Tarble was walking through the library to find a couple of new books to read in his spare time when he heard a snarl and a loud thump behind one of the shelves. The noise startled the young prince but the snarl was familiar. He moved to peer around the shelf to see Kome holding his head while glaring at a book on the floor.

"Kome?" His soft call made the older boy's head jerk up. "Is everything alright?"

He bit his lower lip and looked to be about to deny what was bothering him, but Tarble just gave him a look that had the young alpha second guessing his response.

"…n-no." He shot the book another glare. "…not fine."

The beta prince walked over and gave Kome an one arm hug around his shoulders. It was obvious that he was troubled by something with how miserable he looked.

"Do you want to talk about it, or try and set that book on fire with your eyes?" His words made Kome look up in confusion.

"Can set books on fire with eyes?" His bemused expression had Tarble letting out a small giggle as he shook his head. He kept forgetting that Kome and his family had a hard time understanding some expressions.

"Never mind, Kome." The prince sat down beside the older cub at the table he was at. "Tell me what happened. You were excited about your lessons earlier. Did your instructor assign a hard book?"

His question made Kome's face twist into a sneer.

"He…said I was not smart…called me slow. I am not st-stupid." The young prince jerked back in shock at that.

"No, you're not stupid. Why would he say that?"

"Don't know." He hissed upset. "He left. I tried to read that…" The alpha pointed to the book on the floor before going back to glaring at the table.

Tarble hummed thoughtfully before going to pick up the thick book off the floor before opening it to see just what he tried to read. His eyebrows almost touched his hairline as he glanced over the text.

"Kome, this is something that even my father would have trouble understanding. Why would you pick this?" Kome blinked in surprise before looking down in embarrassment.

"Oh…" understanding dawned on Tarble from the simple response.

"You can't read can you?" Tarble asked hesitantly. Kome growled and looked away stubbornly. "It's ok. Vegeta told me a little. He said you and your family were in a very bad place and you weren't treated well or taught things. It's not your fault you can't read if no one showed you how."

"Can read...a little." Kome grumbled with his cheeks red with shame. "Tama showed me words...important words to know. Names, danger, airlock, lab, saiyan..." he rattled off rapidly as frustrated tears appeared. "I'm not...s-stupid. Tama said so. Said I was smart. He was so proud. I'm not stupid."

"Of course you're not." Tarble said rubbing his friend's back while he nervously rubbed his own chest. At least he hoped Kome was his friend. He was the first person besides his big brother the young alpha spoke to. Tarble really wanted Kome to be his friend.

The alpha leaned into the touch with a sigh, and the prince felt a small smile grow on his face. He took in a deep breath and almost purred when he caught the beta's scent. He couldn't tell just what it smelled like, but it calmed him down.

"How about we start with something easier? I'll help you." Tarble smiled at Kome as he got up to look along another shelf.

"You will help me?" He looked slightly surprised and blinked when he saw that sweet smile on the younger cub.

"Of course. Friends help friends." Tarble felt his heart rate increase as he watched the older one look thoughtful.

"Friends…." Kome tested the word a few times. He looked up with a confused expression. "What is a friend?"

The prince froze in the middle of pulling a book with a colorful spine out from the shelf before slowly turning to look at Kome in disbelief. When he saw the genuine confusion on Kome's face, the beta felt like hugging him and never letting go.

"Tarble?" The sound of his name pulled him back to the present, and he came back over to sit beside the young alpha once more.

"It's a little hard to explain, but I'll try." Kome nodded and kept his attention fully on Tarble. "A friend is someone that you like and like spend time with that's not family. You can have fun with them, they can help you when you're having trouble with things, and you just enjoy being around them."

Kome tilted his head as he thought about what Tarble said, and the prince wanted to hold his chest as he waited for the older boy to say something.

"I…don't know what friend means exactly, but I do like you. I have fun with you, and I like to be with you." Kome smiled brightly at the beta, making Tarble's cheeks flush pink.

"Sounds like you think of me as a friend." He smiled back at the alpha. "I'm sure you'll understand better as time passes."

"Hmm…" Kome hummed as he looked back down at the table. "Hope so."

