Trapped in the Beastworld Breeder System (BL)-Chapter 42: A sex mark

Aries’s breath was suddenly caught in his throat as he was taken completely off guard by the prince’s sudden presence.

His lungs seized as he found himself cornered against the cold stone wall, his back pressing into it as if it could swallow him whole. His hands remained stiff at his sides, fingers curling slightly as he struggled to breathe, drawing in air that felt uncomfortable and shallow, then finding it strangely hard to breathe out.

And why wouldn’t it be difficult? Kenzie was standing far too close.

So close, in fact, that their lips could have brushed if either of them leaned forward even a fraction of an inch.

But seriously, this was no place for romance. Not here. Not when there was a very real possibility of a dead body rotting only a few dungeon rooms away. Whatever was happening between them, it certainly wasn’t tender. It was tense, and dangerous.

Aries finally forced himself to speak.

"I didn’t think you’d be stupid enough to come down here with the king’s people roaming around," he said, his voice steady despite the way his chest felt tight. "Still, I want to believe you’re here to free me from this gods-forsaken place."

Kenzie stepped away at last, breaking the oppressive proximity, and let out a sharp, cracking laugh that echoed faintly against the dungeon walls.

"Well," Kenzie replied casually, "you being freed from this gods-forsaken place as you so kindly put it depends entirely on you."

Aries’s brows arched slightly at those words.

He had no idea what Kenzie was driving at. Their discussion had been simple enough: Aries would entice Lucien into trouble, Lucien would be punished, and then they would be done. That was all. Yet even as he reminded himself of that agreement, Aries knew better than to trust someone capable of plotting so calmly against his own brother—even if that brother wasn’t born of the same mother.

"And how exactly does it depend on me?" Aries asked.

Kenzie leaned back against the dungeon wall, resting his shoulders against the cold stone as he studied Aries in silence. His gaze lingered, slow and deliberate, taking in the rough, worn clothes Aries wore, the tiger ears and tail that looked far too real to be fake, the way his breath hitched despite his attempt to appear calm, and even his bald head, which only made his sharp features stand out more.

Then Kenzie spoke.

"The stakes have changed," he said evenly. "I want you to kill Lucien."

"What?!" Aries exclaimed, staring at him in disbelief. "I underestimated you."

He shook his head slowly, his tone settling back into something deceptively normal.

"And why aren’t you content with him simply being exiled? Why change it now to wanting him dead?"

"I never only wanted him exiled," Kenzie replied. "I just thought I’d be fine with that outcome. Turns out I was wrong. He keeps getting increasingly annoying to me."

"Hm..." Aries hummed, not adding much else. It wasn’t that he had nothing to say, he simply found himself strangely entertained. Watching real-life royal family drama unfold in the Beastworld reminded him too much of the historical period dramas he used to watch.

"I went to see him a few days ago," Kenzie continued, "and I learned a different version of events from him."

"Huh?"

That immediately caught Aries’s attention.

Now he was genuinely interested. What exactly had Lucien spilled?

Kenzie smirked when he noticed the change in Aries’s expression. He pushed himself off the wall and walked closer again. Instinctively, Aries backed away.

"I always had a feeling you two weren’t just normal enemies," Kenzie said. "But then I realized something else. You’re sly."

Aries stiffened.

"So," Kenzie went on, "my brother is actually your mate, and you both knew it."

"Is that why you want me to kill him?" Aries asked carefully. "Because we’re mates?"

"No." Kenzie shook his head.

That answer only made Aries more curious. What exactly was the real deal here?

"Well," Kenzie said, "I heard it from him. He told me you’re his mate, and that you’d never hurt him. I was telling him his downfall was near, but he didn’t believe me."

Kenzie’s lips curved slightly.

"So I told him a bitter lie."

"What lie?" Aries asked.

"I said you and I were in cohorts," Kenzie replied smoothly. "That you’re my hook boy."

"Hook boy?" Aries echoed, confusion evident on his face. "And what exactly does that mean?"

Kenzie burst out laughing at the question. When he finally stopped, he tilted his head slightly.

