I picture Luka’s hands on my breasts, the scruff of his beard abrading my skin, and Ridge’s lips lowering to my?—
No! Bad, Brylee! This is a mission, dammit. You can’t have hot, kinky sex with your scent matches when a bunch of soldiers are sleeping in the tent next door. Besides, Colter will feel left out, and Kylian… Well…I still haven’t gone all the way with my psychotic lover.
My eyes instinctively drift to Kylian, who's watching me with an intensity that makes my skin prickle. There's something different about him today—a restlessness beneath the surface that reminds me of a caged predator pacing the confines of its prison. His fingers twitch at his sides, and his gaze keeps darting toward the dark forest beyond our camp.
Desire hums in my bloodstream, electric and insistent, clawing at my skin.
As the sun lowers, the camp comes alive with the soft glow of lanterns and the murmur of voices. Ridge and Luka leave to discuss strategy with the scout team leader, while Colter stands guard at the perimeter, his masked face unreadable in the flickering light. I've always wondered what Colter looks like under that mask—what he hides from the world, from us.
Will he ever remove his mask for me?
Maybe I can ask.
Maybe he can tell me why he started wearing it in the first place.
Maybe—
I turn in his direction, intending to go do just that even though I know the timing is horrendous, when a hand closes around my wrist and pulls me into the shadows between two tents.
I spin around, my knife already in hand, but it's Kylian who stands before me, his eyes gleaming with that unhinged fire that both terrifies and fascinates me. It's like looking into the heart of a forest fire—beautiful, deadly, and utterly consuming.
“They're all distracted,” he murmurs, his voice a dangerous caress that makes my tummy flip. “Perfect timing for a disguised princess to slip away unnoticed.”
Before I can protest—not that I really want to—he's pulling me deeper into the forest, his movements unnaturally silent.
I should resist, should call out to my other mates, but there's something intoxicating about Kylian's impulsiveness, about the way he takes what he wants without apology. It's like being caught in a riptide. Fighting is useless, and there's a strange sort of freedom in surrender.
We don't stop until we're far from camp, in a part of the forest that feels ancient and untouched. The waning sunlight struggles to penetrate the thick canopy above, creating an otherworldly atmosphere.
The air here is different. Cooler, charged with something that makes the hairs on my arms stand up. It's as if we've crossed a threshold into another world, one that exists parallel to ours but never touches it.
“Kylian, are you insane?” I say, but there's no real conviction in my voice. "Ridge will have our asses when he finds out."
"Let him," Kylian replies with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Sometimes a prince needs to escape his duties. Especially when he's not really a prince at all."
“What is this about? Kylian, I don’t—” A scream lodges in my throat when my most psychotic and unhinged mate lunges at me with his dagger.
Reflexes kick in, just barely, and I stumble to the side.
“Kylian!” I whirl on him, heat flaring in my cheeks, my hands curling into fists. “What the hell?!”
He laughs giddily and expertly twirls his dagger like it’s a baton. “I thought we could do some training. Like, for old time’s sake.”
“Training?” My brows scrunch together.
Kylian’s lackadaisical smile remains affixed on his face, but his eyes have sharpened, shimmering with unfettered intensity.
“You’re in Noth territory, my beautiful obsession. And yes, we believe this area is secure, but I’ll be damned if I lose you. You need to be able to defend yourself.”
The earnestness in his gaze strangles my breath. For a long moment, I can’t reply, my heart battering against my rib cage like a pounding fist.
Finally, I manage a weak and raspy, “I can defend myself.”
His smirk widens, like he was hoping I would say that. “Prove it.”
39
BRYLEE
