CHAPTER THIRTY

L ance heard the blinds in Sofia’s apartment whir open, indicating the sun was setting. She’d been asleep for many hours, and he was reluctant to wake her, but they had to head back to the Moretti castle for the debrief with the king.

Checking in, he telepathed Craig.

We’ll be there within the hour, Commander.

Roger that.

Sofia was still in his arms, her head resting on a bicep that had long fallen asleep, but he didn’t care. Her knees were entwined with his. Lance watched as her long dark eyelashes twitched, then slowly, she blinked at him.

“Hey, baby,” he breathed, his voice like gravel.

“Hey,” she replied with a small smile. God, she looked sexy as hell.

She wriggled against him, stretching, and his cock stood to attention, not like it had been completely soft. No, that would have been impossible lying there with her, but feeling her silky body moving against him had woken the beast.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he said, pulling her against him.

She blinked innocently at him and ran her hand across his naked chest. Her mouth followed, and soon she was kissing him, licking him as her eyes held his. Fuck, they didn’t have time for this.

Oh, who was he kidding, he wouldn’t last long. Not with her. He lifted her thigh over his hip and nudged the tip of his cock against her core.

She groaned.

Circling his cock against her warmth, Lance soon felt what he was after. Her sweet juices.

“Lance,” she gasped against his lips.

“You want this?” he asked.

“Oh, yes.”

He needed no more encouragement. Lance pressed in and watched her body arch as he filled her. Inch by inch, he pushed in further as they gasped against each other’s mouths. With his hand gripping her ass, he pulled her closer, going deeper, and then, when he needed more, Lance flipped her under him.

The sight of her lying beneath him as he sunk into her was so primal, he had to stop himself from roaring. Fuck, she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

Thrust after thrust, they gasped and moaned, the need to make her his growing. His fangs began to extend, and his mouth watered. Just as he leaned down, she caught his arms and dug her nails into him, catching his attention.

“Lance!”

His hooded lids opened, and he froze, staring at her.

Shit.

“You...your...”

He couldn’t bite her. If he marked her, Russo would notice, and Sofia would be in great danger. Vampires often bit each other during sex, and unlike other wounds, a fang mark could take days to disappear. No one knew why; perhaps it was a substance in their fangs. When mates were securing their bond, the act of biting solidified it, but lovers often enjoyed the act, which stressed and brought on the pleasure of an orgasm for both parties.

Regardless of whether Sofia had a mate or a lover, the rebel leader would retaliate and harm her, something Lance couldn’t risk.

And she had known it, too.

“Shit. Sorry,” Lance apologized, planting his hand on the headboard and staring down at her.

“I wish you could,” she said, holding his face. “But, Lance...”

“Baby, I need to finish,” he interrupted her as he began pumping. “Fuck, I need you. I need to fuck you,” he groaned.

He couldn’t stop. He was too hard, too ready, to stop fucking her. Sofia continued to stare at him oddly as he emptied into her, crying out with a need he’d never felt. He collapsed on top of her, feeling her shudder under him.

“God, hell, you feel incredible.”

“Lance.” She nudged him.

“Sorry, I know I’m heavy.”

“No. Listen to me. Your eyes!” She laughed.

He sat up and stared down at her, startled at what he thought she was about to say. “What...about them.” Not waiting for her answer, he leaped off her and raced to the mirror. And there they were: the dark rims around his pupils.

He had mated.

With Sofia.

Lance stared at himself for a long moment. Swallowed deeply. Then caught himself. He turned and stared at the female who had wrapped the sheets around her. He raced back to the bed and pulled her into his arms.

“My mate,” he said possessively. “Thank God.”

“So you’re happy?” she asked quietly.

He pulled her back and laughed. “Of course I’m happy. You’re my mate. I am your mate. Are you happy?”

She nodded coyly, chewing her bottom lip. “Yes. But also scared.”

“I know, babe. There is a lot yet to do, but we will be together. I don’t know how, but we will. I promise.”

Lance had no damn clue how this was all going to end up, but she was now his life, above all else.

SOFIA PUT HER PHONE in her back pocket, then felt Lance’s big, powerful arms wrap around her as he teleported them back to the Moretti castle.

The temperatures were dropping, so she had dressed in tight jeans and an oversized cream sweater with brown boots. The way her mate was looking at her, she guessed they wouldn’t stay for long.

Her mate.

It was always a celebration when a vampire found their mate. They lived a long time compared to many other species, so the wait took patience. Sure, they enjoyed sexual pleasures with other vampires or even humans, but they didn’t fall in love or feel the emotional connection one did with none but their mate.

Their bonding would only be complete when he bit her, marking her as his. Sofia couldn’t wait for that special moment.

