Page 10 of Queen of Diamonds

They didn’t know? How could they not know?

This had to be a trick. But they were exiled—completely and irrevocably exiled from the Brotherhood. I had seen to that.

But that meant their presence here the same night Ace’s Brotherhood thugs were looking for them, left them in dire danger.

Kyan was the first to his feet, his jade eyes drinking me in like he couldn’t get enough. He crossed to me as if there wasn’t a gun pointing in his direction at all.

“Don’t.” I lifted it.

I couldn’t do this. Not now.

But he didn’t stop. He was… well. The one I’d fallen for first and hardest, with the scent of a lightning storm that had turned my world upside down. Equal parts passionate and mad, saying Kyan was my weak spot would be an understatement.

I loved him. More, now that I was looking at him again, with the same snake tattoos winding around his wrists, and accompanied by a few beaded bracelets. The same wild, dark hair tied up in a ponytail with an undercut, and a few strands that were flying loose. He wore a thick chain necklace made of gold that complimented his rich, tan skin. And his smile was as wild as I remembered, boyish and wide, with pointed canines. From the first second I’d caught his scent like a summer storm, I’d known he was mine.

Mine…?

Nothing is yours. You gave them up.

I swallowed as Kyan reached me, unable to break his gaze. Meeting those beautiful eyes as I hadn’t been able to do the day I rejected him. Zed and Knight, I’d met their eyes and seen their hatred, but Kyan… I hadn’t thought I would see hatred if I looked at him, and that was worse.

He had changed, though. There had always been a spark of mania in his eyes, but that spark had lit to an inferno. A flame his father had fanned, no matter how it destroyed the boy I’d once fallen for. Exile had come too little too late for my mate. That madness was a vicious torrent, drowning everything else that he’d once been.

He stepped right up to the gun levelled at his chest, ignoring it completely. My lungs were tight as he moved closer still, staring down. I jumped as his touch found my waist. It was hard to suppress the low whine that desperately wanted to escape. Not just the touch of an Alpha to my damaged body, but his. Static and lightning, a promise of safety like nothing else in this world.

“My Oasis,” he whispered.

Tombs of stone built from years of fear cracked. The snake that had been slowly constricting my heart with every day that had passed without them slackened for the first time in memory. My grip weakened on the gun, and I couldn’t take my eyes from his.

My mate.

I was in danger, and he was here, just like he always promised to be. Everything was as it should be. I almost closed the gap between us, dropping the gun and letting his touch veil this world in darkness.

In the safety of the scent of a lightning storm.

Almost.

“Double or nothing. That’s the deal.”

Ace’s voice in my head was enough for me to return my conviction. I shoved the gun harder into his chest, choking down my spike of fear. Kyan’s grin widened, and he sidestepped the gun, slipping behind me before I could react. He didn’t let go of my waist, and I could feel the heat of his body against mine, chest against my back with a closeness still begging me to melt against him.

I’d been touch starved for too long…

“I… have to go,” I stammered.

The others were watching from where they sat. Zed’s expression was stiff. “Who did you think we were?” His gaze was fixed on the gun.

I couldn’t answer that.

“It doesn’t matter.” I’d figure this out… somehow. But not like this.

I tried to step away from Kyan, but Zed’s eyes flashed, and Kyan’s grip turned to iron. “Who did you think we were?” Zed asked again.

“I don’t have time for this.” They didn’t understand, and I couldn’t explain it to them.

There was a nasty sneer on Zed’s face as he leaned back. “Haven’t changed one bit—our charming little scent match. We didn’t come here so you could blow us off again.”

“Why did you come?” I asked, and I saw Knight’s gaze slide to Zed for a moment, as if wondering what he would say.

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