Use Me, Royal Stranger (mxm)

Chapter 18 - Surely Not This

He ran his rough, calloused palms over his face, fingers resting at the bridge of his nose, feeling the most stressed he had been for the past two weeks. Lance stared at his best friend pacing the room with vengeance in each step. He could not think of a single word he could say that could possibly make the situation any better. He couldn't even muster a bad joke at the moment, and he was a master at bad jokes.

Lance pitied his friend, truly. All throughout his life, the moon goddess loved to put Alaric through all sorts of trials and tribulations that she could think of. She never did seem to give him a break. When Carlen walked into their lives, Lance thought that perhaps she was merciful and had finally blessed him with an amazing mate. But now it seems as though this too, was a trial for Alaric. A really cruel trick the moon goddess has played on them both. Lance sighed.

Not being able to tolerate the silence any longer, Lance chance his neck being ripped open by his furious friend, "What are you going to do now?"

Alaric, who had been pacing the room with vengeance in each step, stopped short and spun around. Alaric was beyond angry and Lance could understand perfectly why. But not talking about the elephant in the room was not helping to share his friend's burden. It felt as though it was as good as leaving his friend on the lurch.
"They are asking me to choose between my people's safety and my mate Lance, my only happiness in life." Alaric spat, "What choices can I really make?!" He snarled suddenly, his eyes flashed for a moment with a dangerous intent.

Lance winced and backed away at the sheer volume of Alaric' voice. He was way too worked up at the moment, for good reason, but still too worked up.

Lance knew from the moment that he found out that Carlen was Alaric's mate, that Carlen was going to get hurt badly one day. He knew it, yet he let it carry on the way it did. He was partly to blame for this. Guilt ate at his conscience. He knew that the ways of their country had been set in stone for so many years that it would take more than Alaric's determination to overthrow the laws that had been put in place. Lance knew that, but he also knew how happy Alaric and Carlen were when they were together. He could not bear to take that away from either of them.

But now he felt as though he truly regrets his choice. He should have put his foot down and insisted that Alaric must leave Carlen alone. One short moment of pain from being rejected at the beginning was surely better than being rejected after they were allowed to mark and mate with each other. Lance's heart clenched with sadness as he sighed. This situation had gone way out of hand, way too fast. He had grown so fond of Carlen in the days that they spent together, that he hated that they were in this situation at all. Carlen was so innocent, so cheerful, so naive to be thrown into a situation like this. He didn't deserve this.

"What am I going to do?" Alaric asked, his tone suddenly depressed as he flopped onto the ground and rest his face in the palms of his hands. "This is going to kill him."

Lance could only shake his head. He knew how hard it was for his best friend. He knew his best friend well. They grew up together, never apart. He knew Alaric like the back of his hand. He knew how much Alaric loved his country, his people, and how responsible he was to his father's legacy. Alaric lived his whole life to please his father. He lived his whole life thinking, knowing that he was going to be King, that he would eventually have to take on the huge responsibility to maintain the happiness, prosperity and the safety of thousands of his people. Alaric loved his kingdom to no end, he would die for his people if it would keep them safe. But he knew at the same time that Alaric was so madly in love with his mate.

Just short of two months ago, if you asked Lance what Alaric treasured the most, Lance would not have hesitated. He would have shouted out his answer with the most confidence he could muster. It was the kingdom, and the kingdom only. There was nothing in his life that Alaric would have treasured and loved more than his kingdom.