Page 31 of Kings
“And you didn’t tell me?” Axel asked, echoing the hurt and confusion rattling around in Bishop’s mind.
“I didn’t tellanyone. Except for Avery, but that’s different.”
Another pause. “Bishop doesn’t know?”
“No,” she sighed. “And if you know what’s good for you, you’ll keep it that way until I can get my head on straight. I really don’t want to talk about this here.”
“Fine,” Axel grunted. The sound of a door creaking open turned the recording to static. “We’ll talk about it in my dorm room.”
As the recording went silent, Bishop stood there for what felt like hours, trying to process what he’d just heard. At first, he wasn’t surewhathe felt, but one emotion soon became clear amid the confusion.
Rage.
He wasn’t even sure who it was directed at, just that if he didn’t get some fresh air, he was going to be in danger of shifting involuntarily for the first time since he could remember.
“Where did you get that?” he finally demanded, his voice rougher than he’d expected. It seemed to take Marissa off guard, and she eyed him warily.
“Someone who owed me a favor,” she answered in a guarded tone. “You should tell your girlfriend to be more careful of what she says in public. I’d hate for the future Empress’ business to end up all over school.”
A growl escaped Bishop’s throat, and he took a step toward her that was menacing enough she staggered back. “You stay the fuck away from her and out of my business if you know what’s good for you.”
Marissa’s eyes widened in indignation. “Are youthreateningme?”
“Abso-fucking-lutely,” he sneered, his fangs lengthening in his mouth. She wasn’t the object of his wrath, but she’d make a suitable outlet for the moment, and this conversation was long overdue. “We wouldn’t want anything to happen that might compromise your daddy’s standing in Felidae, now, would we?”
Her eyes grew even wider and she backed up against the wall. Bishop forced himself to turn away before he could do anything he’d regret. He told himself he was going outside, to sate the beast clawing underneath his skin, but instead, as if on autopilot, he found himself in the middle of the ballroom.
It didn’t take long to spot Ella, a blue gem in a sea of gray. She was dancing with Axel, but the moment her eyes met Bishop’s, all the merriment left her face.
Bishop stalked toward her, a path clearing in his wake, as if the others could sense the jaguar’s energy ready to be unleashed. He would never harm a hair on her head, even now, but the sight of fear in her gaze stoked some primal flame within him that he might have been ashamed of, under any other circumstances.
Now, he was just too pissed.
Chapter 18
Ella
The moment Ella saw Bishop watching her from across the room, she knew something had changed. She felt it as surely as if the poles of her reality had shifted, or day had turned to night.
Time seemed to slow down as he walked toward them, Axel’s arms still firmly wrapped around her. As safe as she felt with him, something in Bishop’s gaze told her even Axel couldn’t protect her from what was about to come.
He knew.
She didn’t know how, but he did. She felt it through the link that united them, turned to a bitter chain.
“Mind if I cut in?” His voice and gaze were sharp as daggers as he watched Ella, everything about his predatory demeanor reminding her of that night he’d chased her in the forest.
This time, there was no escape.
Axel didn’t respond right away. Ella knew he could sense the other male’s energy, his own responding in kind. He stepped between them, and it didn’t even seem like a conscious movement as much as an automatic one. “What’s your problem?”
“It’s okay,” Ella said, well aware they were garnering looks from the other guests. She put a hand on his chest to pacify him, feeling his energy calm through their connection. It was such an instant shift that she wondered if she was imagining it. Nothing like that had ever happened before, and she could feel her fingertips buzzing with his powerful energy.
She doubted Bishop would be as easy to soothe, but there was no time to investigate the strange phenomenon. As soon as Axel stepped back, the other tom took her into his arms, pulling her against him sharply enough that she gasped.
“Enjoying yourself?” he asked, his voice as devoid of emotion as his expression was.
Ella stared at him for a moment, trying to process the sudden shift in his demeanor. This was it. This was the thing lurking behind the veneer of his calm perfection that held her in captivation and fear at once. It was finally laid bare for her to see, and she couldn’t look away.
