Page 3 of Our Sins in Shadows (Coven of Sin 2)

I screamed and kicked as Erik crouched beside us and took me by my ponytail like it was a leash. He gave a vicious jerk, pulling me off my protector.

Vincent’s hands grappled for me, but the iron slung around his neck might as well have been the anchor chain to a cargo ship with the way it held him fast to the ground.

When Erik wrestled me to my feet, a half dozen vampires rushed forward and restrained the dark fae’s wrists and ankles with more chains.

Vincent spat out what I ventured was a curse in his native language. My stomach somersaulted when foam bubbled at his lips. Tears stung my eyes, blurring his form as I was helpless to do anything but watch his body seize up from the iron poisoning.

Erik swung his narrowed gaze at Sharpe with an arched brow. “A decade spent with this one, and you never puzzled out what he was?”

“He kept his true nature under lock and key, like the rest of his secrets.” Sharpe’s beady eyes settled on me with a cool, sardonic smirk tugging at his thin lips. “Until our little princess came along. It seems she calls to his feral instincts.”

Erik let out a snort of a laugh while keeping one hand knotted in my hair, holding me with my back pressed to his chest. His arm slithered around my midsection, and even amid his pain, Vincent thrashed futilely on the ground at his captors’ feet, spewing what I surmised to be dark and ancient death threats in the fae tongue.

I flung a hopeless glance at Eros, who was still out cold in the back of the van. My attention slipped from my mate when a cold mouth pressed to my ear, making my skin crawl.

“You’re a pretty thing, aren’t you? How I’d love to see for myself how some half-blood slut managed to work the Knight princes’ dicks in such a knot. But you’re not so beautiful that you’re worth dying for. As curious as I am, I have no desire to be added to the chopping block when Lord Dagon resurrects your father.”

“Seems your men didn’t share the same opinion,” I said with a sour grin. “Allister and Malachite. Remember them? You sent them after me. Now they’re dead. I killed them. That’s what happens to perverted assholes who get too handsy for my liking.”

Sharpe tugged on my hair, angling my head so that we were eye to eye. “Yes. So I heard. How very interesting that a half-blood such as you could kill them. Anyway, it serves them right for disobeying me. I instructed them to watch you, to make sure you stayed on the cape and, if you left, to keep any nomad vampires away from you. They were not to touch you.”

I blinked. “You didn’t tell them to capture me?”

“No, not before you were properly mated to the four princes. Otherwise, our plan of getting Thomas Knight to kill you five wouldn’t work. Course, I didn’t tell them about that plan. None of my men knew about yours and Dagon’s familial ties until recently.”

I bit my lip. That explained why Allister had thought Dagon wanted to become king by claiming me as his mate. Now that the word was out that he was my brother and that he planned to claim my throne by some roundabout way of killing the rest of the eligible heirs, would word get back to the Elders?

Sterling was probably already on his way.

Would the rest do anything? Or were Erik and Sharpe right that the council wouldn’t so much as lift a finger because technically, no rules were being broken?

Vampire law was bullshit. As soon as I was on the throne, there would be a fuck-ton of changes. That is if I lived long enough to get crowned.

Another of Erik’s disturbing laughs brought me back to the moment. “It seems whatever you have hidden away beneath your clothes…” I took in a sharp breath as he skimmed his knuckles over my hip, “was worth risking their heads for. I am so curious. Maybe just a small taste wouldn’t hurt.”

“No!” The growl that tore from Vincent’s chest made the fluorescent lights quake, and the vampire thugs that pinned him to the concrete floor shifted uncomfortably. It did nothing to intimidate Erik as he grabbed my hoodie and tore it clean off my body.

I was wearing a bra underneath, at least. Still, I couldn’t seem to fend off the memories of the gas station where I’d been molested.

Too bad I couldn’t play the card I had that night to save us now. We were outnumbered, and even if I managed to take out Sharpe, Erik had to be ancient. I doubted I could best him and his men.

My captor hummed, dropping the shredded fabric to the floor, where it fluttered to the concrete beside Vincent.

“Beautiful.” Erik buried his nose in my hair and inhaled. “Your blood smells like a sweet confection fresh from the oven, warm and oh so sweet. I almost don’t blame Al and Mal for disobeying my orders. You’re too delectable of a treat. Who could resist a bite?”

When his teeth scraped against my bare shoulder, I opened my mouth to scream. Before any sound came out, Erik straightened and pulled his fangs away from me. “Wait a moment.”

I hissed beneath his fingertips as he touched Eros’ mark on my flesh. He lifted his slivered eyes to his accomplice. “You told me all four princes have mated with her. I only see one mating mark, Sharpe.”

The doctor cleared his throat as he gave a nervous nod. “They were getting suspicious of me. I saw an opportunity to get her away before this one’s suspicions spread to the others.” He slammed a foot into Vincent’s ribs and winced as if it hurt him more than it did Feral. When Sharpe spoke next, his voice came out pinched. “So I took it.”

“You’re a hasty fool. The rest have not claimed her. The entire point of you suggesting to the other Elders she select her mate and king was that she would lie with the four of them. How can we guarantee the old king will slay them all if she isn’t properly claimed by all four?”

“Sterling bears her mating mark. He was her father’s mate. That will be enough to incite his master’s rage.”

“She doesn’t bear the mark of the fae. Or the youngblood.”

“These two were practically fucking when we opened the van doors. Leave them in a cell tonight. That will take care of that. As for the youngblood, she’s spent enough time with him that she carries his scent. It never took much for the old king to dole out punishment. Where his daughter is concerned, he’ll likely snap their necks for simply looking at her.”

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