by Marian Tee
“Go on.”
Clearing her throat, Misty resumed with her joke. “Well, the two men were walking down a street when they stopped dead on their tracks. They saw something ahead of them, some kind of weird-looking brown-colored puddle.”
He frowned. “Mud?”
Misty shook her head, her lips already twitching as she anticipated her punchline. “I’ll get there, I promise,” she told him with a cheerful smile, her eyes twinkling with merriment.
His heart thudded at the sight of those twinkling eyes, a reaction so unnatural and unfamiliar, Lysander stiffened in shock. Just lust, he told himself. She was, after all, not like any other Faerie woman he had fucked. It was to be expected that he would feel more attracted to her than usual.
She cleared her throat again.
Jim shakes his head when he looks at the brown stuff on the ground. He says, “That’s freaking gross, man. Dog poop.”
Jack scratches his head. “No, dude. That’s, like, molten chocolate. Yesterday was Valentine’s remember? Maybe some chick dropped a slice.”
“Idiot. It’s poop.”
Jack snorted. “You need glasses, dude. That’s clearly chocolate.”
Jim crouched down in one knee. “Let me prove to you it’s dog poop.” He stuck one finger into the puddle----
Lysander winced, realizing where the joke was heading. “Misty---” He paused, half-exasperated and half-amused when he realized Misty was already giggling.
“This is good, really, just let me finish it,” Misty insisted even as she tried to stop herself from giggling. She resumed with her joke.
Jim brought the stuff into his mouth for a taste. “Blech! I told you it’s poop! Check it out if you don’t believe me.”
She pretended to do what Jack did, bringing one finger to her mouth.
Even though Lysander’s body was rocking with silent mirth, he had an immediate erection with how unconsciously seductive Misty’s pose was.
Jack crouched down as well and dipped his finger into the puddle. He grimaced after tasting. “You’re right. It is poop.”
Misty made a disgusted face as she pretended to be Jack. Lysander struggled to keep his laughter in control.
They stood up, Jim shaking his head in relief. “Good thing we didn’t step on it, right?”
The punchline took him completely by surprise and Lysander laughed, a sound that was completely genuine and extremely…male.
Misty blinked at the sound. This time, she blurted out, “Are you really gay?”
Lysander let his laughter die naturally even though he was tense inside, knowing he had to tread carefully or all his plans would go to hell with just one wrong word. He snapped his fan open again and adjusted his lace cuffs.
When he finally met Misty’s gaze, Lysander knew what he had to say. “I’m sorry if my homosexuality offends---”
She gasped in dismay. “Oh, no, no.” She shook her head vehemently while mentally berating herself for even asking a question. “I’m sorry if I made you think like that. I totally have nothing against your homosexuality. I mean, Daryl and Milo and I get along with each other very well.”
Realizing she was babbling, Misty sent Lysander an entreating glance.
He took pity on her. “It’s all right, Misty. As long as you are truly fine with who I am?”
In answer, she tiptoed and placed a shy kiss on his cheek.
He froze at the touch of her lips, the heat uncurling in his body at that innocent gesture stunning him. And when she smiled up at him, the innocence in her eyes challenged his very ability to think straight. This woman was…dangerously addictive.
Fuck.
Lysander had a feeling that he had just bitten off more than he could fucking chew.
Chapter Four
“So…this is it.” Misty’s arm was beginning to ache at the lace parasol she was holding high to accommodate Lysander’s height. He had very gently told her that if she wanted to make amends, she would have to help shield his delicate skin from being burnt by the heat the realm’s shield generated.
Gay men, Misty thought with a sigh. They were so high-maintenance! How he had supposedly slain a hundred vampires as a child was completely beyond her. What did he do? Fan them to death?
The courtyard was filled with the growing number of Faeries who had signed up to be soldiers of their race. The growth rate was impressive but Misty knew that compared to the number of warriors Lyccans had – and the number of merciless vampire assassins they had to face – the number before her was still pathetically scarce.
Swords fell more times than they clashed, wielded by arms clearly unused to fighting. Laughter rather than shouts filled the courtyard for the Faeries had lived in an age of peace for so long they had forgotten the horrors of war.
Lysander’s lips tightened at the sight.
The swords that Faeries yielded were made of metal found only in their realm, forged in the blood that their ancestors had sacrificed. No bullets, not even those made of silver, could cut through the sword. But was it truly enough to defend their race?
Lysander only owed loyalty to two things: himself and his race. He would sacrifice his life if that would save his kind from extinction, but Lysander knew such a sacrifice would be for naught.
A fucking bubble, Lysander thought, bitter at how helpless he felt at the sight of his race’s vulnerabilities. They were living in a glass bubble, so weak against the threat of another war that they had to depend on a human to protect them.