"Now, how about we start with this?" Tarble held out a book that had a somewhat cartoonish drawing of a dragon and a young boy on the cover. "Nii-saa taught me how to read this book when I was younger. I know it's a book for children, but this will help me see where your reading level is."

"Go-Gotu Kuta and the Dragon?" The older boy stumbled over his words as he read the title of the book.

"Yep!" Tarble chirped as his tail wagged slightly. "It's about a boy that goes on an adventure to find these seven magic talismans that summons a dragon when they are gathered together. It was my favorite story as a child. I hope you like it."

Kome looked at the young prince before a soft smile spread on his face. His chest felt warm at the happy expression on Tarble's face, and it made him want to purr.

"If you like it, I think I will like it." His attention returned to the book causing the small alpha to miss seeing the flush on Tarble's face. He opened the book to the first page and started to read out loud while the young beta paid attention to how Kome said the words.

+++break+++

Raditz looked down at the ball his little brother had curled up in with a small smile before it faded.

He couldn't believe that Kakarot had been alive this whole time and was now the parent of two cubs with two more on the way. Kakarot truly had the luck of the changing one on his side. He survived 15 years in that hell hole was wasn't completely insane or crippled. And of all the places they took Vegeta, it was right to his little brother.

He shoved all those thoughts in the back of his mind. The guards in the living room wouldn't wait for him to reminisce and work out how he felt about things. As it was he was fortunate they were letting him get Kakarot without barging in themselves to drag him out. Thank Tarro for small mercies.

"Kakarot, I need you to wake up for me." Raditz said softly while shaking his brother's shoulder. Kakarot hadn't been sleeping well according to Vegeta, having nightmares. He really didn't want to wake his little brother in light of that and the cubs but his hands were tied. Sleepy dark eyes looked up at him then.

"Radi?" The bigger male smiled a bit at the childish nickname. Kakarot used to call him that as a small cub.

"It's me Kaka. I need you to get up and come with me alright?" He said gently. "We have to go somewhere."

"Go?" Kakarot whimpered. He curled smaller on the bed obviously not ok with going anywhere without Vegeta or their father. It made the alpha's heart twist painfully.

"I know. We have to go see Teti and Vegeta. Yasi is there too ok?"

"Geta? Teti? Tama?" The alpha nodded.

"That's right. They're all there." He watched his little brother tiredly get up while rubbing his eyes. Kakarot followed him right up until he saw the four guards standing in the living room. Raditz heard the soft whine from his brother and pulled him close so he wouldn't bolt.

"It's ok. They're going to take us to see father and Vegeta."

One of the men rapidly inhaled when the beta got closer, but a warning look from Raditz stopped him from saying anything. All four men could clearly see the three month pregnant belly Kakarot had, and they shifted slightly in unease. They hadn't been told to expect a pregnant beta, much less one that looked to have been through hell and back.

"Hello, Kakarot." One of the guards spoke up gently. He moved slowly and kept his hands in view so that he would not startle the small submissive. "My name is Thyn. We hate to bother you, but we were asked to bring you to see your father. Can you and your brother come with us?"

Kakarot looked up at Raditz who was giving him and encouraging smile before hesitantly nodding. His tail bushed up slightly from where it was wound around his leg, and he held on tightly to his brother's arm. Taking a cue from Raditz the guards all silently agreed to be exceedingly patient with the very skittish, very small, pregnant beta. It was clear something was wrong with him and none of them wanted to hurt him.

"Ok, let's go."

+++break+++

"Absolutely not!" Bardock snarled banging his fists on the table while rising to his feet.

"Just because it's your son does not mean we can ignore protocol." Tonopo the second class general said. "It doesn't matter as we've already sent guards to collect him."

"What about the fact he's living with my family and neither my tatama or father deemed it time for this." Vegeta growled lowly. "He's not ready questioning and you had no right to over rule Bardock and send your guard to drag him out of our home."

"It has been a month since he returned and he has yet to even be seen by anyone. He should have been debriefed weeks ago. We are following standard protocol."

