“Don’t give me fucking grief. What of it? Pussy is pussy.” He felt instantly bad about the comment although he couldn’t fathom why.
“I thought that they all got too emotionally involved and that you…in your words…didn’t want to fuck with them.”
“Are you going to let me in?” Lance ground out, not wanting to talk about Amber out in the hall. It didn’t seem right. Had he just thought that? He mentally groaned. He was becoming a pussy. The female didn’t want others finding out about them and it was the least he could do.
“And? Who is she?” Griffin grinned broadly as he stepped aside to allow Lance in.
“No one.” Another twinge. “Okay, she’s special but not in the way you think.”
Griffin gave him a pat on the back. “You love the taste of her blood. Can’t get enough of her and miss her as soon as you leave her?” Griffin raised his brows.
Lance frowned. “Her blood is delicious. I can’t get enough of her pussy and miss it from the moment I leave her.” His frown deepened. “But she has quite the mouth on her.” One made for kissing. “I prefer to keep it busy since she likes to insult me at every chance she gets. Can’t wait to see it wrapped around—”
“Still crude as ever,” a feminine voice sounded. Sarah appeared around Griffin. Amusement shone in her eyes.
“Prim,” Lance could hear the genuine affection in his voice. “Still as prim and proper as ever, I see. Has my boy here not taught you a single fucking thing yet?”
Sarah laughed. Griffin scowled. And in that moment all was right with the world. It was the little things. His thoughts drifted to Amber. The way she pursed her lips when she was pissed at him. The way her eyes filled with fire just before she slapped him, which was often. The way those same eyes drifted shut as he sank into her…slowly, or widened if he thrusted…hard. He realized in that moment how good he felt, how relaxed. He felt balanced and calm. Fuck! It felt good.
“I think you like this human.” Griffin chuckled. “It sounds serious.”
Lance tried hard not to roll his eyes and failed. “She hates my guts. Can’t fucking stand me. The sex is off the charts though. I never knew I would enjoy being hit, kicked and bitten.” He paused, reconsidering his words. “Okay, maybe I knew about the biting part.” He had to chuckle, giving Sarah a wink. “It’s a match made in heaven.”
“She hits you?” Sarah’s brows were almost above her hairline. “As in…”
“She punched me once too, otherwise she prefers a good slap and the female can hit. I fucking love it.”
“You’re nuts.” Sarah looked horrified.
Griffin laughed. “Or in love.”
“Fuck that. She’s dating other guys. What we have isn’t like that. It’s just physical, nothing more,” he said, too quickly. “Can we talk about something else now? I’m getting bored.”
“Which one is she?” Griffin asked. “Can I take a few guesses?”
Lance growled, louder this time. He was not going to reveal Amber’s identity. He wouldn’t do that to the female. She’d hate even more and really make good on her promise to deny him, but to deny him would be denying herself, too.
“We have to be at that meeting in a half hour.” Griffin looked at his watch then at Sarah. “I would suggest you shower and change.”
Little Prim nodded. “Even I can smell the sweat, latex”—she wrinkled her nose— “and other things I would rather not talk about. Sometimes improved senses are not all that fun.” Her eyes darted toward Griffin, as though she hadn’t meant to reveal herself.
Griffin just grinned, looking happier than Lance had ever seen the male. “My female has started drinking my blood.”
“It’s about fucking time, Prim.” Lance smiled when she blushed. “Any buns in the oven?”
“Not yet.” Sarah smiled. “We’re not in any rush to start a family.”
“We won’t wait too long though.” Griffin pulled her into his lap and she squealed.
“That’s my cue to leave. I think I’ll go hit that shower now.” Lance made a gagging noise.
Griffin threw a pillow at his back. “I’ll see you at the royal suite in twenty-five.”
