Our Surprise Mate
23-Needy Little Mate

**Octavius~**

My ass is tired of sitting around The Royal's table in Open Land's Palace. Thankfully, our queens all stayed home to look after our territories so we wouldn't have a full-blown royal war before decisions are made. The Full-Blood King, Alpha Apollo Dolph, and Hybrid King, Thaddius Gray, propose opening the borders. When they first mentioned it, everyone thought they were insane, especially Mortal Grounds, King Harry. He's terrified of what would happen if the borders got overturned, so he keeps looking at me like I'm about to come to his rescue. I never agreed to protect him outside his territory. I'm not his personal bodyguard. The more I listen to Apollo and Thaddius's plan, the more I like what I hear. Why should we be limited to certain parts of the world? Why couldn't we live freely as we are meant to live? It isn't my responsibility to keep other people alive when they're not under my rule, so Mortal Grounds is about to be ass-out. We might not break down the borders and rip up the old treaty right away, though. The walls will still need to be up, but we will be allowed passports to travel abroad just to see how people will handle a taste of freedom. Val is excited about the change, but I'm still skeptical. We would have to closely monitor everyone who exits their borders and regulate how long people stay within other territories. That means new software and security systems need built. Plus, we will have to go over who would be handling crimes committed by travelers. Would they be sent back to their territory for punishment, or would they be stuck where they committed the crime for a harsher sentence? These changes won't be made immediately as Apollo and Thaddius wanted, but I believe we will eventually do away with the borders completely. At the end of the day, I will side with Apollo and Thaddius because I would rather have their alliance than gain them as enemies. Nosferatu King Cassius is all in, and it seems Half-Blood King Alpha Alvar Rae is in favor. Enchanted King, Archibald Ulm, is sitting back quietly with a smirk on his face. He's a smart man who keeps his thoughts to himself before he gives an opinion. I know him enough to know he won't be siding with Mortal Grounds, though. He absolutely hates Harry and Adrian Williams, and so do the rest of us. At least Mortal Ground's Royals don't live nearly as long as the rest of us. Even Lycans, witches, and werewolves live longer than the average mortal human. As long as my life doesn't end tragically, I should live for another hundred years. Those with Vampirism are the only ones who live eternally, but I would hate that for myself. I can only imagine how fed up I would be with life after living it for so long. That's a lot of fucking taxes to pay.

"I think we've all made useful points. Ultimately, we shouldn't have to be confined to one place our entire lives. We will pick back up on this matter on Thursday afternoon. That gives us a couple of days to spend with our queens to discuss things with them. Make sure they write down their views, likes, and dislikes so we can take their leadership into account when we make our decision. After all, women know best." I end the meeting with a joke we all like to laugh about, except for Harry. One thing we kings can bond over is the softness we have towards our women. Those ladies can bring the most powerful men in the world to their knees without effort. The only reason we don't include our women at the table during meetings is women tend to be more fierce than us men, and the last time we involved our queens, Mortal Grounds Queen Adrian, got dragged by her hair by Vampire Queen Emilia. 'Why should I declare a war when I can handle the bitch by myself?' were Emilia's famous last words before she instantly appeared at Adrian's chair and pulled her out of it. None of us were in a hurry to help, but we knew Emilia was only going to scare her enough to keep Adrian in her place. Adrian negatively commented on the humans who serve in Nosferatu Dominion, and Emilia threatened to take over Mortal Grounds entirely. Then, she changed her mind and decided to handle the disrespect immediately. Emilia and Cassius protect everyone in their territory, even the human servants. I actually prefer having the women with us because we get amazing entertainment while working. It's too bad King Harry is a pussy and requested the queens to cast their votes and opinions through us. Since he felt his queen's life was in danger, we had to respect his wishes.