"He's not ready!" Bardock snarled. "Kakarot suffered for years under Frieza's control. He was treated like an animal, no worse than an animal. Hell, he was almost so far gone he didn't recognize some of my team who was on the retrieval mission, people he's known since birth. You are risking his recovery with this nonsense. Vegeta gave a full report of what the facility was for."

"Bardock, you are too close to this situation to be objective. Kakarot has to be questioned." Tonopo said.

"He's under my command! Regardless of my relationship with him, Kakarot is a third class soldier and that means it is my job and at my discretion as to if and when he will be questioned. The only ones with the power to over rule me are sitting at the head of this table." Bardock snapped as his tail lashed the air. "And last I checked that wasn't you."

Before Tonopo could say anything else, the door to the council chambers opened, and palace guard with waist length hair pulled back in a horse tail came inside.

"My lords, I am Lieutenant Thyn." He said as he bowed to the room. "I have brought Kakarot and Raditz as requested."

He glanced over his shoulder and felt a twinge of guilt when he saw the submissive trying to hide under Raditz's large mane. He was basically about to throw a pregnant beta to the saber wolves, and there was nothing he nor his men could do to stop it.

"Well, bring them in, lieutenant!" The second class general snapped making Thyn scowl at the man before he motioned at the door.

Raditz was seen coming in first before Kakarot made an appearance causing the entire room to gasp at the sight of his pregnant belly. He gripped his older brother tightly and looked around the room with anxious eyes. He could see Vegeta and Yasi looking calm from where they were sitting, but Bardock was standing with an angry expression on his face. Just seeing his Teti looking like that made Kakarot want to bolt from the room. He wanted to go back to the house and watch Atarau play with Seba and Tasik.

The skittish beta flinched with a whimper when the door closed, and he could see the four men that had brought him there coming to stand behind him and Raditz. Taking another look around the room, Kakarot could see that he was surrounded with no way out of there. He whimpered the uproar that filled the room feeling his heart speed up.

"He's pregnant! You never said he was pregnant Bardock!" another of the commanders shouted.

"You didn't ask and it was none of your business. Obviously that is partly why I've held of debriefing him. His health is delicate right now and upsetting him could cause a miscarriage."

"Tonopo….maybe Bardock is right…" The council member to the alpha's right said giving the terrified beta a look. "Beta pregnancies are delicate even if they have excellent health."

"Rega, we have assembled and called him here to answer questions. He should be capable of doing so."

"I'm not comfortable stressing a pregnant beta." Broly said from his place.

"Lord Broly, you agreed it was time to question him." Tonopo pointed out before sighing. "Very well we will attempt the questioning and stop if things are too much for him. Will that satisfy the council?" Bardock growled but sat down despite his fuming when the members he nearly swayed to his side were convinced to go through with this.

"Third Class Soldier Kakarot." Tonopo said calmly addressing Kakarot. "Do you know why you are here?" Raditz gently nudged his little brother to get his attention when he seemed to be spacing out. Glancing up the little beta shook his head. He didn't understand why he was here; he didn't want to be here with everyone watching him.

"You are here to explain what happened on your last assignment. How did you receive a solo assignment and how were you captured?" He asked with a calm even voice. Kakarot looked at his feet while his tail curled tightly around his waist. Mission…he had a mission….sweat broke out on his back and forehead as fear bubbled within him. He didn't remember. He couldn't remember any of what they were asking. Toa was growling in the back of his mind trying to warn him. Those were bad memories.

Vegeta's grip on the arm of his chair tightened to the point his knuckles were white and his jaw ached from where he clenched it in frustration. He wanted nothing more than to call this whole thing off, but doing so would expose Kakarot as his mate. Right now it was safer if Kakarot was an unknown. He couldn't protect himself and in his current state it would be all too easy for someone to hurt or even kill him if they got by any of the family. It was only Yasi's hand on his arm that quieted the growing growl in his throat.

'As royalty, sometimes a mask is necessary. You can not always fly into a rage and demand your way. You must control yourself and keep your emotions and thoughts to yourself during meetings. There will come times where others have to fight your battles for you and you can not make known your support or that the battle being fought is yours at all. As important as honesty is, sometimes misdirection is more important in politics.'

