Page 42 of Tortured Royals

My mates all stare at me, and there’s so much love in their gazes that I feel as though my heart has grown two sizes.

“For so long I have felt empty inside,” Mason says out loud. “And not just from the pain of losing my family, my friends, and the betrayal of my brother. It was as though there was something missing, but I couldn’t understand what it was.” He smiles at me. “Turns out it was you, my mate.”

My throat is so tight that all I can do is smile back at him, and when Alaric lays beside me, gently curling his arm around me, I bury into his chest, wishing I never had to come up for air.

We take our time cleaning up and dressing, and then we’re back in the sitting room.

“I feel incredible,” Dante says, holding his hands in the air like he can see power traveling along his veins. A funny smile crosses his face, and he walks to a wall. Lifting his hand, he presses his palm against the dark paint, and the entire house freakingdisappears.Not just Dante, but the entire building and everything inside it, including us.

My skin tingles as I blink at the scene around me. Though I can still feel Dante and my other mates in exactly the same positions as we were seconds ago, the forest surrounds us now, trees and grass lining the space on all sides. A short distancebeneath us is the large stretch of flattened earth that the house was built on.Whoa.

Nate curses.

“So, I think we can confirm I’ve leveled up,” Dante drawls. “Considering, I only used to be able to make myself and small items invisible, like the clothes I was wearing or another person I was touching.”

The house comes back into view, the fully furnished room and my mates appearing around me as the tingling stops.

Dante is holding his hands in the air, staring at them in awe again. “Looks like the limitations of my power have changed.”

Nate prowls around the room. “Let’s take this outside. I want to try something.”

We all follow him, and once we’re standing beneath the stars, Nate walks a few paces away from us. He winks at me. “You all might want to stay back.” And then he’s shifting. Fur rushes over his body as his form changes and morphs, and he turns into a jaguar that’s twice the size of his previous form. He shakes his huge head, his large claws digging into the earth, and he opens his mouth revealing a set of massive fangs.

His chest rumbles, and I hold up my hands. “Don’t!” But Nate doesn’t stop. Before the roar tears from him, Prince Callan whips his hand up and a tunnel of wind forms around the powerful jaguar, stopping the sound from escaping. The wind tunnel becomes larger, stretching wider, and uprooting a few surrounding trees.

“Uh, Callan—” I start, surprised by how fast his wind turned into an out-of-control vortex, but just as quickly, Prince Callan forms a fist with his hand, cutting off the flow of power. The vortex grows smaller in size until it disappears, and all we’re left with is a giant cat with ruffled hair and a pissed off expression.

I smother my laugh. “We don’t want to draw attention.”

Nate glowers at Prince Callan, looking like he wants to snack on the prince’s wings.

Mason decides to try his power next, changing into his shifted form. While he’s not double his size like Nate, he is larger, his coat more glossy, and I could swear even his muscles are bigger. He takes one of his knives, aims at a nearby tree, and throws it. The blade cuts straight through the trunk of multiple trees before it stops.

“And, what about you, our mate?” the centaur says, giving me a breathtaking smile. “How have your powers changed?”

I bite my lip, my power continuing to flow outward. The others can’t sense it, but I can feel them around me. The birds, that is. My reach is much further than it was before, stretching far across the realm. My power reaches out to the animals, touching them, coaxing them to me without me even uttering a command. A bush rustles nearby, and Nate’s cat eyes fix on the spot, the giant feline ready to pounce. Before anything springs free, I pull back my power, severing the connection. The bird that had been about to appear flies away, and all five of my mates turn to me.

“I can sense more of them,” I explain. “The birds, that is.” I don’t give them a demonstration and summon the innocent creatures to me. I still can’t forget what happened when I failed the birds in Toralyn.

From their worried expressions, I’m guessing my mates can sense something is wrong, but I force a smile to my face and shrug. “I feel stronger, too. More in control.” That last part, at least, seems to appease them.

“And what about you, assassin?” Mason asks. “What are your gifts?”

Alaric frowns, staring at his hands.

“Maybe we should find that out another time, hey big guy?” Dante points out. “Something tells me the demons will notice a hulking giant in the forest outside the city.”

“That’s probably wise,” Alaric growls.

“Ahhhh!”Shade screeches in my mind, and I whip my head to the side in time to see Nate leap into the air, catching her in his paws and cradling her as he lands.

She struggles in his hold.“Bad kitty. Very bad kitty! Oh god, this is like that time with Jessie’s house cat all over again.”

I’m there in a second, prying Nate’s paws open.

Nate hisses, and his tail flicks back and forth as he reluctantly watches Shade hop away and then fly onto my shoulder.

“Oh, thank god. For a minute there, I thought he might eat me,”Shade says.“Blake, what is happening? Why is Nate so big? I mean, I knew he was big, but I’m talking about his cat form, not his…”

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