I kiss my mate’s jaw and tell him to wait for me in our room. I ache to follow him upstairs, but I need to handle my monster-in-law for good.
Angel catches my arm before I can leave, his eyes making a silent request.
Why does everyone assume murder is my go-to solution?
I stand on my toes and kiss him softly, promising not to kill Kiara as I nudge him upstairs.
Facing the woman breathing fire, I purse my lips to stop myself from laughing. I bend to match her height, smirking tauntingly as Kiara tries to scorch me with her glare.
“You’re lucky Anxo still respects you enough not to let me claw your eyes out and feed them to you until you’re shitting eyeballs for a week.”
Kiara gasps and raises her hand to slap me. She must have me confused with someone else if she thinks I wouldn’t stomp her skull into a pile of bloody curry if she touches me.
I catch her wrist before it reaches my face, squeezing until her knees buckle. Kiara sputters, quickly realizing how easily I could crush it.
I laugh humorlessly as I release her, and the pathetic woman scrambles back in fear just as Khatri appears out of nowhere like he knew I could use his assistance.
“Make sure she’s gone by morning. And do it quietly. I don’t want Anxo waking up to her unresolved drama.”
“It’ll be my pleasure, Princess.”
“It’sNevaeh.”
For that, I leave the stubborn Warriorhead alone to deal with the hysterical former Queen.
When I finally step into our room, I find Angel sitting on the bed with his head buried in his hands, mumbling under his breath. The dark cloud of despair hovering over him feels almost tangible.
The door clicks shut behind me, and Angel looks up, offering me the weakest smile I’ve ever seen before noddingtoward the bathroom.
After cleaning up, I slip into a silk robe and fresh underwear before returning to my mate. He’s clad in nothing but black sweats, his bare chest on display. I have to force myself to focus on his mental state instead of drooling over the defined muscles and ridges of his stomach.
Leaning back against the headboard, Angel stares into the distance, lost in thought. I can’t take the heavy sadness looming over him anymore.
I cross the room and climb on the bed, straddling his lap. The sudden movement startles him enough to snap him out of his daze. Pulling me close, he leans forward, resting his cheek against my chest. I run my fingers through his soft curls and kiss the top of his head, feeling some of the tension in his body melt away.
“I hate feeling like this,” he whispers so softly I could’ve missed it if I wasn’t holding my breath, waiting for him to say something.
“Like what?”
“Like amonster.Like a worthless man who ruins everything he touches.”
My heart aches when he looks at me solemnly, as if waiting for me to agree and feed into his delusion. I never want to see that self-hatred in his eyes again.
How could I ever see him as a monster when all I see is a man worthy of so much love, but too afraid to grasp it?
I lift his chin with my thumb and forefinger, staring into those beautiful eyes as I tell him thetruth—not the poison his parents have been feeding him for years.
“You’re not a monster, Angel. Not even close. Everything you do is to protect your family and the kingdom that depends on you. Sometimes doing right by them means spilling blood, but that doesn’t make you a monster.”
“She knows everything I’ve done to be sitting here today. She’s right, Nevaeh. I don’t deserve anything good. I don’t deserveyou.” Shaking his head, Angel buries his face in myneck, hiding from the world.
Is that what he’s worried about? The blood on his hands? Blood spilled to protect his people?
“Go on then. Tell me every terrible thing you think you’ve done, and watch me continue to stand by you.”
My sweet Angel lifts his head from my neck, his sorrowful red eyes brimming with frustrated tears because I refuse to see his so-calledsins.
He’s trying to convinceme, someone notoriously infamous for the trail of bodies she leaves behind, thathe’sthe monster.
