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I wasn't surprised to find the rest of my court waiting along with the bubak. I hadn't ordered Dusek not to tell them I was speaking with Josh. Though I gave the bubak the side eye in reprimand for blabbing anyway, just for good measure.

"You can't possibly be serious about working with Acacia," Ruya said the moment we were all gathered.

I smiled fondly at the flush of color on her high cheekbones and the rage burning through her aura. She really was queenly when she got all riled up. People assumed omegas were docile, shrinking violets. Personally, I thought that was all due to how other alphas treated them. If someone's will was broken by some sick, forced subjugation, of course they'd seem small and meek. But we protected Ruya's freedom, and her will was made of steel. She had no problem standing up to me or anyone else.

I loved that about her. Even if it sometimes grated against the ingrained alpha nonsense inside me.

Sadavir joined her, standing tall and proud—and furious—at her side. He signed adamantly. "She stole him from us and made him into one of them! That bitch tortured him. If he was your mate, you would never even think of agreeing to this farce of an alliance."

I held up a hand, and did my best not to react to the challenge in his eyes. My headache gaily pounded on, like elephants tapdancing inside my skull. "You are far too noble for your own good," I informed the naga prince. "But I don't suffer from such an impairment. I won't say no to an ally who has inside information that I need. Keeping her on our side, where we will have at least some idea of her motives and actions, will mean one less threat we have to worry about. But don't mistake my pragmatism for softness. I will not hesitate to murder an ally once they've served their purpose. After all, it's probably what Acacia is planning to do to us once she's done using us to do her dirty work."

No one else objected. They knew me. For better or for worse. They could hardly pretend to be shocked at my black heart now.

Martina moved to sit on the couch, her elbows on her knees as she gazed up at me, calm and unflinching as only an alpha could be. "From what Ruya was able to gather during her time with the vampires, Acacia has a close relationship with the emperor. She could be a great potential source of information. Help us figure out where he's hiding now and what he's doing to ward off future attacks." She arched a brow at me. "The question isn't whether we can use her—not trust her of course, but use her. The question is why she wants us to succeed."

I gave her a wry smile. "Isn't it obvious? Our dear vampire queen wants more power. She wants to set herself up as the empress of the syndicate. And she probably thinks she'll get her prize feeder back." I nodded toward Sadavir. "As well adding the rest of us to her court or menagerie. All that power, right here at her fingertips."

Yukio huffed. "She's been trying to get Robin to join her court or crawl into her bed for years. This would be a good opportunity to ensure it."

"She thinks," Sanka muttered.

I chuckled. "Yes. And it's imperative that she continues to think that. We will cooperate, for now. If we don't, she's threatened to end our new vampire friend."

I watched everyone as that settled in. As I thought, everyone looked angry. Except Yukio. But I knew my frosty lover well enough to know that little twitch of his wings was an indication of rage. I was right. Damn it, we were all apparently attached to the ex-human. I glanced at Sadavir to find him watching me intently. This was all his damned fault. Why was I tolerating another alpha in my court? I arched a brow at him in silent question, just waiting for whatever new asinine thing he would say to make me want to murder him. He just shook his head before signing, "What do we do now?"

It was a simple question, but one that held a wealth of unspoken meaning. You fucked it up once and Josh paid the price, that question said. Prove you're worthy of this court or I'll take it from you.

Or, maybe that was just alpha shifter paranoia on my part. Maybe he really was trying to behave. I snorted softly to myself. Unlikely.

"We'll need to think this over," I said evenly. "Examine all the implications inside and out. Then we'll meet with Acacia and see exactly what she has in mind and what she thinks she has to offer." I barely kept from rubbing my aching head, from giving away how weak and shitty I currently felt. "Then we'll decide how to proceed. For now, no sensitive information around Josh. He'll be confined to the safe areas of the nest. No access to wards, tech, or weapons." I sent a long glance Ruya's way. "Ruya," I drawled. "No soft-hearted slip-ups."

She huffed at me in irritation. "With all due respect, alpha… Shut up."

I chuckled. "Good. We're all on the same page then."

Turning, I left the room, fleeing to the safety of my suite.

Chapter 31

Ruya

Ifollowed Robin to her room. This whole situation with Josh was a mess. At least Richard was still here, however reluctantly, to help guide us through how to care for our newly turned friend. My heart broke for the quiet, kind man who had been forced into a new life—one tethered to the evil he had only just escaped. But I also knew Robin was furiously weighing the pros and cons of this new development with Acacia. As much as my heart went out to Josh, and by extension Sadavir… I knew that there were bigger things at play here, in the grand scheme of things.

And I also knew that something was wrong with my dragon alpha.

I tapped on the door and a soft growl greeted me. Shaking my head, I pushed the door open, stepped inside, and closed the door behind me.

"You're in pain," I said without preamble. There was no sense waiting for her to come to me for help, because she wouldn't. She would rather suffer in stoic alpha misery than admit she needed help.

Robin came closer, her powerful red aura washing over me, though it was still a bit unsteady and depleted compared to normal—from giving Sadavir sanctuary, probably. Though I still didn't fully understand all the implications of that action.

"It's nothing, love," she insisted. "Shouldn't you be tending to your new vampire. And your irritating snake?"

I rolled my eyes at her. "Stop it." Reaching out, I snagged her hand, letting my healing power flow through the skin-on-skin contact. Not only a bit of magical depletion, but a headache. Again. And a bad one this time. "What's going on, Robin?"

She sighed. "I'm trying to bring a decades-long revenge plan to fruition and protect my court, Acacia knows what I'm up to, and now I have a very dangerous alliance with the enemy to navigate. It's called stress, darling. It will pass."

I narrowed my eyes at her, but didn't push the issue. She'd be stubborn for a while longer. But would wear her down eventually. "Thank you," I said instead. "For not murdering Josh immediately."

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