Page 6 of Death God

Had Lucian betrayed my mate?

I’d never met the vampire lord, but I wasn’t surprised that he’d consider Marlowe as his rival and a threat. He would want to expand his territory to the entire Washington State. Spartoi had offered Jared a deal. He must have offered the same to Lucian. The vampire lord would give an arm and a leg to remove Marlowe so he would be the only power in Washington State.

Power corrupts.

I needed to find a way to get a message to Marlowe to warn him. The worst thing was to be stabbed in the back by someone you thought you could trust.

“We’re going to my castle, Pip.” The Alpha King clasped his hands on his lap, his thumbs rubbing against each other. Everything about him irked me, so I turned to look out my window.

We had crossed the bridge and left the valley of Walla Walla. No longer could I hear the echoes of Marlowe’s devastated and furious roars.

Cold bleakness sank into my bones.

I bet that Marlowe and his team would think that our enemy was taking me to the Shifter City or the Mage Town. It might take a long time for them to locate me, if they could find me.

“Where is the castle?” I asked. “Is it in the Mage Town?”

“You’re partially right, Pip,” the Alpha King said. “My castle is in another dimension. No one can enter or leave without bearing my mark or without being escorted by me and my most trusted generals and high mages. The hidden portal is in Salem, but it’s not exactly in Oregon. You’ll see—prepare to be amazed.”

Fuck. No wonder Marlowe had searched for me everywhere for a century and couldn’t find me. But this time we’d formed a mating bond. Would it be enough for him to track me when the time came, if I was in another realm?

At this distance, I could feel a faint pulse from our bond, which was the purpose of the concealing spells the light mages had put on me to dampen my bond with my mate, so the enemy wouldn’t detect it.

I stared back at the Alpha King, masking all my emotions in a displeased frown.

“You’ll be safe in my secluded castle, Pip, I promise.” He flashed a dashing smile to disarm me, or perhaps to try and seduce me. The game had started. “It’ll be your new home, our new home. We’ll start over.”

I tried not to roll my eyes to the back of my head. I had to restrain myself from bashing his head in. I wouldn’t succeed anyway. It would only make things worse. The Alpha King had no fucking idea how deeply I hated War, the horseman. Jared hadn’t done me any good either but had given me plenty of grief ever since the unfortunate day I’d crossed his path.

I was never meant to be his.

Over my silence, the Alpha King sniffed my scent and wrinkled his nose. I tensed up, bracing for the worst. My claws were a hair away from lashing out, but I balled my fists to rein myself in. The mages’ cloaking spell that was also enhanced by my blood would hold.

“I hate to say this, but the Vampire King’s stench is still all over you,” the Alpha King said in a tight, disgusted voice.

I slowly let out a pent-up breath. He couldn’t detect my mating bond with Marlowe, even though he could smell Marlowe’s scent on me. Of course, even the most potent magic couldn’t completely hide our merged scent after that earthshaking fuck Marlowe and I had shared and thus forged our unbreakable bond.

“He encroached on my territory.” The Alpha King spat. “He should have died for that. Yet I still indulged your whim. Remember that.”

White-hot hatred and wrath burned so hot in me that I nearly couldn’t rein myself in. It was killing me that I couldn’t slay the enemy who had harmed my true mate and me when I was so close to him. The horseman wasn’t mere flesh and blood. Stabbing a few holes in his heart wouldn’t kill him, and I doubted he’d even let me do that.

So, I needed to bide my time and find out what could really kill this motherfucker.

“We can’t blame Lady Pip, Your Majesty,” Going-gray suddenly chimed in. He’d been uncharacteristically quiet ever since they’d acquired me. “The old vampire is a master seducer. It’s evident that she’s been deceived. We all saw how he enticed her with his good looks, fine clothes, and expensive jewelry. He even contrived to have his aide announce the price tag of the diamond necklace he gave her. Any woman would buy it, and Lady Pip isn’t even sophisticated.”

I bristled at the insults Going-gray had thrown at both my mate and me. An old vampire? My mate was an immortal, a god. He was like wine—the more aged, the finer the taste. And I wasn’t sophisticated? I’d tried my best to act sophisticated with fine taste in front of Marlowe.

Fuck Going-gray!

“Well, well, when did you become such a fine critic, Commander Going-gray?” I sneered. “What do you know about sophisticated ladies?”

“I hate to disappoint you, but honestly, you aren’t it, Pip girl,” he said rudely.

When I was in the Shifters Academy, he’d looked down his nose at me. Seeing my display of power had rattled him, yet he still couldn’t rid himself of his old habit of yelling at me to know my place.

“Now I see why you’re still single, Commander Going-gray,” I offered. “You’ll die alone, even at such an old age. A shame, if you ask me.”

There, I had also delivered him my insults.

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