Lance glanced back, he noticed that Griffin’s hand was down Sarah’s top. “Don’t be late,” he suggested gruffly before leaving their suite and stepped into the hallway. Although he gave them shit and pretended that they disgusted him, the truth was, the two of them gave him a degree of hope. They made him finally realize things about his past. Maybe there was a female out there for him. Maybe someday. Then he laughed, a group of vampire females looked at him like he was mad as they walked past him. Maybe he was. Some of his tension returned. It was a feeling of unease. A driving need to…he wasn’t sure what he needed. There were only a couple of things that helped, fighting, fucking and getting away from others, from confined spaces. Being out in the open. Stop and smell the roses, as he liked to call it.
Lance rolled his shoulders. He needed a walk in the gardens before meeting with the kings, to center himself. It looked like he had regained some of his favor. The last thing he needed was to get testy with Zane and fuck it up now.
There were worse things. He might just pop Brant in the face for being a dick. The male could bring out the worst in the best of males. What then? If he was lucky he’d end up shackled in the dungeon and at worst, dead. His blood ran cold at the thought. He started jogging. Best he shower and smell some fucking roses since his human was not available. His? He grit his teeth. In a way she was, although, not in the classic sense. They weren’t exclusive and he had no plans on a relationship but she’d better not try and bring another male to her bed. Not if she valued the other male’s life in any way. If that made him a colossal prick and a bastard, then so fucking be it.
****
“Thank you for coming.” Brant adjusted his tie. It was pink. Made his king look motherfucking cute. Lance had to hold back a laugh. The male unbuttoned his double breasted suit and hung it carefully in a chair back.
Gold cufflinks caught his eyes. How could they not? They each had a black diamond and the male’s initials on them.
“Yeah.” Zane sighed. He ran a hand down his leathers. The male’s short sword was still sheathed at his back. They were so different, how they managed to share a female, to be in a relationship together, was beyond him. Then again, they had fallen into their separate rolls when it came to the running of the covens. They bolstered each other’s strengths and filled each other’s weaknesses so maybe the same could be said for the bedroom and, of course, their relationship in general.
“Let’s get down to business.” Brant strode back towards them and took a seat. “The human faction responsible for the abductions of the human women, and the near fatal attempt on Zane’s life, is becoming a nuisance.”
“Putting it mildly,” Zane growled.
“We’re done with taking the defensive on this. We’re done waiting to see what they do next.” Brant passed them each a file. “We’re done waiting to see what they do next.”
“Operation Kill the Motherfuckers, as I like to call it, commences next week.” Zane smiled, his fangs erupted and his eyes glowed a tad red for a split second.
Brant shook his head. “It’s called Operation Finding Nemo. We find the fuckers and make sure that they’re brought to justice. We will be working with human law enforcement on this.”
“Excuse my intrusion, my lord.” Titan leaned forward. “There was at least one Sweetwater police officer involved in all of this. Chances are that there will be more.”
Gideon’s upper lip curled back. He was quite obviously remembering the human that had abducted his female. The one that was now buried without a heart. Stealing weak human women to frame the vampires. These faction members were cowardice fuckers.
“That’s why we won’t be working with any of the local authorities,” Zane said. “The FBI is sending in a team, a special task force. The president wants this taken care of as a matter of urgency. This typ
“The Program is important to us. We want the newly mated couples to reproduce…” Brant looked pointedly at Gideon and then at Griffin. “We also feel that it would be best if males with females that are with child should remain on vampire territory. We don’t want to cause unnecessary stress that would put our future offspring at risk.”
Lance eyed Brant, frowning. What did this have to do with him?
He was not the right person to head-up such a task. Not a fuck. His fuse was too short. Dying for such a long time would do that to a male.
Lance continued to look around the room. York sat stony faced opposite him, the male was the leader of the Royal Guard and headed up the Elite Team. A position Lance had been stripped of. It left no bad taste since he deserved everything he had been dealt. He had gone over the edge and in a bad way. York was mated and his female was with child.
Then there was Lazarus, second to York. Not only was he mated, but his female was expecting the first vampire/human set of twins.
