(The Marriage Groups)Elian (2 page)

He sighed in despair. His parents would be livid if he came home tonight. He was supposed to be chosen and married today. He was supposed to be grabbing his luggage from his room and going off with the three other men who would make up his marriage group. He was eighteen years old, almost nineteen. And this was his fourth and final marriage soiree. If he wasn't chosen tonight, he'd be forced into servitude, spinsterhood, or prostitution.

His fathers were already deeply upset with him because he'd been passed over three other times. Especially since he was the only one of their children not born as a soldier or a warrior or even as a doctor. Elian had been born as a breeder. That was it. His sole purpose in life was to lie on his back, his side, on his hands and knees, and be fucked all day and night and give birth to more Kartusians.

He hadn't asked to be born a breeder. Hell, he hadn't asked to be born into his family or as a Kartusian. It was the fucking luck of the draw. One that he was being punished for.

Looking around the room again, Elian sighed in despair. All the time that he'd spent gazing into nothingness and daydreaming and no one had approached him. What was wrong with him? Why hadn't he been picked yet? He realized that all of his friends had been chosen and there were still four marriage groups left, none of which were even looking at him. Perhaps his dads had been wrong. Maybe he was a little too reminiscent of the females of their species that had been separated from Kardalusia ten millennia before.

Elian was aware that he was a lot smaller, thinner; his skin was a lot softer and his facial features a lot prettier than any other Kartusian male in history. But once again, it was not his fault. It wasn't as if he'd consulted with and pleaded for the God Andalusia to make him this way. He hadn't. Not at all.

At least, not that he knew of.

"So, why are you still here? I would have thought that you'd be off packing your bags, ready to leave with your marriage group," the waiter standing next to him said as he placed his tray on the counter behind Elian.

Startled, Elian turned with a gasp to look up at the other man. The waiter was gorgeous. He stood about 6'1" and had the most striking pale green eyes that Elian had ever seen on a Kartusian before. So lost was he in the beauty of the man before him that it took Elian a while to process exactly what the waiter had said.

"My what? I don't have a marriage group," Elian stated, hearing the sadness in his own voice. He glanced up at the clock, aware that in less than fifteen minutes the soiree would be over and he would once again be left alone. Though this time, he would be alone and destitute.

The waiter looked down at him confusion before pulling a picture out of his inner pocket. Showing the picture to him, Elian was amazed to see a picture of himself from a year before.

"Isn't this you?" the waiter asked.

Elian nodded before he responded. "Y-y-yes."

Why the hell did the waiter have a picture of him from a year before? A picture that looked as if it had been while Elian was unaware that he was being photographed. It looked like it was a picture of Elian walking to class, which was just... strange. Who would want a picture of him, walking to class?

"Where the hell did you get this picture?" he asked the waiter, hoping that his voice didn't sound as shaky and fearful as his insides felt.

"Why, the new kings passed it out at the beginning of the soiree and let everyone know that you were a part of their marriage group and were not to be approached with an offer," the waiter said as if that explained everything.

It explained nothing, however. Why the hell would the kings want him to be a part of their marriage group? And if that were true, then where the hell were they?

As if his thoughts had conjured them, Elian gasped at the sight of the three kings, easily the tallest, broadest, strongest men in all of Kardalusia, walking through the door. As one they all turned towards him and made their way in his direction. Elian felt frozen in place. His eyes took in each of the three men in turn.

Nevin Cannington, the eldest of the three kings, and the direct descendant of the previous kings, stood at 6' 9"; had black hair that was trimmed close at the nape and sides, tapered to a slightly longer length on top so that the ends rested at his ears; gorgeous hazel brown eyes; and the widest grin on his face. He was dressed in a white royal suit trimmed with gold embroidery with a gold button up shirt underneath. His skin, which was deliciously tanned, called to Elian, and he found himself clenching his hands in order to prevent himself from reaching out to the older man who was, at the very least, twenty years his senior.

