Page 32 of Kings
“Bishop—”
“Don’t,” he said in a pleasant if icy tone that somehow made his words far more menacing. As upset as he was, he never faltered in his steps leading her across the dance floor, and though his grasp was gentle, it was unyielding. “The time for you to say anything has long passed, don’t you think?”
She didn’t know how to respond to that. Her lips parted but before she could even try, a screeching noise echoed across the grand ballroom. Several people around them clutched their sensitive ears and the sound ran down Ella’s spine like nails on a chalkboard.
When her voice came through the speakers in the ceiling, her heart sank into the pit of her stomach. Everyone went from looking around in confusion to turning to watch her. Even Sterling, who was speaking with Natalia across the room, stopped and stared with an unreadable expression as her conversation with Axel played out for the entire room to hear.
Ella turned to Bishop, taking a step back from him. Betrayal edged into the corners of her mind, but the confusion on his face made her second guess whether he was the architect of this nightmare.
Not that it mattered. The truth was out, and there was no way to get ahead of it now. She could feel their eyes on her, judging and curious at once. Even Natalia looked stunned, and Ella didn’t want to imagine what Emily’s face looked like, wherever she happened to be.
Her heart pounding in her ears, she turned and ran for the door, ignoring her name being called in dismay. Sterling, Axel, she wasn’t even sure who it was, her thoughts were so jumbled. All she knew was that she had to get the hell out of there.
Chapter 19
Axel
The moment Axel heard his and Ella’s voices over the intercom, he knew he’d fucked up. Someone must’ve been hiding in one of the bathroom stalls.
Fucking coward.
He’d figure out who it was and make them regret it, but for the moment, the only head he wanted to bash in was Bishop’s. He’d known something was up with the prick from the moment he walked over, but he hadn’t expected it would be that.
So what, he’d found out Ella was keeping her pregnancy from him and decided to humiliate her in front of everyone? Axel himself hadn’t been sure what had Ella so reluctant to tell him, but he was never going to doubt her instincts again.
When Ella ran from the room, Axel called after her, but she wouldn’t turn back. He wanted to go after her, but he was going to bring her Bishop’s head on a platter first.
“You fucking asshole,” Axel seethed, shoving the other male hard in the chest. Bishop staggered, but he didn’t respond immediately, which just made Axel all the more furious.
Axel took a swing at him and the zombie came to life, catching his fist before it could make contact. Axel was fine with that, considering he wanted a fair fight and not a sucker punch.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Bishop hissed. The crowd had already cleared, giving them both a wide berth and plenty of room to circle each other.
Axel felt his tiger burning like a flame inside his chest, demanding to be unleashed, but he held back, knowing he couldn’t trust himself to remain focused on the man who actually deserved his anger.
Enraged by his cowardice, Axel charged him and this time, his fist connected with Bishop’s jaw. Blood sprayed his lapels as Bishop’s lip split along with his knuckles, but the pain didn’t register. It just made his tiger even angrier, and as they traded blows, Axel could feel the other tom’s jaguar rise to the forefront.
Bishop grabbed his shoulder, but before he could throw him, Axel headbutted him. The pain was satisfying, since he knew Bishop was feeling the same. Blood sprayed from his nose and he staggered.
Axel wiped the blood off his face so he could see, his teeth gritted in a continual, rumbling growl. “What’s the matter? Not used to a fair fight?”
Bishop’s eyes flashed murderously and he lunged, landing a punch square on Axel’s jaw. The impact jarred him, but he wasted no time taking his opponent to the ground. He grabbed Bishop by the lapels and slammed his head down against the tile.
“Axel!”
Emily’s voice was like a record player screeching to a halt. He turned to find his mother pushing through the crowd of nobles and stalking toward them.
Great. Now the entire school was going to think he needed his mom to intervene. Just when he was about to pulverize Bishop the way he’d had coming for months.
“Back up, Ma,” he growled, not trusting Bishop in the state he was in. “This is between us.”
Emily stopped short, even though he could tell she wanted to argue. Natalia was at her side in an instant, and while Axel expected the Empress to scream at him for bloodying up her baby, she turned all her focus on Bishop, her eyes pinning in rage.
“Bishop, what is wrong with you?” she asked hoarsely, looking between the toms. “You should both be absolutely ashamed of yourselves.”
“Save that for your brat,” Axel muttered, ignoring his mother’s look of horror. She’d said far worse about the Empress behind her back, but he’d never been one for holding back what he thought, and he was more than happy to back it up with action. “He’s the one who played that recording to humiliate her out of spite.”
Natalia’s face went blank and sheet white as she turned to her son. “Bishop, is that true?”
