Page 3 of The Prince's Mate

“Fuck off, Caelan,” he snapped as we reached the gym, and he rushed inside. Before I left, this gym had been my safe haven, and only Damien and I had access to it. The others still couldn’t use it, but I’d added Walker to it a long time ago, liking the idea of him spending time in a place that was so important to me.

As a soul collector, I didn’t need to work out to stay fit, but I enjoyed doing it, enjoyed pushing my body until I was too exhausted to do anything but go to my room and fall asleep. Some days, that was the only way I could sleep.

“Wanna spar?” I asked, rubbing my palms together, and Walker grimaced. Every time the two of us ended up in the gymtogether—which happened quite often since I may or may not know Walker’s schedule—I egged Walker into sparring with me. I enjoyed teaching him how to fight, and it was the only time I got to touch him without the threat of raising his ire. When he didn’t reply, I waggled my brow. “Scared to lose?”

Like I’d hoped, his eyes narrowed and he walked over to me. “I’m not scared, because I won’t lose. You’re the one who should be worried, old man. I don’t think you’ll be able to keep up with me,” he taunted, and I stepped closer to him, leaving only a handspan of distance between us.

“Don’t you worry about that, my prince. I can keep up with you all night long.” I felt a rush when Walker’s eyes darkened, and he swallowed. “Now, are you ready to work up a sweat?”

He shook his head and stepped back, looking anywhere but at me as he took a deep breath, and it was moments like these that told me that maybe, maybe hate wasn’t all Walker felt for me. And it was moments like these that kept me coming back, that kept me acting like I didn’t care about Walker just so I could be around him, when he was all I cared about.

Ro’Shassz

Wow, talk about having your head stuck up your ass. Or was it sticking your head in the sand? Who cared!

Walker and Caelan were being idiots. I’d given them four fucking years to get their shit together after Caelan came back. How had Walker not realized Caelan returned months after his eighteenth birthday? He was smarter than that! And yet nothing. I was done waiting now, though. It was time to employ some tactics. To make sure no one ever forgot my genius, I was goingto write a journal of my own. I might not have hands, but I had magic, and that was just as good.

Since my dear charge seemed intent on never calling them anything else, here’s a little cheat sheet for anyone who might need it:

Pops – Arty, Da – Reece, and Dad – Damien.

Step One: Try to make them see the giant elephant in the room.

Two

Walker

“Come on, is that all you’ve got?” Caelan taunted as he dodged my punch again, whirling away with a grace that reminded me he was half-cat.

Frustrated, I growled and jumped back, barely missing the kick that would’ve toppled me to the floor. No matter how much I hated Caelan, I couldn’t deny that he was a great fighter. It was why I’d started sparring with him in the first place.

While my dads loved me more than anything, they still thought I was a kid sometimes, and no matter how many times I’d asked him to, Dad hadn’t taught me how to fight, reasoning that I’d never need to. I’d convinced some of the others, mainly Nox—the previous keeper of the Burning Chasm and current matchmaker who worked for Fate—and Maximus—chief of the Anubis squad and the best fighter in Otherworld—to help melearn the basics since they treated me like their nephew, but it was only after Caelan came back that someone actually took my request seriously.

That, coupled with the fact that we hated each other, meant that neither of us took it easy on the other. It was a good thing we couldn’t get hurt, because if we could, I was sure we’d walk away covered in bruises every single day.

I took a step back and hopped on my toes, my eyes narrowed at my opponent. Caelan appeared completely at ease, but I knew better. He was coiled for an attack, and it could come from anywhere.

Just as he went for a kick that would’ve gotten me in the jaw, I blocked him, using his own momentum to push him off his feet. He grabbed me as he went down, and then I was on top of him, our faces inches apart, my forearm digging into his chest as I hovered over him.

His aqua blue eyes were mesmerizing from up close. His pupils expanded like a cat’s, his breath rushing out of him. My eyes drifted to his mouth, and I realized it would take barely any movement to press my lips to his.

Wait, what?

My brain screeched to a halt, and I scrambled to my feet, my legs feeling like jelly. Caelan slowly got to his feet, looking completely unruffled.

Had I just been thinking about kissing Caelan? What was wrong with me?

“I’m done,” I mumbled and then hurried out of the room before he could say anything.

I rushed up the stairs, ignoring whoever had called out my name as I took the stairs two at a time, only stopping once I was safely inside my own room.

“What the fuck!” I hissed to myself, recalling how close I’d come to kissing Caelan. How could I ever think about kissing him? I hated him.

“Well, it looks like that went well,” Ro’Shassz commented, and I turned to find him hanging over the back of the couch, his head inches from the floor. He was such a weird fucking snake, but I’d lived with him long enough to get used to him popping up anywhere.

“Were you watching us?” I demanded, and he slid upright, his eyes twinkling as they met mine.

“You’re like my favorite show. Of course I was watching. That sexual tension was just mwah,” he said, and I sputtered.

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