Corbin Dyer-Cannington, the youngest of the three kings, stood at 6'8", just slightly shorter than Nevin, his brown hair hung at his shoulders in thick, luxurious waves, begging for Elian to run his slim fingers through them. While he too had hazel brown eyes, there seemed to be a spark of gold that flared in their depths when he looked at Elian. He was dressed in a white suit as well, though his was trimmed with blue embroidery and clung to his extremely muscled frame, though he wore no shirt beneath the suit, giving Elian a clear view of the tattoos that he had obtained during his training on Zarxion. Elian felt his cock thicken behind the placket of his own black tuxedo pants. He felt a bit like a hobo compared to the kings. His long black hair, which hung in waves to his waist, suddenly felt a lot heavier than it had just moments before.

It was the sight of Gaige Nobriga-Cannington, however, the only king with a naturally caramel skin tone, which robbed Elian of his breath. Gaige's 6'6", thickly-muscled frame screamed out danger to anyone who looked at him. His blond hair, with its gloriously golden highlights and waves, invited the curious to touch it; it fell to just below Gaige's shoulders. It was the sight of the scar on Gaige's cheek that caused one to rethink their approach, however.

Elian had heard the story of the third king. Had heard that he had "the sight", that Gaige could see into the future. It fascinated him. Gaige was most assuredly a man who played by his own rules. Dressed in a white suit, as was custom for royalty, he wore a red shirt beneath a black leather vest underneath his suit jacket. On Gaige's right wrist Elian saw a leather bracelet with diamond studs embedded within and a tattoo of a snake that wrapped itself around his left wrist. He felt himself shiver as the three kings all stopped before him, surrounding him in a semi-circle, and he was distantly aware that every man in the room had knelt on one knee, showing honor to the monarchy. He knew that he should bow to his kings, that he should probably lay prostrate before them, but all he could do in that moment was stare at them.

And hope he didn't embarrass himself by begging them all to fuck him.

"You are ours, Elian Glinkobia. Gather your belongings, you are now the coração of our marriage group," King Nevin stated.

Chapter Two

Nevin

N
EVIN
Cannington tried not to laugh out loud when Elian’s mouth dropped open at his words. He probably should have found a more gentle way of letting the beauty know that they had chosen him, but Nevin had waited over a year for Elian and had then been called away at the beginning of the soiree season. It was good that he was the king, otherwise he’d have lost Elian to some other marriage group.

Eh, who was he kidding? He would have just taken Elian away from the other marriage group, on order of the King of Kardalusia. He always got what he wanted and he wanted Elian.

Glancing over at Corbin and Gaige, Nevin shrugged unapologetically at his friends and lovers. He wouldn’t apologize for informing Elian and all who were present that Elian had been claimed, even though he knew that the other two men would never let him live it down. Looking back over at Elian, whose eyes were so wide they almost encompassed his face, Nevin started to feel slightly guilty. Had he been a little too overbearing? It was a flaw of his. His younger brother, Walker, was always telling him that he exerted his dominance over others and took control of situations as if it wasn’t a big deal. Hhhmmm… perhaps he needed to change that.

“Y-y-you really w-want m-me?” Elian stuttered and Nevin felt his heart melt.

Was that the problem? That Elian couldn’t believe that they really wanted him? Did the other man not know how beautiful he was? Didn’t he know about all the wonderful things Nevin, Corbin, and Gaige had heard about Elian when they’d looked into his background? Did he think that because of Nevin’s position, because of his royal heritage, that Nevin was better than him? Didn’t he know how amazing he was? Nevin desperately wanted to ask Elian, but knew that this was neither the time nor the place.

“Of course we want you,” Corbin said quickly and Nevin silently thanked his friend for speaking up while Nevin’s mind had been racing. “We’ve wanted you for over a year. We just had to wait for the right time.”

Elian’s head tilted to the side, his eyebrows rising before pulling down as he frowned. “Well if that’s true, then why did you wait until just now to claim me? It’s the last soiree of the season. I almost had to go and turn myself into the broth’el,” Elian asked them and Nevin felt ice fill his veins.

He’d never resented his position more. They’d almost been too late because there was an issue with one of the larger countries and they’d been required to make an appearance to soothe ruffled feathers.

“The most important thing is that we got to you in time,” Gaige said, his tone brusque and Nevin winced. He really should have talked to Gaige before they came into the Marriage Soiree House. He knew that his lover didn’t mean to be so callous, but Gaige felt uncomfortable being questioned when he was surrounded by people. Elian had unknowingly triggered him. Nevin opened his mouth to apologize for Gaige’s rudeness, only to be cut off by Elian’s snort of annoyance.