Gideon headed up the general guard. Mated to a female from his past. From his scent, Lance could tell that he was practicing hard for a baby. He bit back a smile.
That left Titan, Griffin and the young buck, Elliot. Titan headed up the human guard and Elliot and Griffin were his seconds. That left either Titan or Elliot.
He breathed out a sigh. It wouldn’t be him. Thank fuck. He would be happy to hunt down a bunch of human assholes—more than happy—but holding hands with human law enforcement while doing so…not so much. Bringing them in alive…wasn’t happening.
“We want you to head up that team, Titan. You will represent our people.” Zane gave the male a hard pat on the back. “We have the utmost trust in you to do right by us.”
“What Zane is trying to say is don’t fuck it up. We will be expected to bring them in. It’s not a witch hunt. The perpetrators will be expected to stand trial.” Brant leaned forward, elbows on his thighs. “But…the odd casualty is to be expected.” His expression turned outright predatory.
Titan shook his head. “I am not the right male for the job.”
Zane made a snorting noise. “You’re professional, level headed, and the decision has been made.”
“With all due respect, unmake it. I’m not…good around humans. I don’t understand them.”
“What’s to fucking understand?” Brant growled. “You are around humans every day in your current position.”
Titan clenched his jaw. “That’s different. Will I have to work closely with any human females?”
“Yes. Her nickname is Ball Breaker so I think you’ll be okay.” Brant looked amused.
Titan scowled. “I can’t do it then.”
“It happened close on a year ago. You were punished…fuck, Titan, leave it alone. Move the fuck on.” Zane narrowed his eyes on the male.
“It means that we can trust you not to touch any human females.” Brant was a sadistic fuck. Trust him to use what had happened to Titan as a reason for picking him for this detail. But it also made sense. The male would have no distractions, just his directive.
“Not a fuck,” Titan swore loudly, his face morphed into something from a horror story.
“You can do this,” Zane urged. “You’ve been working to keep the humans safe. It means being near them. You’ve done an excellent job of it. There have been no mixed signals.”
Brant chuckled. “Exactly. Keep everything at a business level and you’ll be just fine. Make sure that the males sent with you understand the same and we’re good.”
The male swallowed hard. His mouth was a thin white line. Titan finally nodded. “Fine.” He sounded anything but.
“Good.” Zane huffed out a breath. “Glad that’s settled. We need to meet later to decide on your team and to discuss the operation in greater detail. Which brings me to the next item on the agenda—your replacement.”
Oh fuck.
A shit storm was about to descend.
Lazarus shot him daggers.
Zane ignored the tension that flooded the room. His gaze landed on Lance. “I want you to take over for Titan. It would be a tem—”
“I’m not reporting to him.” Elliot shook his head. The male folded his arms and leaned back on his chair, looking distinctly like a child with a bone to pick.
“Not a fuck, my lord,” Lazarus growled. “The male is unstable. He can barely keep himself together let alone a whole team.”
“It’s a small team. Lance is more than fucking capable,” Zane growled.
“Maybe a year ago. Now he’s fucked in the head,” Lazarus barked. “He killed Griffin two months ago. Killed his best friend.” Lazarus glanced at Griffin who didn’t say a thing, his expression perfectly blank. “The team might be small but their duty is important. It’s why we made it separate to the general guard in the first place. At least make him report to Gideon, like it was before.”
“Gideon has enough on his plate,” Brant chimed in. “It’s why we removed the portfolio from him in the first place.”
“I’m against this.” York put up a hand.
“I understand your feelings,” Lance said, sure to keep his voice even despite his gut twisting and churning inside him. “If you had offered this two months ago, I would’ve turned it down. Things have changed since then, I’ve changed. Killing Griffin made me take a long hard look at myself and I didn’t like what I saw. I regret what I did.”
“We have made peace. I am fine with it.” Lance gave Griffin a grateful look.
