, right?"

Kitaro nodded. "Precisely. The resulting pheromones from heats play an important role in shifter mating practices."

"But what does that have to do with me?"

The shifter took a deep breath, which had the benefit of allowing him to smell Vanra even better. His dragon rattled in his cage again, furious over being denied access to the mage. "Humans still have it as a vestigial function. They are unaware, but it has a subtle influence on attracting a partner."

"Wait, really?" Vanra asked in surprise. "If that's true, why don't I know about it? That seems like something humans should know."

"It seems much has been forgotten in the years between now and your time," Kitaro guessed, not having an answer to that question.

"Are you trying to say I'm in heat right now?" Vanra's cheeks turned a becoming shade of pink.

It was a relief that he didn't have to spell it out completely. By discussing what a heat was, it was making Kitaro hyperaware of Vanra's. His dragon restlessly paced in its cage. "Yes."

"So, I smell bad right now, and that's why Mitsuki is mad at me?"

"Oh, no. It is quite the opposite, in fact. That was the temptation Father was referring to."

"Temptation?" Vanra tilted his head with a puzzled expression .

"To bed you and drown in your heat scent," Kitaro replied, feeling embarrassed to admit to the thing his dragon was begging to do.

" Oh !" Vanra's eyes went wide in surprise. "What, seriously?"

"Indeed. It is a most…tantalizing experience."

Vanra's blush deepened. "Is that why you were so…this morning?" It was cute that he couldn't find the right words to describe Kitaro's lapse in bed.

"Regrettably." Kitaro cursed his dragon for being so unruly earlier. "I was unprepared for such an impact."

"Because I'm human?"

"No, because someone's heat has never affected me before."

Curiosity replaced Vanra's discomfort. "Why is that?"

Kitaro took a moment to figure out how best to phrase his answer. "I have never been interested in anyone else enough that their heat influenced me."

"I don't understand."

"Heat scents are only tempting to those who are already drawn to that person."

Vanra's expression became more confused. "But Mitsuki hates me. Why would it tempt him?"

That answer was more unclear to Kitaro. "There could be many reasons. I do not profess to understand my oldest brother's mindset."

"What are the Enchanters?" Vanra asked .

"They are the ones responsible for using their powers to enchant all the objects in our home with abilities," Kitaro explained. "They are some of the most advanced magic users in the Living Realm."

"Are they the ones who make the doors automatically open?"

Kitaro nodded. "Yes, they are the ones that have made it so that everything here functions through magic."

"And they can make a charm that suppresses my heat scent?"

"Yes." Kitaro's dragon howled at him for daring to deny them the sweet smell of Vanra's heat. He did his best to ignore it. "Under the circumstances, I think Father is right. This is for the best."

"I'll do whatever is necessary," Vanra said. "I don't want to cause any more problems."

"You are never a problem."

Vanra gave Kitaro a skeptical look. "You don't think what happened with Mitsuki is a problem?"

Kitaro shrugged. "Mitsuki is the issue, not you."

"Which is why I don't want to make things any worse than they already are with him. The less I have to do with him, the better."

"Agreed." Kitaro hated the thought of his oldest brother having any kind of interest in Vanra.

Silence fell between them. Vanra eventually asked, "Do the Enchanters live here, or do we have to travel somewhere else to visit them? "

Kitaro stood and gestured for the mage to do the same. "They reside in a distant part of the castle. We can visit them now."

Kitaro's dragon snarled at the unfairness of Vanra having to suppress his heat, but the shifter prince ignored his outrage. It was difficult when all he wanted to do was claim Vanra as his. That wasn't their privilege, though.