Page 86 of Tortured Royals

“Wow, Nine Lives, and I thought I was an asshole,” Prince Callan comments.

“Youwerean asshole,” Dante confirms.

My heart thuds as I watch my mate carefully.

“And I’m guessing there’s more to it than that?” she asks.

“Only that the shifter said, whomever gets their hands on the weapon won’t only control the witches. They could control all the realms as well.” I rub the back of my neck, and I give her asheepish smile. “I would have told you earlier, but I guess I was afraid of what you’d think.”

Blake doesn’t look surprised, but there is a thread of disappointment in her gaze.

“I may have come here for the treasure,” I add quickly. “But it’s not why I returned. Whatever is within that vault is nothing to me now. You’re my mate, and all I care about. But I had to tell you. The implications of the power in that vault might be the reason the king is so reluctant to talk about it.”

I’m not sure what I expect my mate to do. Curse me? Fight me? She simply stands there, her brow creased. “And why did you want it?”

“The treasure?”

“Yes.”

I hesitate before admitting, “Things are bad in the beast realm. You think the demons have problems, but in Kanzepes only the strong survive.” I pause. “Or the most cunning.”

She stares at me. “…Or the ones who have help from someone strong?” she guesses.

I shrug. “Someone’s gotta look out for the little guys. A powerful weapon could change things. Even if it was only used for those in the beast realm.”

Prince Callan crosses his arms. “Are you telling us, all those items you stole...”

“I knew others who needed them more,” I reply with a mischievous grin.

“Oh, thank god,”Shade sighs.“For a minute there, I thought I was going to have to hate you, barbs be damned.”

“Please stop talking about his barbs,” my mate groans, but she grins at me, the light returning to her eyes.

Striding forward, she whacks me on the chest. Pain throbs beneath my breastbone at the hit, but I don’t care.

“You’re seriously lucky I like you,” she tells me.

“Only like?” I tease, my heart racing as relief near cripples me. My hands slide to her hips, and I swear, I would be content to hold her like this forever.

She bites her lip, hesitating. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, shifter.” Her expression grows severe. “Keep things like that from me again, and next time I’ll have your balls.”

My hands slide to her ass, and I pull her tighter against me. “Please don’t, because pleasurin’ you is now my mission in life.”

She chuckles, though I see the uncertainty in her eyes. “The beast realm. You’ll have to tell me more about it sometime. All I know is what I’ve been taught. I didn’t realize it was that bad.”

“Another time, gorgeous. Let’s focus on our witch problem for now. And I swear, no more secrets.” I brush my lips against hers.

“Good,” she rasps, and she claims my lips, her hands winding around my neck.

My cock hardens as I long to satisfy my mate.My queen. My treasure.

She moans as I deepen the kiss, and the others crowd closer, drawn to us.

The scent of her arousal permeates the air, the sweet honey and cinnamon scent growing stronger. I groan, my mouth watering. Fuck I love tasting her. Touching her. Making her scream…

Squeezing her ass, I grind against her, letting her feel just how badly I want her, but a piercing, wailing sound blares through the training room, and she jerks back. Her gaze sharpens as she tips her head up to where a speaker is fastened to one corner of the room.

“The alarm,”Shade squeaks, panicked.

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