CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

“ A re you two ready for this?” Brayden asked them again.

“Mm-hmm.” Bri nodded too many times.

“It’s all good, man.”

The prince’s head swiveled between them, and Craig let out an enormous sigh. He stepped closer to Brianna and wrapped an arm around her, letting his hand land on her hip. The human glanced up at him, and their eyes met. Instant flare of chemistry. Oh yeah. They were fucking ready, alright. What their audience of two didn’t realize was that they were trying to tone it down.

Brianna swallowed.

“Good,” Brayden said.

“Yeah, brilliant acting,” Willow added, rich with sarcasm.

Craig coughed as Brianna glared at her friend. Clearly, some girl talk had taken place. Christ, that wasn’t good.

Willow shook her head, then attempted to push her mate. Despite being a vampire with Moretti blood, it did absolutely zip. “Let’s go, you big powerful beast of a male.”

Cue the prince’s grin.

“No. Nope. Don’t even start, you two,” Craig interrupted, knowing if they locked lips, the two damn vampires would disappear back into their room for a not-quickie.

He wasn’t doing this on his own.

Brayden laughed and pulled his mate out the door. Craig followed suit and led Brianna through the castle to the formal dining area.

Vincent and Kate had arrived a few hours earlier and invited them to dine together. Fortunately, Brayden had already had the explosive conversation with his brother about leaving the States before them, softened only because of the tampering with the aircraft.

As Craig and Brianna reached the doors, having let the royals go ahead of them, he felt the little hand in his squeeze. He looked down in question.

“Do I bow or whatever?”

“Um, curtsy.”

“Right.” Then. “How do I do that?”

Christ.

“I don’t know; I’m a guy.” He stopped and looked around the hallway at the mix of vampires busily going about their business.

“Well, I don’t know either,” Bri ground out.

He saw one of the housekeepers and called out to her.

“Milly. Curtsy,” he instructed sharply, then cursed an apology when she froze at his tone.

Brianna slapped him on the arm.

“Don’t be a Neanderthal,” she growled, turning to the female. “Can you please show me how to curtsy?”

The female curtsied a few times, looking all kinds of confused.

“Thank you,” Bri finally said, and tugged him along the hallway as Milly raced away.

“Where is the human?” the king roared from inside the room, and when Craig felt Brianna begin to freeze, he put his arm behind her and steered her inside. When it came to the king, meeting him was a little bit like dealing with a Band-Aid—you just had to rip the damn thing off.

“Here, sire,” he said, lowering his head. “Let me introduce you to Brianna Jones. My mate.”

Beside him, Brianna performed an applause-winning curtsy one-handed, retaining the death grip on him with her other.

“Welcome to Casa Moretti , Brianna Jones. But then again, I heard you were at our home in Maine before this.”

At her glance, Craig nodded. “She was, sire. She came looking for Willow, and that’s how we met.” Mostly. Sticking close to the truth was always the smart thing to do.

The queen tilted her head innocently and smiled. “So in just a matter of days, you discovered she is your mate? How. Fast.”

Craig didn’t dare look at Brayden. He’d nearly choked as it was. The king and queen’s courting period had been the most drawn-out love story of all time. Painful for Kate and all of those around them. Including him and the prince.

“Yes, indeed, dear.” As if on cue, the king was triggered.

“Well, we’re all different, I guess,” Craig blurted.

Nobody wanted to sit through a meal where the two royals were bickering. Desperately looking for a distraction, he glanced at the queen and noticed her elegant navy dress.

“Brianna is helping with the ceremony. Dresses and all that shit.”

Cunning bastard , Brayden said via telepathy.

You know it.

“Yes, Kate, you must join us after dinner so I can show you the theme and discuss what you and Bri will wear.”

Thank. You. Willow.

Kate clapped her hands together. “Oh yes. And look at the size of you, my dear. Simply tiny!”

Brianna let go of his hand, relaxing, and moved closer to Willow. He felt her distance immediately and hated it. He itched to reach for her and pull her back, which was damn weird. Attraction was one thing, but this was...more.

Again with the goddamn more .

