Page 26 of Mate
“Wrong meal, Misery. Also, I don’t take orders from the chick who once gave me toenail fungus.”
“Shut up. Acknowledge me as your Alpha!”
“Love, we’ve been over this,” Lowe murmurs, patting her knee. “It’s not how it works.”
“And bring me gifts of gold, frankincense, and peanut butter!”
“Misery, I’ve seen you flick boogers at passersby.”
“I was achild.”
“You wereseventeen.”
But she won’t stop protesting, and snarls that I’m “too valuable, too important, too loved” to be used as bait. God. What an inconvenient time for her to finally get in touch with her emotions.
“I’m not suicidal,” I tell everyone, “nor am I suggesting I walk unarmed into Vampyre headquarters. We can safely arrange to— ” I stop to hide a yawn in my palm, and that’s when Koen declares the meeting over and stands.
“I’m taking her to bed.” It speaks to his authority that not a single eyebrow lifts.
My abused feet make contact with the floor, and I grit my teeth. Koen instantly picks me up, one strong arm snaked around my rib cage as he presses me to his side, toes dangling a few inches from the ground.
It’s undignified. And pathetically befits my status in life.
“Once again, Iamcapable of walking,” I murmur against his shoulder. His beard bristles against the tender skin of my temple, ticklish but pleasant. He runs much warmer than me. The wonders of genetics not split between species with wildly different baseline temperatures.
“I heard rumors but dared not believe them.” He walks through the first door on the right. There is a bit of shuffling me in his arms, then he pulls back the covers and deposits me on a soft mattress, between sheets that smell like lavender. “Show me tomorrow, after your soles have healed.”
“It’ll be the performance of a lifetime.” I shiver at the sudden chill and pull the hem of his hoodie down my bare thighs.
I feel, once again, thatsomethingabout Koen. How imposing he is. The kind of menacing that colors the air around him for miles. It comes not from height and muscles, but fromsomething else, something undefinable with Human words— the only ones I have.
Vocabulary. That’s what stands between me and understanding Koen.
Maybe with time, I tell myself.
And then reply,What time, Serena?
“You get it, right? Why I want to take the attention off Ana?”
Downstairs, he didn’t say much— just sat next to me, a quiet, dark center of intense energy. It’s not that I want his approval, especially after he made it clear that he couldn’t care less about mine. But the others’ opposition to my plan is not rational. It comes from some soft place, deep within their bellies. Misery loves me, and so does Lowe, if only for some spousal transitive property. Being in charge, though, means constructing complex trade-offs. And Koen is nothing if notin charge.
“Yes. This is for you.” He deposits a satellite phone I’ve never seen before on the nightstand and holds my eyes disapprovingly as he plugs the charger into the outlet.
Shit.Did he try to call to warn me about Bob earlier today? I’ll never know, ’cause my phone was dead and I left it back at the cabin. Should I reiterate that I am, in fact, able to take care of battery-operated devices? “Thank you. For this.”
“You already thanked me, and I told you— not big into gratitude. Either return the favor by coming to my house and dusting the light fixtures, or shut up.”
“No, this is not about saving my life.” I sit up on my heels. “Thank you for taking my side. About Ana.”
“Is that your takeaway?” He scoffs. “I’mnottaking your side, Serena.”
“Downstairs, you didn’t object.”
“I didn’t object because I don’tneedto. It’s upstanding of Lowe and the Vampyre to try to convince you not to do something idiotic.” His eyes bore into mine and he leansforward, palms against the mattress, caging my thighs. He’s a wall of heat, all forest scent. This close, I could easily trace all the little scars on his face. “I’m simply going to lock you up, killer. If I have to chain you to my fucking bed to keep you alive, I will not hesitate.”
I refuse to cower backward. “You really are a dick.”
Well, duh, his gaze clearly states. “If you’re into self-immolation and dying, I can easily arrange it for you. No need to involve other species.”
