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Banner lifted his hand to silence Odhran. The other wolf looked at his king and gritted his teeth but otherwise stayed silent.
“Come on. We’ll go over all this shit and a solid plan before heading out.” I gestured for them to follow me around the side of the house and toward the back. I didn’t wait or look behind to see if they’d obey.
The most selfish part of me wanted to keep the knowledge of my mate a secret, something only I would ever know. I wanted to protect her always, keep her away from the dangers and violence that made up the world I lived in… that made up me. But I knew I couldn’t keep that secret hidden for long, not when the primal—animal--part of me also wanted to brag, to show the world I had the most perfect mate imaginable.
I was at war with myself.
I pushed all thoughts of my mate out of my head, knowing I didn’t want any part of her around this bullshit.
Once again my heart did a funny thing in my chest when I thought about Kayla and protecting her. I lifted my hand to rub it over the otherwise useless fucking organ.
I let my emotions go the cold, hard route, letting myself become utterly void.
I let myself become the male I was to my core.
25
Kayla
Ididn’t know what woke me, but the feeling of someone watching me definitely had consciousness slowly coming on.
I took note that I was naked and in Adryan’s bed still, achingly sore in all the right places. I smiled, stretching and feeling that discomfort settle right between my thighs, around my throat—hell, all over. It was a reminder of how much my vampire pleasured me, how he’d taken control of the situation and given me exactly what I needed. What I’ve always needed.
And as I woke fully and opened my eyes, blinking a few times, I stared at the wood-beamed ceiling. For the first time in my life, I didn’t feel guilt or shame or any negative connotations about what I wanted out of life.
Adryan satisfied all my needs, mentally and physically… especially the latter. And although I didn’t fully understand everything that was happening in my life right now, it wasn’t hard to comprehend all the truth he told me. Sometimes you had to take a leap of faith that things would just work out. Even if those things involved a dominant and arrogant vampire.
I brought the sheet up to my neck and held it against my chest as I lifted my upper body and looked around the room. I expected to see Adryan sitting in that chair pressed in the corner of the room, the shadows hiding him, his focus right on me like the predator he was.
At first I didn’t see anyone, but I still felt like I was being watched.
It was only when my gaze landed on the darkened corner by the doorway that cold iciness instantly settled into my bones. The man watching me sure as hell wasn’t Adryan. But I recognized him as the man I’d seen earlier, the one with the wicked-looking scar dissecting his neck.
He didn’t move or speak, and neither did I. And although at this current moment he wasn’t doing anything threatening, the pure malice and hatred that poured off him and surrounded me could not be denied.
I tightened my hold on the sheet against my chest and licked my lips, looking at the door and seeing it partially open. I couldn’t see anything but a small strip of the hallway. When I moved my gaze back to him for the first time, I noticed he had stuff on his hands and splashed across his chest.
And the longer I looked, the more my vision cleared and adjusted to the dim lighting in the room, and I realized it wasn’t just “stuff.”
It was blood.
The grisly fluid covered his hands, his shirt, and even his neck was sprayed with crimson pinpoints. And judging how there was so much blood dripping onto the floor it was clear it was fresh.
That’s when I saw a horrible looking wound on his forearm, chunks of flesh torn clean out, so much so that I could see the stark white of bone showing through. Whatever had taken a bite out of him had done so with the intent of tearing his arm clean off.
“W-What…” I cleared my throat and gathered the sheet to wrap it fully around myself, feeling even more vulnerable over the fact that I was completely nude. “What do you want?” I wasn’t about to ask where Adryan was. That was a stupid question. He was here because Adryan wasn’t. He was here for me. I just didn’t know why. Although I could guess there was some kind of beef between the two of them and this man wanted to take that out on me.
I looked at his neck, staring at that jagged scar that went from ear to ear. This low growl left him, and my attention snapped back to his face. He narrowed his eyes on me and bared his teeth, his canines deadly points that were growing longer right in front of me.
He lifted his hand and touched the scar but otherwise said nothing. And that was the most terrifying thing of all.
“Get up,” he finally said, his voice nothing more than a husky tenor that had my skin shriveling.
I shook my head, although I didn’t know what I was denying. Even if he weren't a vampire, he was stronger than me, and his intent, his plans for me were clearly anything but innocent. He took a step forward, and I shifted back. A few more droplets of blood landed on the ground, and the drip-drip that followed made my stomach roil.
“I said,” he seethed and took another step toward me, “get the fuck up, you human bitch.”
I licked my lips and nodded, shifting toward the other side of the bed, farther away from him. When I was standing, I wrapped the sheet even tighter around myself, never taking my focus off his face as I tied the two ends securely under my armpit, wearing the sheet like a dress now.
