CHAPTER SIXTEEN

B rayden stretched out his legs.

“I don’t like how spread out the team is.” Craig grunted and pressed the button on the plush leather seat of the Moretti private jet to recline it.

“Yeah, you look stressed as fuck.” Brayden snorted and took a quick look out the window. They were thirty thousand feet in the air, getting close to landing in Seattle.

“Fuck off, you know what I mean,” Craig responded. “Especially with the females at home.”

Brayden shook his head. They’d been over this a dozen times, but he understood where the commander was coming from.

“It’s not perfect, but it was either that or bring them with us and we both know it would’ve been too dangerous. They’re safe at home with Ben, Tom, and Marcus.”

Craig returned his seat to the upright position and cursed. “That’s another thing. Kurt needs back up. We should’ve sent Ben with him.”

Brayden shrugged. “Or Marcus. It’s over to you. Just remember baby Lucas, the queen and Willow remain in Italy. You made the right call. Kurt has the entire black team with him to protect the king.”

Willow was his mate and also the princess of the Moretti royal family. It was important to protect the entire royal family, but the new little prince was a priority. Second, of course, to the king. Brayden, as the king’s brother, was also a prince and captain of the royal army, so he could take care of himself.

The royal family had expanded in the past twelve months and if Willow had her way, it would again.

It pained him she was struggling with the knowledge it could take up to one hundred years or more before she became a mother. He felt guilty in some ways because Willow had been a human when they’d met and never wanted to become a vampire. Yet, as his mate, she had little choice. Despite the fact he’d given her one. Thank fuck she’d chosen him.

Still, her insistence they keep trying to make another little prince was fine with him.

Craig threw back his vodka on the rocks and let out a groan. “You would have told me if you’d disagreed,” he muttered.

“Of course.” Brayden smirked down at his phone where he was messaging Willow.

“This is why we need to grow the team,” Craig said firmly.

“Yes, but don’t go head-hunting my uncles’ assassins while we’re in Seattle. Not all of them will be like Ben. We have a good team of lieutenant commanders we can develop. They deserve the opportunity to train and apply. There are some capable vampires in that team. Dozens of them.”

Unlike human military forces, vampires lived for a fucking long time. Brayden had realized for a while their development program was a bit shit. It wasn’t like any of them were going to jump ship and go work somewhere else.

Working for the king in the royal army was a huge honor. They only accepted strong, hard-working vampires.

Times were changing.

Once their greatest enemy was Stefano Russo and the vampire rebellion. Now, they’d cut off the heads of that snake, and while the rebellion still existed it was, for the most part, dealt with. Today, they were looking at an enemy far greater than they’d faced before.

Humans.

Which was laughable.

Vampires were predators and could snap the neck of a human in under a second should they choose.

Or drain their blood.

Or many other deadly acts using vampire powers and strength. But they didn’t.

Okay, fine, some did—there were monsters in every animal kingdom after all—but as a rule vampires wanted to survive peacefully living and fucking just like humans, alongside them.

Now, though, with technology and science, humans had become more deadly and deceitful than ever.

Humans had recently discovered vampires existed. The populace thought it was bullshit thanks to Craig’s mate, Brianna. The Moretti royal team now had a handful of social architects keeping that narrative running constantly, buying them time to hunt out those who were working to destroy their race.

Scientists.

Brayden would like to think fear was at the heart of it, but it wasn’t just that. It was greed and power. As they had for many years, pharmaceutical giants had discovered an opportunity to capitalize on something, no matter the cost or ethics.

Vampires had no need of medicines, so he had neither compassion nor gratitude for the industry that, from his perspective, only perpetuated disease. Not healing.

It seemed like madness to him.

Still, Brayden’s deep hatred came from the fact these humans had kidnapped and experimented on his vampires under torturous conditions.

The vampires they had saved from a laboratory in Italy had shared little, understandably, of their experiences. Their screams as they slept had said it all.

Brayden had one big rocket up his ass to stop these mother fuckers.

Now they’d discovered Ari Moretti—his fucking uncle—was still alive, Brayden felt their chances had increased substantially. Ari ran a business called The Institute—a private security company with deadly vampire assassins.

Ari had trained him when he was a young vampire. He was the best. Back then, Ari had been captain of the royal army, and one day Brayden had voiced his desire to fill his shoes.

Soon after, he had gone missing.

The vampire had been a confidant to him in many ways. He’d had a good relationship with his father, Frances, but it was Vincent who had been close to the king. Brayden didn’t resent it. His brother had shadowed their father from the moment he could walk, learning to become a great king.

It was a role Brayden did not want. He had wanted to be a warrior like Ari.

When they weren’t training, Ari was telling him about the past, how he knew King Giorgio and what it was like seeing the vampire race grow in size.

Brayden had listened and asked questions. Ari had been as patient with those as he had in his training. It had been Ari who had pointed out to him he was a powerful alpha and should be mindful of his dominance with Vincent becoming the king.

His uncle was right. Brayden had realized he was more alpha than his brother. Back then, Frances had raised it with him just after he’d had spoken with Ari.

“ I don’t want to be king or dominate my brother. I want to stand at his side and support him when he reigns ,” Brayden had said.

“ Then tell both your father and brother soon. Don’t let fear fester,” Ari had said, and when he looked back now, Brayden realized Ari had been speaking painfully from experience.

If only he had known Ari had been his uncle and not just a vampire working for his family.

He had loved him and now he knew why.

Brayden had recently spent time with his uncle in Italy before the vampire returned to the United States last month. Later tonight, Brayden would finally get to see where Ari had lived for the past few hundred years while he thought him dead.

Both he and Craig were looking forward to seeing the training center and discussing how they could work together.

First, they had to find Xander Tomassi and bust this fucking operation wide open.

Ben, Ari’s former head assassin, had shot the Italian president dead after learning he was one of those responsible for kidnapping his new mate, Anna, and allowing her to be experimented on. He now lived and worked for the royal family in the Italian castle as an SLC—one of their most senior warriors.

“We could be here a while,” Craig said.

Brayden dropped his phone after wishing Willow goodnight—okay, fine, he’d instructed her on using her vibrator with minute details—and nodded.

“It’s a possibility,” he said. “If that happens, we will bring them over.”

Craig nodded.

Keeping Craig and Brianna apart was like trying to split two raging tigers. He knew it was the source of his friend’s anxiety right now.

“Willow, Anna, and Kate need Brianna’s pragmatism in our absence. Keep that in mind,” Brayden said. Well, not Kate. The queen had a sound head on her, but she was a new mama bear right now and rightly so. Her attention was on Prince Lucas.

“I need Brianna’s mouth on me, but whatever.”

Brayden laughed. “Two weeks, man. Can’t you survive that long without it?”

Craig looked him dead in the eye. “No. Not really. But you have to live with me for those two weeks, so you be the judge.”

Christ.

He hadn’t thought this through well at all.

Craig smirked and reclined his seat again.

“Asshole.” Brayden said.

A middle finger lifted into the air.