The Sun God Diaries

Malachi’s POV

“This is ridiculous,” I muttered bitterly as I sat in the backseat of Damien’s BMW as the Alpha werewolf was driving while Ivan took shotgun and Nathaniel and Ian sat at either side of me. “Tell me why do we need to go to this session again.”

“Come on, babe,” Ian wheedled. “Your fathers and brothers all suggested this bonding lesson at South Eastwick High because it’s not only mandatory for teen Alphas who found their mates but it’s also to make sure that we keep our mating bonds stronger and more powerful. Even more so, now that we- my friends, the Sons of Enya, and the final guy that you’ll meet- is now going to be married to royalty.”

“Yeah,” Ivan added. “And you already know that Francisco and Gavin would not let you have any say since this option totally beats you not leaving the palace and doing heavy combat training with Mr. Walker and Mr. Draper- shifting lessons included.”

Damn it all, they had a fucking point. Everyone knew that I hated practicing my shifting speeds so I can do it as easily and swiftly as my brothers. I swear to y’all that each lesson is worse than the last one and I’m usually pooped out by the end of the day, which means letting anyone near my stash.

“Fine, I grumbled, already noticing that we were already at the school parking lot before Damien parked the car near the entryway. “But you guys owe me big-time.”

My four mates whooped with joy as we all jostled out of the car. And judging from the sound of protesting Omegas and humans, I wasn’t the only one that was looking forward to this. Angels were carrying demons over their shoulders. Alpha wolves were toting their humans and Omegas that were kicking in screaming. Vampires were dragging their werecat shifters by their ears. And hellhounds were being carted by the shifters’ mouths ever so gently by their clothes.

I sighed, shifting into Haman and deciding to keep my royal dignity intact as I was led inside the gymnasium with the promise of Tammany’s for lunch by Ivan and the faint smell of a chocolate cupcake that was held by Nathaniel (“You can eat it after classes and you don’t complain,” that damned angel said sternly when I tried to vainly snatch it from his hands). The four Alphas led me inside to the large gym where various exercise mats were all over the hardwood floor. We all claimed a spot near the stage that had a podium.

“This better be worth it,” I said to a grinning Nathaniel who still kept the fudgy goodness from me.

“It will,” he replied. “And as long as you cooperate, you’ll have your sweetness in your mouth.”

“It’ll be fun,” Ivan wheedled as he sat behind me and started to rub my shoulders. “And it does beat having to sleep all day after breaking bones while shifting.”

Damn them all for knowing my weakness.

As soon as the last of the Alphas and their mates entered, the gym doors slammed shut that made my nerves jump while the rest of the protesters began to whine and freak out. A svelte brunette and a large Black guy in his thirties came from the side. I knew that they had to be mates since the dude was holding her hand as if he didn’t want to let her go.

“All right, all right,” the brunette said happily. “My name’s Claudia Verdant, Alpha vampire. And this is my Omega werewolf Drake. And we’re so glad to see you guys here today.”

“Looks like we got ourselves a good batch of newcomers, babe,” Drake (who was surprisingly athletic for an Omega wolf) commented, “and we got ourselves a royal visit by Malachi DuBauer and four of his mates.”

I felt all eyes train on me as I timidly waved hello. “Hi,” I replied.

“Your Grace, it’s an honor for you and your mates to come for your lessons in bonding and mating,” Claudia chirped. “I promise you that you won’t regret it.”

I’ll bet. I only nodded and took a deep breath as the lesson began.

Lesson 1: Face our mates and give five positive attributes and five negatives.

“My friends and I think you’re stunning, dedicated, hard-working, well-rounded, and grounded in your morals,” Ivan commented as he and I faced each other while the others watched on. “You could be abrasive, loud, and lost in your work; but I can’t think of anymore because my demon wants to kiss you to forget your woes, to tickle you until you put away your schooling for the day, and I want to make sure that you show a sweeter side.”

Damn, Haman said in my head. Our mate’s really knowing our weaknesses and wants to make us happy.

Oh, brother. It was my turn. “First off, you can be needy, domineering, and...UGH! I can’t think of any because you and the others are loyal, romantic, protective, hard-working, and sweet,” I groaned. “I want y’all to make my other halves happy and to never leave my side. I want to have the same romance as my parents and brothers with their mates have. I want to be the best mate I can be when I’m not being a ruler.”

Before I knew it, I was wrapped in a giant hug with Ivan, him nearly crushing me with his body twice my size. “Thank you, my love,” he cooed in my ear. “I love you as well.”

I saw that the Alphas were clapping joyfully while their mates were giving me sympathetic (if not envious) looks. I felt like I wanted to disappear.

Lesson two: Have five minutes of intimate contact (NO SEX OR ANYTHING TOO EXPLICIT!)

I sighed dreamily, lost in my Omega subspace while letting Ian and Damien give me a small massage. “Does that feel good, mate?” teased the Alpha werewolf as he worked on my shoulders and Ian did my feet. “This is the beginning of what can be our honeymoon.”

“I personally want to make you moan underneath me,” Ian growled seductively as he played with my toes. “I bet I can make you be full of our children in your womb and come inside you so much that you won’t be able to get out of bed.”

I uttered a small whimper. Ay, Dios Mio, whimpered Dominique. Master is totally making us swoon.

I swear to y’all that I bet my brothers were hiding around and filming this. And if they were, hell was going to pay.

Lesson three: The art of trust.

