“Orange,” Adeline says without skipping a beat.
The corner of Dovid’s mouth lifts. “Very well, then those chaps over by the fountain were glowing orange earlier. I should like to speak to you about it further in private.”
I click my fingers to the nearest guard, and a shifter trots over. I motion to the three fellows near the fountain who are speaking in hushed tones. “Kindly escort those gentlemen to the barracks, where they’ll be held for questioning.”
Dovid shakes his head. “If you do that, we won’t get to the source of the problem. They’re just runners.”
“Runners?” I echo, frustrated beyond measure that Dovid is still near Adeline.
“I’ll speak to you later. For now, have your people keep an eye on them. I’ll keep digging.”
I’m mildly controlled until Dovid winks at her.
It’s so unheard of for a vampire to hit on a shifter that no one catches the flirt, not even Adeline. I’m out of my seat in the next second, clearing the gap between us before he knows what hit him.
Or, what almost hit him.
Adeline bursts in front of me, stopping my attack for reasons I can’t begin to understand. Her hands grip my biceps as she studies my rage. She gives herself one solid second to decipher my fury, and then jerks her head toward the castle. “In ye get. It’s time to take a break.” Then she offers up a weak smile to the chap with a death wish. “Cheers, Dovid. I’ll see ye around.”
“No, she won’t!”
Adeline frowns and all but shoves me into the castle, closing the heavy door behind her. “What was tha supposed to be? I’m the one supposed to lose my cool, not ye. You’ve been doing this royalty sort of thing for a century. I’ve never seen ye get cross out of nowhere like tha.” She looks me over. “Your pupils are dilated and you’re breathing like a predator. When was the last time ye fed?”
“I had a blood martini yesterday, and I’m not thirsty at all. It’s him who’s got the problem, not me. He looks at you like you’re something to eat!”
Adeline’s lips purse, and I can tell she’s trying to hold in a laugh. “Is tha so?”
“You’re too sweet, or you’d see it. He wants to get you alone and seduce you.”
Her hand presses to my chest, and like a magnet that’s found its match, my heart leaps toward her touch. “Settle, Ronin. No one wants to seduce me, and even if they did, they wouldn’t get far. I’m mated to ye alone. Lalita wouldn’t stand for it.”
My breathing begins to even out the moment I wrap my arms around her. Finally, my breathing slows and the world doesn’t feel so intense. In fact, the world and all its troubles begin to fade into the background the longer we stand together, inhaling the same air in unison.
My forehead presses to hers and my eyes close. “I don’t know what’s come over me. I saw myself tearing his head from his body when he winked at you. That’s not like me. I’m not a jealous fool.”
Adeline runs her thumb across my lips. “It’s alright. It’s the mating bond. It does crazy things until it settles. Breathe through it. If I can sit there and listen to Mia offer her body to ye, then you’ll have to learn how to tell your animal to settle. Ye handled Mia, and if any chap ever turns mad enough to ask me out, I’ll handle it. No need to become someone we’re not.”
I grip her tighter. “I don’t have an animal, Addy. I’m not a shifter. It’s me who’s raging with no excuse.”
“You’re connected to Lalita, and she’s no wee kitten. If Salem’s wolf is upset, Lilya can feel it. It’s the same thing with us.”
When Benny trots in to check on us, neither of us has it in us to pull away. Dovid’s behind him, and when I see his smug face, I posture and make sure Adeline is clearly displayed as taken.
Who am I? I’m not like this. Yet if I was urged to let go of her in this moment, I’m certain I could not. It’s almost like I can feel Lalita in all her glory, curling her tail around my leg to make sure I’m near.
I will not abandon her. I will give my love whatever she needs.
Benny nods to the two of us. “Dovid has information I think you should hear.”
Adeline offers the only welcoming smile he’ll receive. “Go on, then.”
Dovid stands like a man defying a king, though his words are quite the opposite. “Those chaps I pointed out near the fountain are runners.”
Adeline takes the lead, since I don’t trust myself to speak. “Ye said as much out there. So they’re polluting bottles of alcohol with poison, and then selling them to people who want to frame shifters for the murders?”
