Page 24 of Taste of Danger

“I’ll let you know.” Jax gave a single nod.

Wait. The two were just arguing, and now Jax looked appreciative at him? That made no sense. In Arion’s coven, vampires held grudges for centuries. They didn’t go from furious to thankful in the blink of an eye.

“Can I let my honey bunny go, or do I kick butt?” Elvine asked with a scowl aimed at the behemoth.

The guy didn’t have to decide right away. Arion was enjoying her body heat and the way her breasts kept pushing into his back. Hell, the warrior could take the rest of the night to decide and Arion would be fine with it.

“He wasn’t in any danger in the first place, nyzantâ.”

Elvine beamed. “Aww, you just called me your sister. That’s so sweet.” While still smiling, she added, “Don’t make your sister stomp you into the ground for intimidating her mate.”

Kalen shook his head with a chuckle. “Everyone back to bed. We’ll discuss what happened earlier this evening over breakfast.”

Jax huffed out a laugh. “You’re never here in the mornings.”

With a stern look from Kalen, Jax said, “We’ll discuss it over breakfast.”

Elvine moved close to Jax and whispered, “I’ll kick Casimir’s butt, but you’re on your own with Papa Frost.”

Jax frowned. “You’d take my dad’s side over your own mate’s?”

With a sensual gleam in her pretty green eyes, she smirked. “Let’s not find out, Mr. Rhino.”

“Rhino?” Casimir’s mate furrowed his eyebrows.

“I’d let that one go if I were you.” Kalen walked back into his bedroom with a chuckle. “Boy takes after his old man,” he said to himself with a touch of pride in his voice right before he closed the door.

This was a loving family, which was all the more reason Arion couldn’t put them in danger.

Elvine gripped his hand, pulling him back to their bedroom. He wanted to tell them about Ozel and Akai, but Arion kept his lips sealed. He hadn’t known most of the attacking vampires who’d descended on Casimir in the forest or the ones at the restaurant.

But he did know one.

And if Rowen had been there, it meant Ozel was somehow involved.

Arion couldn’t allow a horde of them to descend on this house. As soon as his mates fell back to sleep, he had to try and slip out again, which meant leaving his fairy and wolf behind.

It was the safest thing to do, but it hurt so damn much Arion wanted to cry.

* * * *

With a searing fire raging inside of him, Ozel sat behind his desk, strumming his fingers on the marble desktop as he tried to contain his urge to rip out his son’s throat. Akai could be indispensable at times, but in moments like this, Ozel regretted ever spawning the black-hearted idiot.

Akai stood in front of his desk, hands clasped behind his back, but Ozel could see the rage burning in his eyes.

“Explain to me again how my pet escaped while under your pathetic care?” Ozel demanded through gritted teeth. “Am I to understand a vampire weighing no more than 110 pounds somehow managed to overpower you and escape?” He slowly rose to his feet, tucked his hands into his front pockets, and moved leisurely around his desk. “Is that how you lost my pet?”

Akai clenched his jaw. “No, sir. Your pet didn’t overpower me and escape.”

With a vicious snarl, Ozel backhanded his son, sending him flying across the room. “I allow your sick pleasures within my coven as long as you confine them to one victim. I have gifted you with my pet to do as you please with only two rules. Do not fuck him or mar his face. And this is how you repay my generosity?”

Wiping away the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand, Akai kept his eyes downcast.

“Get up. You are not a filthy dog to lie at my feet!” Ozel growled. “Nor are you one of your whores on her knees.”

When Akai stood and approached him again, Ozel grabbed him by the hair and pulled him closer, exposing his vulnerable neck. His fangs descended as he glared at the pulsing vein beneath Akai's flawless skin. “You will find my pet, or you will suffer on your own torture table. Do I make myself clear, boy?”

“Yes, sir.” Akai’s nostrils flared.

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