Chapter 15

Fifteen

~ Princess Blake ~

Enchantress? I’m not sure what the assassin is on about, but I don’t try to stop him when he retreats. Mostly, because I’m not sure what to do about him yet. Instead, I rush to Shade’s side, sitting on the lounge and cupping her in my hands. She feels so fragile, her feathers ruffled and body limp, but it’s not long before she stirs.

“Blake?” she asks groggily, her black eyes blinking up at me.

I curse Lady Fate for making the Drozac assassin my mate. I should have killed him.

“You’re okay,”I say soothingly. “It looks like he hit you with a sleeping drug.”

“He?”

“Sorry, while you were napping, I met another one of my mates. He’s a member of the Drozac,”I cringe as I explain.

“An assassin!” she gasps, struggling to get up, and I stroke her feathers until she calms.

“He won’t kill me now that he knows we’re fated,” I assure her. “Not that he could, even if he tried.” I think about his scent of bitter chocolate and crisp mint, and the memory of him between my legs makes me antsy.

“That also means you can’t kill him,” Shade points out.

There’s a commotion upstairs, and Nate and Prince Callan appear, weapons in their hands. It”s actually comical to see them rush down here so fast. Air swirls around the room, teasing my hair as Prince Callan stares at me and then at Shade. Moving past him, Nate prowls around the room, his eyes glinting like he’s searching for his prey.

“You can relax,” I tell them. “He’s gone. At least, for now.”

“Who is?” Prince Callan asks.

I sigh heavily. “Another one of my charmingmates. Seems I’m mated to a Drozac assassin.”

Nate frowns. “A Drozac? I thought those bastards can’t have mates?”

“I don’t know what to tell you, other than that Lady Fate must hate me,” I reply. “I’m guessing I’m his target, but he’s going to have to rethink those plans now that he knows I’m his mate.”

Nate’s lips twist into a smile. “There’s never a dull moment with you, is there, gorgeous?” His cat eyes flick to Shade. “She all right?”

Shade flutters her feathers, and I nod slowly. “Luckily for him.”

“I never knew it would be so hard to keep a single female out of trouble,” Prince Callan mutters, finally sheathing his sword and strolling around the room as the air settles. He studies the painting on the wall closest to him, his brow furrowing.

“I didn’t know any of these bunkers existed,” I say as I watch him walk beside the wall, taking it all in. “I thought everything was destroyed in the blast.”

“Neither did I,” Prince Callan replies. He disappears for a moment as he enters the bedroom, then he reappears again. “Everything here is well preserved.”

“If this one exists, it’s possible there could be more around the city,” I say. “When this is all over, I’d like to get a team together to search for them and catalog what we find,”

Nate’s eyes sparkle. “You think you might find something of worth?”

I arch my brow at the thief. “I think I might find out more about the beings who lived here. Aren’t you curious about what they were like and how they lived? We don’t even know what they looked like.”

“I tend not to worry ‘bout the dead, love,” Nate replies as he flops onto the lounge beside me and drapes his arm behind my shoulders. “But I’ll admit it’s nice to be able to stay somewhere a little more accomodatin’ for a change. So, now that you’ve found all your mates, who votes we stay here until King Dalton comes to collect us? It would beat movin’ around the city.”

I bite my bottom lip. Three mates. It’s the most common number of fated mates for a powerful female, but for some reason, I don’t feel like I’ve found everyone. And even if I have, I don’t know where the Drozac assassin has disappeared to. I need him to complete the bonding ritual.

Nate goes on to say, “Your new friend will be back if that’s what you’re worried about. He won’t be able to stay away.” He must read the expression on my face then, because his brows rise and he goes onto add, “Unless you think you’re tied to more?”

I brush my hair away from my face. “I have a feeling Lady Fate thinks I’ve got a thing for assholes, and she’s not done with me yet.”

Nate grins. “Then the hunt continues.”

Prince Callan doesn’t look impressed. Striding up the stairs I hear the trap door close, and a steel bar move into place. The archangel appears again a moment later, his face passive. “I need to rest before we move on. The door is reinforced and locked from the inside. This way we can get some shut eye without having to worry about any alphas or your new…friend.” Then he makes his way toward the bedroom without another word and closes the door.

