I couldn’t help but fumble with the ring. Hoping. Begging the universe for him to react like Blake—likeDimitridid. Like it didn’t really matter what or who I was. Who Iusedto be.
But the look on his face betrayed his anger.
“Do I even know anything true about you?” he continued, his voice cold. “Or did you spit out lies from day one? Made me believe on purpose thatIsomehow broke the device only so I wouldn’t find out? DoesArcknow?”
“It doesn’t mean anything,” I tried, only digging my own grave deeper.
Carter let out a dry, humorless scoff. “Really? It doesn’t mean that you’re anAstraland lied about it?”
“I didn’t lie—”
“You were more than happy to prevent us from finding out!” he snapped.
My hand turned to fist around the ring before I let it fall back against my chest to take a step forward, anger boiling inside me too.
“I didn’tlie,” I gritted. “I’m a Succubus. Ademon. What I was before doesn’t concern you or anyone else.”
“I’m yourmate—”
“Right!” I snapped back, stopping just a step away from him, squaring my shoulders. “My mate, not my fucking owner. You don’t need to know my pedigree unless I feel like sharing it with you.”
He growled, getting closer. His shoulders shook, barely able to contain his simmering rage.
“Why didn’t it work last time?”
“I didn’t do anything to it.”
“You’re not answering the fucking question,” he sneered, pursing his lips enough that it revealed his sharp teeth. “Why. Didn’t. It. Work—”
“BecauseIturned it off.”
I turned around abruptly, watching as Dimitri strolled down the stairs, still wet from his shower and only wearing a towel, hanging low on his hips.
He stopped right behind me, his seven foot towering over both Carter and I. His hand found my hip to pull my back against his front protectively, his piercing red eyes not leaving Carter’s angry blue ones.
“You—”
“Howentitledare you to expect her to reveal everything about her just because you’ve been nice for a couple of days?” Dimitri cut him off, his tone calm, but his posture and body language betrayed his own feelings. “Sure, she’s your mate. Doesn’t mean she owes you shit, does it?”
Carter looked ready to snap but his eyes stopped on the few fresh scars and bruises marking Dimitri’s body and he only gritted his teeth, turning his gaze away and clenching his fists.
“Why?” he asked.
Dimitri scoffed, sliding his hand over my stomach, rubbing soft circles over the fabric of my tank top while his other hand landed on my naked shoulder. “Because unlike you, I know our mate. I knowthisparticular information isn’t given freely. She tookmonthsto tell me when we met, and even then, I found out by accident. I did what I needed to do to help her protect the secret she wasn’t ready to reveal in front of three people she barely met.”
Carter avoided my eyes, too busy glaring at Dimitri over my head. “How?”
Dimitri shrugged in my back. “It doesn’t matter how I did it. Used my powers. Just enough to break it once it was in your hand so she wouldn’t be suspected of anything.”
“You fuck—”
I placed my hand on his chest to keep him at bay, forcing him back. Dimitri didn’t flinch, letting out a chuckle.
“You can be mad all you want,” Dimitri said, unaffected by Carter’s surge of anger. “Everything I did in my long life was to protect her. I’llalwayslook out for her in every way. Whether it’s from unseen threats, herself, or her ownmates.”
Carter’s eyes dropped to Dimitri’s chest, where the intricate lines of our binding promise still marked his skin. A promise he took to heart and exposed proudly, even more since I lost the soul he swore to protect and cherish.
“Who’s carrying the other one?” Carter asked dryly, tilting his chin toward it. “Weird for someone with a mate to make a binding promise with someone else.”
