“You look stunning beneath the moonlight.”
The wind died down, thank the gods.
Nadia lifted the silver dome from her plate, then devoured the salad with her eyes. “This is perfect. I’m always watching my figure.”
Prince admired Nadia’s manners. Despite the harsh wind, she didn’t belittle his efforts to impress her. It was strange how she mirrored Kat, but where they differed the most was in the eyes. There was something uniquely different about the way each of them looked at him, and Prince was confident he’d be able to tell them apart by their eyes alone.
“I’m going to assume you’ve deduced I was with your sister today.”
She crunched on a radish, a faraway look in her eyes as she watched a twinkling star in the east. “I thought as much. It’s just like Katarina to act so impulsively. She’s living in a fantasy world where our father will be found alive and rescued, but this isn’t a fairy tale. Men disappear every day and are never seen again. I’ve come to terms with accepting his absence, but Katarina will never move on with her life until she can do the same. The past is what holds her back from the future.”
Prince cut into his salad, slicing a cherry tomato in two. “Maybe the reason she searches for her father is because that’s where she received unconditional love. Siblings tend to be more critical of one another. I’m sure a woman like Kat isn’t easy for you to understand, but what she needs is someone to fill his absence. Whether she finds him or not, you’re her family and she seeks your approval.”
Nadia gave a close-lipped laugh and gulped down her red wine. “Kat was put on this earth to make my life hell. She robbed me of my father’s affection, and now you’re suggesting I give her more? What makes her so special that she deserves more love than I do?”
Kat might have seemed in need of her sister’s affections, but in truth, it was Kat who did everything for Nadia to show her devotion. She called, visited, and fumbled at attempts to do things for Nadia. And where was she now? She’d stepped away from a man she was interested in so her sister could be happy. Kat was sitting in a club—the last place she liked spending her free time—so that Nadia could have the apartment alone with Prince. He had seen the love for her sister shining in Kat’s eyes, and all she wanted in return was the same. Yet Nadia withheld that love because of sibling rivalry, jealousy, and all the things attached to family. That’s what happens when you can only see from one side of the mirror.
It had taken years for Prince to learn this for himself, and Nadia reminded him of his younger self. As the firstborn, he’d inherited land from his parents, who had even named him Prince in their language. His brother grew jealous and branched away from the family, fighting in battles to prove himself a worthy man. But his warrior status didn’t impress their parents. Prince had secretly admired him, but because he never revealed this to Emil, the brothers grew distant. Prince chose to focus on the negative and, like his parents, expected his brother to become more like him. He’d hoped Emil would be his second-in-command one day, but his brother didn’t want to follow in his shadow.
When Prince received news of his death, it affected him profoundly, leaving him guilt-stricken. Maybe that’s why he wanted to rectify the animosity blooming between these two sisters before they met the same fate. Kat’s need for acceptance from her own flesh and blood reminded him so much of Emil, to the point it unnerved him.
He set down his silver fork and centered his gaze on Nadia. “No matter what you think of her, Kat is all you have left. Time changes, money comes and goes, but she’s the only person you can depend on. She’d die for you, and I’m certain you’d do the same for her if it came down to it. Accept who Kat’s become, and that love might be enough to draw out the venom coursing in her veins—the poison that turns to spite.”
Nadia finished her salad and gazed toward the lights twinkling below. “You’ve only just become acquainted with my sister; it’s premature to make such assumptions. Kat is beyond my help. I’ve tried to get her a job, but she resists.”
“You’ll have to accept that she doesn’t want to live the same life as you, and right now, she doesn’t feel like she’s good enough in your eyes.”
“Since when did you become an advocate for my sister? I have no interest in discussing Katarina all evening,” she said in a bored voice.
He reached across the table and held her hand, embarrassed by his lack of manners. “I apologize; that wasn’t fair of me. Tell me about yourself.”
“You know about my job.”
“Yes, but what are your passions?”
She looked at him wolfishly and stood up from the table, approaching him from the right. The warm summer wind caressed his face, and he closed his eyes when her delicate fingers stroked his jaw. “My passion is right here.”
“I mean, what is it you like to do? What are your opinions about art or—”
“I buy and sell art all day. Let’s not talk about art.”
Prince shifted in his chair, growing flustered. “I’m not asking to have a discussion on Picasso or black holes; I just want to know more about who you are.”
Nadia leaned against the edge of the table, the wind in her favor as it picked up the silky tendrils of her long mane. It gave him a prominent view of her regal features, slender neck, lush lips, and feminine curves. He wished he had asked her to change into a pair of slacks before they left, because her sitting on the edge of the table in a skirt with her legs slightly open was testing his character as a gentleman.
“I work long hours and spend most of the day scheduling meetings and negotiating prices with my clients. I’m independent and don’t need a man to take care of me. This town is alive with music, food, and people, and I like socializing with men and women. I don’t like talking about myself as much as what the air smells like in Greece or why humans spend so much money trying to extend their life but a few years. I’m not sure how I feel about being mated; there’s an expectation that comes with living in a pack, and I have no intention of changing my lifestyle. The right man has to come along, one who will understand my needs.”
He leaned back in his chair. “But that isallI know about you, Nadia. What are your real feelings about eating on a rooftop? Tell me more about where you grew up.”
She reached for his glass and sipped his wine. “You’re one of those talkers, aren’t you? Don’t you get bored talking about the same things after centuries? I have no wish to talk about the atrocities being committed against Shifters, and I don’t think my childhood stories are going to change the way you feel about me.” She lifted his hand and placed it on her thigh. “There are things I’d like to try on a rooftop, Prince. Show me how much you’re interested. I must know if there’s something between us.”
“What more can I do?”
“Kiss me.”
CHAPTER9
Kat had no intention of going to a stinky club and having some sweaty Shifter paw all over her. Instead, she hopped in her yellow car and tailed Prince and Nadia. She knew just how to maneuver her car so they wouldn’t get away. After all, she’d probably staked out roughly three hundred outlaws, although this was her first time chasing a helicopter. The only person who’d ever gotten away from her had plowed through an intersection and struck a Labrador. Kat’s little heart had melted when she saw it happen, so she’d pulled her car over and held the pup in her arms for all of thirty seconds before he had a seizure and died. After that, Kat vowed if anyone hurt an animal in her presence again, he was going to get a dagger in the balls.
