She pressed her lips quickly to his. “Damn straight we do.”
Alex jerked away from Tre as a side door she hadn’t noticed before opened and Valencia entered the room on the arm of a man she’d never seen. He was tall and broad with long black hair. He had cold blue eyes that instantly landed on Alex and assessed her with an almost virulent curiosity. Alex shivered, disliking this new man immediately, as she leaned in closer to Tre.
Her mother moved in her usual confident fashion, clearly not intimidated in the least by the crowd of Coteri warriors in front of her. She continued across the room with a regal grace until she stood by Luca, and released her companion’s arm. A menacing growl sounded behind Alex, loud enough that she turned her head to find its source. The unknown warrior standing by Sean was nearly shaking with fury, his lips curled back in a snarl. As if taking the warrior’s cue, the rest of the Coteri team moved to stand by Tre and Alex, their weapons ready to defend against this new threat. Tre tried to pull Alex behind him but she resisted, needing to stand by his side to face the malevolence that was her family.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Tre remained focused on the three Valta in front of him, his only concern to protect his mate. Valencia broke the strained silence. “I see you’ve disappointed me yet again, Luca. And why am I not surprised?” Her scorn was evident as she looked over the room before her gaze stopped on Alex and her lip curled in obvious disdain. “But you, daughter, have turned out to be my biggest regret. At least my son knows where his loyalties lie.”
Tre stiffened in response to the vile words Valencia flung at Alex. No child should ever have to hear such foul statements from a parent. Luca’s sick, demented psyche suddenly seemed to make a lot more sense given his mother’s twisted, callous nature. But then Alex was nothing like the cold-hearted bitch standing before him, so that excuse wouldn’t fly. Luca had made his own choices, and those heinous choices matched the mother’s.
Tre seethed with anger on his mate’s behalf. There was no denying the outer beauty of the Valta queen but inside she was a deceitful, malicious, vacuous bitch who needed to be taken out. And at that moment, Tre would have been more than happy to do the honors. He felt Alex clasp her small hand in his and squeeze. He felt instant pride that she refused to be goaded into a response to her mother’s cruel words.
Valencia turned her attention to her companion. “Clearly your flawed DNA is to blame for this, Xavier. Although I thought my choice of breeding mate for my second child was more judicious than my first and even somewhat more entertaining, it’s clear now that wasn’t the case.”
Tre sucked in a startled breath as Xavier threw his head back and laughed. Oh, fuck no. Xavier, Tre thought as realization hit him square in the gut. He watched as the mammoth warrior crossed his arms over his chest and looked toward Alex with an amused expression.
“It’s been my experience, Val, that the primary parental caregiver is usually to blame in these situations. Mothers tend to coddle too much and weaken the offspring. And since this is the first time I’ve seen my daughter,” he shrugged, “I think it’s clear where the real blame lies.”
Xavier’s gaze moved to Talon before he continued. “Hell, look at this one. Yes, he inherited my size, but his spineless mother babied him and made him weak. I tried to beat the weakness out of him but it was ingrained too deeply. Now he’s just another little bitch of Roderick’s who’s too pathetic to stand on his own.”
Talon’s low growl had Tre moving Alex a step back. “Long time, no see, sperm donor,” Talon sneered with obvious contempt, and took another step forward. “Yeah, it takes a real strong man to beat the shit out of defenseless women and little kids, doesn’t it? It takes a real strong man to turn on his family, his people and his oath to his king. You’re fucking pathetic. Why don’t we see how well you’ll fare against me now, shit-for-brains?”
Xavier’s jaw tightened and he brought his thick arms down to his sides. His chest heaved and his nostrils flared. Talon had obviously scored a direct hit. Then Sean stepped forward to stand by his brother. The younger man’s skin was beginning to show the initial markings of dark stripes and his pupils had constricted to cat-like vertical slits. Shit, he was about to shift. Talon must have noticed the change as well, since he placed a strong hand on Sean’s shoulder and pulled him back.
“Stay out of this, little brother. This son of a bitch is all mine,” Talon warned.
