Page 8 of Their Crowned Mate
"And you don't?" he asked, not seeming terribly surprised by that. More suspicious of me than anything.
"What I want and what I'm willing to do are two different things," I answered carefully. "Lavinia and I made a deal. She held up her end, and I intend to hold up mine."
He seemed to be processing that, and finally gave a grunt of acknowledgment. His shoulders relaxed, but I wasn't about to let my guard down even if it seemed like he was done acting like a caveman. "These idiot mutts of yours. Are they dangerous?"
"Dangerous to Lavinia? No. They wouldn't hurt her," I said. Not intentionally, at least, but getting him even more fired up wasn't going to do anyone any favors. "Where are the others?"
"On their way," he answered pointedly. There was no mistaking that as a threat. "You'd better hope we find them before Alexander does."
"Yeah, well, the vampire is MIA, last I checked," I told him, nodding for him to follow me. "If you're coming along, stay human. The last thing I need is the pack going after Lavinia's pet."
Cole growled, but he fell into step beside me. I had to admit, I wasn't entirely opposed to the idea of having backup if—and when—this shit went sideways.
CHAPTER5
LAVINIA
Iwoke up in a bed in a dark room. There were no windows to tell me which direction I was facing, and I didn't know where I was in the first place, either. My head was still foggy and the memories of what had happened before were trickling back slowly.
My heart ached as it settled in the pit of my stomach. I still couldn't believe they'd done this to me. As I sat up slowly, I felt another surge of fear for my baby. I brought my hand to rest on my stomach, relieved I could still feel the faint sense of energy I had come to realize wasn't my own.
It looked like we were both okay for the time being.
Now I just had to find a way out.
As comfortable as my surroundings were, I didn't recognize them. I had to still be within the pack because as tired as I was, I got the sense not much time had passed, but that wasn't narrowing it down much.
When I heard the sound of footsteps coming down the hallway, I lay back down, pretending like I was asleep, and steadied my breath as the door creaked open. No one said anything then, but when the door closed, I heard a familiar voice talking in the hall.
Damon.
That son of a bitch.
I sat up again, looking around the room now that I had my wits more about me and they theoretically wouldn't check on me again for a few minutes. I had to find a way out of here.
I was still searching when I heard a loud crash coming from further down the hall. I instinctively dove back into bed and got under the covers, ready to pretend to be asleep, but when I heard two—then three—wolves snarling, I hesitated. Was Aurelius back? I was sure he'd betrayed me, too, but maybe he could be reasoned with. Maybe—
"Where is she?" Cole yelled, his abrupt voice jarring me out of my thoughts.
Cole!
I sprang into action, jumping off the bed and running to the door. I grabbed the doorknob only to find it was locked from the outside. I banged on the hard wood, shouting for help as loud as I could over the wolves' snarling. "I'm in here! Cole! I'm in here!"
"Lavinia?" he called, sounding closer than he had been a moment earlier. I could hear others arguing down the hall, and I was very sure now that Aurelius's voice was in the mix. Were they arguing amongst themselves? I was shocked they hadn't killed Cole on sight if it was three against one.
"Cole," I breathed through the door. "Are the others here?"
"They're around," he said gruffly. "Stand back. I'm gonna get you out of here."
I gave the door a wide berth. Two blows from his foot and it exploded inward, collapsing on the floor, and Cole was standing there with a relieved look on his face. He rushed into the room and took me into his arms, embracing me tightly.
"God, I'm glad to see you," he muttered, his eyes bright with anger as he pulled away and looked down at me. "Did those idiots hurt you?"
"No," I murmured. "They just sedated me. I think we're okay."
"We?" he asked, frowning in confusion.
Shit. I really wasn't all there yet. "Nothing. I'm fine. How did you get here?"
