Page 55 of Tortured Royals

“What?”Alaric growls, looking unimpressed.

Nate and Prince Callan are already lifting off their shirts, exposing panes of hardened muscle, and Mason follows their lead. I slide down my dress, and my mates’ gazes heat as they stare at me in my lacy black bra and matching bikini bottoms. I hadn’t expected to end up in a cage, but it’s always best to be prepared when visiting a club on the Devil’s Lane—the stretch of street in Seral City where the most exclusive clubs are.

“We need to look like we belong here,”I explain to Alaric, and he begrudgingly pulls off his shirt before removing his pants likethe others. By the time the cage stops in line with the balcony, all five of us are half-naked.

Copying the dancers in the cages around us, I start moving to the music. The thudding tempo isn’t as loud up here, so we should be able to hear the demons speaking at the meeting, but first, we need to blend in. If we fuck this up, we might be revealing our identities sooner rather than later, and we have one chance to get the information we need.

Trying to be subtle, I peer over at the balcony which leads onto a private floor of the club. There’s a small bar, a selection of leather couches, and a long table, surrounded by seating. Eight clan leaders are seated there, including Dante, who’s positioned facing us, a drink on the table before him.

“We see you,”I tell him,“But don’t make it obvious when you spot us.”

“You say that as if you’re somewhere close,”he drawls, intrigued, and the moment he spies us, a slow smile pulls across his face.“Now I knew tonight would be entertaining, but I didn’t quite think it would be this exciting. You do realize what that middle cage is for, I presume? And the entertainment you’ll have to provide to avoid suspicion?”

Heat blooms low in my belly.“As long as we get the information we need.”

Dante’s dark chuckle vibrates in my head.

Trying not to think about it for the moment, I glance at the demons at the meeting using my peripheral vision before looking away again.“Seated on Dante’s left is a clan leader named, Gloria,”I explain to the others.“She runs the Blackthorne clan, which is one of the demon clans with the most members. Gloria has been the leader for over two centuries.”

“And the demon to his right?”Alaric asks.

I eye the skeletal male with a wicked scar that traces over his lips and down his chin.“That’s Scyro from the Zetar Clan.He’s known as one of the most ruthless clan leaders in Seral. He killed eight members of his family to get his position.”

“Tortured some of them, too,”Dante adds grimly.

Slowly, I list the names of all the demons around the table, with some input from Dante every so often. They’re all easily identifiable and all from influential demon clans, including Hanz from the Silver Sun clan. The clan that owns the club.

I’ve just finished explaining their backstories when a tall demon in a navy suit walks from the staircase. An impressive number of knives hang from the belt around his waist, and a distinct tattoo of a blade is visible on his collarbone. He strides toward the table, flanked by six muscular demons who break off and take up positions around the space.

“And that would be Ivar,”I tell the others.“Leader of the Fallon Blade clan.”Despite already hearing that he’s the one behind the meeting, I’m still surprised when I see the clan leader. After General Josek tore down the Fallon Blade clan house, I left orders for the demon guards to scour the city for the Fallon Blade clan members. I thought Ivar would stay in hiding, and it feels like a bad sign that the clan leader is willing to risk such a meeting.

“Ivar has a history of opposing the laws put into place by King Dalton,”I say.“He’s unpredictable but cunning, and shouldn’t be underestimated.”

“Sounds like a charmer,”Nate comments dryly.

We watch as the demon leader claims the only unoccupied chair left at the table. His gaze sharpens as he peers at the demons already seated, and a smile tugs at his thin lips when he sees Noah. Or at least, when he sees Dante disguised as Noah.

Dante smiles at Ivar and lifts his drink into the air before bringing the glass to his lips.“I’ve never liked this bastard,”my demon mate murmurs.“Whenever he’s at a party, you know there’s going to be trouble.”

My gaze is still fixed to Ivar when Nate’s hands roam over my body.“You need to keep movin’ gorgeous. If you keep starin’, someone’s bound to notice.”

I hadn’t even realized I’d stopped dancing, and I curse, diverting my gaze and rolling my hips against my shifter mate when Ivar’s glance slides to us in the cage.

“You’ll need to do more than dance, princess,”Dante points out, his lips curving up at the sides.“Unless you wish to draw attention.”

“You mean something like this?”I say, pulling from Nate and reaching for Alaric, pressing my lips to his. If anything, the grumpy assassin was going to be the one to get us caught out, but thankfully, his muscles loosen at my touch. He cups the back of my head, kissing me back hard.

“That’s a good start,”Dante muses.

Mason presses in behind me, gripping my hips, and despite the fact I’m still trying to pay attention to the meeting, my body flushes with heat.

When I lift my leg, Alaric grabs my thigh, holding it at his side. Mason’s hands rove over me, exploring from behind, his lips brushing against my skin, and despite where we are andwhywe’re there, I need my mates. Like they can sense it, Nate and Prince Callan stalk closer, crowding around me. I take my lips from Alaric’s, and turn my head, kissing Prince Callan and then Nate.

With every touch, every caress, the bond between us hums to life.

“Whatever happens, you can’t let me come,”I tell them, my breathing heavy.“The last thing we need is my tattoos letting off a light show.”

Nate gives me a feral grin.“I think we can handle that.”

---