Page 43 of Daddy Frost

Kalen swallowed hard. “Thank you.”

Raidh held out his hand, revealing the bullet sitting in his palm. Kalen took it, immensely grateful they had succeeded in saving Delta’s life. He could never repay them for what they’d done.

After carefully lifting Delta into his arms, Kalen turned to Arion. “Thank you for being there for Delta and taking down his attacker.”

“He got shot because he was protecting me,” Arion cried. “He didn’t even hesitate to jump in front of me when I walked into the kitchen, unaware of what was happening. I should have taken down the man as soon as I realized what was going on, but I froze.” He held Elvine tighter to him. “I’m so sorry, Kalen.”

The vampire bore over a decade’s worth of torture scars on his body. Kalen would be damned if he allowed Arion to shoulder any guilt over this. That responsibility rested solely on the son of a bitch who’d shot Delta. “You have nothing to apologize for, son. You didn’t let my mate face this alone, and you prevented the human from causing further harm. Thank you.”

“Casimir, can you keep an eye on those two?” He gestured toward the men who had attempted to end Delta’s life. “I’m going to put my mate to bed, but I’ll be right back.”

“Yes.” Despite looking tired, Casimir smirked. “But I can’t guarantee they’ll still be in one piece when you return.”

“Just don’t kill them. That pleasure belongs to me.” Kalen walked out and headed upstairs, cradling his mate close to his chest. Delta hadn’t regained consciousness yet, but his complexion had improved, his skin was warm, and he was no longer trembling uncontrollably.

Before tucking Delta in bed, Kalen placed a gentle kiss on his forehead and simply gazed at the man in his arms. It amazed him how deeply he had come to care for this human after knowing him for only a day.

In his heart, Kalen knew he would do anything for Delta.

* * * *

Kalen watched as Arthur glanced around the room at everyone. He slid his tongue over his lips with a calculated gleam in his eyes. The bastard was trying to think of a deal he could make, but nothing he offered was going to save him.

“I’ll tell you who hired me if you let me walk out that door, unharmed.”

“You shot my dad’s mate,” Damon ground out. “In what delusional universe do you think you’re walking away from this with your life?”

Arthur’s gaze lowered to Damon’s stomach as his brows furrowed. “Are you pregnant?”

The other human, Alan Marken, was seated next to Arthur in one of the kitchen chairs, staring straight ahead, scared shitless if his expression was any indication. But Kalen already knew he was terrified from the foul stench he was emitting.

Both men should be praying right now. Delta was Kalen’s future. So many people wondered if there was someone out there for them, wondered where they were or if they would ever meet them.

Kalen had found him. That one person who would stay at his side no matter what, never judge him, and love him deeper than anyone else ever could.

And this piece of shit had attempted to rip away Kalen’s humanity by trying to kill the one man he would sacrifice everything for.

Crossing his arms, Kalen smiled. “I have a counteroffer for you, human.”

Arthur’s breathing grew shallow as hope flared in his sinister eyes. “He told me to snatch, not shoot.” He cursed, looking thoroughly disgusted with himself. “Told me a few times, like I was an idiot. Guess I really am an idiot.”

“I swear I didn’t know what Arthur was up to!” Alan’s slight trembling grew worse. “He paid me fifty bucks to drive him here then told me to wait in the car. He just said he had to talk to someone. I swear!”

“Shut the fuck up!” Arthur sneered at Alan.

“No! I’m about to die because you pulled me into whatever this is. You used me once again because you knew I needed the money.” Alan briefly closed his eyes then softly added, “I’m the idiot. I should have known better, but you’re really good at manipulating people, and I fell for your ‘just need to talk to someone’ bullshit.”

All three of Kalen’s sons were in the kitchen, as was Casimir. None of them interrupted the two humans. Kalen had taught them to study their enemies, and the more Arthur and Alan talked, the more they learned.

“Shut. Your. Mouth,” Arthur warned.

“I’m interested in what he has to say.” Kalen looked Alan over as the small man drew a quivering hand through his unruly blond hair. Was he as innocent as he appeared, or was it an act? Kalen couldn’t smell any deception on him.

Arthur, on the other hand, reeked of it.

With a nod, Kalen said, “Why don’t you tell me what happened?”

Arthur glared at the small man with a curled lip.

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