Page 171 of Wrath

“The h-word.” Dair released me and turned to face the shadow.

“Himbo?” Ryland asked, arching an eyebrow.

Dair gave him a droll look. “Yes. Himbo. Obviously.”

Ryland grinned wickedly before lowering his gaze to me. As always, he gave me an assessing once-over, as if ensuring I was alive and okay.

All of my mates did that, as if they needed to know for themselves that I’d survived the battle with Aaliyah and my father. I couldn’t even blame them. I found myself doing the exact same thing with the seven of them constantly.

“You look beautiful, dove,” Ryland said reverently. His sweeping gaze stopped on my baby bump, and fierce possessiveness splayed across his face. “I don’t think you have ever looked more ethereal before.”

“How does it feel to be a married woman?” Bash slung an arm around my shoulders before I could reply to Ryland. My mage mate kissed my cheek before releasing me. “I swear a dozen fuckers are crying their eyes out now that you’re off the market.”

I snorted before I could help myself. “I’ve been off the market since I met you fuckers.”

“Aww. You’re already giving us cutesy husband pet names,” Bash cooed dramatically.

“You want your pet name to be fucker?” Killian asked, looking unfairly dashing in the suit tailored specifically for him. His tail poked through a tiny hole in the back of his trousers.

Unlike with Dair, the bones of all the kings did not heal my sweet incubus. Paco had a theory for that—Aaliyah’s magic was so dark and corrupted that nothing short of death could reverse it. And since death was off the table…

Killian smiled sheepishly at me, red dusting his neck and cheeks. “Hi.”

I found myself smiling back. “Hi.”

“You’re married, and you’re awkwardly saying ‘hi’ to each other?” Devlin lifted an eyebrow as he joined me on my other side in a black three-piece suit complete with a violet tie. “Never change, Killian. Never change.”

“Why do you guys keep saying that to me?” Killian threw his hands up in exasperation.

“Because you’re adorable.” Jax playfully moved to pinch Killian’s cheeks, but Killian swatted the vampire’s hands away with a scowl.

“I hate you all.”

As my mates bickered amongst themselves, Lupe shouldered his way through them until he stood in front of me, a plate of crackers and cheese in his hands. Instantly, the mouth-watering aroma assaulted my senses. My cravings had been more intense this late in my pregnancy. Primarily, I wanted cheese and chocolate. Sometimes both at the same time.

Fucking hormones.

“God, I love you,” I moaned, grabbing the plate from Lupe and shoving a handful of cheesy crackers into my mouth.

“Is she talking to you or the cheese?” Jax mock-whispered.

“The cheese,” Bash said. “Definitely the cheese.”

I flipped them all off.

“I want to go thank Atta again,” Lupe said, glancing over his shoulder where couples danced. “She and Mali have truly outdone themselves.”

“I think I saw them with Axel and Mary-Lynette in the kitchen,” Bash mused, tapping a finger to his chin. “I’m pretty sure the slippery bastard was using his machete to cut watermelon. Don’t ask me why. I didn’t even know we fucking had watermelon.”

“I need to talk to him,” Devlin said with a nod.

Axel had become the official security advisor for all of the kingdoms. We eliminated the position of assassin shortly after coming into power. That wasn’t how we wanted to rule.

“No work,” Dair admonished with a scowl. “It’s our wedding night.”

“I’m, for one, excited for the after-after-party,” Bash purred, giving me a slow, salacious once-over.

All at once, I found myself the center of attention of seven completely different men. Their gazes felt like lightning on my skin, skittering across my arms and legs. The heat in my belly morphed from tiny embers to a blistering inferno. Any second and I would burst into flames and be burned alive.

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