Sofia was dying to get excited. To start imagining having little vamps and making a home with him. But as she looked around the space Lance lived in, she was reminded of what they currently faced. She was in the Moretti castle, where he worked as a senior member of the king’s army. Even once this was over, the Morettis wouldn’t want a traitor such as herself living here. Lance would be forced to leave, not just a job, but his life. His friends, his purpose in life, his family.

“Hey,” he interrupted her thoughts, pressing a kiss to her lips. “Stop thinking. It’s going to be okay.”

She gave him a little smile. They may have only known each other for a few weeks, but he was a very observant male. He’d spent a lot of time trying to get information out of her, studying her, so she wasn’t terribly surprised he could read her so well.

“I was just thinking...”

“I know what you were thinking,” he said, giving her a sideways look as he changed his clothes.

“Did you read my mind?” she asked, a little annoyed. While all vampires could do so, it was rare one did without permission or a really damn good reason. It was invasive and not at all acceptable.

He shook his head.

“I didn’t need to. I’m thinking the same things.” He pulled on his Moretti black jacket and stepped in front of her. God, he was huge and gorgeous. He cupped her cheek. “So don’t. The answers will come, and until they do, it will just make us crazy.”

She frowned. “So, what?”

“So we just have faith.”

“Like humans?” She scoffed.

“No, baby, like mates. In each other.” He leaned in and kissed her. “In me. It’s my job to protect you for the rest of your life. Whatever it takes, I will do it. End of story.”

A smile spread across her lips, and it felt wonderful. “Really?”

He nodded, squeezed her ass, and glanced around the room. “I’m usually a lot tidier than this, but I’ve been distracted by this gorgeous female.”

He grinned at her cheekily and she felt her heart literally flutter. God, she felt like a teenager all over again, blushing because of a boy. It was a pleasant distraction from the dark experience she’d had yesterday, and she was determined to separate the two and enjoy this moment together. Even if it meant making Lance happy while she hid her pain.

“Excuses, excuses. I’m not going to be your maid, Lieutenant.”

“But you’ll wear a maid uniform though, right?” He winked.

“Only if I get to choose your outfit?”

Feigning offense, he looked down at his clothing. “I thought a man in uniform did it for the ladies?” he asked, waving at his black pants and jacket.

She shrugged, all yeah, nah, maybe. “I’m more of a fireman kind of girl.”

Next minute she was off her feet, being carried into the room behind her and thrown on the bed. Lance landed over her as she continued to bounce and squeal. “Take that back!” he growled.

She shook her head, laughing.

“If we had time, I would take it out on your ass,” he said, kissing her neck. “God, I want your vein.”

Sofia felt her panties grow wet, something she was still not used to. How it happened so fast was like magic. He only had to wink at her, and her body was immediately preparing itself for him.

“Soon,” she replied, wrapping her arms around him, letting him take full possession of her lips.

“Let’s go, my beautiful mate.” He smiled and lifted her off the bed. They headed straight out for the ops room.

WHEN THEY STEPPED INSIDE the room, even Lance had to halt for a moment. The room had more faces than he had expected. Craig had told him to bring Sofia to the library, where he’d thought they’d meet with the commander, prince, and the king.

“Hey,” Lance said, pulling Sofia protectively closer.

“Told ya!” Willow called out.

“Puh-lease, I called it first,” Brianna replied.

Lance and Sofia stared at the two females while Brayden shook his head.

“Idiot One and Two placed bets on when you two would mate,” Craig explained while laughing as he caught the wrist of his mate as she tried to swipe him.

“Hey! Can he call me an idiot?” Willow asked Brayden. She was taking this new princess role of hers very seriously. When it suited her.

She broke the rules as often as she tried to enforce them. Or create fake ones. She had too much time on her hands, unlike Brianna, who was fast becoming their social media expert working with their ops team.

It was just his opinion, but Lance thought Willow needed a job. Though he wasn’t going to be the asshole who told the prince his mate was driving them all crazy. His money was on Brianna. Or Craig.

“Only if it’s deserving.” Brayden smirked. “But it looks like my mate is right. Congratulations, De Luca.”

Lance glanced down at Sofia and smiled. “Thank you.”

“And Sofia. God, it’s not all about the males, you know,” Brianna said, stepping forward to give Sofia a hug. “Scored yourself a hot one there, honey.”

“Excuse me?” Craig growled. Brianna rolled her eyes and grinned at them before returning to her mate, patting his chest.

Around them, the other SLCs came forward and did the slapping hug thing males did, offering their congratulations. Willow sent Sofia a wink. Lance knew his mate liked both females and appreciated their kindness toward her under the circumstances.

