Page 43 of Exiled Prince

“You’re welcome,” Soren replies, his gray eyes flickering with amusement. “How did you end up with such a sweet little female, Bane?”

He laughs, zipping away before Bane can retaliate in any way.

“Fucker,” he mutters, turning to me and cradling my jaw with his strong hand. “We will get him back.”

“Are you sure you want to come? You’ll be facing your past, Bane. Your brother—”

“Is the king now, which means he’s behind this,” he grits out, closing his eyes for a second before reopening them with purpose. He rests his forehead against mine, then whispers, “They will pay for what they have done.”

Yes, they will.

***

I’ve heard the saying ‘too many cooks in the kitchen,’ but sitting around the table with Bane, Salem, Silver, and Sage is one too many alphas in a room. Working on a plan to save Shadow has ended up in screaming matches—all of them, but never at me. A vase was thrown at the wall by Salem, and Bane threatened him for breaking said vase. Salem gave us all a sarcastic demonstration of his invisible magic and how the wards won’t hold him. A throwing star is now embedded in my door from Silver, and all of my leftover food and cake is finished because one of them eats when stressed—Sage.

“If we go to war, wewillwin,” Bane states, pulling me onto his lap when I walk past him to sit back down. “We have the Witch along with the Fae and Incubus Kingdoms on our side.”

“I have no doubt we will win,” Silver replies, his light-green eyes narrowing on my mate. “But what are you going to do afterward? Are you going to be okay with your brother dying?”

Geez, that old elephant in the room.

I don’t want to sacrifice Bane’s brother to save mine, but if his brother is the reason mine was taken, I’m not going to have a problem making him pay.

But at the end of the day, Xan is still Bane’s baby half brother, and his father’s blood still runs in him.

Beautiful dark eyes speckled with amber turn to me. “It’s your call,” I say, nuzzling his neck. “Whether you want your crown back or not, I’m by your side.”

He nods once, masking the emotion in his eyes. “I told myselfI was happy to step away, to let Xan lead, but maybe I was wrong.”

“We just want our brother. What happens with the kingdom after that is up to you,” I whisper, kissing his ear.

“At least wait until we leave,” Salem mutters, his chair squeaking as he pushes it back to stand. “Two nights from now, everyone get ready.”

“Do not touch Pandora,” I remind him, and he scowls.

“She was mine first,” he mutters.

“Salem!”

“I’m focused on Shadow. I don’t care about anything else,” he promises me, disappearing into thin air without so much as a wave goodbye.

“You both haven’t said what your magic is,” Bane suddenly says, studying my remaining two brothers.

“Silver won’t tell you what his is.” I smirk, but then look to Sage, who I know doesn’t mind sharing.

“I can heal myself, but not others, in both my forms,” Sage explains, stretching his neck from side to side. “So let’s just say that I’m very hard to kill.”

“And his wolf is humungous.”

“I still haven’t seen your wolf,” Bane murmurs, his fingertips teasing up my inner thigh. “Are you keeping her hidden from me?”

“The full moon is in four nights, so you will see her then,” I reply, feeling a little vulnerable about showing him my shifter side.What if it turns him off?

“I love you in any form, Saylor,” Bane says, somehow reading my mind. “You should know this by now.”

When I turn back to my brothers, they have both disappeared, leaving us to our private moment.

“You might need to remind me how much you love me in this form,” I purr, sliding my hand down his chest.

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