He flinched when Alex slapped him over the back of the head.
“Nonsense. She is too strong for any man. Nadia is your kind.”
His comment straightened Prince’s spine like an arrow. “And what do you mean by that, Alex?”
“I love my daughters equally, but I have always had a special relationship with Kat. She is too strong for any one man. Nadia is driven by money and material things,” he said with a wave of his arm. He swung his eyes up to a blue jay hopping on a nearby branch. “Kat makes money, but not to spend. She’s very much like me in that she lives a humble life. She was always driven by love and loyalty.”
“And that is why I’ve chosen her.” Prince stepped forward, his voice resolute. “In all the centuries I’ve been alive, I’ve had nothing else to live for of substance. No mate, and while I may have once trivialized the matter, there is nothing trivial about Kat.”
Alex had a way of dissecting a man with his stare. Prince stood his ground, never averting his eyes, and got a bone-deep fear that maybe his friend would forbid the pairing. Kat was still an adult who could choose her own destiny, but Prince respected old customs, which dictated that as long as her father was alive, Prince must win Alex’s approval for the pairing.
And Prince was dead set about becoming mated. He had yet to find out if Kat was a woman easily won, but he had a feeling she’d make the chase hard, and that pleased him immensely.
Alex kept his steely eyes centered on Prince, tugging on his beard. “You are asking my permission for Kat?”
“I’m asking for your approval. I’ll court her regardless of your answer, but I would like your blessing. As my friend, my brother, and—”
Alex burst out laughing. “And yourfather!” He patted Prince on the arm. “That would make us related in a most amusing way. For that reason, I approve. But you listen to me, old friend. If you hurt or deceive her, thenthatwill be you,” he said, pointing toward Vlad. “Nyet. I will not watch my daughter’s heart be broken, and worse if it’s by someone I trust. You think about that before you decide how serious you want to get with my Kat. My daughters are not the only royal blood remaining, and I can put you in contact with two other families who have daughters for you to consider.”
The hell he would. Prince would love to have children with Kat, but none of this was about the purity of her blood; it was about the way he loved her and the way he wanted to love her.
With every ounce of respect he could summon in his voice, Prince answered. “I would be honored if you gave us your blessing, and you have my solemn vow as your friend and spirit brother that I will never cause harm to you or your family. I can assure you I will not only give Katarina the protection and security she deserves, but the love. I’m not a man who has warmed up to many women in my lifetime, and you know this more than anyone. But she’s changed me… or awakened me. I have the greatest respect for the woman you’ve raised.”
“And you would not want to change her? You would be a fool to try,” he said, shaking his finger. “My Kat is a creature who cannot be reckoned with, and she would learn to hate the man who tried to shape her into a woman she is not.”
“I would only suggest she consider a local job as a private investigator. She’s an exceptional bounty hunter, but that would require too much travel and time away from her pack.”
Alex began walking and they drew closer to the body. “Good luck with that if she agrees. I quit trying to change who she was when she was twelve and decided to learn how to shoot a gun.” Alex playfully glanced at Prince over his shoulder. “She always had better aim than me.”
“Then why does she carry a knife on her instead of a gun?”
“I made that holster for her a long time ago so it wouldn’t fall off her wolf. I hid the ring inside, and that was partly the reason I made it. Kat is sentimental and I knew she would always cherish it because it was something I made special for her. But I never wanted her to be without protection. The stunner was a necessity because a Mage is hard to catch, and that left little room for a gun. She carried one, but then a man took it from her and shot her in the chest. It was hard for her to recover because the bullet was lodged inside, and that made a mess when she shifted. After that, she kept the gun in her car. I think in time she’ll change her ways, especially if she moves to a state with a concealed handgun law,” he said with a chuckle.
Prince lifted his chin. “She’ll move here. I’m certain she’ll accept my claim.”
“And what will you do to win her heart?”
Prince considered it. “I’m taking her to a place called Cracker Barrel tonight for dinner before buying her something called peanut brittle.”
Alex belted out a boisterous laugh. “There is hope for you after all, my friend. But it will take far more than food to win her devotion. You have your work cut out for you.”
They stood next to Vlad’s limp body, and Prince sighed, reflecting upon how many lives this man had destroyed in his lifetime. And for what? Power. Greed. Money. A stupid ring.
“Well, what do you want to do with him?” Prince asked.
Alex looked at the stretch of woods surrounding them. “Seems wrong to bury him on your land. There’s evil in his blood, and it will taint the soil.”
Leaves rustled, and Vlad exploded into action as he rose up and drove an arrow into Alex’s leg. Prince kicked him in the chin, and the force caused him to fly back, blood spattering on his shirt from the open gash.
“No, no!” Alex yelled, holding out his left hand. “Leave him tome.”
Alex pulled out an arrow and drew back his bow. He wore a black glove that covered his thumb and three fingers to protect them. The muscles in his arm tensed as he held position, lowering the tip of his arrow toward Vlad’s heart.
Accepting his death, Vlad leaned back and laughed. “Go on and do it. No matter how hard you try to elevate yourselves, you’ll never be more than sled dogs to us.”
The arrow whistled as it sliced through the air and into Vlad’s heart. He fell back, mouth agape.
Alex leaned forward and broke the arrow that had penetrated his leg. Blood flowed freely, saturating his pants as he pulled it free. He tore a strip of fabric from the bottom of his shirt and tied it over the wound. “I’ll shift later—if I do it now, my wolf is liable to feast on his remains.”
