Page 103 of Vengeful Mates

My old lady laughed so hard, she lost her breath, her eyes watered, and she rubbed her belly, the cramp on the bond marking her stitch.

“My killer loyalty.” Zethan’s turn.

Aaliyah’s sucked in breaths to calm down. “My killer compassion,” she spat out in between swipes of her leaking eyes.

“Your killer heart.” Alaric’s palm coasted to her chest, then dropped for a sneaky grope of her breast.

Castor side glanced him. “Trying to win extra points?”

Alaric chuckled and nuzzled at her neck, whispering some sweet shit. “I don’t need to. I’m a killer romantic.”

Aaliyah snorted and slapped her palm on the table. “That’s still a no for Blade and Dagger.”

I groaned my displeasure. Worth a try. Another war lost. “You suck all the fun out of it, Nurse A.”

She winked at me. “Shut up and kiss me and wow me with those killer lips.”

I loved that she played along with our game.

Castor got in before I did and scooped her onto his legs, caging her in his arms. “You’ll need permission from your husband.” Smart-ass claimed the back of her neck, his tongue sweeping into her mouth, fucking her face.

Whatever. I got up and collected everyone’s rubbish and hit Castor on the back of the head for being smart. There was still time to win this war over the baby’s name.

CHAPTER34

Aaliyah

Thud,thud, thud.The loud clock in my head struck each second, counting down the minutes until everything changed. Thirty-two hours before my men waged their final crusade.

Unlike before, we faced a more cunning, clever, and patient foe with formidable powers to compel Slade and Zethan to submit to his will. Anxiety wreaked havoc with my body at not knowing if my men would come back to Mia and me.

I stroked the brown velvety cushion beside me where Castor sat before he went into the kitchen with Mia to prepare dinner. What might be our last fucking meal together. I lifted it to my nose to inhale his cologne and dark, dominant scent. My heart cried out a pitiful, somber melody and I whimpered into the silky material.

These past few days we barely saw him as he devoted himself to finding answers. Zethan, too, spent hours conversing with his god to uncover Colton and Anubis’ mysteries.

“Feel like lasagna and garlic bread?” Castor’s dark voice made me drop the cushion into my lap.

“Castor, don’t leave me!” Mia hurried out of the kitchen to claim his hand and squeeze it tight.

Fuck. Missing her biker daddies and sensing the tension between her family, my baby fretted like crazy, hugging me, refusing to let me out of her sight, wanting to sleep with me, and not wanting to go to school. Off the damn charts anxiety. Alaric kept the full extent of it from me to protect me and the babies from additional stress. Nightmares every night and waking to go to my door. My poor, broken man hadn’t slept to keep a vigil over her. This fucking business was doing more than destroying the club. It ruined every aspect of our lives and tore us apart in the process.

“It’s okay, Sot Nesu.” Castor leaned down to be at eye level with her. “I was just asking Mom whether she liked your idea for dinner.”

Lasagna, Mia’s favorite.

Mia glanced at me with vulnerable, tearful eyes. “Can we, Mom?”

I released a wave of soothing magick to bring her down. “We better make three loaves of garlic bread then. Slade will eat two.”

“More like three,” Mia grumbled, and I laughed at how accurate and observant my little baby was.

Castor tickled her. “We better make an extra secret loaf just for us then.”

She threw her arms around him. “Yes!”

“You’re a good girl, helping me.” My dark mate wound his arms around her small back. Confident and constant, far from the unsure man who didn’t think he’d make a good father figure when he never had one.

She hugged him tighter. “Love you. You’re the best!”

---