Page 19 of Mate of a Monster

Knight’s gaze shifts to me. He’s always had the ability to say more by saying less. He perfected that shit when he was in my mother’s womb, so when he stares back at me with that signature blank expression, I already know. I know he feels the same way I do.

But the longer he looks at me, the more I notice something else. I don’t know if it’s the softening of the edges of his eyes, or the slackness of his jaw, but that same feeling that settles beneath my ribs spreads. Is he hiding something from me?

I hold him there. “We need to fix it.”

“Not without Creed.” He finally releases, glancing at Sinner. “There are four kings of Rathe, not three.”

He’s right. I know it, Sinner knows it, and fucking Creed knows it. He knew we couldn’t do shit about whatever is going on without him—and he still chose to lock himself away.

“He doesn’t understand.” A soft voice slips into the space behind us.

I spin around, finding Arabella standing there, her pale hair tucked back and her expression composed.

I didn’t even smell her arrival, or fucking feel her approach. I should have, but I was distracted enough to shut out my fucking bond. The guilt is like a punch to the gut.

I reach for her like it’s gonna fix it. The moment our fingers touch, my chest fills with heat again, our bond fueling me in places she’d never know.

“Doesn’t understand what, my mate?”

Delicate fingers slide along my palm as she steps up beside me, glancing out at the flickering mess ahead.

“Creed is a good man, and a great king for Rathe,” she begins, her skin glowing despite the darkness. “But he doesn’t know the different kind of fear we live once we meet our fated.”

Her grip digs into my arms, clinging to me like I’m the safest place she’s ever lived. “He won’t take any of us who have mated seriously until someone gets hurt.”

Knight stiffens beside me.

Arabella focuses on him, and slowly, Knight’s features harden. His eyes turn white, the shadows around his cheekbones deepening.

My skin prickles, and I shift closer to Arabella. The fuck is he doing?

His lip curls. “Not sure you should be the one to speak on this, or do you need reminding of that little fact?”

“Knight,” I warn, but Arabella uses her other hand to stabilize me, her fingers spreading over my chest.

My magic dies down instantly, and I lower my frown to her.

“You’re worried, aren’t you?” she presses, tilting her head to the side as she stares my brother down. “For your mate?”

He can be fucking worried without taking his shit out on mine.

The snarl on Knight’s mouth dissolves into a full glare, his whole face morphing to one I’d only seen on him right before he fucking kills someone.

“Keep my mate out of your mouth, Argent,” he growls. “She is more powerful than you know. She can handle herself.”

I go to put myself between my lost the fucking plot brother and my mate, but she taps at my chest again, keeping me there.

Why does my body listen if my bond is being threatened? I could never control myself with—no.

You will not think of her.

“Yes,” she says softly, “but still you worry.”

“Watch yourself, little girl,” he warns.

“I have my true mate to watch things for me.”

That grabs Sinner’s attention as he stiffens beside me, his gaze sliding over Arabella with lazy but animalistic focus. It’s what he’s good at. Speaking of lost the fucking plot.