Page 129 of Mercy & Her Devils

Kai drapes his arm around my neck, drawing me in to rest on his chest.

I listen to the rain lashing against the window and the howling wind.

Yet I’m safe surrounded by Kai’s musky heather ale scent that makes it feel like summer.

“I like this room,” I say. “It smells of all three of you.”

“It’s where we work together in evenings. Usually, with a glass of good wine or black coffee. Well, I say work, but when Antonio joins us, he’s sprawled like he is now, holding his phone about an inch from his nose. He plays games, watches funny videos on social media, or roasts his ex pack members on their boastful social media posts with that most cunning of all emoji, the eggplant.”

I laugh. “Shit, he has balls.”

“I’m pretty certain that his emoji is referring to something else. Other evenings, Antonio disappears across the house to the lounge to watch what he claims are true crime documentaries. It’s cute that he doesn’t realize that I know the truth.”

Antonio glances over at us. “I’m getting tips for work—"

“He’s actually binge watching the early seasons of The Simpsons,” Kai teases.

Lark nudges Antonio. “Busted.”

I can feel lightness and not darkness through the bond with Antonio. He just fights hard to hide it.

Antonio shrugs. “Who doesn’t like comedy? I was raised on that show. It’s how I learned to be subversive. Perhaps, those creators were secretly rebels too.”

Huh, it’s a thought.

I peek up at Kai. “But why journalism?”

“I was always curious,” Kai says, slowly, as if he’s also working this out for himself as well. “It’s part of what makes me good as a journalist but bad as an Alpha in Scotland, where I was meant to accept my role and be proud of it. Looking at the outside world, where things were done differently to the laws of our Omega King, was highly discouraged. My brother and I broke that rule together. We were both driven by the strong desire to get to the truth. Now, I want to get to the heart of this story and tell it to the world. What I didn’t realize I was missing was the voices of those who truly needed the platform to speak out. But now, Lark and you are here. If you want, you have it.”

Hope soars through me.

I’m choking on it.

I stare at him. “Once we’re safe, and this is over, then I want my voice to finally be heard. Could that be my role?”

Kai arches his brow. “I’m going to need to teach you to negotiate, rather than ask. Of course, if you want that. In ancient times, there were many famous Omega writers. I’d love that. You’ll be a fine advocate and writing partner, beloved.”

Partner!

I grin, leaning up on tip-toes to kiss him.

He slides his hand into my hair to hold me in place.

I lose myself in the tangle of our tongues and the joy of my new job.

It’s real.

This is happening.

Finally, Kai pulls back, and I butt at his chin, trying to encourage him back into a kiss.

Kai chuckles but doesn’t relent, dragging me by my hand toward the olive armchair by the fire.

He sits down (looking exactly like an Alpha prince), with his tree trunk legs spread wide.

He taps his thigh with an invitation for me to sit in his lap.

Yet it feels natural, in the glow and warmth of the fire and with his dominance that’s based on fundamental respect for me, that I kneel instead between his thighs.

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