“I know you’re supposed to be the king, but if you expect this to work with all of us, you’re going to need to not talk to me like that. Ever. Again,” Elian said with a narrow-eyed gaze in Gaige’s direction.

Nevin knew that he wasn’t imagining the tension that filled the room at that moment. Gaige’s precision when it came to killing someone was legendary, as was his short temper. Dammit, Gaige couldn’t kill Elian. They were going to marry the young man in a few short hours.

Gaige’s laughter shocked everyone in the room, including Nevin and Corbin. His lips lifted up into what Nevin recognized as a smile. A smile. On Gaige’s face. It was like a fucking miracle. Gaige never smiled. Not even the day that he, Corbin, and Nevin had gone to the palace’s priests to become a marriage group. Gaige had remained very silent and expressionless. One comment from Elian putting him in his place and Gaige not only smiled but laughed as well? Nevin shared a smile with Corbin. Elian was perfect for them.

“Yes, well. Now that we’ve established that Gaige is not to speak down to Elian, shall we head to our dressing chambers to prepare for the wedding ceremony?” Nevin queried, his question more of a statement than anything.

Had he not been watching Elian closely, Nevin would have missed the sight of the young man’s eyes widening in fear, the quickening of his breathing before he composed his features. He wondered what that was about. From what their recon had told them about Elian, he was a social butterfly. He had no qualms about meeting new people or attending parties. All things that would serve him well as the coração of the Royal Marriage Group.

Nevin watched as Corbin stepped close to Elian and leaned over to whisper something in his ear. Elian nodded and with a few words from Corbin, visibly relaxed. His shoulders sagged and his eyes closed slowly as he sighed. Nevin knew that Corbin would tell him what he’d told the coração, but at that moment, Nevin found himself battling jealousy.

He knew that he would have to share Elian with Corbin and Gaige, just as he was aware that he’d be sharing Corbin and Gaige with Elian. He had no problem sharing his lovers with each other. As a matter of fact, the image of Elian sucking Corbin’s cock as Gaige fucked the young man made Nevin’s dick harden. The problem was that he wanted to be the one who comforted the younger man. He wanted to be the one to make Elian feel at home with them. It had, in fact, been Nevin who had first spotted the beautiful breeder the year before.

They’d been riding their horses around the city of Karts and had gone past the finishing school when Nevin had heard the most beautiful sound. He’d pulled his horse to a stop and looked around frantically to locate the source of the sound. Standing in the middle of a group of other breeders stood Elian, his hair flowing like a black waterfall down to his waist, a large smile on his face as he laughed with his friends. Nevin had been enchanted by the sight of the young man. Elian was by far the shortest, slimmest breeder Nevin had ever seen in his life. He’d immediately called his assistant, Brinques, forward and had ordered him to get all of the information that he could on the gorgeous, young breeder. By the time Brinques had headed towards the school, a small contingent of guards and negotiators with him, Corbin and Gaige had also noticed Elian.

“By the hand of Andalusia,” Corbin had breathed in wonder. Nevin could only grin. He had chosen well.

“It’s him,” Gaige’s voice was soft, awe infusing every word as his eyes fixedly followed every movement that Elian made.

“You know him?” Nevin had inquired of his partner. He loved his enigmatic lover, but Gaige’s secrecy over his past and his special abilities was extremely frustrating sometimes.

“I dreamed of his essence,” Gaige informed him, his green eyes focusing on Nevin now. “I did not see his face, nor do I know his name, but I saw his spirit in a dream. His spirit was singing to our spirits. And his soul calls to mine even now.”

Nevin had shivered; Gaige’s words floated over his skin, burrowing beneath his heart. Gaige didn’t speak often, but when he did speak, the melodious tone of his voice and the lyrical flow of his words always caused a reaction in Nevin. Reaching out, Nevin grabbed the back of Gaige’s head and kissed him furiously, their tongues tangling in a battle for dominance. Nevin loved kissing his men. Neither of them submitted to him easily—Gaige never submitted—and he found the challenge thrilling. Pulling his mouth away from his lover’s when the need to breathe was imperative, Nevin turned to look back at the gorgeous young man who would be their coração. While he loved the challenge of being with his naturally dominant partners, he was looking forward to being with someone who was a little more submissive. He had a feeling it would be just as thrilling.