Page 33 of Royal Protector

“Nothing!” he says adamantly. “Nothing at all. Everything is fine.”

“Nothing, my ass,” I grab his arm and pry his reluctant fingers away from his neck. There, already healing but still bright red, is a fresh Mate bite. And not just any Mate bite—one made by a vampire.

My jaw drops, and I have no words. “Who—what—the hell—” I cock my head at him. “I have absolutely no idea who this would even be from.”

To my surprise, his green eyes go glassy. “Please don’t tell anyone, Antoine. Not yet. Let us have this one night together.”

His plea echoes the thoughts that have run through my mind since meeting Isabella. “Are you in trouble, Bastien? What do you need me to do?”

He shakes his head, opening his mouth to speak, but he freezes as his eyes narrow at my neck. “What the absolute fuck? Who did you mate?”

“I asked first,” I grumble, but my cheeks are turning red. Bastien rakes his hands nervously through his hair, causing the strands to stick up.

“Maybe we should talk about this in your room,” he says, eyes still glued to my neck. Although it is awkward, he is right. Talking about Isabella openly in the hallway wouldn’t be safe, and I don’t even know what to do about his vampire Mate.

“Follow me.” I walk back to the hotel room, and peek my head in at Isabella. “You better get dressed. We have company.” She frowns but throws on her dress within moments. Once she is ready, I open the door, revealing Bastien to Isabella, and Isabella to Bastien.

“Holy fuck . . .” he breathes out. “She’s your Mate.” And then, to my surprise, he lets out a jubilant “Yes!” and tries to fist bump me. I ignore the bro move and stare at him until he drops his hand.

“Now, you tell me,” I say. “And tell me why you’re so damn happy.”

“My Mate is Himari,” Bastien says. Isabella gasps behind me. “I got a room here for us to . . . well . . .” he blushes as his voice trails away.

The implications of what he is telling me hits me hard, and I sink down on the bed. “You’re saying we both mated with the Untouchables today?”

He nods, not looking quite as cheerful as earlier. Then, with a crestfallen expression, he says, “We don’t know what to do now.” The weight of the world is heavy in those words.

“We don’t either,” says Isabella. “But we’re trying to figure it out.”

“I think we should talk to Leo and Jack,” I say. “This is going to make trouble for them, but with both Untouchables involved . . . well, it could turn the situation in our favor.” I don’t add the unspoken;otherwise, we’re doomed, but we all feel its implication.

I text Jack for his location, and he responds instantly with, I’m with Leo in the conference rooms at the hotel. Well, that makes the travel distance easier, at least. Bastien goes to get Himari, and Isabella heads downstairs to the conference room, ready to face the music at last.

* * *

Jack squintsat the bite on my neck and then the bite on Bastien’s before going back to mine—and then back to Bastien’s. Finally, after several minutes of this back and forth, he sighs loudly and pinches the bridge of his nose.

“I don’t even know where to begin,” he says, flopping down in a chair. Leo is watching him with an amused smirk. “When did you figure out you were Mates?”

“Immediately,” I say. “When I picked her up at the airport.”

“And you didn’t think to tell me?” Jack says.

“I didn’t want to lose her yet,” I tell him frankly.

He drops his hand from his face. “I understand. It makes you look awfully guilty, though.”

“Guiltier than this?” I say blandly, pointing to the mark on my neck. Jack shrugs in agreement and turns to Bastien.

“I knew at the first gala,” he says, gazing at Himari as if she were a goddess. “I told her that night. After that, we kept meeting in secret until today when we decided to . . .” He swallows nervously. “Go all the way.”

“My God,” breathes Isabella. “We were living out the exact same story, just a few feet away.”

“Now you understand why I was so upset the other day,” explains Himari, taking Isabella’s hand. “I’d fallen in love with Bastien, and I couldn’t stand knowing that we couldn’t be together.”

“Well,” says Leo, clapping his hands together. “We’re going to have to tell the other delegates. I don’t know if the whole forbidden love thing will tug at their heartstrings, but they’ll have to at least listen. It’s not like we can undo the Mate bond. And with all the problems from last night’s attack, well, maybe it will soften the edges enough to get the two sides working together again.”

It’s a long shot, but for the first time, I feel like we have a chance. Leo and Jack once again promise their full support, and we agree to appear at the final session tomorrow to whichever Alphas actually show up. So, with hope in our hearts, we get into our Jeep and head back to the village.

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