That’s the crime we’re most familiar with, because it’s what happened to Addy when we first met. She was accused of poisoning vampires with the alcohol she poured when she was working as my bartender.
We’ve arrested a number of people for doing this—framing shifters for murdering vampires—and it hasn’t happened in a while. I’d hoped that nonsense was behind us.
Dovid shakes his head, his voice turning grave. “That would be preferable to what they’re actually doing. They’re Territorialists, Addy.”
I loathe that he uses her nickname.
Dovid continues, taking a step toward us. “They’ve moved on from wanting to frame shifters. There’s no use for that tactic anymore, since law enforcement is on to them. What they want to do is purge the land and start over. That’s the sort of rubbish language they use when they do their recruiting. It’s what they said when they tried to convert me.”
“Come again?” Benny leans in, his brows pushing together in concern.
“They’re not supplying poison anymore. What they’ve done is far worse. They’ve tainted the blood supply before it’s distributed to the public.”
At this, all of my angst over him being near Adeline falls to the background. “What? How would anyone go about such a thing? What proof do you have?”
Dovid shrugs. “I only have bits and pieces of information, which is why I need you to not arrest them just yet. I don’t know what they’ve tainted the blood supply with, or how deadly it will turn out to be.” Dovid rubs his forehead. “It’s not even them who’s doing the actual polluting of the blood; they’re only moving it from the criminals who are doing the deed, and those three are moving the blood and giving it to the people.” His gaze finally meets mine. “Not a bad way to spread a plague, spoiling the blood supply we drink.”
“We have to bring them in,” I tell Benny. “You can get the information out of them. If a mass poisoning is on the cusp, we can’t do nothing and hope for the best.”
“Absolutely, your majesty. I’ll get right on it.”
Adeline’s focus is still on Dovid. “Ye don’t know anything about how this all came to be? Who’s supplying them with the tainted blood? How did ye even hear it?”
“They’ve been trying to recruit me.”
Too much happiness lifts my posture. “Then we must arrest you, along with those three.”
“Come again?” Dovid’s eyebrow lifts.
“You’re in here conversing with me. Best give them something to be impressed with you about. Something to make you bitter against the throne so you’ll consider their offer more seriously. We’ll suspect you of being in league with the Territorialists, and you’ll feed us information that a party near the south end is to be targeted tomorrow at midnight.” The plan comes to me quickly, and even though I’ve had no time to think it over, I’m certain this is the path of least resistance. “I’ll send soldiers that way to find nothing, and the crown will look like a prized arse. Would that fast track your way up their ranks?”
Dovid takes a step back, his hands raised. “I mean, yes, but it’s quite a bit of resources to use for what could turn out to be a dead end. I don’t know how deep this thing goes. I could be two steps away from the root of these poisonings, or I could be twenty steps from it. Miscreants who brag about their crimes are usually lower on the rungs in any organization.”
“Fair point.”
Dovid
runs a hand through his hair, as if he’s trying to bait Adeline. “But I’m willing to do my part and take a hit if it gets you one step closer.”
I don’t particularly like that we’re working together on this plan, but I’m not about to ignore a tip on a mass poisoning because I don’t like this chap near my mate.
Adeline transfers her weight from one foot to the other. I know she’s nervous about this, so I lace my fingers through hers. “It’ll be brilliant, love. There’s no need for worry. This is as solid a plan as we’ve got. If Dovid’s arrested with the three runners, it’ll up his credibility with the group, and we might even get some information out of the lowlifes.”
Benny’s already got his hand on Dovid’s shoulder, readying to frog-march him out through the crowd.
“No,” she whispers. I’m not sure if I’m meant to have heard her heartbreak, but it stills me all the same.
Dovid steps toward her with a sensitive head-tilt, as if she’s some softy who can’t handle the grittiness of the real world. “I’ll be alright, Addy. You’ve no need to worry about me.”
Her hand stays firmly in my grip. “It’s not enough.”
