Page 115 of The Dragon King's Assassin

“He must have drugged her too,” I said as I stroked Ren's head. “You'll be all right, sweetheart. Looks as if it's wearing off. You're fine.” Then I remembered that I was mad. “But you!” I pointed at Taroc. “You . . . ugh!” I threw up my hands and headed for the door. “I can't even look at your gorgeous face right now. I wanna fucking punch it!”

“Lock! Lock, don't you walk out when Ren is like this!”

“Ren will be fine.”

“Fuck! Hold on, Ren. I'll be right back.”

“No!” I swung around and pointed a finger at him. “Don't you fucking follow me. I need to think this shit over.”

“Lock, please. I'm sorry. I didn't know how to tell you. I tried to ease you into it, but then you got mad at me.”

“You treated me like . . . well, I'm not sure what you treated me like but it wasn't like your mate.”

“Can't you see that this was hard for me too?” Taroc snapped. “You think I wanted to mate a human?”

“Oh, fuck you, you elitist prick.”

Taroc growled and rolled his eyes. “For fuck's sake, you know what I mean by that. It's a tough match. And I'm not an elitist just because I acknowledge that my race is superior to yours. That's a simple fact, Lock.”

“Oh, it's a fact, is it?”

“We rule the planet; I think that says it all.”

“You're stronger and can turn into giant beasts. That doesn't make you superior.”

“Fine!” He tossed up his hands. “We're not superior. Nonetheless, I had to work past my issues with our mating before I told you about it.”

“Have you then?”

“Have I what?”

“Have you worked through your issues, Taroc?!”

“Yes, of course.”

“Is that what you were doing last night?”

He went still. “You saw that?”

“I was investigating. Trying to find out who had set me up.”

“And I was a part of your investigation?” Taroc grinned.

“Oh, fuck off,” I huffed and walked away.

“Lock!”

“I'm staying at the Enchanted Swan. You can come by tomorrow, and we'll talk then.”

“I can what?”

“You heard me. And set the Nerakians free; they helped me get in so I could save you.”

“What Nerakians?”

“The ones your knights arrested at the front gates.”

“What the fuck is happening right now?” the King muttered.

I chuckled under my breath as I walked away from him. Tarocvar Verres. My mate.

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