Chapter 8

Eight

~ Princess Blake ~

The acrid smell of the demon bugs is all over my body, but it doesn’t stop his scent from reaching me. As the giant jaguar leaps from the balcony, his long paws outstretched toward Prince Callan, his musky, earthy smell reaches my nose, making my head spin. I’m in a daze as he snatches the box away from the archangel prince, and then he’s landing on the sand.

“No!” I shout, diving for the male who could be my mate, but it’s too late. One of the bugs pulls him down, the clicking in my ears growing louder as he disappears below the sand. Crap! It’s the first damn trial I’ve encountered since arriving in Perstalia, and I’m already failing. The remaining insects disappear after him, and the theater becomes eerily quiet again.

I plant my feet on the wooden slats to the side of the sand, on the ground floor below the main roof, and Prince Callan settles beside me. “He snatched it out of my arm,” he says like he thinks I’m upset that he lost the box.

When I don’t respond, he follows my gaze to the sand right where the beast shifter disappeared. “I always knew Nine Lives would die while stealing something, but I never imagined it would be like this.”

I jerk toward him. “Nine Lives?”

Prince Callan nods. “That’s what the angels call him. He’s a well-known thief in our realm, and he’s escaped death more times than I can count.”

A thief? Is that why he stole the box? I mean, I’m not judging, I just hadn’t expected it. From what I’ve heard of the beast shifters, they’re heavily driven by pack loyalty and honor. I stare back at the sand like I think he’ll emerge any second, even though I know it’s impossible.

Shade perches on my shoulder.

“I think he’s my mate,” I tell her and let out a dry humorless chuckle because this is beyond believable. My first mate doesn’t want me, and my second mate is about to die stealing from me. I always guessed Lady Fate must have a sense of humor, but this is ridiculous. I brace, waiting for the pain. It’s said when you lose one of your fated mates, bonded or not, you feel their loss as unimaginable pain, and even when the feeling subsides there’s still an emptiness inside you reminding you of their death for the rest of your life. And if he’s my mate and he dies before we’ve bonded, there goes my chance to unlock my power.

“Are you sure?” she asks.

I keep my gaze fixed on the sand. “I guess I’ll know soon.” I’m actually surprised it’s taking this long for the shifter to die now that the bugs have him. There’s no way he could fight that many. There’s no way?—

The sand shifts not far from where we stand, and my heart stutters.

“We should go,” Shade says quietly as I prepare myself to fight, but I can’t leave until I’m sure. Not until?—

A massive paw breaks through the sand and my heart almost stops. One paw becomes two, and soon the entire furry beast is in sight. The giant cat shakes its muscular body, sand clouding the air, and his earthy scent of the forest makes my pulse race. Slitted reddish-gold eyes lock onto me, and I stand captivated as I take in the pattern of rosette spots covering his body.

“Like I said, Nine Lives,” Prince Callan mutters with a smirk. “I shouldn’t be surprised.”

The jaguar tosses an extra-large leather-wrapped bundle to my feet, and gestures with his head for me to open it.

I bend down, feeling the creature’s gaze on me as I untie the leather straps and unfold the material. What? My gaze snaps back to the shifter. “It…It’s the supplies,” I say in disbelief. In hindsight, I should have known the red and black box was only a decoy because it was nowhere near big enough to fit the weaponry, provisions, and other items now in front of me. “How did you?—”

I swear I see the cat smile, and then his body shifts, the fur disappearing and his limbs reshaping until it’s not a beast but a man standing in front of me. He’s as tall as Prince Callan, but with tan skin and lean muscle that makes my heart pound. With a defined jaw, those distinct reddish-gold eyes, and shaggy reddish-brown hair accompanied by dark brows, he is…delicious.

My body reacts to the sight and scent of him, and he gives me a playful smile that makes my insides melt. “The bugs usually only attack if they’re defendin’ their young,” he says, and I blink, reminding myself that he was answering my previous question.

“The chest was filled with eggs, wasn’t it?” I ask, knowing full well that I must be right.

The male nods. “Once they were returned, the bugs were happy to go back to guardin’ their unhatched rather than attackin’. They shouldn’t bother us now.” He gestures to the weaponry and other supplies at my feet. “That was in their nest. I figured you must have been after something considering the way the, uh, prince here was determined to hold on to those eggs.”

“In my defense, I didn’t know there were eggs inside,” Prince Callan points out.

“Gosh, Blake, I hope he’s a shower and not a grower, because if he’s your mate I’m scared for your vagina,” Shade’s voice breaks into my thoughts, and I cough as I struggle to keep myself composed. Unable to help myself, my gaze lowers.

“Holy Lady Fate, what is that?” I hiss back at her. My question is actually serious, because the anaconda I’m looking at can’t possibly be his penis. It’s huge, and I’ve seen a few hung demons in my time. “I mean, is that a shifter thing?”

Prince Callan clears his throat beside me, and I’m pretty sure the anaconda is starting to get hard while I stare, so I lift my gaze only to see the shifter’s shit-eating grin.

“I blame you for that,” I send, and Shade’s crowing laughter sounds in my head.

“Oh phew, he is a shower,” she comments with amusement, clearly still staring. “I really was worried for a minute there.”

