CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

B rayden held his nephew out at arm’s length and sniffed. “Kate!”

“It’s your brother’s turn.” She shrugged from across the room. Vincent looked up as if someone had said there’s a bomb about to go off. Thing was, it had already gone off and was stinking the entire royal suite.

“Oh, for goodness’ sake. I’ll do it,” Willow said, stalking across the room. He winked at her as she took Lucas from his arms, and her face softened.

Brayden couldn’t wait to see his mate with a swollen belly carrying their child. He knew how much she wanted it, and being human, the years it could take seemed an eternity to her. He was already one thousand years old, so waiting another few decades was okay with him, but if he could speed it up, he would.

Some mates were lucky and did conceive quickly, but it was rare.

“How many diapers have you changed, Your Majesty?” Brianna asked from atop Craig’s knees.

There was a mumble from the king.

“Can’t hear you. How many?” she asked again, swiping the hand Craig was trying to place over her mouth.

Willow was smirking as she leaned over the baby doing up the new diaper like a pro.

“I have more important things to do than count diaper changes, Brianna. Many,” Vincent said, and Kate snorted. “Some, then. I’m the damn king!” he added defensively.

Lucas piped up and began his baby gurgling noises, taking center stage.

“That’s right, and I’m your Aunty Willow,” she said, tickling his belly. “Shall we put you in the red, white, and blue jumpsuit, little man?”

Vincent stood up. “That’s another thing. Lucas is Italian, not American. Stop dressing him like he’s a fourth of July flag.”

Kate frowned at him. “It’s one jumpsuit, Vincent.”

He pointed at Brianna. “And the reindeer onesie? He’s not a doll.”

All three females began nodding and laughing, all agreeing that yes, Lucas totally was .

Craig groaned.

“Brother, this is one battle you won’t win. Now, about Ben and Anna,” Brayden interrupted, sidetracking the bickering as he seemed to do regularly.

“When are they arriving?” Craig asked, lifting Bri off his knee and walking over to stand with him and the king. “I’m surprised he’s doing this.”

A few hours ago, Ben Ferrero had phoned Brayden and asked for a truce. He wanted to bring Anna home where she would be safe, and then he would be returning to the United States.

Brayden didn’t believe a word of it.

Oh, sure, he knew the vampire thought he was going home, but there was no way Ben would be able to go through with it. He just didn’t know it yet.

And there was something else.

Craig had briefed him and Vincent on what had taken place the night before. They had sourced some information on one Xander Tomassi, and the team was already connecting some dots. If their instincts were right, the pharmaceutical executive was somehow connected to the experiments.

None of them believed Ben or his pal Oliver were nefariously involved, but it was clear they knew a hell of a lot more than they did, and that was concerning.

How?

Vincent had put in a call to the POTUS and come up with nothing. They didn’t know Ben or have any records of him. Even in Italy, there had been little to nothing since he’d left the country seventy years ago.

If Ben knew something and was withholding information or evidence from his king, that was serious. It wasn’t a crime in their world, as it would be for a human, but it spoke to a lack of loyalty to the royal family which could mean he leaned toward the rebellion.

Brayden knew that wasn’t true of Ben either.

Which left them back at square fucking one.

“We still don’t know who the male was on the phone?” Vincent asked Craig, who shook his head. The three of them stared at each other.

“This is a clusterfuck,” Vincent grumbled and blinked at Kate when she growled. “He’s only a few weeks old! He isn’t going to learn cursing right now.”

“You don’t know that.” She glared.

Craig and Brayden shared a smirk. Lucas Moretti would be cursing right along with them all one day very soon. But he wasn’t going to be the one to announce it to the queen and protective mama.

“Yes, it is a cluster...fluff,” Craig said, shaking his head at himself. “Jesus, let’s take this into the dining room.”

Brayden laughed, winked at a smiling Willow—God, he loved her—and followed Craig into the next room.

All three of them found spots and leaned.

“Seriously though, all Lucas does is shit and cry; he’s hardly going to break out cursing by the fucking weekend,” Vincent complained. “Plus—”

“We know. Kate knows. Just agree, Vince. She just gave birth to the heir to the Moretti kingdom.”

True , the king muttered, grinning the familiar smile they were all getting used to when he thought of his son. Not enough to change a diaper, obviously, but there were enough doting females around wanting to help out. Kate was well supported, and she knew her mate well.

“So, what are you thinking?” Vincent asked.

“I wasn’t going to say no. Anna will always have a home and job here,” Brayden continued where they left off, and the other two males nodded. “And I think we can all agree Ben is a skilled warrior who we can’t hold. My instincts and information still say he’s no threat. But we are left with the mystery of who he works for.”

“Is he a vigilante?” the king asked.

Craig shook his head. “No. There’s a team behind their operation. The apartment, the weapons, the phone call. I’d say there is some human connection, but the fact POTUS knows nothing about it is concerning.”

“And yet, he had plenty of time to do harm inside these walls and was more interested in Anna.”

Craig nodded and frowned.

“So who the fuck is he working for?”

They all stared at each other, shaking their heads.

Brayden wasn’t ready to voice his deep, dark suspicion, but it was growing louder every day. And if he did, the only person he could speak to about this was his brother. Not even his best friend and the commander of their army could know about this.

“Alright,” Vincent said. “Let’s leave the door open to him and see if he talks. I know your team will do what’s necessary to keep us all safe, but I agree; he doesn’t seem to pose any threat.”

Brayden was in agreement, so he nodded. It was highly uncomfortable, but if what he suspected was going on was right, they didn’t have any concerns.

At least not where Ben was concerned.

Especially if he mated with Anna.

But it did open up a huge can of worms for the Moretti family. Or worse, the entire race.

God knows they had enough to deal with now that humans were beginning to become aware of their existence.

Brayden felt the foundations of their life shift beneath his feet. He took a look at his brother and wondered whether life as they had known it was about to change irrevocably.

And what it would mean if he was right.

For all of them.

To find out, he needed Ben closer.