Page 67 of Her Males

Aziel was stupid to kill Shay. Nobody liked her, but her death will only make it harder for us to convince Charlie to return. I’m sure she’s come to think of Shay as some martyr, and this will most definitely piss her off.

Rock steps into the room.

We make eye contact, and I watch as he wrings his hands together and glances between me and the bodies. He smells of fear.

“Will you have Charlie executed?” he asks, avoiding eye contact.

I clench my jaw, angry he’s even asking me this.

“No,” I snap. “Let the shadows know we want the boy’s body returned to the fairies who raised him.”

They’ll be devastated to find their son’s mangled body on their front porch tomorrow, but I don’t have it in me to feel bad tonight. Life’s cruel, and at some point, everybody comes to learn that.

Rock nods and opens his mouth to say more, but with a shake of his head, he turns and leaves. I’m sure he’s pissed with us, the shadow having grown fond of Charlie. I won’t be surprised to wake tomorrow and discover he’s run off to find her.

Shadows are loyal, and I have an inkling Rock’s devotion has shifted from us to her.

I’m glad she’ll have a friend to keep her company.

Fuck.

Charlie warned me she’d put the females before herself, but I never imagined it would come to this. Would she have decided to stay if we were more open with her?

Our discussions with the shifters were more fruitful than we let on, but we kept that information quiet so Charlie wouldn’t get too excited before things were finalized.

I’m sure Mammon’s already reached out to them by now, destroying that option for us. She doesn’t even need to spin a story to turn them against us. We fucked up, and nobody will be inclined to believe us when we say we were trying to fix it.

They’ll think we’re saying whatever we can to save our asses, and having Charlie speak out against us will only cement that.

That’s probably the only reason Mammon’s keeping her around.

The blessed breeds treasure their mates, and they’ll eat up everything Charlie says like it’s fucking soup.

Aziel and Silas are in the midst of an argument when they return, but I don’t bother listening to the sharp words they spit. I listen to see if I find a third heartbeat with them, but when I only hear two, I stand and head upstairs.

I’m going to bed.

14

_____

CHARLOTTE

I DIDN’T THINK it was possible for somebody to walk as quickly as Gray, but Mammon’s sure proven my assumption wrong. I struggle to keep up as I adjust the bag on my shoulder. Several copies of the female report are in it, weighing me down.

“Are you sure I need to come?” I ask, hurrying behind her.

“Yes.” She doesn’t bother looking in my direction. “The shifters will want to hear what you have to say.”

I doubt I have any insight that’ll be fruitful to them, but I don’t challenge her. If she thinks it’ll help, I’ll be there.

Mammon pauses once we reach her sitting room. I cock my head to the side as I peer around, a bit confused by what I’m seeing. The room looks the same, but something’s different.

“New furniture,” Mammon says, answering my unspoken question.

She holds out her arm. I hesitate, nervous, before grabbing her wrist.

The unmistakable weightlessness of teleporting spreads through me, and I clench my eyes shut until it’s over. Nothing’s as bad as Gray’s travels, and it only takes a few seconds for me to regain my balance.

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