Page 55 of Betrayed Mate

When Ryker began talking, I wanted to hug him for keeping her from asking questions about why I was clutching the counter.

Wait. No. I definitely couldn’t want to hug him, right?

“Now that we have Rebel, we should establish rules of etiquette so no one accidentally walks in on her.” Ryker moved to stand between the back counter and the island, across from Kendric and a few feet from Gage.

The scent of meat hit my nose. My stomach gurgled, followed by sharp hunger pains, and I noted Gage was searing two pieces of steak.

“Since there’s a woman staying with us, knocking on the bedroom door before entering is now required.” Ryker crossed his arms. “Gage walked in on her completelynaked.”

“Man, you were in there too.” Gage flipped the steaks, cooking the other side. “In fact, you were in bed with her while youbothwere naked.”

Smirking, Raven leaned back in her seat while Kendric rubbed his temples.

“Wait.” Xander pointed to the bedroom door. “Is that why you told me to go in there and get them? I thought it was because we couldn’t pack-link with Ember.”

Kendric hung his head. “He didn’t have to pack-link with her while Ryker was with her.”

“Why couldn’t you just holler at us?” I didn’t understand what sort of game or logic they were employing.

“The rooms are soundproof when the doors are closed,” Raven explained and lifted a wine glass full of red liquid emanating the coppery, sweaty scent of human blood. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been able to sleep last night with all the commotion outside.”

“Commotion? There was more than the attack on us?” My mouth went dry. What had I missed?

“She means Felix’s punishment.” Kendric rolled his shoulders back and wrinkled his nose. “It was pretty brutal. If he hadn’t been a descendant of the royal line, he would’ve died.”

My knees gave out, but luckily, I was still holding the edge of the island. I wasn’t sure what shocked me most—the queen having her own son beaten almost to death or him still being alive. “Where is he?”

“The offsite prison.” Raven set her glass on the counter. “He’s far away, so you’re safe here now.”

“And the queen made her point.” Gage snagged two plates from a cabinet and slid a medium-rare steak onto each one. “I suspect no one will dare make another changeling anytime soon.” He placed one steak in front of me.

My left hand grabbed the steak and brought it to my lips. I took a huge bite and chewed, enjoying the juices as the meat slid down my throat. My stomach rumbled eagerly, and I took another bite.

I’d never been this hungry before, and the sensation was completely unnerving.

“Here.” Ryker placed his plate next to mine. “Eat this one too.”

Xander inhaled as Gage’s eyebrows rose to an almost comical level.

Despite my mouth being full, I shook my head. I swallowed. “You need food too.” He hadn’t eaten in a while either.

“I’ve been craving beef jerky.” He pressed his lips together and headed back into the bedroom, where I heard him open a bag.

I couldn’t stop eating. I took another large bite, eager to get as much in me as quickly as possible.

“Whoa.” Xander hurried past Gage and to the refrigerator and removed a bottle of water. “Drink this before you choke.” He then rolled the bottle down the island toward me.

Silence descended as Ryker came back in eating jerky, and I devoured the two steaks and drained the entire bottle of water. When I finished, my stomach seemed to have expanded, indicating I might have eaten too much.

“Are you okay?” Ryker asked then took the last bite of his third jerky stick.

“I’m fine.” I smiled, but I kept a firm grip on the counter with my right hand just in case.

“Now that you two are done, Ryker, the queen wants to speak to you and the rest of your pack.” Raven drained her glass. “She wants to discuss the meeting in a couple days as well as hear what happened with the changeling.”

I pushed off the counter, needing to show them and myself that I was fine. “Sounds good to me.”

“She wants to speak to them—not you.” Raven cringed a little. “She said that she wants you to rest, especially after an attack like that. It was brutal.”

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