Tre turned back to notice Xavier’s eyes widening in surprise before his brow furrowed. “I should have killed you in your sleep before I left you and your pathetic excuse for a mother.” Xavier’s tone was filled with hatred. “And I don’t even remember the stupid whore who bore this other runt but I can guarantee I’m going to finish what I should have done a long time ago. You’re not worthy of my bloodline, you weak-ass cub.”
Xavier took a step toward Talon but before he could continue, Valencia clamped her hand over his biceps, her sharp red nails drawing blood as she dug them into the man’s skin.
“Call me Val again,” she purred in a tone that belied her obvious pique, “and I’ll make sure you won’t have the necessary equipment left to procreate any more sniveling bastards like the ones standing before me. Do you understand me, Xavier?” She strengthened her grip until blood trickled down the man’s arm. He didn’t flinch. “You can finish this little family reunion later. Right now we have more important things to deal with.”
As if on cue, the side door flew open and it took Tre a moment before he could believe what he was seeing. Killian, the former general of Washington State, who had been presumed dead after the mission to rescue Chloe, strode confidently into the room with ten Valta warriors behind him. He was scarred down the side of his neck and his right arm had been branded over the exact spot where his general’s Coteri infinity cross tattoo used to be. Tre felt Alex stiffen and he gripped her hand harder, ready to get her the hell out of this mess no matter what the cost. The newcomers moved to form a semicircle behind Luca, Valencia and Xavier, with Killian in the center. As one, they drew their weapons. Fuck a damn duck.
Knowing what was coming, Tre slowly and steadily moved Alex back, his team parting to let them through before closing ranks after they passed. He didn’t dare turn his back on the threat and although his first priority was the safety of his mate, Tre knew he couldn’t leave his team behind.
Luca chuckled and took a step forward. “Well, Talon, boys, I think it’s time to call it a night, don’t you?” he taunted as he twirled his long blade in front of him.
Tre leaned in and put his lips close to Alex’s ear. “You stay down, baby, and away from the danger. This is about to get real ugly, real fast.” He placed a quick kiss to her lips and pushed her farther back toward the wall by the entrance before he stood in front of her, his blade ready for the attack he was sure to come.
Luca sheathed his blade and took a step back next to Valencia, clearly the signal his Valta warriors were waiting for as they immediately lunged forward to engage his team. Tre stayed back, determined to protect Alex, and noted that Killian didn’t take part in the battle but remained standing behind Valencia, Luca and Xavier.
A loud roar turned his attention to the far side of the room. Sean had shifted, most likely without conscious thought, into a six-foot-long, seven-hundred-pound Bengal tiger. His massive jaws were crushing the head of the Valta warrior beneath him. Another Valta chose that moment to rush Tre, their blades meeting with a deafening crash before Tre pushed the other male backward and away from his mate. Tre placed a front kick into the man’s sternum, momentarily stunning his opponent. The hesitation was enough for Tre to slice wide and remove the warrior’s head with ease.
Tre quickly scoured the room. Each of his team was in heavy battle, and he noted that Sean had shifted back into his human form and was holding his own. Dev dropped another Valta and Talon was taking on two at once. The others of his team were equally occupied. Tre noticed that Xavier had unsheathed his broadsword and was headin
g toward Talon. Fucking cowardly bastard, going after Talon only when his back was turned and he was distracted by two other men. Tre moved instinctively to intercept and help his friend. Alex’s scream stopped him dead in his tracks.
Tre spun around to see Luca holding Alex in a chokehold, trying to pull her out of the room. He moved to stop the bastard but another Valta blocked his path and delivered a roundhouse kick to his temple. Momentarily stunned, Tre roared in fury as he charged the male who dared to stop him from reaching his mate. As he parried strike after strike with the better-than-average Valta, he glimpsed Alex shifting into a beautiful white snow wolf. She dropped easily from her brother’s grip and as Tre delivered the killing blow to the heart of the Valta’s heart he was fighting, he watched with pride as his mate clamped her powerful jaws down on Luca’s right thigh. The man howled in pain and pushed himself away, rushing back to his mommy like the pussy he was.