"Would it sound better if I said bed boy?"

Aries, still choosing ignorance, frowned. "Like... I make your bed?"

Kenzie scoffed. "No. Like you lay my groin, dumb head. Isn’t it obvious? Or are you deliberately being ignorant? Of course it means we’re sex partners. I use you to satisfy my needs."

"What the actual fuck?" Aries snapped. "Why would you even think of saying something like that?"

"Because it was meant to infuriate Lucien."

"But it didn’t?" Aries asked.

"Oh, it did," Kenzie said. "He was furious. He nearly pierced me with his sword—one that materialized out of nowhere. If I hadn’t stepped back in time, I’d be dead. But do you know why he was truly infuriated?"

"Why?" Aries asked.

Kenzie suddenly stepped forward, closing the distance in a single stride and pinning Aries against the wall once more. Aries’s heart jumped violently in his chest.

Kenzie’s breath brushed against his neck as he leaned in, his nose trailing slowly along the sensitive skin there.

"Lucien was infuriated," Kenzie murmured, "because I dared to think of you that way."

’Wait... what is seriously happening?’

Aries felt completely disoriented, his thoughts tangling over one another as panic crept in. Just moments ago, Kenzie had been speaking coldly, asking him to kill Lucien without hesitation and now, in the very next second, he was far too close.

It didn’t make sense. None of it did.

Kenzie’s hands slid down to Aries’s thighs, fingers curling as he attempted to grip the fabric of the shorts Aries was wearing, clearly intending to pull them down. The suddenness of the act sent a sharp jolt of alarm through Aries’s body. Instinct took over.

Before anything more could happen, Aries summoned what little strength he had left and shoved Kenzie away with both hands, forcing distance between them.

"What the fuck has come over you?" Aries snapped.

"I get that you hate your half-brother so much, but what do I have to do with this that you’d go as far as foundling me?"

"I mean, before you even rape me, say why? Why are you doing this?"

"Are you sure this isn’t more than just a political fight? Is there something more behind it?"

Areis burst out shouting at Kenzie, and it seemed to work, because Kenzie suddenly backed up into a corner.

He sighed heavily and said, "Sorry about that. I was carried away by revenge. The thought of Lucien finding happiness and getting a mate is just so annoying that I want to destroy it."

"You are his mate, so that’s why I’d do that. Do you even get that?"

"Yes, I do," Areis replied.

"But wait!" Areis shouted again as Kenzie was about to move toward him.

’Gosh... I never expected that Kenzie was actually this crazy. He jumped straight to the idea that doing this to me was the right thing to do, and now this... this is starting to look unhinged. Maybe if I talk my way into his head, he won’t do it, and then I won’t need to seek the system’s help or use my CE, because that wouldn’t help either.’

Aries stared calmly at Kenzie, who stood there with no emotion in his eyes.

Then he smiled awkwardly, scratched the back of his neck, and said, "Do you know that doing this will make it impossible for me to appear at the trial? And if I don’t appear, Lucien won’t be tried."

"And I can just explain to the king that the prison guards were incompetent," Kenzie replied. "That one of them assaulted you, and I had him slain. Then you’d still be present for the trial the next day."

’Okay... that’s logical. It could work that way, but...’

"Still," Aries continued, "I don’t think it’s right. It’ll only make you feel worse thinking about being inside the body of someone you truly hate. Besides, I’ll kill Lucien like you said. That’ll hurt him far more, especially if he doesn’t die immediately and realizes that his mate seeks his death."

"It’ll confirm everything you told him, the hatred, the sorrow, the pain of finding his mate only to realize he never truly had him. Do you get it?"

Aries’s words seemed to work this time, as Kenzie appeared to find reason in them. He realized that what Areis said could work, but instead of backing away, he stepped closer.

It shocked Aries.

While Aries was still surprised, Kenzie leaned in and not down on his neck. Pain exploded through Aries head.

"What the fuck!" Aries screamed.

Kenzie had just done something beastmen called a sex mark. To Aries, it was called a hickey.