Apollo Dolph stood from his chair after checking his phone. "This was eventful. Now, if you will excuse me, my mate just went into heat, and I have an heir to make." He rushes out the door while Thaddius, Cassius, Alvar, Coolidge, and I give him a good luck howl. Like me, Apollo is usually gone while Aubrie is in heat, so he's missed his chance to breed her the last few years. Hopefully, I get lucky, and Val goes into heat soon too, but I know she would feel terrible if she got pregnant without Hazel. I got the chance to talk to Hazel this morning, and she said she finally was able to gain control over herself while feeding. I am so proud of her strength and determination. I'll be surprising her with a visit tonight on my way home, but it's risky. Eden called me after Hazel went to bed last night and told me Hazel needed me or Val to come and spend time with her as soon as possible. I would have visited her sooner, but Hazel refused to see us as a newborn hybrid. I didn't want to make anything harder on her, but I know Eden wouldn't ask me to come if it weren't necessary. I wouldn't send Val there, but I know I can handle myself if Hazel loses control.

We say our goodbyes and go our separate ways. Eden is waiting for me at the border of open land near my territory. I already told my warriors to stand down because she is here for me. My driver opens my door to let me out, and Eden meets me at the gate.

"Eden, how is she today?" It must not be great if Eden is making surprise plans.

"In a way, she's okay. She's so damn headstrong and stubborn that she doesn't realize the Bond Abandonment she's suffering from. And yes, I know it's my fault, but I'm taking care of it very soon. I think seeing you would help get her through these next few days, though. Time manipulation is exhausting, so we need her to be strong mentally and physically when we do this. She just dozed off, but I'm sure she'll wake up when she smells you." Val has been feeling Bond Abandonment too. I'm not home as much as I want to be. I initially had to be gone because of Eden invading other territories, and I had to ensure harm wouldn't come to Hazel if anyone came in contact with her. Then we had to arrange frequent meetings at Open Land Palace due to Hazel being a new Hybrid living in the Lycan territory. Coolidge and I thought it would be best if Hazel stayed in his territory until she gained self-control to prevent accidents. I hate to say it, but I couldn't risk something happening to Lucas or Val. I want to believe Hazel would never harm them, but we must be realistic. I won't be getting home until after Lucas is already asleep, but I plan to shower Val with a ton of affection while I'm home. "Alright, let's get going." I hold out my arm, and she grabs my wrist. I've never teleported, so I'm stunned when I blink, and we're already outside her cabin in Tribrid Division. My beautiful mate is right behind those walls, but I can smell her sweet scent in the air already. Eden opens the door, and I see straight into Hazel's room where she is peacefully sleeping.

Well, she was peacefully sleeping. Within three seconds, she was out of her bed and jumping into my arms, almost knocking me into the front door. Her legs wrap around my waist, and her arms hold tight around my neck, but not tight enough to strangle me, thank goodness.

"Tae! I can't believe you're here!" She begins to cry, and my heart breaks as I hold her close. She's sobbing uncontrollably, "I m-missed you s-so much!"

"I know, baby. I missed you so much too." I kiss her shoulder and walk to her bedroom. Eden said she was leaving to give us some privacy, so I gave her a nod. I kick off my shoes and get into her bed while she clings to me. It feels amazing having her in my arms again, like a weight has lifted from my chest.

She finally stops crying after a good ten minutes, and I wipe her cheeks. Her eyes are so bright, and her skin is flawless; not that she was very flawed before, but now she's beyond beautiful.

"Why are you here? What if I lose control? Tae, this isn't safe." She looks at my neck, and her eyes instantly darken. She never did leave her mark on me or Val because it technically isn't necessary. It only takes one mate to mark the other to complete the bond, but some choose to mark each other. Maybe once she comes back home, I'll let her mark me. Right now, it would be too dangerous for obvious reasons.

"I'm strong enough to restrain you, Hazel. I'm not worried about my safety at all. I needed to see you, and you needed me too." My back is leaning against the headboard while she's straddling me. Her little shorts have ridden up, and her white tank top barely covers her torso. I'll be sure to thank Eden for bringing me here.

"You look like you want to bite me as much as I want to bite you. You smell painfully delicious." Hazel slowly grinds her center against my growing erection and flashes me the sexiest smile. Her pearly white teeth with sharp canines are suddenly a new kink of mine.

"I'm going to do more than bite you. I'm going to lick, suck, squeeze, and tease you until you're begging me for more." I grip her thighs and put her on her back, but I remain between her legs. Her nipples harden beneath the thin fabric, pleading for my attention, so I suck on one while I squeeze on the other breast. She whimpers my name and arches her back. I love my needy little mate.