Of all the things I anticipate her saying, that is not one of them. “Arresting Dovid and the three in question is a good a place as any to start, darling.”
The set of her jaw is firm. “Ye had a blood martini yesterday. You’ve got to drink again before the sun rises. How many times are we going to roll the dice and hope you’re not drinking a tainted supply?”
My spirits lift when I realize it’s not Dovid she’s concerned about, but me. “I don’t have much of a choice in the matter. We’ll get the information and act on it as quickly as we can.”
“Not good enough.”
Benny eyes her skeptically. He’s a man of action as well, but there’s no other action to take. “What are you suggesting?”
“The people need to be warned to start rationing the blood they’ve got. Everyone’s in danger.” Adeline steps toward Benny, her gait wider and her shoulders back. I can see the tension in her thighs, and know she’s switching into a hunter’s mindset. “Questioning is for suspects who might be innocent. This is a potential attack on the king, aye?”
Benny nods once. “On the whole of Drexdenberg.”
Her finger slides over the handle of the dagger in her thigh holster. “Question whoever ye like. I’ve no need for dungeons and games. Anyone involved in this scheme will hang in plain view, so everyone can see how seriously I take the safety of the throne.”
Chapter Five
Lalita’s Mate
Adeline
Benny’s by my side after he hands Dovid off to a guard to be locked in the dungeon, though I know Benny would rather be in the dank prison himself than standing near me right now. He greets the queen with a slight dip of his chin when she enters.
“An arrest already? Did I miss something fun?” Her tone is light and playful, but her words are serious.
Benny and Ronin take turns explaining the situation to Lilya.
I’ve little patience for parsing words at the moment. My mouth is filled with saliva, and I’m invoking deep breathing exercises to keep my animal from bursting forth and doing some serious damage.
Lilya’s not put off by my vendetta to murder everyone on this manky path. She gets me.
But Benny’s voice of reason dampens my plans. “This isn’t going to go over well.”
I finally speak, since someone has to defend my self-given right to destroy anyone who messes with my mate. “Public hangings? What makes ye say tha? I’m sure the people will want justice for the threat tha’s coming for their own lives.”
Lilya doesn’t give the thumbs-up or thumbs-down. She merely stares at me as if I’m the most beautiful sight she’s ever seen. “I love you so much. That’s where my mind went, but I knew I’d get looks like this from these two.” She jerks her thumbs at Ronin and Benny, who, true to form, are frowning.
I welcome the minty scent of Ronin, and am grateful he never strays far. “I can’t decide if you’re half-mad. Darling, I’m usually the one with the irrational death-to-prove-a-point plans. You’re the rule-follower.”
I shrug, as if this is no bother at all to me. As if the bloodlust in my veins doesn’t scare me. “The rule of the guard is to protect the throne. I’m following the rules alright by my count.”
Benny’s mouth is firm. “Think of Heidi. She’ll see the bodies hanging. Is that what you want for her?”
Benny’s logic sinks my shoulders, plunging my confidence. “No, I guess not. But she also wouldn’t like to see ye poisoned, Benny. She adores ye.”
I say no such thing to Ronin, since we both know those claims would be false. Heidi and Ronin tolerate each other, which works well enough for all involved.
I’m strung too tightly, ready to spring at the first person who sneezes in Ronin’s direction. I know I’m not thinking rationally, but the urge to pounce is strong.
I grip Benny’s forearm. “Benny, I can’t tell if I’m calling the shots or if Lalita’s angry because her mate’s in danger.”
Benny’s shoulders relax and he tilts his head empathetically. “Probably a little bit of both. You’re on the right track with not waiting around for a trail to lead us somewhere. You’re right on doling out justice straight away, since this is potentially a threat to the whole of Drexdenberg. But a fair trial’s the way of life, and the way to a civilized world, which is what we’re building here.”
I glower at his solid rationale. “So, I can’t tear out the throats of the people in charge of putting my mate in danger?”