His tama was right as painful as it was. They agreed Bardock would be the one to argue the majority of the case for stopping Kakarot's interrogation. If any of the royals protested or forced the issue to be dropped it would only draw more attention to Kakarot and put him in more danger. In the beta's current condition a miscarriage with the twins could kill him. Chorri had practically put Kakarot on bed rest just to keep the beta from using more energy than his body had to give. Seeing how terrified his mate was though was testing his patience however. He wanted nothing more than to take the little beta back to the house and curl protectively around him. They weren't expecting Kakarot to have been summoned without discussion however and this was not how any of them expected this to go.

Tonopo frowned along with a few other members when Kakarot said nothing while looking at the floor.

"Third Class Kakarot." He addressed more firmly. "The council has asked you a question." Bardock growled and it was all Raditz could do to keep his temper when he heard the soft whine from his brother. The guards behind them tensed as they heard it as well.

"With all due respect sir-"

"You have not been addressed." Tonopo snapped at Raditz. "You know protocol. Speak out again and you will be escorted out of the chambers." Raditz wanted to be offended and enraged but the general was correct. They didn't have to allow him to be here with his brother.

"Third Class Kakarot!" The harsh call of his name made the small saiyan flinch again and his heart start pounding in his chest. "I will ask you one last time. Report from your last mission."

The beta started to tremble where he was standing and his breathing started to become faster and shallower. He tried to shrink back closer to his brother to hide from all the eyes that were staring coldly at him before moving his hands to grasp at his neck only to feel the metal from the collar still around his throat

Alarms blared as Kakarot ran down the hall. His left arm was dripping blood from the IV he ripped out of it when escaping the medical ward.

Several guards came from the direction he was heading in with their blasters aimed right at him, but the beta didn't slow down at all. He gritted his teeth and leapt on top of the first person he could reach. His knee caught the dog like man's chin, breaking his neck, and when the others tried to restrain the saiyan, he closed lined the closet two. They were knocked into the rest of the group.

As soon as his feet touched the floor once more, Kakarot bolted around the corner ignoring the shouts behind him. It had taken a long time to build the ki he now had after running through the mazes occasionally and provoking the random guards to fight with him. It wouldn't help him against Zarbon or any of the other stronger soldiers around the base, but for the guards assigned to him and in the labs, it was enough.

The submissive's bare feet skidded on the metal flooring as he turned another corner, and his eyes lit up once he saw the lift. If he could just make it there, he could get to the launch bay and steal a pod.

"Shit!" His hand covered his right shoulder as a sharp pain came from there. He pulled out the dart and dramatically increased his ki to burn the drug out of his body. Kakarot cursed when he felt a rush of dizziness and ran for the lift.

He was almost there when something hit him across the chest and sent the beta sprawling back on the floor. Kakarot let out a wheezing gasp as he tried to sit up, but the force of the blow was similar to running into a steel bar.

A thick tail slammed down on his chest again, and Kakarot felt something in his chest crack. The tail moved around his neck and constricted slightly to make it harder to breathe.

"Well, well, monkey." Kakarot's eyes widened slightly as he tried to pull the tail off from around his neck. "I'm almost impressed. If you had been just a bit faster, you might have escaped."

Frieza smiled coldly down at the pinned saiyan. The frost demon knew that this saiyan had a lot of fight left in him, and was mildly amused that he had waited as long as he did before managing to either overpower or outsmart the guards in the lab.

"Lord Frieza!"

"Look, Sorbet." The lizard gestured down to the beta. "I seem to have found your runaway lab rat. You really should be more careful about locking your subjects up."

"Yes, my lord." He nervously said. "The saiyan's power increase was greater then predicted, so we've created a collar that should keep his ki inaccessible once we get it on him."

Kakarot pulled harder on the tail as soon as he heard the scientist's voice. He was so close, if he could just get free…

The idea came to him so suddenly that Kakarot didn't even think to consider the consequences. He was desperate to escape.

