"What exactly are we doing?" Skander asked as he followed the entire Lowen-Jenks clan into a huge training room.
"You're going to learn how to defend yourself should you be attacked by any of us," Aiden replied.
Skander had been so surprised when she had showed up at his door the next morning dressed in sweats rolled up to her knees, a tank and tennis shoes. When he looked out in the hallway to see if it was a joke, he saw her brothers leaning against the far wall. They waved at him. She told him to get dressed in whatever he felt he could get rid of if they got ripped.
He had been even more surprised when they headed towards the training room Aiden and Jesse had started sparring in the hallway. Every now and then one of them would flip off the wall and continue on. It was the weirdest thing. He always thought royalty acted a certain way. Apparently they acted any way they wanted.
He looked around the room. Different training items were shoved against the wall. Bar bells, a sand bag, a speed bag, and kendo sticks were attached to the wall. Sparring mats were lined up against the wall. Medicine balls and other weighted objects were stacked neatly in racks by the door. It was all state of the art and they used it by the looks of the guys as they took off their shirts. Aiden cast him a knowing look.
"I get it. My brothers are extremely good looking. If they weren't my brothers, I'd be all over them," she said.
"Aiden, you have a husband and three kids," Andy replied.
"So? You have a wife and two kids and that's never stopped up from spouting off at the mouth." Andy nudged his sister to the side as he walked to the sand bag then started punching it like crazy. Aiden turned to him. "I know your record. You were a swimming star back in high school."
"It's really creepy how you know these things," Skander replied as he picked up a pair of boxing gloves.
She shrugged as she tied them for him. "I'm Queen. It's my job to know these things." She jerked on the glove as she laced it all the way up. "Did you get Keldin to tell you?"
He glanced up at her then nodded. "Yeah, I got him to talk. It wasn't pretty."
"It never is with him. I'm a little surprised his temper didn't get the best of him." She chuckled to herself. "I check for overgrown plants the next morning."
Crinkling his nose, he scowled at her. "How can you laugh about something like that?"
"It's easier to laugh at the things you can control, like overgrown plants, than things you can't, such as being forced to endure things you don't want." She pressed her lips together in a tight line. "I was the only one who knew everything Keldin went through. Not even Austin knows it all and Keldin sure as hell didn't tell Eric what happened. You're the only one besides me who knows. He trusts you. Don't take that lightly."
She left him and went to spar with Klark. He got in a few good hits to the punching bag then went to the speed bag. Why would he be the only one Keldin told his past to? He had Aiden before he had him and she knew everything. But Aiden couldn't be there all the time. She had a family of her own and Austin was doing gods know what. In reality, there was no one else he could talk to.
With the last punch, Skander realized he had done something he never figured he'd ever do. He had fallen in love with someone. Granted it would never be the kind of love his father would approve of but it was good enough for him. The next thing he had to do was tell Keldin.
After the great revelation of his young life, the others grabbed him and put him through the ringer. It was mainly the boys who taught him what he needed to know. Every now and then, he'd glimpse Aiden out of the corner of his eye. She was sitting on the bar bells with her legs crossed. It looked uncomfortable but she didn't seem to mind. It was as if she were watching him for something. He didn't have time to think on it as the brothers continued to pummel him.
***
"He's got a good head on his shoulders, Keldin."
He and Aiden were overseeing the new guard in the courtyard as the children played. They didn't want to be seen so they stood on the building side of the area. Dylan and Kielan were playing with Aiden's nephew Colt as her niece Colby played with Stormy.
"What did you do, Aiden?" he asked. He looked over and noticed her small smile. "Please tell me you didn't hurt him."
"I didn't do anything. The same can't be said for my brothers." If anyone who didn't know them had been standing close to them and saw Keldin punch her in the arm, he would have been arrested. Instead Aiden laughed. "All they did was begin to teach him how to defend himself."
He turned on her. "You did what?"
"If he's going to live in our world, he's going to have to learn some time. It's easier if he starts now. That way you don't have to worry about him and you can fight your own battle."
He frowned. "What the hell are you talking about now?"
"It's the same thing I was talking about the day we walked away from Mikey. You can't live in fear of what someone will do to you." She turned to look at him. "Admit what you're feeling. The sooner you do, the sooner you'll be able to defend him whole-heartedly." She clapped him on the shoulder and headed back in the palace.
