Elder Merrick actually interrupted, his tone curt, and overriding. “King Collins, with everything we know so far of spirit Elementals, I believe it’s easy enough to deduce she means they’re like Coms in reference to mates, so when she says all Mysticals are not created alike, it means spirit Elementals don’t have them.”
Ticking…booming…silence.
My own voice was curt, but void, as grass blew in the breeze. “Don’t any of you dare pity me.” I ran a hand through my hair. “I’ve heard enough horror stories of mates to scare anyone off from having one.”
Elder Farrar cleared his throat. “Yes, I believe Elder Merrick’s late mate would fit that category.”
“Elder Farrar,” Queen Ruckler demanded in quiet shock, her tone a reprimand.
Elder Merrick grunted. “There’s no offense taken, Queen Ruckler. She was way before your time, and she also ended way before your time when I put a silver bullet in the bitch’s head.”
I placed a hand down on the edge of the window as calmly as I could, barely managing to keep my heart rate under control, yanking that white solace down over me, knowing I had buried a man this morning who had killed his own mate, never having asked him if he had found his yet. In the beginning it was because it was “casual”, but later I kept silent for, maybe, fear of the answer…which was only more absurd now with his treachery, but Queen Cooper didn’t manage so well, hearing her gasp, and mutter, “Jesus.”
He actually chuckled quietly, the sound pure malice. “Lawfully, of course.”
“If you wouldn’t have done it, I would have even without the Law,” Elder Jacobs mumbled.
Elder Farrar and Elder Zeller both grunted.
A beat, then King Collins murmured, “Moving right along,” a pause, “since it doesn’t appear we have any current answers to the “tiger issue”, I’ll do some research on it until Caro gives us some indication she has an answer.” He clapped his hands a few times. “And until then, I’d like to talk with Elder Merrick and my Prodigy alone, so this meeting is adjourned.”
Oh, for the love of God.
“I have something I need,” I started to murmur, turning to face my King, just as Elder Merrick muttered, “Queen Ruckler and I need to,”
He cut us both off. “It wasn’t a request.” A snapping of his fingers, pointing. “Please sit down.”
The damn room seemed to clear out fast as I inhaled heavily with defeat, seeing that look in my King’s brown eyes, so I trudged to a red chair, flopping onto it, even as Elder Merrick moved to sit in the farthest seat from me. Both of us stared at each other with barely banked loathing, hardly hearing when King Collins closed and locked the door behind everyone, and Elder Merrick without removing his gaze from mine, instantly stated, “I do not appreciate being ordered to a private meeting like a scolded child, King Collins.”
“Then don’t act like one,” King Collins immediately retorted, coming to stand to the side of us between our two chairs, his gaze darting back and forth as we continued to silently eye one another with retribution in our gazes. “Now, tell me what really happened in the past, because you are both hiding the truth, and this type of hostility is not healthy when we need everyone working together.”
My nostrils flared. “He befriended me, gained my trust, all for information he wanted to obtain because he viewed me as a threat.” My teeth bared at him. “And now, I am a fucking threat.”
His wolf growled quietly. “A dart gun and a little dirt do not constitute a threat.”
“Yeah?” I smiled sweetly. “How are your balls feeling, Elder Merrick?” His nostrils flared, an angered flush rising on his cheeks, and I beamed. “Any worms crawl into your mouth?”
Lush, red pouty lips curved the barest bit. “I am going to make you fucking scream, spirit bitch.”
My mind blanked. Remembering him saying that to me before, but in a different variation, a more intimate one…one where I had thought we connected on a much deeper level. But, instead, he had been fucking me, someone he detested, all for intel. My voice was a mere whisper as I stared at him. “You are such a bastard.”
His smile was feral. “Yes, I am.”
Memories rushed in a torrent. Us, together. Our bodies’ hot and sweaty bodies rubbing. Sweet, sensual words whispered breathlessly. Dirty, torrid shouts of sexual demands. Our bodies connecting, becoming one, the most intimate of acts I had ever lived.
And it had all been a lie, a ruse.
I swallowed hard, my throat burning fiercely, constricting as excruciating tears filled my eyes, and I choked, “I hate you to the bottom pits of hell.”
His gaze flicked over my face before returning to my eyes, unflinching and cold, but his own tone was guttural. “The feeling is completely mutual.” We glared at one another, both of our chests heaving a bit in our conviction as I prayed no tears fell, wanting nothing more than to rip his damn heart out…or maybe even mine…until his wolf growled quietly in his chest, and his gaze flicked up…to King Collins who stood still as a statue off to the side where I had completely forgotten about him. Elder Merrick ran a hand over his face, then shoved out of his chair, his shoulder ramming into King Collins as he swiftly moved past him, muttering, “I’m done here.”
I didn’t flinch when the door opened and slammed shut behind him, only continued to stare at his chair, counting to thirty in my head, then standing, and moving with a grace I wasn’t feeling past King Collins’s quiet form, muttering, “We aren’t going to stop hating each other, so don’t try that again.” And I closed the door calmly behind me.
Over the next three weeks…I went on a bit of a bender. To the point Sin could barely keep up, and that was saying…enough. It was also safe to say I now had no longer only had sex with one man. Really, I lost count somewhere in my drunken state. One particular high point…or low point…I vaguely remembered King Collins walking into one of the formal living rooms inside the Elemental section—the time of day was undetermined—and ordered/yelled at the group, I believe the rodeo was in town, to get the fuck out before he carried my ass up to my bedroom, dropped me in my bathtub and turned freezing cold water on me, telling Sin’s half staggering self to straighten my ass out before he did so. That…really hadn’t helped much…since that was all in the first week.
What did wake my ass up was waking up in fucking Japan.
All without Sin this time.