“One of these days I’m going to find out what his deal is,” I send to Shade. When there’s no reply, I peer down to see she’s fallen asleep in my hands. Reaching across, I place her on the lounge on my left side, keeping her tucked against the back of the chair. She’s barely out of my hands when Nate closes in on my other side.

His warm, earthy scent washes over me, and I swallow hard. A low rumble starts in his chest as his reddish-gold eyes narrow, his gaze fixing on my lips.

“If you’re getting ideas—” I start.

He gives me a predatory grin. “Course I am, my queen. You’re my mate.”

I try not to squirm with him this close to me. Was it always this hot in here? “You don’t need to call me that, you know. I’m not even a queen yet.”

“For my kind, we call our mates our queens,” he explains.

Ah.Now that I didn’t know. “And how can you be so sure we’re mates?” I say. “Something tells me you’re not the type of male to settle down.”

His eyes flash. “And is that what you want? To settle down?”

I make a face. “What I want is to bond with my mates, so I have the power to keep the clan leaders in check. What I want is to make sure Seral doesn’t turn into madness when Dad…uh…retires. Aside from that, nothing else matters.”

“Then that’s all you need to think about, gorgeous,” he agrees, and he leans close, his lips colliding with my neck, and his hand sliding from the back of the lounge and winding around me, pulling me closer. Instinctively, I tip my head to the side, giving him better access, and he works up to my ear, his hot breath making me shiver.

“You want something, Nine Lives,” I rasp, curving my back as my nerves come alive at his touch. “Something that’s not me. And I’m going to find out what it is.” I think about what Prince Callan has told me about him, and his reputation in Toralyn. He’s not just a shifter, but a thief as well.

“Right now, all I want is you, demon,” he says, biting my earlobe, and I moan at the scrape of his teeth.

Flipping my leg over, I straddle him, pressing onto his lap as his large hands slide across my back. The rumbling in his chest turns to a growl, and then my lips are on his, demanding that he respond. His scent wraps around me, driving me wild as I start to lose control, and his tongue dives into my mouth. I almost pull back at the unusual rough texture as his tongue tangles with mine, but he holds me firmly, his strong fingers pressing deliciously against me.

Breaking the kiss, I rock against him, enjoying the hard press of him between my thighs. He groans, his slitted eyes hooded as his hands move to my hips, forcing me to rub harder against him.

“So fuckin’ sexy,” he mutters as he sits up more, his lips moving to my collarbone as he drinks me in. My nipples harden, my body tightening even more at his words. I want this. Fuck, do I want this, but as one of his hands moves to the front of my pants Kai’s face flashes in my mind, his stone-cold eyes wide and sightless. I jerk in Nate’s hold, my chest heaving. I know I’m going to have to give in soon and test what happens when I’m with my mates, but my heart races at the thought of harming Nate.

“Wait,” I gasp as the beast shifter’s thumb hooks into the front of my pants. “We can’t.”

Nate’s voice is a low rumble, thick with desire. “I’ve heard the rumors, gorgeous. Whatever happened, your last lover wasn’t your mate.”

He’s right, but it’s too late. I scramble off him, my legs feeling strange as I move away from his lap and take a step backward. “I just, can’t yet.”

His wide chest rises and falls as he watches me, his gaze predatory and carnal. The tips of fangs protrude from his mouth, and my core tightens when he licks his lips. His muscles coil like he’s going to pounce for me, and my muscles twitch, but he doesn’t move.

“I thought you want to seal the bond,” he points out. “Think of this as practice.”

I take another step back, though my legs feel heavy. “Just. Not now,” I say, fully preparing myself to have to fight him off if needed.

He only grins, showing off his partially shifted teeth. “Whatever you wish, my queen,” he purrs, and he lifts from the lounge and prowls over to the other couch, dropping down and closing his eyes like he intends to sleep.

I try to control my breathing as I fight against the urge to follow him and pick up where we left off. Fuck. I can’t deny that he’s mine, but the thought of accidentally killing my jaguar mate makes my stomach want to reject the last thing I ate.