Using all the strength in his arms, Kakarot pulled the tail away from his neck just far enough to bite down as hard as he could on the scaly skin. He briefly tasted bitter blood before he was flung head first into the wall.

Hissing in pain the beta struggled to his knees as his vision swam. He needed to move, he needed to get up and run! What felt like a steel rod slammed down across his back, beating him into the floor hard enough to cave in the floor under him drawing a weak scream of pain from the teen. He knew several ribs were broken as he tried to breathe past the pain.

"You filthy little bitch." Frieza hissed as his hand fisted in Kakarot's hair. Before the beta could even growl at the demon his head was slammed into the metal floor before Frieza hoisted him into the air. It felt like his scalp was being ripped off. Several lightning fast blows pounded into his gut making blood erupt from his mouth. Kakarot was dropped then and curled around his stomach as he spat blood and wheezed. He glared up at Frieza's livid form. He knew the demon wasn't even close to done punishing him but seeing the bloody crescent on his tail was worth it.

The beta was pulled to his knees and his arms cuffed behind him while two guards held him down. Despite the pain it was causing him he struggled, twisting to get loose as Sorbet approached him with a silver collar in his hands. As the cold metal closed almost fitted to his skin, he screamed forcing his energy out desperate to overload it and try escaping. If he lost his ki he was done for. To the beta, the click as it sealed shut was near deafening, like a death knell. His energy started slipping away like water through his hands. Struggling wildly and in pain as he fought the collar he was held down by the iron like grip of the guards, helpless.

Raditz was the first to realize something was wrong with his little brother. The little beta whimpered softly and was breathing faster as his hand tightened on the metal of his collar.

"Kakarot?" He asked softly. The smell of terror slammed into him seconds later as his father, Vegeta and Yasi immediately got to their feet. Gently the alpha grasped Kakarot's wrist to pull his hand away before he hurt himself and all hell broke loose. Kakarot screamed with his eyes clenched and jerked away from his brother and just kept screaming as wisps of energy started bleeding off the upset beta. He stumbled back into Thyn and swung blindly at the alpha who tried to steady him. Kakarot was hyperventilating then as he scrambled away from everyone still tugging at the metal on his neck.

"Kakarot, its ok." Raditz tried to calm his brother down while Thyn reached for the beta's wrist.

"Stop!" Kakarot shouted shaking his head. "No, no, no, NO!" His energy burst out burning Thyn and pushed him back as soon as he touched the beta.

"He's having a flashback." Bardock said worried.

"We need to get him sedated and out of here!" A voice shouted, and the noise made Kakarot let out another panicked shout.

"That's the last thing he needs, you moron!" Another voice shouted back at the first. "He's pregnant and in distress!"

"Kakarot, it's me, Radi." Raditz tried to gently pull his brother's hands away from the collar where he started to claw at it. He was worried that the small submissive would hurt himself trying to get the metal ring off his neck.

"NO!" The beta shouted and a small but intense shockwave of ki forced the heavy alpha and the saiyans that had come to get him away. Kakarot staggered away from the guards and his brother until his back met with a wall, and he shouted in terror. "GO AWAY!"

Another small shockwave moved the stone table several inches and had the men in the room covering their faces from the rush of wind that came with it.

Vegeta lowered his arm and saw his mate cowering against the wall. He was still trying to pull the collar off while sobbing and hyperventilating, he couldn't stand it anymore, consequences be damned. At this rate Kakarot would hurt himself worse than anyone else could.

He vaulted over the knocked over stone table and rushed to the shaking beta and pulled him into his arms. He was quick to move his hands to the collar and break it apart with a snarl.

The sudden rush of ki in Kakarot's body caused a larger shockwave that cracked the walls, flung the council members out of their chairs, and made several scouters in the room explode.

The prince just held tight to the beta and pulled his close to his chest and started to purr as he tucked the whimpering beta's head under his chin in spite of his weak struggles. He hoped that his scent and purring would help the small submissive calm down now. Slowly Kakarot latched onto him whimpering and trembling.

"Shh, I've got you. You're safe Aiyo. It's ok."

"Geta...?"

