Page 41 of Ruthless Monsters

“Respect and adoration?” She grins. “Okay, maybe you’re just what we need.”

And then my lips are on hers again, and I relish the warmth that sings through my body. A warmth I never thought I’d feel after that night on the battlefield. It doesn’t fill the hole inside me, and it could never make me forget the brothers I’ve lost, but for once, I don’t feel dead inside. The numbness that had spread through me, taking root over the long years, starts to fade, and suddenly, I don’t feel all alone.

Chapter

Sixteen

~ Princess Blake ~

Five mates. I have five freaking mates.I keep repeating it in my head, not sure whether I should be happy or horrified. In demon history, there are no records of a female ever having five mates, but the moment Mason’s lips connected with mine and I smelt his amber and leather scent, I knew.

He is our missing piece. Our missing mate, and the last one we need to complete our bond. My heart races, and I’m a tangled mess of tension as Mason walks me back to my room. Scars still cover the prince’s body, betraying the years he spent in the prison, but he’s cleaned up, the layers of dirt washed away to reveal beautiful brown skin, and he has groomed, so it’s easier to make out the lines of his chiseled face. The male is sexy as sin, so I guess I can’t complain about Lady Fate’s taste there, but honestly, I was hardly handling the four mates I already have.

We stop outside the door, and the way Mason looks at me sends a rush of heat through my body, drawing my awareness tothe spot between my legs. “If you do not wish to return so soon, we could escape to my room for a while,” he offers, and there’s a hopeful gleam in his glittering blue eyes.

I smile, feeling oh, so tempted, but I shake my head. “I need to tell them about you. We’ve been through a lot lately, and the last thing we need is more secrets.”

With a nod, he pulls me into a kiss that leaves my lips swollen before he releases me. Waylen and the other guard standing watch shift uncomfortably, but neither of them comment.

Closing his eyes, Mason rests his forehead on mine. “You do realize that now that I know I’m yours, I’ll do anything to keep you safe.” He exhales loudly. “I will do…anything.” His voice cracks with emotion, and I know there’s so much he’s not telling me. I swallow hard. With the others, it had been so different. Even with Dante, given our history, I’d been resistant to accept that he’s my mate, but with Mason it’s different. I hardly know him, and yet, it’s so easy to let myself enjoy being with him.

“I know,” I reply, surprising myself with how much I believe it. This is what I thought it would be like when I found my fated mates. That there would be this instant connection, an instant certainty that we were bound by fate, even before performing the actual bonding ritual that unlocked our powers. While I felt it with my other mates, it all got so complicated so fast. And though, logically, I know it should be complicated with the fallen prince, his instant acceptance of the connection makes it feel so simple.

“Are you a good teacher?” I ask.

Opening his eyes, he pulls back. “I have trained soldiers in the past, on matters related to combat and the use of different weaponry. If you wish for me to give you lessons?—”

“Oh no,” I say casually. “I was just thinking my other mates could use some lessons on how to treat their female.”

Mason’s lips curve upward. “Whatever you need,my mate.” When he says the last two words bumps prickle on my skin.My mate. My fifth mate.

“Uh, thanks.” I hadn’t actually thought he’d agree to that, but if I get the chance, I’ll definitely have to take him up on it. Smiling, I turn toward the door. “You know, you don’t have to be here for this. I have no idea how they’ll react, and I kind of slipped out without telling them.”

Mason reaches over, resting the palm of his hand on the doorknob. “I’m sure they will be eagerly awaiting your return, my mate.”

I grin because I’m pretty sure he’s about to get the shock of his life when he sees what my other mates are like.

“You could have warned me they woke up!”I tell Shade, feeling ambushed when I walk into the room to find four very pissed-looking males glaring at me. Okay, to be fair, Dante and Nate look more relieved than angry, but Prince Callan’s glare could make any beast cower, and Alaric looks like he’s contemplating tying me up and strangling me. Which, now that I think of it, actually sounds pretty hot.

“I could have, but then this wouldn’t be nearly as funny,”Shade replies.

I shoot her a glare, and her laughter rings in my head.“Kidding! They only woke a couple minutes ago, and I’ve been a little preoccupied trying to stop them from charging from the room. You’re welcome, by the way.”

I feel a little guilty for the position I put her in then, and I reach into my pocket, pulling out the handful of seeds the Pecos bird, Shanda, let me have. I place them on the table.

“Annnnd all is forgiven,”she says as she pecks at the seeds hungrily.

Dusting my hands, I give the others a chipper smile. “I trust you all slept well.”

Prince Callan gives me an incredulous look, and I’m about to point out that it sure looked like they were having no trouble sleeping when I left, but then I notice his fatigued expression.

“Where did you go?” Alaric growls, folding his arms across his broad chest.

Dante comes over and presses a kiss to my neck. “He means to say, we were worried about you,” he drawls.

“Thought you were taken for a minute there,” Nate adds. “Lucky your crow friend made a fuss, or we would have made a mess tryin’ to find you.”

I give Shade a grateful smile. “I wasn’t far,” I tell them. “I just explored some of the city. “I couldn’t sleep, and I?—”

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