“Would you consider training with us?” Misty asked. The thought of Lysander being under attack had suddenly occurred to her, and she immediately feared for the beautiful gay man next to her. What if he was surrounded by vampires? What could Lysander do? Strangle them with his lace cuffs this time?
Lysander feigned a look of horror. “I am a member of the High Circle, my pretty.” He showed her his hands. “Hold it.”
She gasped when she did. “Baby soft!” She shook her head in amazement. “Even Daryl’s aren’t that soft.”
“I know,” he said complacently. It was all part of his disguise.
“But…Lysander…you have to learn how to defend yourself, even just a bit. I know right now it doesn’t seem that vampires can attack you here, but you just never know…”
He adjusted his cuffs again. “If there’s someone handsome enough, perhaps.”
Misty suppressed a sigh. She wanted to bring up his past, to remind him of how horrible vampires could be, but she also knew now wasn’t the right time to do so. As they looked back at the Faeries in training, she said slowly, “I requested for a Lyccan and Caro trainer to visit us.”
Lysander’s head turned sharply towards her. This was the first time he had heard of her request, and he was immediately suspicious. “Why is that?”
“I talked about it with Milo and he agreed.” She gave him an apologetic glance. “I didn’t get to ask you because I didn’t know you’d be my co-Ambassador then. Lyccans have been warriors all their lives and Caros have been fighting vampires from the very start. I think we can learn a lot from them.”
The ‘we’ made Lysander feel extremely good, but he didn’t want to think why it was so.
A commotion at the end of the courtyard drew his attention. A crowd was gathering, the noise increasing in volume.
“Maybe the trainers had come?” Misty hazarded a guess.
“Perhaps. Let us find out.” He offered his hand, and she took it after a moment of hesitation.
They walked hand in hand, Misty forcing herself to relax. He was gay, gay, gay. How many times did she have to remind herself of that?
“I see Magenta,” Lysander, who easily towered over other Faeries, said as they neared the foot of the crowd.
“An important visitor must have come then,” Misty decided. “Magenta doesn’t…” The crowd parted slowly, and her voice trailed off, shock rendering her speechless when she saw who that important visitor was.
Domenico.
He
r body tingled at the sight of him, her throat convulsing at the way he kept his eyes on her while he kept a sedate pace next to Magenta. The aura of command around Domenico was even more tangible now, one that made Misty tremble. And his clothes! She had never seen him dressed this way, geared for battle, his soldier uniform bearing the colors of the Lyccan Council. It gave her pause. Shouldn’t he be wearing black and silver, which were the colors of the Moretti pack?
The way his tight-fitted uniform showed off the sleek, hard cuts of his muscles only served to emphasize how different he was from all the men in this realm – or anyone else in the world, any man from any race.
Domenico Moretti was lethal.
He was a prince who had never depended on his guards to kill, choosing instead to taint his own bare hands with the blood of his enemies.
Misty heard the quickened breaths of women around her, and she knew they were just as affected as she was at the sight of him, the proof of how lethal he was in other ways. He was so sinfully handsome, a part of her still could not believe that she had once been...not his mate but a woman who had stayed at his side.
When he was finally near enough to hold a conversation with, Misty knew she couldn’t delay any longer and reluctantly raised her eyes.
His beautiful dark face was devoid of expression, but oh his eyes! They glittered with emotion, letting her know without a word of how he wanted to devour her. There was something else, too, but it was a feeling Misty did not want to acknowledge.
Domenico sucked his breath in when their gazes met.
Misty.
It was all he could do not to haul his princess to him, to let her know how much he fucking loved her, worshipped the very ground she walked on.
“Breathe, my pretty,” Lysander whispered to her.
She gasped, not realizing she had been holding her breath all this time. She saw Domenico stiffen, his gaze immediately swinging towards Lysander.
Domenico’s fists clenched. Who the fuck was the young man next to her, daring to stand too close to his woman? And had he heard the man right? Had this whelp actually called Misty his pretty?
“It’s good you two are here,” Magenta said calmly, her tone setting a clear precedent of how she wanted everyone to act. “Your Highness, Misty and Lysander here will be co-representing our race in the Alliance.”
Magenta gestured to Domenico next. “Misty, Lysander, the Lyccans have been kind enough to send Prince Domenico of the Moretti pack to help in training our soldiers.”
Lysander. His gaze narrowed at the younger man, taking in his odd choice of clothing, which was drowning in lace. Was the man gay? He goddamn hoped so or the man would be feeling Domenico’s fist next.
“But…” Misty was in a daze at Magenta’s words, her heart beating mad at the thought of Domenico staying here at the realm…where she was, too. “That’s not…that can’t be possible! He’s the heir apparent of the Moretti Pack. There’s a conflict of interest---”
“There is none now.” Domenico’s soft voice cut through her words.