"I'm here." He whispered into the beta's ear. Whatever fit his mate slipped into it was over for now apparently. "I'm here Kakarot. You're safe. Everything is going to be alright."

Tired eyes focused on Vegeta's chest afraid this wasn't real. The gold insignia on his mate's armor was familiar. He'd seen it before. Where had he seen it?

"Thank you for dealing with this incident your highness." Tonopo said with respect. "I'm sure lieutenant Thyn and his men can handle things from here." Vegeta growled lowly as the small beta trembled in his hold.

"They are not coming anywhere near my mate!" Vegeta hissed out as he pulled Kakarot closer to his body. "And you and your men have done enough to him!"

"What!?"

"Mate!? That's impossible!"

"He's tricked the prince!"

"Are the beta's cubs the prince's?"

"Silence!" Yasi shouted over the loud questions the council was asking. "This is not the time to discuss this. Yes, Kakarot is Vegeta's mate, and that is all you need to know at this time. Kakarot is pregnant and has gone through a traumatic time while he was gone. He is obviously not ready to be questioned on his last mission as General Bardock has informed all of you, and yet you have forced a pregnant beta to come before all of you to be placed in front of an inquisition. Even I can see that Kakarot is suffering from (battle mind), and until he has recovered enough to hold a conversation with a therapist, he will be left alone. Do I make myself clear?"

The Royal Consort glared the rest of the room into submission. Once he had a verbal answer from every member, he looked back to his son.

He felt frustrated that they weren't able to keep Kakarot's connection to Vegeta hidden longer, but due to the circumstances, the older beta wasn't surprised that Vegeta was acting as protective as he was. That must have been a really bad flashback that Kakarot suffered with.

"Vegeta, take Kakarot back home. You may stay with him the rest of the day." King Vegeta said once his mate finished his peace. It was obvious to him and his son, Yasi wanted to hold the trembling beta himself, but he knew that Kakarot would be calmest with the alpha.

Vegeta nodded gratefully at his father as he stood with the tiny submissive in his arms. He glanced down to see his mate's eyes slide closed before he turned and strode out of the room with Raditz following behind him.

"Geta…" The soft call of his name had him glancing down once more. Kakarot still had his eyes closed and his hands holding tight to the armor the alpha wore.

"Yes, Aiyo?"

"Cold One doesn't taste good."

The alpha nearly stumbled in shock while he heard his friend basically choke behind him.

"Are...Kakarot did you bite Frieza?"

"Umm hmm" he nodded nuzzling his face into Vegeta's neck, not liking the armor his mate was wearing. From his soft breathing it was obvious he fell asleep. Thankfully the beta's violent shaking and quick breathing faded with his consciousness.

"I would pay any sum of credits to have seen that." Raditz said in near awe of his brother. "Honestly I'm not too surprised, he used to bite every one and everything as a cub."

"How much you want to bet there's a recording in the data we brought back?" Vegeta asked with a smirk. A video of that would be a huge moral boost.

++break++

It was a few hours later when Kakarot finally started to stir. His eyes sluggishly opened to see that both he and his mate were back in the nest that they had claimed in the garden house, and he was using Vegeta as a pillow.

The prince had shed his armor, and the beta rubbed his head against the older man's chest in a show of gratitude and affection. A low purr came from his throat when he felt a hand gently card through his mane.

"Are you feeling better now, Kakarot?" The words had the submissive looking up into the concerned eyes of his mate. "I was worried about you."

"Hmmm?" His brow furrowed as his mind, still not thinking straight after waking up recently, tried to make sense of what Vegeta was asking. He had been sleeping here while his brother was looking after him. Then four more alphas came in, and they all had to go somewhere.

Eyes…The beta was surrounded by eyes that watched his every move. Then loud voices…

Kakarot whimpered and was immediately pulled into a hug by the older saiyan beside him while a soft fur was pulled over his shoulders. The deep rumble of his mate's purr filled his ears to drown out the beginning of loud noises in his head, and Kakarot buried his face in Vegeta's chest.