“You regret killing Griffin,” Lazarus snorted. “No shit.”
Lance ignored the male. “I’m not saying that I don’t still have a long way to go but I can do this. I’m grateful for the opportunity, my lord.” He looked Zane in the eyes.
“It’s bullshit,” Lazarus raged. He pointed at Lance. “If any other male had pulled the shit you have—”
“Don’t go there,” Zane growled.
“I realize that the two of you grew up together, played together as children. That you’ve had each other’s backs for many years but…fuck.” Lazarus looked up as though asking for patience, then leveled Lance with an ugly glare.
“I’m not doing this because of our history. This has fuck all to do with that. Brant and I picked Lance because we feel that he is the right male for the job.” Zane looked at them each in turn. Stopping when he reached Lance.
Lance sucked in a breath. He looked Lazarus in the eye. “I ensure you that—”
“No! I’m not reporting to a male that would go after his estranged mate, attack the father of her children.” Elliot shook his head. “And, it is rumored that you would’ve killed the babies as well if given a chance. I’m inclined to believe it.”
Lance felt his blood ignite. Everything that Elliot said was true. Only the male didn’t have a clue, not a fucking clue. Who the fuck was he anyway? “Do you have a mate?”
Elliot snorted. “I am one of the Elite Ten so it stands to reason that—”
Lance didn’t wait for the arrogant prick to finish. If Amber thought that he was bad, it was only because she hadn’t met this one yet. “I take it that you have died before, at least once.”
Elliot hesitated and shrugged. “What does dying have to do with it?”
Lance was seeing a version of himself in a way that Amber saw him, and he didn’t much like it. “I’ll take that as a no. You’re a pup. I’m surprised you’re even here although I’m guessing it’s so that I could put you in your place immediately.” Lance leaned forward. “Your balls haven’t even dropped properly yet. Do me a fucking favor and sit there and shut up. I’m fast losing my patience. I’m your superior for the foreseeable future. If you have a problem with that, I can find a replacement for you. The only reason you are in this room is to listen.” Part of him felt bad for saying what he had because the same was true for Griffin but his friend remained passive. Thank fuck!
Elliot’s mouth opened and closed a few times. Then he sucked in a breath. “I resent the comment about my balls.”
Lance glanced at Titan. “Where did you find this pussy?”
Titan shrugged.
Elliot jumped to his feet, ready to fight, or something equally stupid.
“Sit the fuck down,” Lance growled, staying right where he was, “before I hit you so hard on your mouth that your smile’s skewed for the rest of your pathetic life.”
“You’d better listen to him,” Titan snarled.
Elliot, giving Titan a look, dropped back onto his ass, his face was flushed. Good boy. “Excellent decision,” Lance said. “Make sure that your future decisions are just as good and we’ll get along great.” Fucking pup. The male had to be doing something right if he was here. Lance would try hard to remember that. He gave a nod to Griffin.
“Does anyone have anything more to say?” Zane asked, a shit-eating grin on his face.
York shook his head. Lazarus huffed out a breath. “I still think you’re making a mistake but hey, you’re the king.”
Brant gave a barely audible growl at Lazarus’ disrespectful tone.
Zane ignored him. “Yes I am. That brings us to the final item on our agenda.” He looked somber. None of the males said anything so he continued. “Dragon-shifters.”
York’s brows snapped together as he gave Zane a hard look. “What?”
“Are you being serious?” Gideon asked, looking between their kings with disbelief.
“Deadly serious. There has been a spotting and I know for a fact that they exist.” Zane looked at them each in turn, as he spoke.
Titan frowned. “Surely they’re just myths, my lord. Nothing but fairy tales.”
Zane shook his head. “I assure you that they are quite real.” He went on to explain the situation. Telling the group about the Canada sighting and the minimal information he had attained as a child. “We need to be extra vigilant. I don’t want this to go beyond this room for now, but know that dragon-shifters do indeed exist.”
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