CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

C raig pushed the door to the royal wing open with the palm of his hand and waited for his gorgeous redheaded mate to walk through before following her.

“I thought we were meeting in the ops room?” Craig asked, taking in the Moretti royals dotted around the living room. Brayden took up every inch of space on an armchair while Vincent stood leaning against a pillar half staring out the large windows. Kate and Willow were staring at a tablet, side by side, on the sofa. Brianna joined them after running her hand over his stomach affectionately.

What he wouldn’t do for a few hours to bury himself deep in her. From the sofa, she saw the look in his eyes and sent a wink his way.

Life had been pretty serious in their world recently. He’d watched Brianna adjust to becoming a vampire under extenuating circumstances after he’d turned her. She’d been paramount in helping them change the conversation socially, shifting the human mindset to one of fake news, buying them some time; no one knew how much. Then she’d befriended Sofia, their prisoner and enemy for all intents and purposes and now Lance’s mate.

Brianna’s big heart had had her feeling all the damn feels when she’d heard Russo had attacked Sofia again. Craig had tried to protect Brianna from the information, but her best friend was Willow “the Big Mouth” Moretti, so that had been impossible.

He was so fucking proud of his mate. Soon, the king was going to make a tough call that could hurt her. One that could impact them all. He could lose one of his best males. Or they could end up with a female in the castle they could never be one hundred percent sure they could trust, at least to his eyes.

“I gave them a few hours off,” Brayden replied. “Most of the teams have been working their asses off the past week, either here or at Russo’s property. We have enough information to give them a slight break before we launch into action.”

The prince meant recovering the missing vampires.

Usually, decisions about their teams were left to him as commander, but the prince was also the captain. Besides, they trusted each other implicitly. If Brayden felt the team needed a quick break, then fuck yeah, he was fine with that.

“Good call.”

“Oh, thanks, Mom,” Brayden said, grinning.

Craig gave him the bird then sat his ass down on the edge of a large armchair.

“De Luca will be here in a few hours,” he informed them, glancing at Vincent, who had joined the group around the large wooden antique coffee table. “Ready for your decision, Your Highness.”

The king stretched out his denim-clad legs and crossed them at the ankles. His black shirt clung to his muscular arms as he joined his fingers behind his head. Craig could see his mind was whirling.

“Lance has served me for a long time,” the king said, his lips pursed in thought. “Loyal, strong, a good leader.”

Craig didn’t disagree with any of that. Lance was an exceptional member of his team.

“This is not about him, Vince; it’s about the female,” Brayden reminded the king.

“Sofia,” Brianna remarked, her voice pointed.

Oh God.

His mate was becoming quite well known for her outspoken nature. Brayden glanced at Bri and then over at him. Craig shrugged.

“Thank you, Brianna. I do know her name,” the king responded, irritated.

Brianna’s brows raised.

“Darling,” Kate admonished him as Craig held back a growl. It didn’t matter who upset one’s mate; a male would always defend and protect them. But when it was the king, you had to really pick and choose your battles.

“Listen, this is an important decision. Perhaps the females should leave,” Vincent said.

Willow looked up.

Oh, fuck me.

“Ah, no, we shouldn’t,” Willow rebutted, frowning. “That female has suffered. Do we need to draw a diagram?”

Vincent raised a brow at the female and stared at her.

Basically, this wasn’t going very well.

“Jesus,” Brayden mumbled for the tenth time that day. “Let’s all keep our emotions in check here, shall we? This is an important security decision for all of us.”

All three females stared at the prince, and Craig felt his own balls do a little nervous dance.

You’re on your own, dude , he telepathed Brayden.

Fuck.

“What are we questioning here?” Kate asked, dropping the tablet onto the coffee table in front of her. “Her loyalty? The fact that she went, unprotected—don’t interrupt. None of you were standing next to her with your big muscles or guns— twice with a male who raped her shows enormous courage and loyalty.”

The females weren’t finished campaigning for Sofia.

“Then she had to face her parents. Vampires who should have protected her, who lied to her all her life,” Brianna continued, shaking her head.

“The same parents who sold her to the psychopath who raped her and was planning to do so again and again, over and over, while held prisoner. Potentially for hundreds of years,” Willow growled.

“You’re right. Such a tough decision,” Brianna said, giving the king a dirty look.

Jeeeesus.

Craig slowly turned to look at the king.

Vincent stood, his face blank. He stared at the three females who all refused to look away.

Then the king turned to Craig and pointed. “You. You should send these three into the prison and use them as damn interrogators!”

“I’m in!” Willow put her hand up.

Brianna laughed at her friend, then turned back to Vincent.

“Vincent—ah, Your Majesty.” The king waved his hand all carry on . In all fairness, she’d kind of missed the boat on the formalities after that speech. “I have spent time with Sofia, and I can tell you, she loves Lance. I believe she just wants to feel safe.”

He returned her stare. “I’m sure she does, but it doesn’t speak to her allegiance.”

Kate stood and walked over to her mate. She placed a hand on his chest. “Perhaps it doesn’t, but what happened to her does. All three females in this room are speaking on her behalf, not because we like her or because she loves one of our males but because we know the deep pain and suffering she has experienced. Body, mind, and soul.”

The room went deathly quiet as the queen spoke.

“Twice. Once because you ordered her to go back into the lion’s den. She has been betrayed by the institution—the rebellion—that her whole life was built around. By her family and her leader. That kind of betrayal breaks a person. And then she gave you her allegiance and we all let her down.”

The king clutched the queen’s hand, and after a long look, turned to look at Brayden.

Craig watched as the two Moretti brothers had a telepathic conversation while they all waited. Then the king turned to him.

Craig flinched.

For centuries, he’d been a part of this family as their commander. The king empowered him with leading the army alongside the prince. He made decisions every day which impacted their lives and ensured they were safe. Both Brayden and Vincent had chosen him because he didn’t back down in difficult situations.

But this? He knew what the king was asking, and it completely freaked him the fuck out. This was way above his paygrade.

Commander? the king asked.

Fuck.