Page 255 of Tempest of Wrath and Vengeance

It was Bree DelaCrux.

“Axel, darling,” she greeted as she stepped into the room, a bag dangling from her manicured hands. “Rumors are swirling that you’ve returned, and I thought I would come visit.”

“Bree,” he said carefully, and he felt Katya stiffen behind him. It was part of the reason he’d said her name. So Kat would realize the severity of this situation. “You could have just sent a note.”

Her red-painted lips turned down in a pout. “I could have,” she agreed. “But I was under the impression that you would be returning to me when you returned to the Underground. Instead, I learned that you have been wasting away here. Surely, you have completely turned by now?”

“I have,” he answered, because there was no point in denying it.

Just like he knew he’d eventually have to let Kat leave this space, he’d known he would eventually have to face Bree too. He’d just been trying to form a decent plan. This wasn’t his greatest strength. Theon and Luka were the planners and strategizers. He was the “people person.” The one who got along with everyone and could smooth things over. He just had no idea how he was going to smooththisover with the coven leader.

“I didn’t realize you’d taken on an extra job,” he said, nodding to the bag she still held.

She laughed, a melodic thing, as she made her way through the living area, setting the bag on a small table. One look told him it was the groceries he’d ordered. One look also told him the rations of blood he’d ordered were not included.

“I figured I was coming all this way, I may as well save someone else the trip,” Bree replied.

“How benevolent of you.”

“I thought so,” she agreed.

She turned to face him again, leaning her ass against the arm of the sofa. Somehow she looked immensely out of place here, which was ridiculous because his father had the penthouse decorated in the finest luxuries coin could buy.

“I see you’ve already found a vessel,” she said when he continued to stare at her.

“A what?”

“A vessel, darling,” she drawled. “A warm blood supply always at your disposal.”

“That isnotwhat she is,” he balked before he could stop himself. He recognized the mistake immediately when a dark smile formed on Bree’s lips.

“Fae and powerful,” she said. “I can smell it on her. If we were at my House, I could take her from you.”

“Except you are inmyhouse,” he snarled. “And if you lay a single finger on her, it will be the last thing you do.”

“So protective,” she crooned, clearly not phased. Then her features morphed into something dark and deadly. “No one has been able to kill me for millenniums. You will not succeed where others have failed.” She pushed off the sofa, her heels clicking on the floor as she circled them. “Vessels are the equivalent of a Source for you, I suppose. Only we do not limit them to the ruling coven leaders. Any Night Child can have one if they choose to.” She smiled then, her fangs on full display. “The hunt and claiming is half the fun.”

“What is the other half?” Axel asked dryly.

“Fighting to keep them,” she added with a shrug of her slender shoulder. “It is not uncommon for others to try to steal a more powerful vessel for themselves. Even down here, power decides fate. You know this, darling. It’s why you are in such a predicament.”

“I was unaware I was facing any such thing,” he replied, turning to keep Kat behind him as Bree continued to circle.

“With your Arius magic, you were one of the most powerful to walk the Underground. The power itself conjured respect and fear, but now?” She pouted again. “What are you now, darling?”

“He is still an Arius Heir,” Kat snapped. “He still demands the same.”

Bree’s head tilted, a pleased curl of her lips. “An Arius Legacy with no power? That’s not how things work down here, poppet.”

“Don’t speak to her,” Axel snarled.

The smile disappeared instantly, replaced by an icy glare. “Youdo not speak tomein such a manner, Axel. Kindly remember whose House you agreed to pledge allegiance to.”

“I never agreed to that,” he argued. “I told you I needed time to figure things out.”

Her eyes narrowed. “I do not play games, Axel St. Orcas.”

He barked a humorless laugh. “I think you do, Bree. Is that not what you were doing when youfoundsomeone for me? Playing games? Playingme?”

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