Page 87 of Enticing Monsters

But then I remember that it’s not just the four of us in this house, and I whip my head in Cadmus’s direction. The dude seems cool and all, but I don’t want him knowing what, exactly, Sera is up to.

Fortunately, the basilisk seems lost in thought, his gaze intent on the rain pelting the window from the ground up.

Tristan sidles up beside me. “Learn anything from our new friend?” he asks out of the side of his mouth.

I press my lips together and shake my head. I tried to engage Cadmus in conversation a few times, but he always replied in one- or two-word answers, seemingly preoccupied. His pensive gaze never strayed from the storm.

“Huh.” Tristan’s gaze drops down to my cock, and a shit-eating grin unfurls his lips. “I was right.”

I arch an incredulous eyebrow at him, and his grin only widens. I didn’t realize how badly I missed his signature grins until now. Because when Tristan smiles, it’s not just with his mouth but his entire body. His eyes glow, his cheeks bunch, and he practically vibrates with barely restrained energy.

“Knowledge makes you horny,” Tristan teases, and then stealthily dances away when I try to hit him.

“Shut up,” I say in amusement. “We both know it’s not the knowledge doing this to me.”

Very pointedly, I glance towards the closed bedroom door. I think I knowexactlywhat Kian and Sera are doing in there.

I want to join in.

A shadow falls over Tristan’s expression, turning it unreadable. “Yeah. He deserves to be happy, to have this moment with her.”

Something in his tone causes my chest to tighten.

“You deserve to be happy too, Trist.” I swallow, though it does nothing to help my suddenly dry throat. “You’re not the only one who pushed Kian away.”

All of the blame fell on Tristan’s shoulders when the truth was revealed, but he wasn’t the only person involved. Gage and I may not have actively bullied Kian, but we still turned our backs on the incubus when he needed us most. Whenever I think about my past actions, the anvil in my chest makes it hard to breathe.

We fucked up. All of us. I’ll spend the rest of my life atoning if that’s what it takes.

Tristan opens his mouth to respond but immediately snaps it shut when Cadmus turns towards us. A flash of lighting illuminates his scaly face and those strange, slitted eyes.

“You are two of the queen's mates, yes?”

Tristan and I exchange a look. This is the most Cadmus has spoken to me since we first arrived here to wait out the storm.

A fierce sort of protectiveness descends over Tristan’s features. He folds his arms over his chest and levels a suspicious glare at the basilisk shifter.

“Why do you ask?”

Cadmus ignores the question and instead asks one of his own. “How many does she have?”

Tristan looks as if he wants to say something snarky, so I quickly interject.

“Seven,” I say.

I don’t see any harm in telling Cadmus this information. After all, everyone already knows about it.

Shock widens Cadmus’s eyes. “Seven?”

He doesn’t sound as if he believes me.

Tristan nods. “You look surprised.”

Cadmus seems slightly awed as he runs a hand over the top of his head, his fingers catching on the network of braids. “The more powerful a ruler is, the more mates he or she will receive by the fates. I’ve never heard of anyone having more than five before.”

I exchange another look with the wolf shifter.

“Start at the beginning,” I suggest. “We want to know everything there is to know about skinwalkers, royalty, and this world. You told us the short version before, but I want the full one. Don’t hold anything back.”

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