Page 107 of Pretty Little Prey
“And she is alsotheirs,” his father warned. “The prophecy states, the king of Light and the king of Dark shall share a mate. And, if they cannot share—”
“I know the damn prophecy!”
“If Bastille has already claimed her, he will come for her. This union will start a war.”
“She is MINE.” Daxton banged a large fist to the table, and it shuddered under his wrath. Luna squirmed from her spot, suddenly aroused and thirsty. Lust and bloodlust.
Daxton added, “He will not take her from me again.” His black pupils grew into slits over his eyes, anger and possessiveness ruling him. “I will allowno oneto take her from me.”
She should have shivered in fear at the dark power emanating from the dragon king, but all she felt was warmth at being so ruthlessly protected. Warmth and hunger.
Damn, this hunger.
Thump, thump. His heartbeat was so strong. Like him. So big and strong. Delicious. She bit her lip, not realizing her fangs had fully distended and sliced into the flesh. She licked away the trace of her own blood and almost groaned at the need to feed.
Unaware of her internal struggle, Daxton continued, “Bastille did not leave a claiming bite on her.”
“Notyet.”
“And what if he comes to the wedding? Or asks to visit the Council?” his mother asked softly. “The king of the Light and the king of the Dark shifters are members of the Council of Immortals. He must be invited as a common courtesy. To deny him at the door would be an act of war—”
“I would allow him to attend,” Daxton replied, and everyone in the room—including Luna—gaped at him. “I would not turn him away.”
“He might try to take her.”
“Let him try.”
“Daxton,” his mother wailed.
He reached over to clasp Luna’s tiny hand in his. “I am marrying my mate by the end of the week, if she will have me. If Bastille wishes to watch this happen, so be it. If he wishes to put down his moody, misplaced vengeance and join us for a night of celebration, so be it.”
“But the prophecy—”
Daxton quoted it, “If the kings cannot share their mate, they will lose her. Yes. I know. I will allow him a chance to be close to her. To see if he is willing to put his vendetta and threat of war aside and join the shifter communities, light and dark as one. This could be a chance for peace. If Luna wishes to be shared and if Bastille is willing to share her, I will do so.”
But the way he said it made it sound like he would prefer to eat shards of glass than share her with the basilisk.
He repeated, “I will do so. To protect herandour people. And his.”
Luna thought to herself,Bastille would never allow Daxton the same courtesy. Not the possessive alpha basilisk full of hatred for the dragon. She was surprised Daxton was even able to offer such after all the times he growled at her: “mine.”
He betrays his instinct to keep me safe. She tried not to swoon, steeling herself against the rising butterflies. And the rising hunger.
“I would not allow Bastille to take me,” Luna spoke up for the first time since Daxton’s parents began quarreling with him. “He turned me into a vampire against my will. Daxton has been the first predator to show me genuine kindness.”Other than Kobe. “I…I would like to stay with him,” she realized it to be true the second she said it. Maybe Bastille had been right before to worry about the dragon’s ability to win her.
But, as much as I fight it, I desire both of them. How could any woman resist such potent, confident, sexy masculinity? Dominating and doting; the eternal irresistible mix.
“And being the queen of the Light Ones?” his mother inquired. “You believe you could get some of the most powerful factions of dragon, lion, leopard, sphinx, falcon, tengus—”
“I believe predator shifters would do well to have a queen who knows exactly what goodandevil they are capable of,” Luna replied. “Predators often forget that some shifters are not as strong as them. Some take advantage of that and prey on the weak. They forget that their actions have consequences. I believe I would be a fair queen. I would like to remind everyone that shape shifters are a rare breed of immortals. We should beprotectingeach other. Not warring.”
Daxton’s father stared at her from across the table, blinking as if he had just realized she sat there. As if he was seeing her for the first time.
Daxton’s father said, “People forget that dragons were once a hunted species. Killed for sport; their murderers made into legends. To survive, dragons became vicious and slaughtered villages and melted kingdoms. In modern day, it is possible that the raw power has gone to some shifters’ heads.”
“Possible?Some?” Luna repeated, snorting in a very unbecoming, un-queenly manner.I am hangry. “Predators forget about prey shifters all the time.” Her temper, which she had hid pretty well since leaving the Dark Ones, spiked. “Duttur, my kind, are light shifters too. Funny how you did not mention any prey light shifters in your list of who I would be queen of,” Luna remarked to Daxton’s mother.
Sitting up straighter, Luna continued, “Sheep shifters were slaughtered by Dark OnesandLight Ones for sport. My kind is so rare now, I may just be the only one left—possibly because I have hid from any predator shifter since I watched my family killed by a pack of them six years ago. No royal member or king of the light shifters helped us. No king protected us. No kingcared.”
