Page 11 of The Monster's Mate

The leaders I served for hundreds of years will see the repercussions of training me into a deadly weapon if they even think of trying to invoke the old laws.

I will die before I let Cyril tear Veryn away from Charity.

Malice hums. “I see.”

“Stay the fuck out of my head,” I roar, spinning in a circle.

“The problem is, you’re a terrible team player,” Malice taunts, still ensuring I can’t pick out his true location. “What scares you the most, Bane? Being forced to watch as the monarchs steal the boy you’ve come to think of as your own? Or knowing Norah will never stand for allowing Charity to live?”

Norah is Cyril’s mate, and according to dragon law, she could choose to call for Charity’s life to correct the slight against her matebond.

Dragon law always manages to punish the innocent party.

Too fucking bad for them.

I’ll never allow any of it to happen.

My dragon is in agreement, and he has an even worse temper than I do.

My chest heaves as I suck in deep lungfuls of air, trying to settle my monster.

By our laws, if Cyril was anyone else, other than a member of the royal family, I could call for him to meet me in the dragonpits—the aptly named fighting rings where our kind handles disagreements.

I’m sure the king, Cadryn, would never override that long-standing law, so I’ll have to come up with some other method of making Cyril pay.

“It scares the hell out of you. All of it,” Malice says. “You’re not as unaffected as you’d like the world to believe.”

“Are you trying to force me to shift?” I growl, stretching my hands as I will my claws away. “Do you want me to destroy my fucking house?”

“No.” Athos’s top half appears, levitating in a cloud of silvery-blue smoke. “We want you to help us understand what’s coming.”

“Haven protects its own,” Malice says, like I haven’t lived here longer than he’s been in the human realm. “The two of you, along with the wyvern, share a mate. I’m fond of Veryn. Charity is Aline’s friend. You may have been a one-man island, but that’s not how we do things here.”

Would wishing be a viable option to end the nightmare?

My eyes fly to Athos, but he disappears and reappears, slapping a hand over my mouth before I can speak.

His silver hair slides over his bluish-silver shoulders as his head shakes. “You cannot use theWword to annihilate Malice. How many times do I have to tell the lot of you? No personal gain.”

“It appears you aren’t ready to be friends just yet.” Malice chuckles darkly, materializing in the dark corner of the room. “Don’t worry. I’m an acquired taste. We’ll get there, eventually.”

“You’re fucking delusional.” I slap Athos’s hand away from my mouth.

Athos sighs. “You heard what happened in the cave. I had the privilege of watching. It was a very intimate moment. Charity cares for Eldritch, and he might not remember her, but somepart of him can still sense their connection. I’ve always been a bit of a hopeless romantic. They yearn for each other, Banyan. How can you ignore that?” Hearing him use my full name annoys me to no end.

He might have sympathy for that fucking asshole, but I know exactly who Eldritch is and what he was sent here to do. If the warlock’s torture hadn’t corrupted his mind, there’s no way he wouldn’t have followed through.

“You are a wealth of information.” Malice siphons his way to the couch, taking a seat. “What I can’t comprehend is why you wouldn’t want assistance if the need should arise. And, perhaps, I should remind you, you came here with an agenda regarding my mate.” His shadows swirl around him in a darkening pattern as he rests his head against his palm on the arm of the sofa. “Considering the similar circumstances, it makes you seem hypocritical. We’ve all forgiven you for your original mission.”

I was ordered to the human realm to retrieve Aline and return her to her sister. However, I met Charity, and the risk seemed too large that she wouldn’t forgive me if she found out about my mission.

As a result, I gave up all the prestige I had earned in the dragon court to live in the human realm for merely the chance to court my mate.

“Maybe it’s time you follow suit and do the same for Eldritch?” Malice suggests. “Forgiveness can be healing.”

If only it was that simple.

Wyvern are taken from their parents and trained for a life of servitude to the crown. Charity doesn’t even understand that hersupposedmate is her kid’s biological uncle.

---