Page 45 of The Shattered Kingdom
I’ve fucked plenty of women, but none have made me as desperate as the human.
Abby hasn’t noticed me leaning against the doorway, her focus entirely on the shifter. It doesn’t bother me nearly as much as I feared it would. I’ve never felt jealousy toward Mason, but a small part of me always worried that would change if we ever found our mate.
If anything, I’m pleased they’re together, even if it only appears to be in a sexual manner. We haven’t been kind to Abby, and she’s entitled to keep Mason on his knees.
I want her underwear back, though.
Mason pulls Abby’s dress down her thighs before throwing himself on top of her, pinning her to his mattress. She lets out a muffled grunt and almost immediately begins punching him in the arms and back.
“Get off me!”
Mason laughs. It’s genuine, and my heart lurches. I haven’t heard Mason laugh so freely in years, and the irrational bolt of jealousy I’ve been fearing travels up my spine. He’s getting everything. I used to be the carefree one, and all my loss has been his gain.
He has our mate. He has the title that’s been promised to me since birth. He is working to reconnect with his parents after I just put my remaining one in the ground. He can pretend his decision to reach out to Alpha Theon is within the kingdom's best interests, and maybe it is, but I know Mason. He’s always held out hope of reconnecting with his parents.
They abandoned him, and he’s looking for any excuse to forgive them. He’s also desperate enough to take whatever shitty excuse they give him, which will undoubtedly cause issues.
He believes everything will be solved after one conversation with his father, that Alpha Theon will choose Mason over the woman and daughter who successfully brought down the ruling faerie family.
“Mason.” Abby releases another loud shriek. “Get off me!”
Mason laughs again. “I got on my knees and begged my forgiveness into your pussy, and now I’ll tell you my life is meaningless without you—which it is—and how ashamed I am of the way I treated you—which I am.” Mason slides a hand down her leg, then curls his fingers around her ankle. “And now, Daddy, I’ll suckle your big toe.”
I’m not following.
Abby screams absurdly loud as she kicks her legs, trying to keep Mason away from her feet.
I suck in a shaky breath, trying and failing to rein in my anger. I should be happy that Mason is finally finding companionship. He’s been dealt a challenging life, abandoned as a child and forced to live with strangers who openly hated him. I shouldn’t let Mason’s newfound happiness make me bitter. He deserves this.
“Stop it, Mason.” Abby continues to scream. “Stop it right now!”
Mason releases her ankle. “Does this mean you’ll sleep in my bed? I’ve done everything you asked, and I get so, so, so cold atnight.” He lowers his voice, and I roll my eyes. He’s so fucking dramatic. “I need my mate to keep me warm.”
“I hate to interrupt,” I lie. Abby’s about to answer him, but spitefulness prevents me from letting her do so. “But I thought you’d want to know I’ve returned.”
Mason ignores me, fully intent on pretending he hasn’t been aware of my presence since the second I opened our front door. Abby isn’t keen to do the same. She pushes at Mason’s shoulder until he gives in and rolls off her.
He shoots me daggers. I don’t acknowledge them.
Abby’s face is red. Is she embarrassed to have been caught with Mason? She’s doing her best to keep up the appearance of hating the shifter. She must be upset to have been caught being soft with him.
She slides off the bed and fixes her dress, a blush spreading down her neck. It’s hard to keep my expression neutral as she collects herself. I’m desperate to know how it feels to touch her. I felt something with Lillian, but it wasn’t what I always imagined a bond to be. Will it feel different with Abby?
She’s already touched Mason and tied herself to us, so there’s no reason for me to postpone. If it weren’t for her hatred of us, I would’ve done so already. I’d like comfort. I would’ve liked to hold my mate as I spoke my final words to my mother earlier today.
“The faeries will be testing you tomorrow,” I say to Mason. “They want to prove you aren’t fit to lead, and they’ll be eager to embarrass you during court.”
We don’t hold court often, mainly because it’s time-consuming and nobody ever comes. I suspect the throne room will be filled tomorrow. The faeries will have plenty to say and ask, and Mason needs to make a good impression.
Things are unstable, and it’s only a matter of time before theshifters, and other noble families, try to exploit it. We need to maintain a united front.
“The faeries are never going to accept me,” Mason says.
“That doesn’t mean they won’t respect you.”
“I beg to differ.”
Mason has spent years ruining relationships with the faeries. They never gave him a chance, and he acted accordingly. Mason left a trail of bodies everywhere he went, and he never bothered hiding his hatred toward my people.