His eyes fell down to stare at a patch of bare skin on the alpha's chest. There was something in the back of his mind that he could remember seeing there after he came out of the Bad Flash. The image of a golden sigil flashed in his mind. He knew he'd seen it before and it was important. The soft chime of metal shifting drew his gaze to the tags around Geta's neck. There engraved on the smooth metal was the symbol yet again and Kakarot stiffened when he finally remembered.

He had seen that symbol before, and it was something every saiyan knew. It represented the royal family, and only members of the royal family could wear it. That meant that…

"Kakarot?" Vegeta tilted his head to try and look the beta in the eye, but he frowned when all he got was a submissively lowered head and a whimper.

Vegeta frowned and when Kakarot tried to back away with another soft whimper, he let go of the upset beta not wanting to send him into a panic.

Kakarot felt sick while fear clawed at his throat. He bit Vegeta! He bit a royal! He kept his eyes and head firmly down. Toa was curiously nudging him and Kakarot tried trade places with his other half. He couldn't face Geta. Geta might kill him for what he did. He was a third class, a nothing and nobody. Even the other third classes made fun of him and called him weak. If Geta ever found out...

Toa blocked him, shocking Kakarot. Frantic he tried again only to whimper and hold his head at the sharp pain that shot through it as Toa refused to budge. Toa was confused, not seeing the threat.

Alpha here. Alpha safe. His other half whispered.

No he wasn't. Geta was royalty and he had unbelievably bitten Vegeta first! He shouldn't have done that.

Why? Alpha bit back. Alpha claimed us.

'He's the prince! I'm nothing. A third class nobody.' He could tell Toa wasn't understanding him.

He is Alpha.

'And I'm not supposed to be with him! He's above me, above everyone but his parents. Everyone is beneath him! I'm not even worthy of his notice!'

He is alpha of alphas?

'Yes, and I'm the lowest of the pack.' He thought miserably. G- the prince was going to leave him just as soon as the cubs were born. He would lose his babies again he realized as tears fell down his face. And no one would stop Vegeta or care because he was nothing.

Alpha will not do that. Alpha wants us. We not weak. We are strong.

'No I'm not. I'm still weak!' Kakarot wrapped his arms around himself as he started to sob.

We are! Alpha bit us back! He protects us and cubs! He wants us!

'He'll take my babies away and never let me see them!'

No! He protects! He will not do what Bad Ones did. Alpha cares!

'That's only because-!'

Kakarot suddenly let out a gasp when he felt teeth nip sharply at his bond bite. He sagged in Vegeta's arms and blinked up at the alpha who still had a very worried expression on his face as a warm relaxed feeling made his muscles unclench.

"Kakarot." The firm voice had the beta looking away for a moment before one of the prince's hands gently moved his head so that he was looking at the older man's face once more. "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry! Don't take cubs away!" The words were out before Kakarot could think on them. He paled once he realized what he said and whimpered as he sluggishly tried to move away from Vegeta once more.

"What? Who's going to take your cubs, and why are you sorry?" The alpha looked confused. He moved an arm around Kakarot's shoulders to keep the submissive from moving away too much. "No one will take them away from you."

See? Alpha not take cubs.

The beta shook his head over Toa's words, not believing them to be true. It would be only a matter of time before Vegeta finds out just how weak he is, before he leaves.

"Kakarot, I promise no one will take your cubs." He coaxed again while brushing his hand through the beta's hair. "I swear to Kalious and Tarro, I won't let that happen. No one will take your cubs. I'm sorry the council upset you like that. You weren't supposed to go see them until after you had the cubs."

"But you..." his eyes flickered to the tags against his will as the beta whimpered. Vegeta finally had an idea of what upset him.

"You know who I am don't you." He said slowly. "And not just my name. You remember." Whimpering Kakarot nodded and kept his eyes averted. Inwardly Vegeta snarled and raged. How had those idiots caused so much damage? They all knew Kakarot didn't remember anything like rank or titles and they'd decided to wait to tell him or to let him remember on his own since it wasn't a truly important issue at the moment. Kakarot and Toa needed calm and quiet to heal and make it through this pregnancy safely. Twins were rare for any saiyan, more so for betas due in part to how the male body was built. It wasn't designed to accommodate two cubs. Betas sustained their pregnancies with higher levels of energy as well, a reason it was believed that a betas offspring were stronger. The cubs 'fed' on the carrier's ki.