Readers, I swear to you that being blindfolded while trying not to fall on the ground is no fun.

And it’s even worse when your angelic mate (Nathaniel) can’t catch me fast enough as we were participating in a three-legged race. I had to be the one without sight while he took the lead- all while we both had to carry an egg that rested on a spoon, no less. But in the end, Nathaniel and I took third place yet were able to keep the fragile item unscathed. Others weren’t as lucky and they had to start over.

****************

Two hours later, the lessons were finally done and I was more than happy, but still without the cupcake since I had to wait until after we ate at Denny’s. “You gotta admit the lessons were fun,” Nathaniel admitted as we all headed outside after making new friends and cemented future plans for pack/coven visits.

“True,” I commented, sighing heavily. “And I guess you guys have a point when you said that this was all for my benefit.”

“Yes,” Damien cheered, pumping his fist. “I knew you’d come around, babe. We love you so much.”

I felt my face heat up, feeling grateful for the werewolf to say those magic words that made my heart skip. “I love you, too,” I replied.

No sooner than we spotted the waiting BMW sedan, I heard a gun being cocked, my mates coming to my side as Nathaniel and Ivan revealed their wings while Damien let his eyes and fangs show and Ian had his trident at his side. “Where are you?” Damien growled, his wolf coming to the surface as other Alphas were getting into battle mode. “Show yourself!”

A lone female emerged from an invisibility field, cursing to herself. “My name is Raisha Khan, lone huntress,” she said, her Arabic accent laced with fear. “I was hired by Alyssa to take out His Grace, but I can’t do it. Not when I know that his aura of the Sun God Wolf is powerful.”

The guys hissed as I stepped forward. “Cunningham sent you?” I asked, shifting into Salgiel. “Why?”

Raisha sighed heavily, her eyes full of regret. “She wants you to die,” she admitted, “but I was told that you were an ordinary Omega, not who you really are.”

“Drop your weapons,” Ian hissed.

She did so quickly without delay. “For the record, I wasn’t expecting this,” she commented. “And for what it’s worth, I’m only sorry that I met her and the Howell brothers. One of them looked repentant as if he wants nothing to do with his brother and Cunningham’s schemes.”

“She’s telling the truth,” Salgiel told me in my head. “Be careful, though, Malachi.”

“Are you willing to talk to my parents and ask for clemency?” I asked. “Maybe you can have a second chance.”

She nodded. “Lead the way, Your Majesty,” she replied.

Damien shifted into his black wolf, Raisha climbing onto his back while we headed into his car with Ian taking the wheel. Boy, this is a lot of mess!

****************

Two hours of listening to Khan’s confession and her being given a job as a budding guard later, I was in one of the small parlors reading a book and listening to Alicia Keys on my iPhone when I saw Mrs. Yanez come in with a cup of tea. “You okay?” she asked me as I took out my earbuds and paused my music.

I sighed. “Honestly, Mama Yesenia? I think that there’s a lot of drama going on and things have officially gotten too real for my blood,” I confessed. “And you’d think that things might be easier for me other than the Cunningham/Howell stalkers.”

“Nothing ever comes easy, even if you are royalty,” she replied, motioning for me to drink my cup of tea. “All you can do for the moment is prepare yourself for the inevitable.”

“True,” I commented just as there was a knock on the door. “Entrez, si Vous plait.”

The door swung open to reveal an excited Mariah as Destiny and Tomeka followed suit. “Malachi,” she said giddily. “You won’t believe who’s here! They want to meet you and they have sworn to protect you.”

“Who?” I asked, turning to Mrs. Yanez who looked as confused as I was.

The ladies moved to the side to reveal a Glamazon of a beauty who was dressed as if she was heading to Fashion Week in LA: caramel-colored skin, bright brown eyes, and a platinum-blond wig that matched her personality.

I recognized her at once. “Renatha Sweetz?!” I exclaimed. “What are you doing here?!”

“Ooh, Your Grace,” she drawled excitedly as she curtseyed. “As the leader of the Queens of the Supernatural, I knew that you needed to find a new network of allies to help you work your grace. And once I got word about what had happened at that school, I knew that my girlz and I needed to see you at once.”

The drag queen clapped her hands twice and I was greeted by four other queens that were dressed in various and opulent (if not wacky) outfits. I was introduced to Amerie Queene (a sweet and plump comedy queen and Beta vampire), Firella Divine (a loud and snarky Latina hellhound), Chai Shang-Hi (a glamorous and dainty Asian beauty who was an Alpha merman by day), and Divinity Lightz (a tall and dreamy Beta demon that spooked the daylights out of Abaddon earlier). And they had offered various gifts that ranged from a simple diamond sword pendant to a waiting Aston Martin Vanquisher that was in the garage.

“Child, we swear our allegiance to keep you safe,” Firella said, her Puerto Rican accent thick. “And I take it that you’re taking lessons for combat?”

I nodded.

“Good. Keep at that,” replied Divinity. “You look cute, by the way.

“Thank you,” I preened. “Care for a snack? I got a secret stash full of goodies that I share with the people I can trust.”

The ladies squealed, giving me the all-clear to head to my bedroom and make a beeline to my secret hoard...

Where I would find Gavin, Phillippe, Claude, Quentin, and the Demon Twins vainly trying to hide the evidence of my Swiss Rolls gone. That was fine by me. They can expect to see their rooms covered in soap bubbles and their floors covered in mouse traps.

Revenge is sweet.