“Alright, before my mate decides to eye up any more of you testosterone laden pricks, let’s get down to business,” Craig boomed around the room.

“ Jesussss ,” Brianna moaned as Willow sniggered.

SOFIA COULDN’T HELP smiling at the antics around her. It occurred to her this group of the most powerful warriors in her race was just one big, happy, and slightly dysfunctional family—not that she could talk.

They squabbled, supported, and teased one another.

And it raised the question of what would happen at the end of all this? If she was able to prove her allegiance—because she knew she was still on trial—would she truly be given her freedom and be able to keep her head?

She wanted to trust the king, and she did, but nothing in her life felt solid and secure.

Except for Lance.

She trusted him. And she felt he now trusted her.

But did the Morettis? Did the king?

And even if she was granted her freedom, what would that mean for Lance? Did he know? Would he be forced to leave his role in such a powerful position because she was his mate? She hated being the reason he would have to give up what he loved. Not just his job, but his friends, his family.

He’d lost his family once before, after Janie’s death, and she wasn’t going to let him lose it again, not that she had any say in it. And leaving him was now not an option.

The door burst open, and the king walked in. Despite him being less bulky than the other men in the room, an unmatched power emanated from him. King Vincent Moretti was in charge, no question about it.

He stopped to look at her. “Sofia, you look well. Good.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“Shit thing you witnessed,” he added, and she pressed her lips together and nodded. “But we’re grateful you’ve found some of our vampires.”

“How many were there?” Craig asked, jumping straight into the questioning.

“Twelve. Perhaps fifteen,” she answered. “I got the sense there were more elsewhere, but I don’t know where they are keeping them.”

The king nodded. “Which is why we need more information.”

“I don’t know if Stefano will take me back there again. It felt like it was a one-off visit,” she replied, and then with a shaky voice, she added, “I couldn’t go through it again. I’m sorry.”

Beside her, Lance stiffened.

“Sofia,” the king said, looking sternly at her. “You’re not a warrior, and while you’ve come to us via unfortunate circumstances, I do not expect you to witness such horror again. Unless it’s outside my control.”

She felt her body relax a little, and so did Lance’s. His hand tightened on her hip for a moment.

“However, we need more information, and fast. Stefano trusts you. Do whatever you can to find out more about the operation in the next twenty-four hours. Every minute we spend looking, those vampires suffer. God, I can’t stand it.”

She shivered at the memory and shook her head. “Can’t you just get the vamps out now?” she asked. “You know the location. I don’t understand.”

Brayden shook his head.

“Firstly, it’s a United States base. High security. We’d have to use vampire abilities to get in and get them out. Doing that and risking exposure is too dangerous to the entire race,” Brayden explained. “It would also show your hand as a spy.”

“Endangering you,” Lance added, squeezing her hip again.

“That’s right,” Craig said. “There are more than fifteen vampires missing, and we don’t know yet where there are. It’s imperative that before we make our move, we do everything we can to find out as much as possible. It could be a goddamn global operation. We need more intel.”

“And I need to get further into Stefano’s operation to find that intel,” she said, her stomach dropping. She knew where this was heading and felt the now familiar nauseous feeling returning.

Craig, Brayden, and Vincent nodded.

Sofia knew those missing vampires needed her. As terrifying as it was, she had to push her fear away and step back into that terrifying world. She knew she could buy his trust and get that information.

But at what price?

How did she do it without moving in with him or giving him the impression she was accepting his partnership offer? Because there was no way she could handle him touching her. Especially not now that she was mated.

Lance wouldn’t allow it.

“I’ll do it,” she said, and Lance growled, stiffening. She carried on regardless. “We need to move fast, though. I have only a few more days before I have to give him my answer, and I think we all know there is only one he’ll accept.”

As Lance explained to those in the room what Stefano was asking of her, Brianna and Willow groaned and made gagging sounds which made her smile despite the situation. The males growled, shaking their heads, and let out no, fuck that s .

“She’s not moving in with him, end of the fucking story,” Lance growled, letting them all know where his limits were. It was a testament to his trust in the team around him that he was letting this even happen. As a mated male, he had more authority over what happened to her now than he’d had yesterday. “Sofia is right; we need to do this fast. For her safety and because her eyes will change in the next four or five days.”

Female’s eyes always changed once the male’s did. Sometimes it was immediately, but it was usually within a week. When their mate was a human and they transitioned to a vampire, their eyes appeared with the ring around them immediately. Lance had no idea why; he wasn’t a biologist.

Craig crossed his arms. “Okay, Romeo, settle down. None of us wants Sofia harmed, but you know as well as any of us these undercover operations take as long as they take.”

