Page 81 of Death Warden
“You need to stay on the ground floor while here.”
“Away from Adi, from my mate.”
“Yes.”
“Dammit, Dax, she could be with us for months, even years.”
Yeah, this staying-apart gig isn’t working for me. I don’t care about the consequences enough to not be with her.
His expression softens. “I know. Which is why I’ve arranged for your transfer to Bay View. You’ll head up the GS division there.”
My stomach drops. “What? No.” I rack my brain for a reason that this can’t happen. “You sent me there to fill in for you, to smooth out the tensions between the water folk and the land folk.”
“I lied,” Dax says. “I’ve already spoken to Braccus, he’ll be taking your place here.” He sighs. “You’re still VP, Spectre, and someday you’ll be prez, but not yet. Not until my daughter has gone.”
I should be cut up about being transferred, about being ripped from my home, my friends, my family, but the mate bond makes it impossible for me to care about anything else but Adi.
I haven’t spoken to her, seen her, smelled her in two weeks, and the only thing that kept me going were Curo’s daily reports on how she was doing. He’d promised to watch over her for me, but the way he’d said her name…
The redhead a few weeks ago…
The way he’d rubbed that liaison in Adi’s face.
I’d brushed it off, but now it makes sense.
Curo is in love with my mate. He’ll be here with her when I can’t. Touching her, holding her. Have they kissed? Have they fucked?
Rage ignites in my belly.
“No. Hell no!” I barrel toward the door.
“Spectre, stop!” Dax calls.
But I won’t stop until I’ve buried my fist in Curo’s face and claimed my mate. I’m done running from what nature intends.
No one, not even Dax, is going to stop me.
CHAPTERTWENTY-SEVEN
ADI
Finley was gone by the time I got back to my room. The cat-sith really did take catnaps to the extreme. I checked my phone to find a missed call and text from Logan telling me to get some sleep.
The Circle wouldn’t arrive till nine in the morning.
Was Spectre back?
He hadn’t said. I was tempted to go looking for my behemoth mate, but if I was going to show Dax I had enough control to work on this case with Spectre, then running around the house searching for him wouldn’t help my case.
I grabbed a pair of sleep shorts and a top from my dresser and dropped my towel.
I’d barely covered myself when the thunder of boots and raised voices had my head whipping to the door.
“What the—”
The door slammed open and Spectre filled the frame.
My stomach flipped hard, heat rushing down to the apex of my thighs and pulsing as one word filled my mind.