He glanced across the room, his mind flashing back to Marie, and tried to recall feeling like that with her. He must have. Of course he had.

Returning to the present, he saw Brayden watching him. Expressionless. Craig looked away.

“Sure, until you measure my bust, then oh my God, do you know how hard it is to find a dress off the shelf that fits?”

“It’s true. There was this one time in a changing room...”

As the three females launched into a conversation about Brianna’s breasts, the three males shoved their hands in their pockets and rocked, eyes darting back and forth at each other. When they realized the conversation was escalating to other body parts and would not finish soon, the king finally led them away.

Vincent slapped Craig on the shoulder.

“Seeing the queen thriving in female company brings me great joy, but dear God, they’re like hungry hens.”

Craig closed his eyes and prayed those hens hadn’t overheard that comment.

Brayden shook his head and let out a little laugh. “How are you still alive, brother?”

When Vincent looked confused, the prince slapped him on the back and laughed again. “Let’s drink and you can tell us about your journey home.”

A moment later, they sat at the table and Vincent raised his glass of wine. “Well, the plane didn’t attempt to fall out of the damn sky like yours did, but that’s because our team found the malfunction before we took off.”

Craig grimaced. “Yeah, heard about that.”

Lance had messaged them. A small bomb with a 5G trigger had been found and destroyed. One phone call through to the designated number would have activated it. While they weren’t sure if it was a coincidence that the king’s aircraft had been the one fitted with the explosive, it was concerning.

Vampire or not, a bomb gave only the shortest warning when it ignited, not long enough for the fastest of them to escape before their bodies were ripped apart, including their hearts and heads, which meant death. And fuck spending months healing if by chance you did survive with your head still attached. They might be vampires, but they were not immune to pain.

“Motherfuckers,” Brayden snarled. “Our new teams are in play, so we will have more intel soon. It’s game on.”

Vincent took a long draw of his wine. “I want daily updates.”

“You need to trust me, Vince. Our job is to keep you safe, and that’s what we will do.”

Craig saw the frustration on the king’s face, but the guy knew Brayden was right. Spending time in sessions with the king when they were smack in the middle of this shit wasn’t the best use of their time.

Plus, they were starting to suspect there was an inside source. Hell, there had already been one, although that was slightly different with Regan the Poisoner, as he had privately nicknamed him.

He let the brothers bicker while keeping one eye on Bri. In this setting, they would usually keep it civil. It was a testament to the trust they had in Craig that they were open in front of him. Little was hidden from him, and he valued their trust as they did his loyalty. The way he saw it, brothers would be brothers, whether they’re wearing a crown or a ball cap.

A warm body approached, and he stood to pull the chair out.

“The male has manners,” the king said with a smile.

“He is very gentlemanly, Your Majesty.”

“You have chosen well, Brianna. He is a male well respected by my queen and I. Loyal, strong, and protective. I daresay you will be well looked after.”

Brayden snorted. Everyone looked at him. “He fired Timmy today just for looking at his mate.”

Brianna slapped Craig on the arm. “You did not!”

“No, we love Timmy!” Willow cried.

“What? No, you damn well don’t. Good move, Craig,” Brayden said, glaring at his mate.

Craig rolled his eyes. “Alright, first, I did not fire the guy. I simply relocated him.” He glanced at the two friends. “Interestingly, he seemed...relieved.”

Brianna and Willow suddenly got noticeably quiet.

“Is there something I need to know?” Brayden growled.

The two females shook their heads way too fast and mumbled noes .

“Willow?”

“No! You don’t need to know anything, and you should be nice to Timmy.”

Sniggering came from across the table. Craig watched the queen grinning from ear to ear.

“I’m so glad you two finally shacked up with your females. My life is now complete.”

A shadow crossed her eyes. The king and queen had not yet produced an heir, and it had been one hundred and thirty years. Vampires were not as fertile as humans, yet it was expected to happen at least in the first twenty years or so. Unlike humans, there was no vampire IVF, so it was up to nature.

He felt for the royal couple. Although Vincent as a father...yeah, that was a terrifying thought.