Not yet, I tell myself. When I find all my mates, then we can test the theory of what happens when we’re together.

I sit there for a long while thinking about the assassin and my other mates and how we’re possibly going to figure this all out, but eventually I lift from the lounge and venture into the storage room. Rows of colored clay pots line the shelves against the walls of the small room, and I take my time peering into each pot. They’re all empty except for dried remnants on the bottom of some of them, and it makes me wonder how long the owners of the bunker were down here for. Did they stay here for as long as possible before they were forced to surface? Peering around, I don’t detect any kind of ventilation system that would have allowed them to breathe for a long period of time, but I don’t spend long searching. For all I know, the beings that lived here didn’t need to breathe.

A thud from somewhere in the bunker has me drawing my dagger and rushing back to the living room. I scan the area, half expecting the assassin to be there even though I know the door is locked, but the space is quiet. Shade sleeps peacefully on the lounge, and Nate’s chest rises and falls steadily as he relaxes unaware of whatever had made the noise. The washroom is also empty, and I creep into the bedroom where Prince Callan retreated. There’s still no sign of the Drozac assassin or anything that could have made the noise, but the prince is resting on one of the beds. His eyes remain closed as I move over to him, staring at the sleeping archangel.

He’s breathtaking to look at, the shimmering gold of his wings making him seem more like a sculpture than a living male. Compelled by the invisible bond between us, I lean closer, dragging in his scent of green apples and bergamot. His smell is addictive, and I fight against the urge to move nearer to him, my gaze fixing on his gold-brushed lips.

Keep it together, Blake, I mentally hiss at myself, but I can’t stop myself from reaching out, sliding a finger along the ribbed membrane of his golden wings. He shivers, his muscles tightening, but before I can move away his hand flies up, clamping around my wrist.

Hazel eyes rimmed with gold stare up at me, and my heart lurches as he stares, lust clouding his gaze. His attention shifts, his gaze dropping from my face to where he’s still holding my hand suspended in the air.

I come to my senses faster than he does, and I yank my hand free and take a large step back, feeling like I can breathe again.

He watches me carefully, his expression hardening though the lust never leaves his eyes.

“Is there…something I can help you with?” he drawls, his throat bobbing as he speaks.

“You could start by telling me why you’re such an ass,” I blurt, frustration winding through me.

He blinks like he’s surprised by my comment, but then his mask slips into place, that cool, casual demeanor taking over his features. “You’re a royal, you know how these things work. We don’t get the luxury of indulging in our…” he pauses, his gaze heating again as he stares at me, “fantasies.”

My cheeks warm. Fantasies? “I’m your fated mate,” I say incredulously. “No one goes against the mate bond. Don’t you want to unlock your power?”

He holds my gaze, and I swear I see a flicker of longing in his eyes. “Since when has this life ever been about what I want?”

My heart pounds. “And what is it that you want?”

His lips part, and for a brief moment, I think he’s going to tell me. That he’s going to let me in, but then his lips curve into a forced smile. “To be reunited with my subjects in Toralyn. I imagine it must be the same for you. Surely, you’re keen to be back with the demons.”

I stare at him. Toralyn. All he can think about is going back there. Back to whatever or whomever has already captured his heart. I haven’t heard of anyone loving someone else more than their fated mate, but I guess there’s a first for everything.

“Right,” I say hastily. “Of course.” I’m not lying, because I do want to get back to Seral. I’d been forcing myself not to think about the witches infiltrating the city and the king’s fatal disease, but every night we’re away I wonder whether things are worsening in the demon realm. I don’t point out to Prince Callan that the king isn’t going to be happy when he hears the archangel prince doesn’t want to complete the mate bond. That’s a problem for another time. I turn toward the door, but Prince Callan’s next question stops me.

“You controlled those fish, didn’t you?” he says as he sits up, leaning on his elbows. “When we were in the bath.”

I turn back to peer at him. “I like to think of it more as, I asked nicely and they listened.” I figure there’s no point lying, even if the guy does want to pretend we’re not fated mates.

His expression is thoughtful, but he doesn’t question me further, so I slip from the room.