That’s right, Ignareth—our favorite tall drink of blood, the Premier of Noctis himself, has just hard-launched his mate.
The hosts of the gossip show laughed, a still of Sage and Victor on the screen between them.
And not only is he mated, but he’s not divorcing his wife?
I mean, Victor was our favorite vampire playboy to report on prior to his wedding, but this is a little indecent, even for him.
Sure, but can we talk about his mate? I mean, who is Sage Hexwood? We immediately plugged her name into every search engine available and found nothing. Zip. Zilch.
They zoomed in on her face, the frame catching the slight tension in her jaw, the way her shoulders curled inward from his touch. Her body language was screaming at me.
She needed help.
Did the witch just spring out of Hecara’s cauldron yesterday or something?
My whole body began to shake, smoke billowing from every pore of my skin.
“Ronan,” Maia warned. “Keep cool. You don’t want to burn the house down.”
No, I wanted to burn the world down.
That vampire fuck was claiming Sage as his. As his mate, when she belonged to me.
Mine.
My lungs were burning, and I tasted ash and brimstone on my tongue.
I knew I should have been looking at the bright side. This was proof of life. Proof that Sage hadn’t been chained up and locked away somewhere, left to be forgotten by everyone but me.
But this also made her rescue, and her life once she was safe and with me, that much harder. She was a public figure now. Someone people would recognize while walking down the street.
Victor could get away with having a wife and a mate, because no matter how scandalized Magiks would pretend to be, hewas a wealthy, powerful alpha, and that apparently was worthy enough of respect in some assholes’ minds to excuse or even celebrate that type of excess.
But Sage being with me would brand her as something else entirely.
“I gotta say, I didn’t see this coming,” Maia said softly, turning off the video. She tucked her phone back in her pocket. “What’s his end game, you think? Does he know about you? Is he just marking his territory?”
The image of Sage, looking so defeated and worn, was burned in my mind. I’d barely been with her for two days, and even I could tell that nothing she was wearing she had chosen herself and that she absolutely did not want to be there. For as much as Victor claimed to be her mate, he really didn’t know a thing about her.
Or he just didn’t care.
“No, I don’t think so. He killed her last boyfriend, so if he knew she had a real mate, I think he would have sent someone after me already. Besides,” I added, my voice catching for a moment. “Sage went back to him because she wanted to protect my stupid ass. I can’t imagine she’d admit to my existence now.”
I took a deep breath. Focus, calm, and calculation were needed here. My anger could fuel the fire I’d been stoking, but I couldn’t let it guide me. Sage’s life was on the line.
“It’s probably to make sure she doesn’t run again,” I finally said. “Now everyone knows who she is. She won’t be able to hide without wearing a glamour for the rest of her life.”
Maia scoffed in disgust. “I’m no seraph, but this vamp is really making me want to puke.” Then she looked up, placing a tentative hand on my shoulder, causing me to flinch for just a moment.
My family had never been big on physical affection.
“We’re gonna get her back. And honestly, even if she wasn’t your mate, just knowing everything she’s gone through and what he’s doing to her now, I’d want to save her just on principle.”
“Just like you helped those omegas atRipped Lace?” I shrugged her off me.
Maia’s face froze, and then her gaze narrowed. “That’s different.”
“Is it?” I asked, crossing my arms. “Because from where I’m standing, we stood by while innocent Magiks we were supposed to protect got attacked, over and over again, long after they’d asked for help.”