I would strangle her if it wouldn’t look so damn odd. “Stop staring,” I hiss, and she only laughs again.

Great. “Anyway, thanks for that,” I say to the stranger. “Uh?—”

“Nate,” he replies, that arrogant smile still on his sexy-as-fuck face. “My name’s Nate. And if I’m not wrong, I think we might be fated.”

The breath rushes out of me at his blunt statement.

“May I?” he asks, holding out his hand. He brings my fingers to his lips, his whiskers scratching my skin as he presses a kiss to my hand, sending a chill down my spine. “It’s my honor, my queen.”

“Your Queen?” Shade swoons. “I hope Prince Callan is taking notes, because Nate is so much better at this.”

“Honor?” Prince Callan scoffs, oblivious to Shade’s commentary.

Nate lowers my hand and slides his slitted gaze to the archangel. The hatred between them is palpable, and I narrow my eyes at them.

“Okay, clearly you two have some kind of history, so will someone tell me what’s going on here?” I ask.

Prince Callan glares at Nate. “The last time I saw Nine Lives was when he was in a cell for trying to steal the prize jewel of Toralyn from the palace. He’d been scheduled for execution the next morning but mysteriously disappeared from the dungeons.”

“And the last time I saw you, you were spurtin’ some bullshit about redemption,” Nate retorts.

“Right,” I say, eyeing them both. I’ve never been a fan of drama, and whatever is going on between them is already giving me a headache. “So, you really are a thief?” I ask Nate.

“I was,” he admits, and then his eyes light up, his gaze heating as he stares at me. “But it seems destiny now has other plans.”

Suddenly my clothes are making me feel much too hot, and my body tingles at the attention.

Prince Callan laughs darkly. “You couldn’t handle ruling a kingdom.”

“Well, I guess I’m goin’ to have to prove you wrong. Again,” Nate retorts. “I’m willin’ to bet I’m goin’ to enjoy being a king very much.” His heated eyes are still fixed on me, and my pulse races at the way he’s staring. Like he’s imagining taking me in every position. Or maybe that’s just what I’m thinking. I become keenly aware of how naked he is, all rippling muscles and tan skin.

I bite my lip, and he tracks the movement, his alert gaze watching me like a predator watches prey. Only…I’m anything but prey, and he’s…

I drop to my knees abruptly and begin bundling up the supplies and tying the leather straps.

Neither of the guys say anything, but I can feel their eyes on me, and the smell of them has my inner muscles clenching.

“Blake, what are you doing?” Shade asks in a sing-song voice. “It was just about to get interesting. At first, I thought you were getting on your knees to give Nate some lovin’, which was unexpected and might have made you look a little desperate, but you’re packing up? C’mon girl.”

“Prince Callan has already made it clear he doesn’t want me, and Nate is a famous thief. Who knows what he wants.”

“Your v-a-g-i-n-a,” Shade says, dragging out the word ‘vagina’ like I’m an idiot. “It’s pretty obvious what that pack of muscles and fur wants. Just look at his?—”

I heft the bundle of leather onto my shoulder. “I killed my last lover, remember?” I say cutting her off.

“Yes, but he wasn’t your mate.”

I ignore her. I know she has a point, but I just can’t deal right now.

Nate is watching me curiously, a playful grin back on his face, and Prince Callan is staring at me with casual indifference.

“The demon bugs might be appeased for now, but I think we should get out of here,” I say, then not waiting for either of them to reply, I spin on my heels and lead the way out of the theater. I hear the males following behind me, and when we’re on the street I keep walking.

“You know, you’re going to have to sleep with them to seal the mate bond,” Shade points out. “If they truly are your fated mates, nothing bad is going to happen when you’re with them.”

“That’s just it, isn’t it?” I reply. “I don’t know for sure.”

She twists her head to peer back at the guys. “I saw the way Nate looked at you. You could have fun with him first to loosen up. Going by the way he’s staring at your ass right now, I’m pretty sure he’s down.”

Heat flushes my cheeks as I imagine myself climbing onto Nate’s face, but I banish the thought and let out a long breath. “Not yet. Let’s just get some medicine into our veins and find my other mates first.” I’m not sure how I know I have more mates out there, but I have this feeling, this emptiness, like I haven’t found them all yet.

We walk in silence for a while until tingles spread along the back of my neck. I peer at the surrounding buildings, half expecting to find someone watching me.

“What is it?” Shade asks, staring at the buildings as well.

I focus for a moment longer on a structure with two floors and gaping holes where the windows used to be, then I turn my attention back to the street. “Nothing. It’s probably just the ghosts of the past haunting us.”

“Ghosts?” she snaps back, a tremor in her voice.

I grin. “You know I’m only teasing. This isn’t the shadow realm.”

“You sure?” she says, flicking her head fearfully from side to side. “Because you could have fooled me.”

I shake my head. “How did you ever survive without me?”

“Uh, worms and seeds. Small talk with other birds who flew by the windows. Bad TVand listening to smutty audiobooks that my humans used to play?”

“Exactly,” I chuckle, then blink as my vision becomes unfocused for a moment. “Crap, I’m guessing this place is starting to get to me. We need to get that medicine into us.”