Page 52 of Dark Horizon New Dawn

Was it a psychosomatic response to Frankie's assertion that he was meant to be with her friend?

Had Frankie's conviction that she and her two friends were all destined to mate gods rubbed off on him?

Probably.

The question was what he was going to do about it. He couldn't disappoint Gertrude after promising her a night of passion, and he wouldn't. Somehow, he would power through those annoying fierce eyes and pleasure the immortal like she deserved.

"Something is going on," Gertrude said. "Kian is collecting members of his war council." She pointed with her chin at Turner's table, where Kian, Onegus, Kalugal, Toven, Dalhu, and Kalugal's brother were standing next to the strategist. Toven's mate, Frankie's wheelchair-bound friend, was with them, which made him suspect that it had something to do with the fierce-eyed blond haunting his psyche.

Oh, damn. He knew perfectly well what her name was, so he should stop referring to Margo as Mia or Frankie's friend and pretending that she was nothing to him.

Gertrude's eyes clouded with worry. "Are we being pursued by Doomers?"

"I don't think so. The ship slowed down. It didn't speed up." He watched as the group headed toward the exit. "But perhaps I should find out what's going on. They wouldn't be leaving Brundar's wedding and their mates behind just to smoke cigars. They could have done it right here out on the terrace."

Gertrude nodded. "Mia wouldn't have gone with them if they were going to smoke. She's regrowing her legs, and Bridget told her not to tax her body's healing ability by unnecessarily abusing it. Alcohol and tobacco are unhealthy, and even an immortal's body has to work at counteracting their influence. Please find out what's going on and let me know. My mind is racing with possibilities, and none of them are good."

"Same here. Good things don't necessitate a middle-of-the-night emergency meeting." Negal leaned to kiss Gertrude's cheek. "I'll be back."

He left the dance floor and rushed after the group, catching up to them just as they were entering the elevator. He squeezed inside before the doors closed.

"Hello, gentlemen." He smiled. "Is there an emergency I should be aware of?"

Kian nodded. "Mia's friend is missing. She could have been taken by the Doomers or by an unrelated player."

Negal felt his fangs elongate. "Did she meet someone at the hotel?"

"She met a woman named Jasmine, and the player was the woman's boyfriend. Margo suspected that the guy wanted to traffick Jasmine, and she was trying to help her escape. She might have been caught up in a game she shouldn't have butted her nose into."

Negal didn't know anything about Margo except for the fierceness he had seen in her eyes, but that was enough for him to believe that she would have gotten involved when she suspected that someone was in trouble.

As the door opened on Kian's deck, he followed the regent out. "Do you mind if I join the meeting?"

Kian frowned. "I don't mind, but why would you want to? You should get back to the party and enjoy yourself."

"I feel responsible for Margo." Negal blurted the first thing that came to his mind. "If she needs rescuing, I should be part of the rescue team."

Kian's frown deepened. "You don't even know her."

"I'm aware of that, but Frankie and Mia believe that their friend is destined to mate a god, and I'm the last one available. If they are right, Margo might be my fated mate."

Thankfully, Mia and Toven had already gone to their suite, so Mia wasn't there to dispute his claim.

It was Frankie's idea, not Mia's, to introduce him to Margo, and Negal was quite certain that Margo wasn't his fated mate, but he needed to rescue her, nonetheless. He had to meet her face to face and stop those eyes from haunting him. There was no way the effect could be as profound in person.

Kian regarded him for a long moment before nodding. "We might need your particular talents for this mission. We are meeting in Toven's suite in a few minutes. I'm going to change out of the tux, and I suggest you do the same. It's going to be a long night, and none of us is going to get any sleep any time soon."

"Thank you. I'll be there." Negal darted back toward the elevators.

Should he go down and tell Gertrude that their plans for tonight were not going to happen? Could he just send her a text?

It was bad form to send a text to cancel their plans for tonight, but he was in a rush, and this was a real emergency.

Gertrude would understand.

As the elevator doors opened, he got inside, pressed the button for his level, and pulled out his phone to text the nurse.

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