Page 15 of Masked Fate

Astrid rolls her eyes. “It’s Soren.”

No other explanation is needed. He loves attention, and he’s probably fucked all the women watching him anyway.

He’s more theirs than he is mine.

He belongs to everyone except me.

His fated mate.

And yeah, thathurts.

Absently rubbing my suddenly tight chest, I turn away from him, facing my friend. “So what have I missed?”

“Well, August, Bane, and my brothers came to visit,” she hesitates, brow furrowing. “I haven’t told Rave yet because I don’t want to remind him about Bane drinking from me, but Bane said he had some side effects from my blood.”

“What kind of side effects?” I ask, frowning.

“Ones that might make other bloodsuckers want to have a taste,” she says softly, resting her hand on my shoulder as she leans in. I wonder if she knows she’s one of the only people who gives me any physical warmth. As someone who is touch-starved, it means more than she will ever know. “He said he felt more powerful and was having visions in his dreams. It only lasted a few days, and then it went away.”

“Shit,” I whisper. “As if you need more reasons for people to want to kidnap you.”

“I know.” She winces, her hazel eyes flickering with worry. “We have enough on our plate as it is.

“I asked Axe and Kai about what Milana told Soren, if Zython maybe didn’t have a choice in betraying me, but they are staying tight-lipped. I don’t know why, but it’s pissing me off.”

“Maybe they are trying to protect you,” I say, wrapping my arm around her.

“Maybe. Either way, we are preparing for war in case Declan and his army try to come for me. You want to go and watch Elios and Nico fight each other in the ring? They’ve taken to sorting out all kinds of arguments in there. It’s kind of amusing to watch.”

My gaze roams back to Soren, who has just jumped off his horse, looking like a Viking god, and find his eyes on us. Heties his horse and then starts to walk toward us. I can’t help but check out his perfectly sculpted body again, heat pooling in my lower belly. My nipples tighten as he comes right up to us, his cinnamon scent invading my system.

He only has eyes for Astrid, wearing a sexy, mischievous grin. “Enjoy the show?”

Soren has the warmest, most genuine smile, but it’s never pointed at me.

“I’m about to when my mate gets in the ring,” she replies, taking my hand and pulling me toward the castle. “You want to take him on today? He was in quite the mood.”

“No thanks, my face is too pretty,” he calls out in a sing-song voice, stepping into line with us. He towers over us and slows his long, muscular legs down to match our pace. He’s still shirtless, wearing nothing but a loose pair of trousers, sitting low on his hips. I try to pretend that I don’t notice the outline of his cock through the soft gray material, but each step he takes, what looks like a heavy, thick length presses up and strains against his pants.

Fuck.

He comes out here dressed like this?

He might as well be naked.

Just when I think he’s simply going to ignore me, he looks over at me, his expression blank. None of the playful banter is evident when he murmurs, “Witch.”

Okay, not the best greeting, but at least he’s acknowledging me now. I guess that trip to the Goblin Kingdom made some progress.

“Warrior,” I reply, turning my face to look straight ahead.

You could cut the tension with a knife, although I don’t know why. Apparently, one word from me is enough to change the atmosphere around us. I glance at him to see the firm set of his square jaw that wasn’t there before.

Nico and Elios have already started beating the shit out of each other as we approach, both of them shirtless and flexing their muscles.

“What are they fighting over?” I ask, studying the two brothers.

It’s Soren who replies, “Elios set Nico’s bedroom on fire.”

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