Tre rushed to Alex, who had immediately shifted back into her human form. He pulled her close and planted a heated kiss on her lips. “Tell me that’s your fucking dominant animal, sweetheart,” he pleaded, his own dominant wolf howling to come out and play.
Alex smiled before she leaned up to nip his earlobe. “Maybe that’s why your animal side connected with mine from the start, you think? Maybe we should let them get to know each other better when this is all over.” She let out a throaty rumble as she licked a slow swipe up the side of his neck.
Tre let out a low growl of appreciation before he forced his mind back into the game. “Count on it, baby.”
He turned just in time to see Talon take out the last of his two attackers but Xavier was coming up behind him, blade held high. Tre yelled a warning and rushed forward but knew he’d be too late. His friend turned and brought his weapon up to deflect the killing blow…only the blow never came. Xavier’s eyes went wide and his mouth opened on a silent scream. It was only then that Tre noticed the long blade sticking out of the man’s chest, a direct hit to his heart. The blade disappeared and Xavier crumpled to the floor, dead and revealing Killian standing behind his fallen form with a blood-coated blade.
Silence filled the room as Tre’s team moved closer to Talon, the remaining Valta all dead. He watched as his friend met Killian’s gaze. “Why?” was all Talon said.
Killian bent and wiped his blade clean on Xavier’s pants before sheathing the weapon behind his back. “He betrayed me and his fellow warriors long before he betrayed you, Talon.” He paused and took a step forward. “And no man should have to live with killing his own father, regardless of whether he was a traitorous bastard or not.”
Talon opened his mouth to speak but Killian pressed on, his attention now on Dev. “Dev, Luca pulled out of here with Valencia during the fighting. They’re long gone by now but it’s time you and I had a talk. Meet me outside.” And without another word, Killian left the room.
Chapter Twenty-Six
It was nearly dawn, the blackened sky of night now turning to pre-dawn gray as the sun prepared for its slow ascent. Tre pulled Alex closer into his embrace, the silken skin of her back plastered to his hard front. He pressed his nose into her hair, needing more of her scent as he inhaled deeply. He slowly brushed the thick, midnight strands away from her shoulder and began to kiss and lick his mark. Mine,his mind rumbled as he pressed his hips against her backside.
It had been late when they’d finally returned to the Royal house. Dev had locked himself in his office with Killian and instructed the team that they’d all meet in the morning to debrief, which had been fine with Tre. He had been of a single mind since finding Alex and bringing her home. And spending the rest of the evening with his team going over what had happened was definitely not part of his agenda.
After taking her to his room, he stripped her bare and led her into the shower. He reverently washed her delicate skin, taking care to clean every inch of the foul stench of her ordeal from her body. He dropped to his knees and licked and kissed her most sensitive folds. His fingers stroked deep inside her heat as he sucked her tiny bundle of nerves until he brought her to a screaming climax that would have taken her down had he not been holding her securely. When he finally stood, he stared into the most beautiful cerulean-blue eyes he’d ever seen and saw within the swirling blue orbs that her passion mirrored his own.
He lifted her as she wrapped her long, sculpted legs around his middle, and pressed her back against the tiled wall. She squeezed his shoulders and ground her heated core against his rigid shaft.
“I need you, Tre. Now.”
He didn’t hesitate—couldn’t—as he plunged into her fully in one deep thrust. She gasped at the intrusion and he stilled. The sensation of finally being back inside her was almost too much. His lips met hers in a demanding kiss, their tongues dueling and tasting as he began to draw back and drive inside her tight, heated center with heavy thrusts. His hips churned and pushed, feeling her inner walls tighten around his cock. Tre broke the kiss and moved his lips to her neck, nipping and licking his mark as he felt himself grow impossibly harder inside her.
Alex moaned with rising need and met his every stroke as her soft lips moved to the juncture between his neck and shoulder. “You’re mine, baby,” he rasped, nearly lost in the tidal wave of rapture pulsing through his body. “Finish this and make me yours.”