Just the sound of his voice was enough to have her entire body shaking, repelled and attracted to the sound at the same time, turning Misty into a mass of heartbroken confusion. This morning should have ended everything between them yet here he was again, threatening the new life she had so worked so hard to build.
“What are you saying?” Misty had to force the words out.
“As of yesterday, the mantle of future leadership of the pack has been passed on to the heir next in line, my younger brother Alessandro Moretti.”
Chapter Five
Domenico was indifferent to the massive wave of shock that hit the crowd with his announcement. He of course immediately noticed that the younger man called Lysander did not appear surprised at all. It could mean several things, and his agile mind processed every possible meaning behind it. When he looked back at Lysander, Domenico was looking at the other man with a narrowed gaze.
Misty might hate the fact that he was manipulative as hell, and though he would do his best to change that where she was concerned, Domenico knew he would not stop doing so if it meant keeping the people he loved safe. Especially if the danger had to do with the one who held his heart in her hands.
Domenico’s words, delivered so matter-of-factly, knocked her for three, and Misty stumbled back, unable to believe Domenico would relinquish leadership for any reason. He was not a man greedy for power, but for most of his life he had lived to exercise his birthright. It was the most important thing to him---even their marriage had not been his top priority, she remembered painfully.
Domenico was still gazing at her with an inscrutable expression on his gorgeous face. It was scary, the way she just couldn’t read him anymore. But then – had she ever really known him like a wife should? Like a mate should?
“Why would you do that?” She had to ask the question.
Silence abruptly fell, the crowd just as keen to hear Domenico’s answer. Even the Faeries, with all the years they spent outside the “real” world, were fully aware that being heir apparent to a powerful pack like the Morettis was equal to holding the reins to one of the wealthiest and strongest kingdoms in earth.
And the man who had given it all up answered simply, “Because I’ve come to get back what’s mine.”
Domenico stretched his hand, palm up, waiting, demanding for Misty to take him---to let him claim her in front of everyone.
Oh God. Misty found herself moving, her hand slowly lifting up---
In a blink of an eye, Lysander had put Misty behind him, breaking the spell between the two.
Misty’s hand fell to her side, her eyes widening at the horrified realization at what she had almost done. Lysander tipped her chin up, a steady reassuring gleam in his eyes. It calmed her for some reason, and as she continued gazing at Lysander, she was slowly able to breathe again.
Domenico went cold inside even as he allowed his arm to fall back. His first instinct was to strike Lysander down, but looking at Misty, seeing her shaking as she struggled to control her emotions, forced him to keep still. And yet…it was torture to see Misty looking at another man with those wide gray eyes.
Look at me, he wanted to shout. He wanted to demand and beg her at the same time. Didn’t she know how she was fucking killing him with the way her gaze clung to another man?
“Okay, my pretty?” Only long years of practice allowed Lysander to keep his voice smooth and light. Something powerful and deep had shifted inside him at the look of need in Misty’s eyes. It was all he could do not to drop his long-standing disguise and haul her to his arms and tell her that he was going to take care of her.
Slowly Misty nodded, a grateful smile breaking over her lips. She squeezed his arm, as if thanking her again, and that simple touch inflamed him. He dared not move after, knowing if he did it would be possible that Domenico’s heightened Lyccan senses would pick up on his arousal.
Misty turned to Domenico, and he followed suit. Lysander snapped his fan open once more, the sound drawing more than one pair of gaze towards him.
He was impressed at how not even a flicker of expression crossed Domenico’s face to reveal what he thought of Lysander. But Lysander knew the other man was on his guard now, more so than before. This man before him was not to be underestimated at all costs, might even be as cunning as he was.
Domenico didn’t allow himself another glance at Misty. If he did – hell would break loose. He didn’t look at the younger man either since the same outcome could also ensure. Domenico couldn’t yet read Lysander Allard clearly, but one thing was for sure – for whatever reason, he wanted to take Misty away from Domenico. Worse, this Lysander-what-the-fuck had not made the same mistakes Domenico had done. Misty did not trust Domenico, but she might trust this man.
As Lysander slowly fanned himself, Domenico locked gazes with him once more. He smiled at the older man for the sole purpose of confusing the Moretti prince.
Oh, this will be so much fun.
Domenico followed the girl Magenta had assigned to walk him to his chamber in brooding silence. Never had he thought he would have a rival for Misty’s heart. His chest tightened at the thought. Was it why she had been able to cut ties with him?
Domenico knew with every fiber of his being that Misty still wanted him as desperately as he wanted her, but want did not equate with love or even need. Even so, he was not going to give up without a goddamn fight.
The girl in front of him, Ivory, stopped next to a two-door suite at the end of the hallway. “Here we are.” She was dark-haired and doe-eyed. This early he could see she was infatuated with him. Once, Domenico would have no qualms using her infatuation to his advantage, to send her to spy on Misty.
