First, I had to deal with this fucking mess I was in with Leon.
"I'll figure it out," I said.
"We were talking about your engagement with Jazz."
"Right. I brought it up because demons have a hard time trusting an unmated incubus. They think I'm dangerous. I was going to mate with Jazz to keep the peace, and she was going to mate with me so she'd be protected."
"Youaredangerous. No one has ever beaten you in a fight."
"They think I'm the insane kind of dangerous. The mansion has been a revolving door for siren and vampire royals since Jazz and Dante were locked up. Mia and I are struggling to hold the Cabinet seats. There have been dozens of attempts on both of our lives at this point."
Merrily's fork clattered to her plate.
I continued. "I need to take a mate to show the rest of the demons thatI'm stable. If you're not willing to seal a bond with me, I have an agreement with a dragon shifter who's going to help me regain control of this place after we seal a bond."
"Who?" Merrily's voice was deadly. "You were engaged to Gwen."
"That engagement was a test. The wolf isn't powerful enough for the statement I need to make."
"Who?" she repeated.
"I know better than to give you their name."
She scowled. “Well, I can help you get this place into shape without sealing any bond."
"No, you can't. Not as a fae queen. You have your half of the city—if you try to take mine, the demons will move against you, and that fucking prison will be used against your family as well. You could power the city's wards just as effectively from a cell."
"Is that a threat?"
"No. It's a fact."
"So if I don't mate with you, you're going to mate with a dragon shifter?" Merrily's voice was tight. "What if I hadn't shown up here yesterday? You'd be fucking him or her right now?"
"I was going to abduct you, remember? I'd planned on taking you to the nearest person who knew the vows directly after stealing you away."
"Fantastic. You're really selling this."
"I know. It's a skill."
She grew quiet again, refocusing on her pancakes for a few minutes before she spoke. “If I'm not willing to mate with you, you do... what? Keep me prisoner here until you and your new mate feel like letting me go, I inevitably kill them, or my family shows up to get me?"
"If I can't mate with you, our fated mate bond will be broken when I seal myself to someone else." It took more effort than I would have admitted to her, to get the words out. "You'll be free of me. I'll get my shit here figured out so it doesn't affect your Cabinet."
"The Cabinet isn'tmine. Callum runs it."
"Everyone knows you're the brain behind it all."
Merrily let out a long breath. "How long do I have to decide?"
"A few hours."
"What? No. That's fucking insane. You wouldn't have even had time to abduct me yet, if I hadn't come here."
"A few days, then. The vampire king has taken to challenging me every couple of hours, assuming he'll eventually take me down."
"Will he?" she demanded.
"Probably. He recovers faster than me. All he has to do is drink blood."
