Page 24 of Hunted
Yukio narrowed his eyes at me.“What hoops?”
“Oh,” I said airily, giving a dismissive little wave.“Just a few little assassinations, that sort of thing.”
Sanka huffed.“Lazy fucking vampire can’t even murder her own rivals.How has she managed to stay queen for more than a day?”
Martina sighed.“And I take it we’re not doing the job for her?”
I sneered.“I’m not that idiot’s slave.”
“You know this is probably why she’s been acting out, right?”Sanka said, crossing his arms over his broad chest and giving me an unimpressed look.“That bullshit with the wards, attacking Sadavir...it’s probably all just because we didn’t immediately jump to do her bidding the second she delivered her demands.”
“I’m aware,” I growled.“But I don’t mean to give in to the demands of a petulant child.It will only encourage the behavior.”
Yukio raised one black brow at me, as if silently reminding me that we were already playing along with Acacia’s offer to be allies, so she clearly already thought we were her slaves.“Regardless of whether we do what she asks, we’re still back to the same question,” he said flatly.“What if she really has no intention of delivering the information she promised?”
“Then we kill her and find the emperor ourselves,” I said flatly.“Thatwasthe plan all along, after all, before she decided to toy with Ruya’s little pet human.”
No one was happy.But they didn’t object.
Martina tapped a sheet of paper that was lying in the center of the table.“There are some other things we’ve been able to do while we’re waiting for information.We’ve started preparing additional shelter locations for the unaligned that usually hang out around here.If The Fox is compromised, we can relocate small clusters of them out of the reach of this area’s syndicate, so they don’t suffer the backlash.”
Talking about the vulnerable unaligned paranorms and the potential of my nest being compromised flipped a switch inside me all of the sudden, out of nowhere.I stood and paced once around the room.My hands twitched.The pressure behind my eyes hadn’t left since yesterday, but now it grew.This was my nest.Those outcast, homeless, helpless unaligned paranorms weremypeople.The syndicate had already harmed them enough, they wouldn’t touch them!The dragon wanted out.Wanted to take control and burn the whole world down.
But I wouldn’t let it.
Martina watched me carefully.“How long can you keep holding it back?”
“Long enough,” I ground out between gritted teeth.
Yukio’s voice was gentler than I expected.“You’re burning yourself out.”
“I’m fine,” I snapped.
“You keep saying that,” Sanka muttered.
“It keeps being true.”
Silence.
Then the door creaked open.I didn’t have to look to know who it was.
Ruya entered like she always did—quiet, but immediately drawing the focus of everyone in the vicinity, the kind of presence that soothed every paranorm in the room before she even opened her mouth.Omega.Goddess.Mine.I gave myself a mental shake.Focus.Don’t let the beast take over.
She carried a small tray with three teacups and a matching pot, steam curling softly above it, navigating the room with her usual stately bearing and grace, despite her lack of sight.“I thought I might find you all here without me,” she said as she carefully set the tray on the table.“Now I feel left out.”That playful little pout of hers nearly ended me.
Martina smiled for the first time all night.Our stunning omega had that effect on people.
Ruya carefully poured the tea and handed cups to each of us.Her fingers brushed mine when she passed me my cup.Deliberately, letting her omega aura reach for me, soothing and sweet.My own magic flared in response, demanding that I claim her.Pull her onto my lap and sink my teeth into the tender white flesh of her neck.Drag her back to my nest and fill her with my egg....
Fuck.
That was not a thought I should entertain.Ever.I ripped my eyes away from the tempting death-called witch and focused on my tea.But I could feel the others watching me.Waiting for me to lose control.
Yukio’s frosty blue eyes met mine over the edge of his cup as he sipped.“Tasty, don’t you think, Robin?”
He wasn’t talking about the tea, and I was going to kick him in the shin if he kept it up.Or take a bite out of him.I arched a brow at him in challenge.Keep it up, pixie, and you’ll pay.
“You made the damned herbal blend,” Martina said, ruining the fae’s fun by completely missing the innuendo.“Stop bragging about your own shit.”