Keldin watched her disappear, mouth agape at the realization that she had taken on his role. Sometimes he wondered if he should step away from them now that he had Skander. But he knew doing so would bring hell down on his head more than now.
They'd hunt him down. He was stuck with a family who loved him, and who he wanted to kill sometimes.
***
Skander slid into the water and sighed as it eased away all the aches of the day. The men had literally pummeled him until he learned how to block their advances. It hurt like hell but he knew they were doing it so he would have some defense. Cole said he needed to be trained in self-defense so he was going to be trained in self-defense. The eldest brother didn't seem like the type to be told no.
None of them did really.
He heard the bedroom door open through the sound of running water and music. After a few moments of silence the bathroom door opened. Keldin sighed as he leaned against the counter and stared at himself in the mirror.
Even though he should stay in the warmth of the water, Skander stood, sloshing water over the side of the tub. He made sure he had traction before walking over to Keldin and wrapping his arms around his waist. He didn't care if he got his shirt wet. He needed this as well as Keldin.
He could feel the tension wafting off him. Something had happened while he had been getting his ass handed to him that was making the older man withdraw in on himself. Skander recognized it because he had done it for a very long time.
"You're getting me wet," Keldin whispered.
"I don't care. You're stressed," he replied.
Keldin somehow managed to turn and pulled him flush against him, cradling his head to his shoulder as his other arm held him tightly by his hip.
Skander adjusted his head then allowed himself to relax. He still wasn't used to being held so intimately since everything had happened to him. Keldin was his first real boyfriend, and he didn't want to mess it up by freaking out just by being touched.
"How did you know?" Keldin asked.
"It's in the way you hunch your shoulders. They're tense and corded when you get stressed," Skander replied. He shifted back and looked up at him. "I'm going to get dressed. You get a shower and go to bed. I'll meet you there."
Keldin watched as he disappeared into the other room before stripping out of his clothes and turning on the shower. The water was warm but it didn't cool his chilled skin. Knowing that the Lowen brothers had began training Skander made him nervous but they wouldn't do anything that would harm him too bad. Besides Aiden was able to heal him with Paycen's help and could take care of him.
But that was beside the point. Skander couldn't get hurt if he was going to stay sane. That kid had become a distinct part of his life and it would kill him if he lost him. He couldn't lose another person period, but if he lost Skander the way he lost Eric it would literally send him over the edge.
Shaking his head of the thought, he finished his shower and toweled off. When he stepped out, he realized clothes had been laid out for him on the counter. After pulling his clothes on, he ventured into the bedroom. Skander was already snoring softly as he crawled into bed. Once situated, the other man rolled to him instinctively and draped a leg over his.
* * *
"Aiden," Clint said from the bed. "Come to bed." The queen shifted her position by the window but didn't otherwise move. Clint sighed and got up to move to his wife. "What is it?"
"I fear all I have done is sign that boy's death warrant," she replied as she chewed on her thumbnail.
Clint carefully removed her thumb from her mouth and looked out the window with her. "Why do you feel that way?"
"Max is very vengeful. She had Keldin and her husband wrapped around her finger. The only reason she hadn't bound Keldin to her is because Drew told her she'd kill him if she did that. But Keldin made a point to keep her in his life. I don't know how he's going to keep Skander safe."
"Didn't you send her to prison? She can't touch him there."
"You'd be surprised what one of us can do when he or she puts his or mind to it. It never ends well."
Clint suddenly realized what his wife was feeling. Being queen had its advantages but it also had its disadvantages as well. Aiden was feeling the disadvantage of her position. She had millions of people under her, and if they added the bondmates to them, that was twice as many. Then there were the children to be included. There was so much going against her it was amazing she kept a sane head as long as she had.
He pulled her into his arms. "Aiden, it wasn't your fault that Keldin lost Eric because Tallyn was a madman. Insanity follows the best of us but you have to work with it. Keldin's team is here to help with protection. That's all you can ask." He stepped back and rubbed her shoulders. "Come on. Let's go to bed. There's nothing you can do about it tonight."
Grudgingly Aiden allowed him to pull her back to bed but that didn't stop the thoughts that ran rampant through her brain. She was doing her best and she hoped everyone saw that. She wanted her friends and family happy, and she would do whatever she needed to make sure that was possible. But sometimes she wondered if that was enough.