Page 16 of Death God

“Why can’t you take off your uniform and use it to mop up?” I suggested.

He glared at me. “Are you kidding me?”

He was like a dog with a bone and wouldn’t let it go.

Reluctantly, I zipped open my backpack, fumbled around, and handed him a sweater. He yanked it out of my hand. I thought of tugging it back. Marlowe had bought the clothes for me. The sweater had his scent on it. And I bet Going-gray was being petty and trying to punish me for the inconvenience I caused him by ruining my clothes. But then, he’d done me a favor by trying to cover for me.

So there, I gave him the sweater and paid my debt.

“Now I get what they said about you not only being ridiculously annoying but also very stingy in the Shifters Academy,” he murmured as he lowered his head to gingerly mop the blood from the luxurious leather seat.

“That’s not true,” I said, my face burning hot from the remnants of adrenaline, then from the insults. “I was being bullied a lot in the academy, and those bullies made it their life’s mission to ruin my reputation. Being frugal isn’t a sin. And sir, you shouldn’t call poor people cheap and give them crap. Being born poor isn’t a choice. Not everyone is born equal. Those who say that every man and woman is born equal are liars, and they should be given some good slaps. This world is a far cry from fair and equal and…”

Going-gray snorted. “You think you’re still dirt poor, don’t you?”

Then I remembered that he’d seen that diamond necklace worth twenty-five million around my neck. Fuck! Twenty-five million! My blood pounded in my ears as I thought how loaded I was now. And Marlowe didn’t even ask me to sign a prenup. But then, we weren’t married officially. In the supernatural community, being mated was much bigger than obtaining a legal document with the city hall’s stamp.

I’d been extremely frustrated when Fairy had revealed the value of Dragon Tears in front of the two armies. Now, I constantly feared for the fate of the necklace. I prayed that Mouse would keep my dragon’s treasure safe and sound until I returned to reclaim it. I’d also warned my new personal butler that if he took my Dragon Tears and ran, I’d hunt him to the end of the universe.

“Don’t answer.” Going-gray raised a finger to stop me just as I opened my mouth. “Just do me a favor and don’t talk at all, please.”

He moved on to clean the blood on the steering wheel, then a splash on the windshield.

“Every time you open your mouth, I get a pounding headache,” he murmured, needing to rant even though he forbade me from talking. How fair was that? “My life was much simpler with minimal drama until you charged into the shifters’ world.”

“I didn’t charge into the shifters’ world, sir,” I said. “I was dragged into it by your boss and you, who insisted that as a low wolf, I was your property. Thankfully, Canary softened the blow by being a fun companion. Later on, Princess Danielle and the girls made it like heaven for me to live with them, with lots of free pizza and popcorn, even though BJ—Princess Blow Job—and her goons kept trying to make my life hell.”

My throat tightened for a second as I thought of Summer. We’d avenged her. Rest in peace, my friend.

“Anyway,” I continued. “I was enjoying life instead of throwing it away, as you once suggested. Then your Alpha King had to set his eyes on me and try to mark me as his property. No girl with balls would put up with that.”

“I thought I told you not to talk, Pip girl!” Going-gray snapped.

He was still pissed that he had to clean up the mess, but he was a good soldier, so he did the job quickly and efficiently.

He tossed my ruined sweater to a shifter who was assisting him and settled back in the cleaned seat. He adjusted the seat to give himself more leg room. He also adjusted the rearview mirror and glared at me through it.

Then he released the brake and hit the gas pedal hard. Our van shot down the road. I had to grab the handle of the door to keep myself straight at the punishing speed.

“You can’t blame all this on me, GG,” I offered.

He could have just handed the van to his soldiers and taken their jeep so he wouldn’t have to clean it. Wasn’t that the privilege of being a commander?

“And watch the road, please,” I warned him. “I’m still young and have much to live for. Anyway, the dark lord should never have come after me.”

He narrowed his eyes in the rearview mirror just after I told him to watch the road. “The dark lord?”

“Don’t fool yourself, GG,” I sighed. “You know as well as I do that Jared is barely in there. The Alpha King is the merged being of him and the horseman, aka the dark angel of war. The dark mages called him lord before the ascension of the Alpha King. The dark lord will take over his vessel sooner than you expect.”

“Don’t ever call him that, Pip girl, especially in front of the king,” Going-gray growled, “if you value your life.”

“No matter what I say or do in his home base, the outcome will be the same,” I said.

“Just don’t keep antagonizing the Alpha King. You need to listen to me for once. If you push him too far, not even I can do anything to get you out of the bind. I’m looking after you only because Prince Shade cares a great deal about you, for reasons I don’t understand. Losing you to the bloodsucker already broke his heart. If you perish, he’ll blame himself and drag me into it.”

I hadn’t seen the prince after the battle in the college town of Walla Walla. I was worried about him.

“How’s Canary?” I asked. “Where is he now? I haven’t seen him since I escaped your dungeon.”

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