If only these were different circumstances.
I frown deeper, feeling my eyebrow furrowing as I continue to look at Lauren.
Fuck, she’s so young and perfect and... innocent.
That word whispers like a curse through my mind, unwanted and uncomfortable.
And now we’re taking her from one den of monsters into another. From Russian military to vampire territory.
All for what? Because I wanted a consort? Because I was selfish and impulsive and didn’t think beyond my own desires?
I press a hand to my chest where something uncomfortable is squeezing. My heart, maybe. Or whatever passes for one in creatures like me.
“What is it?” Kharon asks from across the helicopter, his dark eyes sharp and concerned. “Are you well, brother?”
I drop my hand quickly. “I’m fine,” I bark gruffly, defensive.
Lauren’s eyes pop open at my harsh tone, and she looks at me with those beautiful eyes—confused, worried, exhausted.
Which makes me feel even?—
Dammit, that’s the problem.
She’s making me feel things. Things other than want and lust and bloodlust—the only emotions I thought myself capable of experiencing. The only ones I’ve ever known.
But this...
Again, my chest squeezes uncomfortably, and I want to press my palm against it until the sensation goes away. Want to tear it out and throw it away.
For the first time in my whole, long, blood-soaked life, I worry I’ve done the wrong thing.
Not wrong tactically. Not wrong strategically.
Just... wrong.
If I end up putting her in harm’s way because of my selfishness, I’ll never forgive myself.
She is not just another human. Not just another piece in the game.
I knew she was a prize above all others when I first saw her at that fountain, but I did not anticipate how...
How much she would matter.
Yes, my dumb brothers were capable of falling for their humans—I watched it happen, mocked them for their weakness. But I thought getting a consort of my own would just be like any other thing I conquered. A possession. A trophy.
She is not just some prize, though.
She is more.
She is?—
“Okay,” Layden says from the front, his voice cutting through my spiraling thoughts. “We’re about to land. Glamours on, everyone.”
I look down at my hands, watching as the runes flow over my skin, changing me. Making me appear more human. Less monstrous.
But the monster is still there underneath.
And Lauren is clever. What if she still sees?