He felt the slight sting as her tiny canines penetrated his skin, then the flood of unbelievable pleasure as her pussy clamped down and rippled around his cock. She continued the soft pulls on his neck as his hips drove into her tight channel once, twice until he locked himself to her center and his balls pulled up almost painfully. With a final thrust he felt his release fire through his body and into hers as he threw his head back and let loose a thunderous growl he was sure would be heard throughout the house. As if he gave a shit who heard.
After the shower he had taken her again against the wall of his bedroom, then again on the bed. Each time had been better than the last and he knew he’d never felt a connection such as this before. The reason was simple. My mate.
Tre smiled at their remembered night. He wanted her again but knew she had to be sore. He softly traced his fingers over her flat stomach and full breasts as he continued his ministrations with his lips and tongue over his mark on her neck. Alex stirred and turned her head, her bright-blue eyes still drowsy from sleep as she gazed up at him and smiled. She instantly turned and cuddled into his neck. Her dominant form was wolf but she began licking, kissing, and rubbing against him like a cat as she moaned softly, sending sweet vibrations coursing through his body.
Tre couldn’t suppress the rumble from his chest as the feel of her silky lips on her mark made him instantly hard. With extreme effort, he pulled her head back and pushed her hair away from her face. “You keep that up, baby, and I won’t let you leave this room for a week.” He leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the lips.
Alex smiled and pressed her body closer to his, rubbing her center against his already straining erection. “If threatening to keep me naked and locked in a room with you for a week is supposed to be a deterrent, Tre, I have to tell you that you need to come up with a more discouraging option,” she teased as she slid a hand in between their bodies to enfold his heavy shaft in her hand.
Tre playfully slapped her bare ass as he reluctantly pulled away, knowing that if he allowed himself to get started he really would keep her locked in there with him for a week. “We have to meet Dev and the team to go over everything from last night. Killian showing up out of the blue was a real revelation, not to mention Xavier.”
Alex sighed before she followed Tre off the bed and began to get dressed. As she buttoned her jeans, she turned to him. “I still don’t understand about Killian. He was one of Luca’s men. I met him first that day, when I found out the truth about my brother at the marshland compound. I could tell Luca didn’t fully trust him but Killian seemed loyal to him at the time. He was the one who put me in a chokehold and bruised my neck, but then he warned me
not to cross Luca. Then at the house last night, he tended my wounds before he helped me to escape my room and even gave me a key to my irons. Why would he do that if he was working with Luca?”
Tre pulled a white T-shirt over his head and sat on the edge of the bed to lace up his boots. “From what Michael gathered from Nic, Killian also matches the description of the man who helped her by moving her away from the main compound in the marshland location, making it easier for Michael to get to her.”
Tre stood and walked up behind Alex, sliding his arms around her from behind and pulling her back to his chest before pressing a soft kiss to her neck. “My best guess is that Killian has been working undercover since his disappearance from Washington and only Roderick was aware, which would answer the question of how we were able to find you so quickly. The king got the information on your location from Killian and passed it to us.” He shrugged and stepped back. “Killian has some serious issues, sweetheart. So serious that Talon was chosen to take over Killian’s territory as general in Washington. And my gut tells me that Roderick is trying to help him through those issues. It’s the only thing I can figure.”
Tre took her hand in his and headed toward the door. “But I’ll tell you this—Killian’s damn lucky Talon didn’t relieve him of his head the second he showed his face in that room last night. There’s definitely no love lost between those two, especially after all the shit Killian pulled with Talon’s mate, Chloe.”
Alex stopped before Tre could open the door, her brows drawn down in confusion. “Things must not have been too bad between them, since Killian saved Talon before his father could kill him.” She stilled as the reality finally hit her. “Before my father could kill him.” Alex shuddered and met Tre’s gaze, worry evident on her features. “Oh God, Talon is my brother—and Sean too.”
Infinite Desire Page 20