CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

“ H e’s doing what?!” Vincent boomed.

Christ in a handbasket.

Could the guy stop yelling? Since Craig had shown up unannounced, the king had yelled every damn sentence.

“Maui. Brayden has purchased a house there and is relocating Willow.”

“You said that.”

Craig had, in fact, repeated it three times now.

The king stood with his hands firmly on his hips, looking between him and the queen. She shrugged.

Brayden would be furious with him for coming to the king and queen with this, but it was his only option. He was concerned. He’d seen how males who lost their mate fell into the darkness. He wasn’t going to sit back passively and let his best friend make a life-changing decision he couldn’t reverse.

Craig had done what had been asked of him. The flights were booked, the property purchased, and movers were currently packing up Willow’s home. Then he’d hot tailed it to the royal chambers.

“If this is Willow’s decision, Brayden will honor it. You know how he feels,” the queen said, her jaw clenched.

“Ah, if I may, your majesties...”

“Speak freely, Craig.”

He usually did, but Vincent appreciated formalities on occasion, and he respected the male greatly.

“Neither of them is thinking clearly,” he said, crossing his bulky arms. “She’s clearly scared out of her brain...”

“She is, but she has moxy.” They nodded.

“You’re right, your majesty. Willow has some sass about her; however, Brayden has reacted to her rejection and withdrawn emotionally. She’s genuinely scared.”

“Humans naturally are,” Kate added, and they all nodded in agreement once again.

“Yes, but she also loves the prince a whole fucking lot.” Craig looked between the king and queen. “I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but here it goes. I think Brayden is scared.”

Two blank faces stared back at him.

“No way.”

“Nope.”

“Hear me out. Our boy is trapped in his head. He fears losing her and that she’ll resent him should he turn her without her permission. Like your father did.”

Vincent waved him off. “That’s no secret. He’s always felt that way about our mother’s experience. In any case, I gave him a week to integrate Willow into our world, so why the sudden turnaround?”

“She’s rejected him.”

“In less than a day?”

“What happened?” Kate asked, turning to the king in question.

Vincent held out his hands in defense. “I didn’t say anything. Okay, I said a lot of things, but they seemed fine when I left.”

Craig and the queen glanced at each other knowingly. Neither believed his last statement. He’d probably had his foot in his mouth right from the get-go.

Diplomacy wasn’t his strong suit.

“Oh, darling, what did you say? I told you I should’ve gone with you.”

The king raised his shoulders and began to share the conversation.

“In any case,” Craig continued. “What I’m trying to point out is Brayden’s in a situation we should all be concerned about. His mate has rejected him.”

He let that sink in.

Their eyes slowly moved back to his. About time. Now he had their attention.

“He’s trapped in this belief that he’ll destroy Willow’s life, just like your father did to your mother, if he takes her humanity. But as we all know, they enjoyed a great love for many years.”

A thousand years, to be exact.

“And could have had many more if not for their ridiculous promise,” Vincent added.

Yeah, that was the truth.

Craig had borne witness to the terrible day both princes had beheaded the king and queen. It had changed them both forever; in fact, it had changed the entire vampire race. Shock and surprise had rippled through the vampire kingdom.

“He knows what life without his mate means. I saw the darkness in his eyes. Frankly, it terrified me, and I think you all know I don’t say that lightly.”

“Fuck,” the king cursed. “This is not good. We need to show Willow our world and take away some of her fears. Let’s see if we can get them talking.”

Craig wasn’t sure if getting involved was the right thing, but he was willing to try anything. He could see the prince was spiraling and not thinking clearly.

Kate stood. “A small gathering. We’ll invite some of our former humans, and they can share their stories.”

“Yup, good idea.” Craig said, praying it was.

Something had to work, or Brayden would be one dangerous motherfucker. To himself, and potentially, the race.

“I’ll extend the invite.” Vincent said.

“Best I go with you this time, darling,” Kate said sweetly and gave Craig a wink.