Chapter 16

Elek

My hands clench into fists as I watch Samael and his brothers leave. I should have known that he would have an ulterior motive for his visit. I've never trusted them. They've been a thorn in our side since the dawn of time.

"You can't seriously be considering entertaining them, and their offer?" I grind my teeth together so hard they ache. The last thing I want is Kiara in a room with them.

"What choice do we have?" Mátyás's face hardens. He doesn't like this turn of events any more than I do. "Besides, Samael wants something from us. Didn't you notice the way he danced around the topic of his mate?"

"I did, but I thought it was him being his usual cryptic self." I run a hand through my short hair and heave out a sigh.

"I'm telling you there's something more at work with him, but I don't care about that right now. I have another more important question." He turns to ask Akos and László, who have been standing there watching the entire conversation and mute the entire time. "How did they get in?"

The two of them are silent, eyes downcast to the floor. Neither makes a move to answer us and that only pisses me off more.

"What are you two waiting for? Answer him," I snap. Samael's visit has my patience running thin, and I don't have time to waste standing here, waiting for whatever bullshit answer they plan to give.

"We found them waiting in here when we returned from feeding." Akos won't meet our eyes, which means he's hiding something, and we'll find out what.

"Eyes up here, Akos," I growl and step up in front of him.

He flinches at my harsh tone but doesn't answer, so I turn my attention to his partner.

"Is that what happened, László?" I study his body language as he holds his blonde head up, looking for any hint of deceit, but he's much harder to read than Akos. A trait I've always admired since Akos turned him, until now.

"Yes. It's true. That's exactly what happened." His nostrils flare as he holds my stare, but there's no missing the slight hitch of his voice. He's been straddling the line for quite some time.

"You're both awfully jumpy tonight." Mátyás comes up next to me, aware of the same thing I am. They're lying.

"You know better than to hide the truth from us. We always know when you're lying." I hook my finger under Akos's chin and force his head up until my eyes lock on his. "Now, care to try that again."

Those black eyes hold the key to everything. He starts to speak but then stops a few times as if I'll grow bored and let it go. He should know better than that. We never let anything go.

"Well," Mátyás crosses his arms over his chest and stares him down. After this shitstorm of a visit, our tolerance for secrecy is nonexistent. "We don't have all night. Speak."

"We were out feeding, and they ambushed us on our way back." He rubs a hand over his short ebony hair.

"Why not say that?" An itch in my gut tells me there's more to this story than he's telling us.

"Unless you two were somewhere you weren't supposed to be, doing someone you weren't supposed to be doing." Mátyás can sense something is amiss as well. His gaze turns to László, who has been standing here quietly, letting Akos take all the heat.

"Where were you, Akos?" I press, determined to get to the bottom of this. We have enough issues to worry about without having to second guess those who are supposed to be loyal to us.

"More importantly, where were you hunting?" Mátyás tilts his head, watching for any hint of deceit. One wrong move, and they'll both be disemboweled on the spot.

They know the rules. Feed on those that are unworthy of the air they breathe, but do it away from prying eyes. The last thing we need is for humans to become aware of our existence.

"We went into the city." He utters it softly, but not to the point where my superior hearing can't pick it up.

"Have you lost your mind?" Mátyás gets up in their faces, showing them no mercy for their stupidity.

"We got bored and needed a challenge." László shrugs, trying to reason with us, but that was the wrong thing to say. "Besides, Budapest is deserted this time of night." The cocky fucker shrugs.

"You got bored?" I step into him until my chest is almost flush with his and wrap my fingers around his throat. One good squeeze and his head will explode in my hand. A tempting thought, but I don't feel like cleaning up a mess.

"We aren't like you. We can't survive off the blood of our mates. The taste of peasant can only satisfy us for so long. We need variety." László's hazel eyes narrow like he's a spoiled child who's being wronged.

"What if you were seen and followed back here by the Lycans?" Mátyás clenches his fists and does his best to control his beast.

"We were careful," Akos interjects. His hands tremble at his sides as if he's realized what he's said.

"Really, that's why Samael got the jump on you?" I tighten my grip on László's neck.

"That's not fair. It was a one-off. Besides, they're Fallen. There's no hiding from them." László tries to excuse his reckless behavior, but I'm done with this conversation.

"No. You know what's not fair? The two of you putting this entire coven in jeopardy with your carelessness." Mátyás bares his fangs in warning.

"But—" Akos attempts to get the last word, but I'm done with it all.

"Either one of you so much as step one inch out of line, and you'll be chained to the door and roasted come sun-up. Is that understood?" My gaze darts between the two of them as I drop my hand from László's neck and step back.

"Yes," they both grind out in unison.

"Good. Now, back to my other question. What else were the two of you up to?" Mátyás arches his brows, waiting for an answer.

"We told you. We went feeding in the city." László sticks to his story, but judging by the way Akos is fidgeting in place, we know better.

"Don't play dumb. Either of you. It's beneath us, and you're much smarter than that. Samael wouldn't have been able to surprise you unless you were otherwise preoccupied."

"We…" Akos stops and starts several times before clearing his throat and managing to get the rest of it out. "We were together."

"Unbelievable. You are the reason we have this rule in the first place."

"I know, but we couldn't help it. We were high off the hunt. One thing led to another, and it just happened." He shrugs and shoves his hands in his pockets.

"We shouldn't have to apologize for loving each other. You two have been doing it for millennia, and now you've taken on a third mate." László sneers at me—the smug bastard.

"Our relationship hasn't almost led to the destruction of our coven. Has it?" I snap and grab him by the throat again. This time, I slam him against the wall and squeeze until I feel his muscles bend under my grip. "And if you ever speak of Kiara that way again, I'll rip out your tongue and choke you with it. Is that clear?"

His face is pinched tight, but he nods.

"This time, we aren't going to be responsible for the fallout from this. Now, get the hell out of here and tell the rest of your little conspirators that we have a celebration to prepare for because I know it wasn't just the two of you who have been sneaking out where you aren't supposed to be. But I'm warning you now if you cause any more issues, I'll chop your dick off and feed it to you myself. Understood?" My jaw aches with tension. We have a mate waiting for us, and I much rather be fucking her than dealing with them and their bullshit.

They nod and leave without another word, but halfway out the door, Akos stops and turns to face us.

"What is it?" Mátyás asks.

"I know you're anxious to return to your mate, but I saw Ysabel heading to her room on our way here," Akos says.

"Thank you for telling us, Akos." I don't miss the way Mátyás's tone changes. He's up to something.

Akos nods and exits the room.

"We're having a meeting first thing tomorrow night. They seem to think we're too busy with Kiara to notice their transgressions."

"We'll deal with them tomorrow." Mátyás pulls me into a hug and rests his chin on my shoulder. "For now, let's go shower. I want to fuck this mood out of you."

"Are you okay with letting Kiara spend time with Ysabel?" I narrow my eyes, studying his face for any sign of what he's up to.

"I don't like it, but if having a friend makes this easier for her to accept, I'll let her have this one moment." He shrugs and sinks his teeth into his bottom lip. His mind is clearly on other things.

"What aren't you telling me?" I cross my arms over my chest, determined to get to the bottom of this.

"Do you trust me?" His green eyes deepen as he steps in front of me.

"You know I do." He's the one person I have complete faith in.

"Good." He licks up the side of my neck and bites down on the sensitive flesh. "Then let me punish your ass, and I'll tell you all about it."

"Fine, but it'll be me punishing yours." Turnabout is fair play.

"Fair enough." He laughs.