CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

N ow! Craig roared inside all their heads.

Vincent leaped for Kate as Craig took out Luca, the sword clanging to the ground. He now lay with a Moretti engraved knife sticking out of his chest.

“Go! Get the queen out of here now! Go to the bunker!” Craig yelled. It didn’t matter if anyone had heard. No one could get in. Only the king, queen, and the prince had access to the solid iron room, protected by the most high-tech security available.

Around him, Marcus, Kurt, and Tom fought with the remaining vampires. Craig had dealt with one earlier, which, of course, the beady-eyed Brayden had noticed.

“Put them in the dungeon!” he instructed them.

Willow cried as Brayden lifted her into the air. Craig flashed to his side.

“Let me take her.”

“No!”

“Fuck, Brayden.”

Stefano lunged at them as Willow continued screaming. Her arm had blood pouring down it, the scent filling the air with her human delicacy.

“Oh, crap.” Brayden halted, his eyes dilating.

“Oh God, must have her,” Stefano cried, reaching for her like a drug addict.

“Brayden!” she cried, terror in her voice.

One glance behind Craig confirmed Marco was down; he also sported the new Moretti-branded accessory inside his chest. He’d let the royals decide if they let them live or not. His money was on the latter.

The other vampires were headless corpses.

“Stefano, the game is over,” Brayden growled as the rebel vampire swung his sword at Craig.

“You killed my father and now my brothers!” he roared, swinging widely, his skill better than Craig would have expected as the two of them leaped from over the tables and chairs dueling.

Willow was wrapped in Brayden’s arms, his fangs close to her neck. The blood call of a mate was so enormous, Craig wasn’t sure his friend could fight it.

“Bray!”

Bang. Clash. Leap.

“Fuck you, Russo!” Craig pushed with his sword and knocked the guy back enough steps to buy himself a few seconds. Racing over to Brayden, he pulled the two of them apart.

“Don’t, Bray, you’ll regret it. Let me take her to get cleaned up.” Brayden stared at him, confused. “You take Stefano.”

The last thing he wanted was his friend biting his mate and regretting his actions after the promise he’d made to himself all those centuries ago. He’d waited this long for Willow to choose him; he could wait a bit longer. Craig knew how important this was to the prince. Heck, he’d stood by Brayden’s side as he swung his sword and took his father’s head.

“What?” Brayden’s eyes cleared and his forehead creased.

“Luca and Marco are down. Take Stefano. I’ll take Willow.”

Brayden stood up and tucked his mate under his arm. “Where the fuck is he, Craig?”

What?

Craig whipped around and began running around the room, looking under the table and out the side door.

“Stay here.” He heard Brayden say to Willow.

“Are you kidding me? No!” Willow cried, her voice giving away she was following them.

“Jesus Christ. I can’t wait for you to be a vampire, woman.”

Wait what?

AN HOUR LATER, WITH the whole team searching, they returned to the security room. Brayden threw a blanket around Willow and seated her at his desk. The human was wiped out.

Craig’s mind flashed to Brianna and what she might be doing.

Shut it down right now. Fuck, man.

“He must have flashed out,” Lance said. “He went out the side door, but there’s a blind spot.”

Brayden cursed. “The fact he knows that kind of detail...Jesus, we have some work to do.”

“What do you want us to do with Marco and Luca?” Tom asked.

Yeah, technically they were the male’s brothers-in-law. Brayden glanced at him briefly.

“That’s the king’s decision. Put the other bodies out in the daylight to ash them. Go speak to Lucinda, Tom,” the prince said.

“Thanks, man.” Brayden simply nodded.

“Okay, let’s clean up,” Craig instructed the team. “I want the LCs to do another sweep, then lower the alert and let everyone out of their rooms. Go shower, the rest of you.” He sighed and sat down, removing his weapons.

Clunk. Bang. Thump.

When it was just the three of them, he looked up. Brayden was staring out the window, a mere inch from his mate, his hand running over her hair.

“I’ll clean up here,” he said.

Brayden turned, his eyes blazing with emotion. “You didn’t know, Craig.”

He scowled. “I fucked up. We both know that.”

Brayden pulled Willow to her feet. “No. Fuck. Maybe. But you couldn’t have known.”

“No, but I should have put the safety of everyone and everything first. I didn’t, and that’s an enormous fuck up you can’t ignore, Brayden.”

He wasn’t the commander of the Royal Vampire Army because he made excuses for his actions. He took full responsibility for his complete lack of judgment. He had let his feelings—or the feelings of the prince—distract him, and now their number one enemy was out there somewhere.

“So, you’re sticking around?” he asked Willow.

“Yes. If people stop trying to kill me.”

He was happy for the prince. Willow would be a stark reminder of that sexy redhead every day. But then again, she had never left his mind.

“You should probably let the king and queen know they can come out.”

“I don’t know. It’s nice and peaceful for a change.”

The edges of their mouths lifted.

“I’ll let them out. Double their security. I doubt Stefano will be in any position to act again quickly, but I’ve been wrong about him before. He’s a fucking psychopath.”

Craig kicked the foot of his desk. “We have a lot of work ahead of us.”

“That we do, my friend, that we do.” Brayden began walking out, but stopped and turned around. “Oh, and by the way, don’t even fucking think about quitting, and you’re not fired. Get back to work.”

Craig grinned. It was more than he deserved, and as always, he’d give his prince one hundred percent.