And causing a beta to be upset enough to have their ki to fluctuate visibly and with such violence was simply not done. His tatama has seen betas miscarry from smaller fluctuations than Kakarot had that afternoon. The goddess was certainly looking out for his little mate but he didn't want to press their luck.

Gently he tilted Kakarot's chin to make the little beta look at him, pain shot through his heart at the fear he saw there.

"Yes, I am Prince Vegeta." He softly explained. "You are the son of Bardock, general of the third class army. And more importantly, you are my mate."

"But-"

"I don't care what your rank was. You are my mate. I will only leave you if you want me to."

"No!" As much as he was afraid Vegeta would take his babies he didn't want Geta to leave him. Geta made him happy. The alpha smiled at him and nuzzled him purring.

"Then I'm not going anywhere."

"Why not tell me?" Kakarot asked in a small voice.

"We didn't want to upset you." Vegeta explained. "Tatama, Father, Bardock and I all agreed to wait until after the cubs were born if you didn't remember on your own. We wanted to protect you and the cubs both. I know how hard some of your other pregnancies were Kakarot. Chorri explained you lost your cubs many times, not just from Zarbon. So we wanted to do as much as possible so that didn't happen. I want you to have your cubs Kakarot, you deserve to have your cubs and raise them if that's what you want."

Alpha does care. Alpha wants us and cubs.

Kakarot felt his eyes sting with tears over those words. He leaned forward to bury his face in Vegeta's neck. He could feel the strong arms of the older man wrap around him, and he tried to soak up all the he could from that embrace.

It sounded almost too good to be true. There was no way the prince could care for a weak, little beta like him.

Before those thoughts could upset Toa and himself, a large hand cupped the side of his face and guided it upwards. The submissive caught sight of a gentle smile on Vegeta's face before a soft kiss landed on his lips.

The kiss was brief, like a caress from a butterfly, but it was long enough to silence the doubt in the beta's head for the moment. Even Toa was still and silent in the back of his mind. He had never been touched like that before, and he wasn't sure how to respond.

He looked up at the prince in confusion and adoration, and the dominant had to fight to keep his smile from turning into a smug smirk at the sight of that adorable flush on Kakarot's cheeks and the fact his tail had fluffed outward on its own from the simple brush of their lips.

"I also want you." Vegeta had that soft smile still on his face as he looked at Kakarot. He could see the doubt that lingered in those expressive eyes, and he wanted to make sure that his mate knew for sure that he was wanted as well.

"I had planned on waiting to give this to you when you had recovered more, but I think you might like to have this now." The alpha reached over to grab a small, black box that Kakarot had not seen before, and held it out for the younger man to take.

The beta hesitantly took the box and looked over it for a minute before pulling the lid off. What he saw inside made him look back up at the prince in shock and disbelief.

It was a reddish gold necklace made of Vegetasei gold with a teardrop shaped gem that looked like fire had been crystallized to make the pendant.

"This is a little out of order," Vegeta said as he pulled the necklace out to fasten it around Kakarot's neck. "But I offer you this as my bonding token to show that I do love you and want you to remain as my mate."

See? Told you Alpha cares.

Trembling fingers came up to touch the stone. Geta has gotten this for him? It was beautiful.

"You really...want me?" He asked softly. It was so hard to believe that. Geta saw everything. He saw the bad place.

"Since I saw you." Vegeta said with a warm purr in his voice. "You were beautiful and fierce. And so gentle and loving with your cubs. I don't know many alphas that wouldn't have been drawn to you." He explained. "Most importantly, you didn't try to get my attention because of who I am. To you I was just Vegeta, an alpha you felt safe with. No matter what I will always be just 'Geta' for you, my title isn't important."

Kakarot leaned in and nuzzled under Vegeta's chin as his eyes watered. The alpha just held him as they settled down to cuddle with each other. The beta thought his heart would burst with happiness even if it felt like this was a dream. He would enjoy it as long as he could.