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If any other Blood was pissed at me—other than Vivian—I’d flirt and offer to entertain our queen by letting them fuck me. As hard as they wanted. I’d love every fucking minute.
But one, I didn’t think Sekh felt anything like desire when he looked at me, and two, if he did, he’d probably fucking kill me. I liked pain and blood, sure. But I didn’t like pain to the point of needing our queen to heal me when he was done.
The Blood were separated primarily into two camps—the ones who wanted Guillaume to make them look foolish, and the observers. Even Mehen lounged on a chaise like a dragon curled up on a ledge, silently betting on which one would die first.
I’d press up around Shara’s legs like usual, but her mother’s former Blood sat with her. Thierry, the poor bastard, deserved as much time with her as he could get. Not that Rik would even think about letting the thrall zombie get close enough to touch her, but sitting near her. Basking in her presence. Watching her smile. Fuck yeah.
Tlacel, Ezra, and Nevarre sat on her other side. I could go harass Ezra, but he’d pulled his chair up closer to Lew and Thierry, forming an arc around our queen. They were telling old Blood war stories and roaring with laughter.
Then there was me and Sekh. Standing in between the two groups.
Awkward as fuck. If I walked away, I’d look like a chicken shit. If I went closer to try and talk to him… I’d have to slink. I couldn’t help it. Fucking embarrassing to be so intimidated by a fellow Blood, and Rik was no fucking help.
:Figure your shit out,: he rumbled in the bond. :She needs you to get along with him.:
:I know,: I sniped back.
I didn’t need my alpha to hold my fucking hand. Fuck me, sure, but not protect me from one of our queen’s Blood. No matter how fucking intimidating the general was. Though I couldn’t make myself take a step closer to him.
I shifted slightly closer to the group, pretending like I wanted to hear Lew’s story. I didn’t know the gryphon all that well but sitting with his old friend, telling a story about some Blood escapade, he showed a new side of him. Looser, smiling, and funny as hell.
“Thierry’s a Greek siren, so even when he’s shifted, he’s still part man on the bottom with wings on the top. We were fucking around on the roof?—”
“Moon.” Thierry let out a gurgling laugh. “Skye.”
“Yeah, we were mooning Skye Tower,” Lew admitted with a sheepish grin. “Mallac shifted into his cyclops and used his glowing eye to spotlight the roof. Thierry dropped his pants. Then some humans started shrieking on the street.”
“Mothman,” Thierry said.
“Word spread about the strange bird man with glowing red eyes. People kept coming by the house at all hours of the night, looking for another sign of the infamous Mothman.”
Gurgling, Thierry said something. A word. I could almost hear it. Almost understand it. But then it was gone, as if my mind couldn’t translate it.
“Yeah,” Lew said, his smile slipping and becoming more forced. “Our queen was pissed.”
I lost track of the rest of the story because Sekh stepped closer, standing shoulder to shoulder with me, though he faced the sparring group. Not touching me. Not even looking at me. But I could feel the buzz of his energy hammering against me. The heat of his body. The power curled inside him. His lion musk made every hair on my body stand up with sheer terror.
More power than even our alpha. More nastiness than Leviathan. More deadly skill than the last Templar knight. Basically one step removed from a feline god who was disgusted by what he saw in me.
“Rik told me to talk to you.” Sekh’s dry, bored tone proclaimed his opinion of our alpha’s command. “You’re young. You made a fucking mistake. Fine. I still don’t have to fucking like you. At least acknowledge I have enough honor to respect our queen’s bonds and leave you the fuck alone.”
My instincts insisted I needed to roll over on my back and show him my belly. Rub my head on his legs. Take on his scent to mask my own. My knees quivered with the need to drop down at his feet and plead for forgiveness.
Sekh snarled beneath his breath. “Don’t you fucking dare. Besides, I’m not the one you should beg for forgiveness.”
“I did,” I replied faintly. “Rik punished me. I apologized. It won’t happen again.”
“Look, lie to yourself all you want, but don’t fucking lie to me. I know you better than you know yourself.”
Ouch. “You don’t know me. You said yourself you’re not All Knowing.”
“I See you, warcat. That’s all I need to know.”
Now I was starting to get pissed. I turned to face him, keeping my shoulders stiff, my head up. “It’ll never happen again. I learned my lesson. That’s enough for Rik and for her.”
“But not for me,” Sekh drawled, his eyes burning molten gold. “Do you honestly want me to believe if you’re forced to choose between her or Rik, you’ll actually choose her? No matter what it is?”
“Yes! How dare you question my loyalty to our queen?”