“We’ll talk later,” Brayden said, glancing over at him.

Dude. Hug her or something.

We’re eating!

So? When you’re in love, food doesn’t stop you.

Craig looked down at Brianna, who was digging into her chicken. Letting out a sigh, he wrapped an arm around her lower back, squeezing her hip.

“How’s your meal, sweet pea?”

Brianna looked up at him, and those beautiful green eyes blazed...with irritation.

“Fine, buttercup, how’s yours?”

The king roared with laughter.

“She’s as fiery as this one,” Vince said, pointing his knife at Willow. “I love it. I guess there was no way you two were going to end up with field mice for mates.”

God, please stop him.

He’s my brother. I’m legally bound not to kill him. But if he wasn’t...

An hour later, Craig stood and pulled Brianna to her feet.

“Your Majesties, if you will excuse us. My mate is still human and requires sleep during the evening hours.”

After a bunch of goodbyes and hugs to his mate— not his mate—they stepped out of the dining room into the hallway. He didn’t have long with her. The SLCs were back, and they had a lot of work to do. Plus, his little human did need her sleep.

When the door closed behind them, he lifted Brianna into his arms.

“What are you doing?”

“Buttercup?”

“Pfft. Sweet pea?”

“It just fell out, okay? I’m not used to having a mate.”

She frowned at him, and he narrowed his eyes in question. “What?”

“Nothing. Just put me down. I can walk.”

He shook his head. “Close your eyes. I’m porting us back to my apartment.”

Before she could argue, he did just that, arriving in the middle of the living space. He let her down, and they stood for a moment while she regained her equilibrium.

“You did well.”

“Thanks.” She took a step back.

“Bri.” He reached out, but she took another step.

She shook her head. “I’m tired. I know you have work to do, so I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

Craig gritted his teeth before nodding.

“Can you please organize a new Timmy for me? The queen said I could use her study during the day while everyone is asleep.”

He frowned.

“What’s wrong with this place?”

She crossed her arms. “Nothing, but I keep waking you, and I can’t just sit around watching TV all day. Anyway, she has a hot tub and magazines.”

“I’ve got...” He looked over at his stack of gun and car mags.

“I can’t even use my phone. I’m dying of boredom.”

Yeah, she wasn’t getting that back. “Fine. I’ll have an additional guard for you outside the door when you wake tomorrow.”

She gave him a small smile. “Thanks. Did you really fire Timmy because I said he was handsome?”

He slammed his hands into his pockets.

“Yes.” Craig watched her face, those eyes sparkling a little at the acknowledgment. “But not fired. Relocated.”

She smiled a little bigger. “To?”

“Japan.”

She laughed out loud, and it made his chest balloon. His mouth twitched. “You did not.”

“No. Timmy is an excellent soldier, which is why he was assigned to protect the soon-to-be princess and my mate.”

Brianna’s mouth bunched in regret. He tipped his head at her. “And why he’d already told me what you two monkeys got up to.”

“But you...”

“No, I didn’t tell the prince because he doesn’t need to know. Timmy made the right call in the moment. A mated alpha male the likes of Brayden does not always think with his right head, so I didn’t trust him not to overreact at the situation.”

“But he’s the prince.”

“And I am the commander. Brayden trusts me to make these calls. If I thought there had been any danger to the two of you and that Timmy was responsible, I would have reprimanded him myself.”

Brianna wrapped her arms around herself. “It’s a whole other world here, isn’t it?”

He nodded.

“And it’s dangerous for me to be here.”

“Yes.”

“I feel safe with you, though,” she admitted, looking him directly in the eye.

His chest tightened.

Shit.

She seemed to catch herself suddenly and stepped away. He wanted to go after her and wrap her in his arms, to tell her she was safe with him and always would be. Instead, he nodded and simply said, “You are.”

She let out a sigh and pushed her hair off her face.

“Thank you. I should”—she pointed to the bedroom—“get some sleep. Good night, Craig.”

“Good night, Bri.”

He watched her walk into the bedroom and close the door.

Why did it feel like she’d walked out of his heart?