Benny bites back a smile, as if I’m being cute. As if I can’t visualize my exact attack. As if I can’t feel my heartbeat thrumming in my neck. “Not if you want to be a law-abiding citizen. Given that you’re now in the public eye, it’s something to consider.”
Grumbling will get me nowhere, but I do it all the same. “Grand. Then we’ll go the slow route. Due process and all tha. Jays, tha’s the worst.”
Lilya sighs and shoots me a conspiratorial look. “I hate it, too, believe me. I’m from Neutral Territory, where we handled things in back alleys, and no one asked questions. Fair trial feels like a waste of time to me, too. My husband’s in danger with this. It needs to be treated as an attack on all vampires.”
Benny steps towards the heavy front doors of the castle. “Now, now. We’ll still have our fun. And we’ll get to the bottom of this, starting with the arrest of the three blokes we know have a hand in this.”
Ronin chimes in, his hand fixed to the small of my back. “I can also replace everyone who’s got a hand in getting the blood shipments from Faveda’s border to Drexdenberg. We can question everyone in that chain.”
Lilya’s jaw firms, and I see dread creeping through her. She looks as though she might be sick. “Don’t stop when you follow the chain to where it reaches the border. The fae blood is filtered in Faveda. They are the ones who make it safe to drink for the vampires. It could just as easily be one of them tainting the blood supply.”
Benny’s nose crinkles. “But that would mean the fae scientists are working with vampire rebels. We can’t even get the two races to work together at a fruit market.” He crosses his arms over his broad chest. “The problem’s on our end. The fae wouldn’t do this.”
But I know they absolutely would. Not because of the stereotype tha they’re tricky fae, but because I was taken, and my blood used for an experiment to create the Gorgonell monster.
I don’t want to talk about this fact in my past, though they all know about it. I keep my eyes from Ronin’s gaze. I can feel his stare burning a hole in the side of my head.
But it’s my story, no one else’s. I don’t want to drudge it all up, so I stuff the details tha still make me shudder into the recesses of my mind.
Ronin knows I’m clamming up, but he’s a gentleman and doesn’t call me on it. He keeps his hand firmly affixed to the small of my back, quieting the waves of
discomfort tha rise whenever my mind wanders to this particular topic. “We’ll trace the trail all the way into Faveda,” he says to Lilya, affirming tha the problem could lie on either side of the border.
“My father’s still in jail. It couldn’t be him.” I can see the fear in the way Lilya bands her arms around her middle. Though she’s in a grand white gown, she looks like a wee lass, afraid of the monsters under her bed. “I would have known if he’d been released.” Then, as if talking herself down from impending panic, she shakes her head. “He’s serving a life sentence in Jacoba’s dungeon. He wouldn’t be able to get out this soon.”
I quirk my eyebrow at Ronin, but he gives me a miniscule jerk of his head, letting me know he’ll fill me in later. Then to Lilya, he opens his arms, drawing her in so the two of us can hold her, hemming her in from all tha haunts her. “Of course your father is in jail. There’s no way this is him.”
“He doesn’t want to see me happy. If he can’t get at me, it would be just like him to target my husband.”
Ronin kisses her temple. The act is so paternal, my heart softens at the sight. “I will protect Destino, my dear. We will get to the bottom of this, and it will be a nothing of a problem. We won’t even remember this a year from now.”
Lilya turns in our arms and loops her hands around my shoulders. “Be on guard. If it is my father involved, this won’t be simple.”
I wonder how long it’s been since she had a girlfriend who cared enough to be careful with her past. Though I didn’t exactly have Maisie alert and listening, I could pretend I did, and sometimes spilled my concerns to her unfocused mind. It helped.
Lilya sighs in my embrace, and I’m grateful tha, of all the things I could do to help her, friendship is the thing she needs most.
I can be tha.
“We need to announce the danger,” Lilya tells Ronin, though she still remains in my arms. “The blood supply coming to us has to be destroyed.”
Ronin closes his eyes, as if he knows this must be done, but didn’t want to have to say the words aloud. “I’ll take care of it.”
Malicious King: A Paranormal Royal Romance (Territorial Mates Book 6) Page 4