Spoils

Erik leaned back on the vibranium throne and casually put a foot up, resting his arm on his knee.

Taking his seat on the throne of Wakanda as its rightful king was just as satisfying as he had always imagined. The walk up to the throne, the elders of each tribe individually approaching him and kneeling to swear loyalty to King N’Jadaka - God, the rush. And the way the loyalists to the old regime had to swallow their pride and bow before the alpha who had claimed their precious T’Challa was just the icing on the cake.

Everything had gone just as he had planned.

Everything, except for the small matter of his cousin.

His new mate.

Erik grimaced, trying to put that thought out of his mind. He motioned for W’Kabi to stay behind before dismissing the rest of the crowd who had gathered for the coronation and the swearing-in ceremony.

“Congratulations, Your Highness,” W’Kabi said to him, once they were alone.

Erik waved a hand at him. “Ah, Erik is fine,” he said casually. He got a kick out of his new title, but it was just good politics to let his allies treat him with more familiarity.

W’Kabi took a seat. “How’s T’Challa doing?” he asked.

Erik looked at him warily. From some of the comments that W'Kabi had made to him after he had first picked Erik up at the border, Erik had gathered that there was some sort of history - some sort of bad blood - between W'Kabi and T'Challa. He didn't know the full details of their relationship, but he got the impression that W'Kabi wasn’t on very good terms with T’Challa. Why else would he be so eager to help an outsider challenge for the throne?

“Why do you even care?” Erik asked, eyeing W’Kabi suspiciously. Was W’Kabi going to be a potential threat to his mate?

“We used to be close friends until quite recently,” W’Kabi admitted. “I hope this doesn’t come off the wrong way, but it was… uncomfortable… for me to watch what happened to T’Challa during the Challenge. It was very unexpected.”

Erik winced. “Don’t worry. He’s mostly fine. His body is still undergoing the change, so he’s resting. But emotionally, he might, uh, still be a little upset.” Erik’s mind flashed back to the uncomfortable memory of T’Challa shouting at him that he’d rather be dead. The abject shame and misery he had felt from T’Challa, radiating across their mental bond…

Erik gritted his teeth. “What happened between the two of you?” he asked W’Kabi, attempting to change the subject.

“T’Challa swore to me that he would kill Ulysses Klaue in revenge for the murder of my parents, or return him to Wakanda to face our justice. But in Busan, he deliberately chose not to kill Klaue when he had the chance. And then he was incompetent enough to let Klaue slip through his grasp.” W’Kabi’s facial expression was neutral, but the tone of his betrayed his deep bitterness.

Erik thought it over. W’Kabi’s desire for revenge was extremely relatable, but still...

“Are you still mad at T’Challa?” he asked. “Look, I killed Klaue right after that, so everything worked out in the end. I want your word that you’re not going to make things difficult over this. You know I’ll be forced to defend T’Challa if you try anything funny. And I really don’t want to have to defend him.”

W’Kabi shrugged. “Oh, I have no intention of doing so,” he assured Erik. “I don’t think our friendship will ever be what it once was, but given what has since transpired, I’m willing to let the matter rest.”

“Good,” Erik said, relaxing back against the throne.

“What about the plan to arm the outsiders?” W’Kabi asked. “I can inform the Mining Tribe to step up the production of vibranium weapons. It’ll take at least a month for sufficient weapons to be produced in the quantities that we need. We should start sooner rather than later.”

Erik sighed. “No. Put all of that on hold for now. I’m gonna have to make some modifications to it.”

W’Kabi seemed taken aback. “Why?”

Erik grimaced. “Because of T’Challa, of course. What do you think? He’s not gonna be happy when he hears about it. And this operation is gonna be too big to conceal.”

“Does that really matter? You’re his alpha now. His king,” W’Kabi pointed out. “He’s supposed to listen to you.”

Erik rolled his eyes. “You know T’Challa better than I do. You really think he’s the type to just shut up and do what I say?”

“Well, no,” W’Kabi conceded. “You’ve already beaten him once, though. If he tries to go against you -”

“I’m not going to be able to fight him,” Erik admitted. “It’s this damn bond. I can’t hurt him. I couldn’t even hurt his fucking feelings just now.”

“Mmmm,” W’Kabi said thoughtfully. “You know, there are ways to break the bond. The fastest way is to have another alpha supersede your claim -”

The growl that rose up through Erik’s chest was pure rage, pure possessiveness. ”No.”

“Well, no alpha would voluntarily agree to that,” W’Kabi admitted. “Or you could simply fail to renew the bond during T’Challa’s next heat. In that case, the mating bond will expire naturally and you’ll be free to do as you wish.”

“Really?” Erik was surprised. “I’ve never heard of that happening before.”

“That’s because the instinct to bond with your omega again during heat is practically irresistible. But it’s still possible, in theory, to avoid doing it. It’s one of the proven methods of breaking a bond safely without the death of either partner,” W’Kabi said.

Erik cheered up immediately. “So I just have to wait for T’Challa to go into heat and then leave him the fuck alone? Great! But you know, his next heat could be months away. Years away, even. Or it may never happen at all. Not all omegas go into heat. What if he’s one of those that don’t?”

W’Kabi shrugged.

Erik thought it over. “Is there some sort of medicine that I can make him take to trigger it early?”

W”Kabi shook his head. “Not that I know of. It can happen at any time, as long as the conditions are right. Plenty of food, water, resources… safety and security…”

Erik sighed. He had been hoping that there was some sort of Wakandan miracle drug that could solve all his problems. “Oh, what the hell. So I’m still stuck with T’Challa.”

“For the foreseeable future, yes,” W’Kabi confirmed. “As the king, there are steps that you will need to take to formalize your bond with him. The wedding -”

“Wedding? I need to marry T’Challa?”

W’Kabi blinked. “Of course. He’s your bond mate. It’s expected.”

Erik gritted his teeth. “What if I don’t want to do it?”

“It’s not advisable,” W’Kabi said, frowning. “There are already many people who view you as an outsider, and doing this will show a lack of respect for Wakanda’s traditions. People wouldn’t respect an alpha who doesn’t take responsibility for his mate. It will reflect badly on you, and also on T’Challa. Forming a bond prior to marriage is already quite unusual. I thought this was also the case in America?”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Erik said morosely.

W’Kabi continued, “You’ll also run into difficulties proving the legitimacy of your children’s claim to the throne -”

“Children? I’m not going to sleep with him again!” Erik said, disgusted. “We’re not going to have any children!”

W’Kabi looked politely sceptical. It was infuriating.

“Oh, what the hell,” Erik sighed. “This is just for appearance, right? Just a formality? I don’t have to -” he winced, “consummate the marriage?”

“It’s expected that you will do so. But to be honest, nobody is going to check. They’ll take your word for it.”

“Oh, thank fuck. And how easy is it to get a divorce here?”

W’Kabi looked disapproving. “That’s not advisable. Doing so would reflect badly on you -”

“Okay, okay, fine, I got it,” Erik said hastily. “We’ll get married, and I’ll act happy about it. Fuck.”