“Do we have any idea where he’s living now?” Marcus asked.

Sofia shook her head. “No. He was unusually aloof with me when I inquired. The only thing he said was that it would be to my liking. He’s always had big, fancy homes, as you all know.”

The Russos had been an influential and wealthy family for centuries. They had mansions and estates all over Europe and beyond.

Brayden pointed to Kurt. “Get the team working on it. Who does he know with luxurious properties he could move into? What’s been rented out recently? Look for places he’d show off. Potentially secluded in rural Italy. Or the rest of Europe.” Brayden ran his hand over his face. “Fuck knows. It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.”

Kurt tapped away on his tablet, nodding and shrugging. “We’ll see what we can find.”

“He mentioned my father; how happy he would be with this partnership,” she added, wondering if that was of any use.

“We have eyes on your family,” Craig said. “Any updates?”

“So far nothing except the standard weekly rebel book club meeting,” Tom answered sarcastically.

Marcus snorted.

Her eyes widened at how much of her life was being examined. She knew it was important in the scheme of things, but it still felt creepy. “Those meetings are harmless. It’s just a bunch of people unhappy with the system.”

“Which I’ve always been happy to accommodate,” Vincent replied. “In every society, there’s always a small percentage of outspoken people who disagree with the status quo. It’s healthy and normal.”

Craig sneered. “Yeah, it’s the blowing up of castles and killing of vampires we don’t like.” The large vampire gave her a look that told her he still didn’t trust her and probably never would.

Sofia turned her eyes to the vampire beside her and saw Lance was staring at his commander. He caught her eyes and gave her a little smile. She smiled back even as she knew he wasn’t anywhere near as relaxed as he was making out to be.

“To some degree I can even understand those horrific actions,” Vincent continued, surprising everyone. “Don’t get me wrong; I’m not okay with it. But Russo is a lunatic. What he’s done, outing our species and allowing them to be tortured is a whole other level of crazy.”

Sofia wrapped her arms around herself. That psycho had raped her and now wanted to make her his. She had no doubt he expected her to be in his bed, pleasing him sexually.

There was no way she could do it.

She wasn’t doing it.

For the first time since Lance had shared the story of his sister, she saw a glimpse of the type of fear which had led her to step out into daylight. She must have been scared her abuser would return. Or perhaps it hadn’t been a one-time occurrence. Sofia made a note to never mention her thoughts to Lance. He didn’t need her to add to his nightmares.

The king shared the information from his meeting and out came a big white board. Craig and Brayden took turns with the markers, outlining several strategies and actions for them all. Around her, Kurt, Marcus, and Tom threw out suggestions, but Lance remained very quiet unless it involved her and he felt she would be at too great a risk; then, he calmly and immovably said no, which earned him some sideways glances.

“Sofia needs more training,” he finally stated.

“Yes!” Bri cried.

“There’s no time.” Craig frowned over at his mate. “What the hell happened in that session?”

All the females in the room shrugged.

All the males turned their eyes to Lance.

“Don’t ask me.” Lance shrugged too. “I got kicked out of the room. By Willow.”

“Hey!”

Brayden crossed his arms. “So who the hell was in there?”

“The instructor and all those other guys who threw us around,” Willow answered as Bri slowly shook her head, all you idiot . “I mean, not throw us so much as drop on the ground...gently.”

Sofia began to giggle. All heads turned to her as she covered her mouth. “Sorry,” she said. Then, for some reason she’d never understand, the next words just fell out of her mouth. “You are all just...kind of awesome.”

“Those males are all just kind of dead ,” growled Craig as Lance ran his hand over her back and smiled at her.

“Here you all are!” the queen came flying into the room. Everyone froze.

Sofia’s eyes widened.

“Jesus. Christ. Female,” Vincent said, standing up abruptly.

“Hello, darling,” Kate purred. Dressed in a gorgeous but incredibly sheer black dress, she walked toward the king. The material pulled together under her ample breasts, giving her a gorgeous cleavage and showing off her dark, olive skin.

Underneath you could see the outline of a sexy black bra, panties, and a garter belt which was connected to sheer lace top stockings. On her feet were a pair of dangerous-looking black stilettos.

Yup, Sofia nodded to herself as she watched Kate walk further into the room. Those suckers had red soles. Lou-fucking-boutins .

The queen was dressed to kill.

In the bedroom.

Using vampire speed, Vincent pulled her into his arms and off her feet in under a second. Then he marched them out of the room. “Carry on! I’ll be back in a minute. I’m just putting the queen in prison!”

“You will not! Put me dow—”

The door closed and Sofia turned back to find Brianna and Willow smirking at each other.

Damn, she liked these females.