Page 83 of Our Sins in Shadows (Coven of Sin 2)

Corry opened his mouth to respond, but when his attention drifted past my shoulder, his smile plummeted from his face like he’d just been slapped. “Motherfucker. This isn’t good.”

Spinning to see what he was talking about, my heart dropped when I registered a thin, dark-haired woman gliding down the hall toward us.

Yay. Happy birthday to me.

“Hello, Your Highness,” Lexi greeted with a tart smile as she stopped several feet away from us. Her thin nostrils twitched, and her line of sight not so subtly fixed to Corry’s throat. “It seems congratulations are due for you, Princess, on yet another mating bond forged.” The succubus’ voice was so cold and brittle I was tempted to throw my fist into her throat to see if her vocal cords would shatter.

My hands balled at my sides, and Corry’s fingers stroked over my knuckles the next moment in a calming, subtle act of reassurance.

“Thank you, Lexi,” he told her with a polite grin she didn’t deserve.

“Hmph.” Her sneer was subtle in the way her thin lips quirked ever so slightly. The callousness tingeing her coal-dark eyes never seemed to abate. After that night at The Warehouse, when I’d shoved her head in a toilet after stealing her boyfriend, I doubt it ever would. I’d allowed myself to hope that she’d see me as a threat and avoid messing with me. Guess it had all been wishful thinking on my part. By the smile she wore—one fit for an evil queen about to get her way—she had to be plotting some kind of retaliation.

I’d like nothing more than to punch the frigid bitch right in the mouth. Though as much as I wanted to kick her ass for making me feel like worthless trash, I wanted to properly win her loyalty too. She wouldn’t be the last vampire I’d have to prove myself to, and I couldn’t go making an enemy out of everyone who disrespected me.

Giving her a clipped acknowledgment that was barely more than a grunt, I whirled around to make my way to the door.

“Though...I’m curious.”

Lexi’s devious drawl froze me in my steps.

And there it was. Shots were about to fire.

Taking a deep breath, I slowly pivoted to face her, hands propped on my hips with my nails painfully digging into my flesh. “About what?”

“Oh, just about how you having multiple mates will work out when you eventually select a king, seeing as you seem insistent on claiming every eligible male in the coven for yourself. Or are we to hand out a crown to every male who’s been between your thighs?”

A noxious silence settled over the hall like a deadly gas.

She didn’t know it yet, but the half demoness was in serious peril. My brutal side was trying to foist its way through, thinking Lexi’s fate lay within our claws. I hated to admit that the idea had appeal. Nothing would take the frigid bitch down a few notches like allowing my monster to come out and rip her legs off.

Corry tugged on my arm. “Come on, babe. It’s not worth it. Not right now.”

I barely heard him. Rage had a way of clogging my ears and tunneling my vision.

“You’ll pay for that, Alexandra,” I snarled, my voice multi-layered once again with my own cadence and a Hell-deep, monstrous one so booming, the chandelier overhead shook and dust rained down from the rafters. My hair whipped around my shoulders, and my fingertips ached as if my claws would burst through any second.

Lexi stumbled back, clutching her breast. I ripped my arm out of Corry’s grip and started for the woman, but he hooked his arms around my waist and dug his heels into the carpet, acting as an anchor.

Burying his face in my neck, he gathered me in his arms and held me close to him. “Ruby. Don’t,” he pleaded. “Don’t cause chaos in our own home. I know you hate her, but she’s still one of us.”

Corry was the voice of reason, trying his best to pull me out of the same darkness I’d slipped into on that stage in the Boston HQ. I knew I could overpower the youngblood, but if I did, I’d kill Lexi. That would not only turn much of the coven against me, but I’d also be one step closer to becoming my father.

I forced myself to take a deep breath, and using every fiber of my willpower, I turned and allowed my mate to guide me out the front door.

The chilly night breeze felt like heaven against the infernal sear of my cheeks. My feet seemed to move of their own volition toward the hangar, eager to distract myself and pretend I hadn’t come an inch within losing control.

Corry ran in front of me and took me by the shoulders. “Woah, slow down for a freaking second, babe.”

Scratchy tears of anger blurred my vision, and I couldn’t bring myself to look my mate in the eye.

“You’re mad at her, you have every right to be,” Corry said while rubbing his thumb in soothing circles on my shoulder.

I sniffled, angrily swiping at my tears with my sleeve. “She’s a heartless, stuck-up bitch who’s too closed-minded to feel any differently about a mortal who’s stolen her favorite fuck toy. So I’m not mad at her, not any more than I would be at a feral animal. I’m mad at myself.”

“You could have torn her throat out and you didn’t. Considering it’s Lexi, you deserve a medal or some shit. So don’t beat yourself up. You didn’t do anything wrong—”

“Like bloody hell I didn’t!” My voice was frantic as I yelled. My words wobbled, as shaky and unsure as my thundering heart. “I almost lost it in there. I was getting ready to rip her tongue out so it can never annoy me again.”

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