Page 50 of Death and Donuts

The bed shifted slightly, and a soft-lit lamp on the nightstand clicked on. “Morning, sunshine.” Cross kissed my temple. “How do you feel?”

“Fuzzy.” Yet, even as I said it, the night before clarified in horrifying detail.

He coiled a lock of my hair around his finger. “To be expected. Do you remember last night?”

“Unfortunately. I still feel Master’s teeth on me. He was about to bite me.”

“Luckily, he didn’t, or you would have been thralled, and this situation would be worse.”

Worse?

I might not have been thralled, but I knew damn well Adriel had compelled me to act like a ho. I covered my face with my hands, remembering how aggressive I had been with Shepard right before I’d basically told him and Cross I’d be good with a threesome.

“It’s bad enough,” I said. “I can’t believe I—” I groaned, not able to get the words out.

Cross chuckled and gently coaxed my hands away from my face. “While I don’t like that Adriel had compelled you, there is nothing wrong with giving in to your desires, Everly. You are allowed to live your life however you choose. And I’m grateful to be a part of your desires.”

I didn’t want to think about any of that now. The way I’d mauled Shepard would have to be dissected later. Preferably while surrounded by baked goods.

“Where is Adriel? Did you catch him?”

Cross shook his head. “I tracked him out of the mountain. Apparently, lockdown only means traditional exits are blocked, not air vents. The king has been made aware of this, and he’ll take action to fix the problem so it doesn’t happen again.”

“What about the ring Adriel stole?”

“King Curran opened the mountain and sent his people out to search for it. They have a picture of Adriel in his cat form from the hotel’s surveillance when Gunther was taken, so they know who they’re looking for. Shepard and I will aid where we can. In the meantime, we can go home.”

“Even Miles?”

Cross nodded. “Curran agreed to absolve Miles for his role in the prince’s death but wanted to keep Miles here until Shepard fulfilled his promise. We convinced Curran it wasn’t wise to keep a man who was under the thrall of a vampire in their mountain, so Shepard has been granted custody of Miles until we break the thrall.”

I blew out a shaky breath. Our time in the mountain could have ended a lot worse, so I was grateful we could take Miles with us.

“I’ll get dressed and be ready in a few minutes.”

“Take your time.” Instead of getting up, he folded his arms behind his head and watched me.

Trying to ignore him, I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and saw it was already mid-morning. A dozen messages from Vena waited, progressively becoming more demanding for information.

“Did anyone update Vena?” I asked.

“We’ve told her that everyone is fine, but we’ve been reluctant to say anything more until the matter of Miles was resolved. I came here as soon as Curran agreed to our suggestion.”

“Okay. I’ll text her right now. What’s the plan now?”

“Once we leave the mountain, you and the Hunters will go with Shepard to his residence. On the way, Shepard will drop me off so I can begin my search for Adriel.”

Me: Everything’s been straightened out. Will give you the full story at Shepard’s place. Meet us there in an hour.

Vena responded with a thumb’s up emoji.

Placing the phone on the nightstand, I hurried to get ready. Cross watched me until I closed the bathroom door.

By the time I emerged, Cross had my bag packed, and a guard was waiting to escort us to the royal living space.

Curran and Indri were seated along with Shepard and the Hunters. Shepard’s cheeks and ears flushed when he saw me. Thankfully, Curran distracted everyone by telling Tryn to fetch Miles.

Mrs. Hunter’s hands were fisted on her lap as she looked at the king with teary eyes. “Thank you for letting us take our son with us. When he’s himself, he’ll want to see you.” She swallowedhard. “I don’t think he’ll be able to forgive himself for his part in what happened.”

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