Chapter 13
“Prince.” Bishop greeted Shiloh in the lobby of the hotel, quickly turning to keep step with him as he exited the building and entered the parking garage.
Sadly, on level one.
Shiloh would have liked to see the blood stain again.
The door locked behind them, the satisfying click and buzz causing him to sigh contentedly as he made his way toward the parked hoverbike.
The sleek black motorcycle with cerulean blue detailing had been kept locked away in order to help maintain his innocent appearance, but now that Sarang was secured and the cat was out of the bag…
“I missed you, baby.” Shiloh ran his hand across the smooth exterior and let out a low whistle.
“You’re in a good mood,” Bishop noted.
“What’s there to be mad about?”
“Forgive me, but the underboss was keeping things from you. His secret isn’t a small matter either. You were angry before.”
Shiloh trusted his Lefthand explicitly—and had needed his help researching Grays and Gray specific life-bonds—so had read him into the issue immediately. It wasn’t surprising that Bishop was upset on his behalf, though his irritation was misplaced.
There was still much they didn’t know, but they were working on uncovering more.
He doubted Sarang was going to be forthcoming and answer his questions honestly, so researching on their own was their best bet.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t much out there about the Gray, years of being hunted and used for their healing abilities having driven them into relative secrecy.
They’d also been unable to find anything about a specific bond formed between a Gray and a Syn—or anything like an alpha or omega.
Learning that Sarang viewed their bond as a mistake…
“It’s not exactly like I’ve been honest with him,” Shiloh reminded.
“That’s different. You’re the prince.”
He grunted and straddled the bike in one swift movement, taking the offered helmet when it was held out to him, though he didn’t start the vehicle right away. Instead, he settled the helmet in his lap and met Bishop’s gaze.
“Right from the start, I assumed the main reason Sarang agreed to follow me to the Eumia was for coin. He desperately needed the money, and I took advantage of that. I have no qualms about exploiting people’s weaknesses.
” He grinned. “This life-bond? It’s the biggest weakness of all, wouldn’t you agree? ”
Sarang literally needed Shiloh in order to survive.
Hot.
“He can’t escape me now.” He unclicked the strap for the helmet and lifted it over his head. “Had, in fact, trapped himself from the very beginning.”
The alpha may as well have tied a bow around his own neck and gifted himself to Shiloh in a pretty box.
“Yes, but…” Bishop hesitated.
“Speak.”
“He saved you because he’s a good person. Not out of personal affection.”
Shiloh rolled his eyes. “Semantics. Who cares so long as I get what I want in the end?”
All the alpha had done with his deception was prove that love was a manufactured concept meant to push romance and increase sales on shit like flowers and chocolates. It wasn’t like that was new to Shiloh, so staying mad about it was a waste of energy.
“And you still haven’t changed your mind?” Bishop asked.
“He’s my alpha. Doesn’t matter how it happened, or why.” That was the problem with Sarang. He stupidly believed Shiloh would cry learning this obsession he felt may have something to do with the forced life-bond.
Nope.
Shiloh didn’t give two shits why he felt the way that he did. When he was craving cake, it certainly wasn’t because his body needed it to survive. There weren’t health benefits. A chemical in his brain simply told him gorging on sugar would release endorphins and make him happy.
Feasting on the alpha would do the same.
He’d had Sarang on his knees already. But he wanted him in his bed. Permanently.
“The alpha doesn’t have to love me,” he continued. “He just has to be mine. Plain and simple.”
“You’re underestimating what it means to possess someone,” Bishop disagreed.
Shiloh frowned, lifting the visor so he could stare the other man down. “Explain.”
“I’m just saying, you aren’t the type of man to be satisfied with scraps. Eventually, you’ll desire all of him, require all of him to satiate that desire. There’s a reason people talk of the mind, heart, and body as separate entities.”
“I own his soul,” Shiloh reminded, but Bishop merely shook his head.
“You’re linked to his soul, but that’s not the same either.”
“Damn it, Bishop, either spell it out clearly or shut the fuck up.”
“Don’t be so flippant about his heart, is all I’m trying to say. You’re going to want it, so it’s best not to do anything that could jeopardize him giving it to you.”
“I’ll just take it?” Duh.
“Love has to be freely given.” He held up a hand when Shiloh went to argue. “I know you don’t believe in it, but most of the universe does. Don’t you think it might be safe to assume you could be wrong in this regard? And if you are, and it is real…”
Shiloh would want it.
Damn it.
“Well, that’s stupid.” Shiloh held onto the bottom half of his helmet, contemplating. “So you’re saying I should be more upset that he lied about why he’s stayed with me all this time?”
“You should feel however you feel,” Bishop corrected. “It’s just something I’m suggesting you keep in mind while you consider how to proceed.”
It’d only been a couple of weeks since Shiloh had procured Sarang. His Lefthand was getting hasty. He hadn’t even gotten the bite yet, which was way higher up his list than something as useless as love.
“My alpha doesn’t need to love me to knot me,” he pointed out.
“You’ve spent years trying to get him to like you.
Lying about who you are, acting helpless and minimizing yourself.
” Bishop’s expression took on a bitter note.
“Can you really say you wouldn’t be pleased to have his love?
Soothing your bruised ego over his lies by spackling them over with lies of your own isn’t the way. ”
“You’re stirring the pot. His care stemmed from guilt, yeah, okay, that sucks.
But so what if he’s kept me safe all these years for selfish reasons?
Who on this planet can be considered more selfish than I?
” Screw Bishop for putting these weird thoughts in his head.
“If anyone’s pissing me off here, it’s you, Lefthand. ”
Bishop could dwell on the negative all he wanted, Shiloh refused.
“Love, if it is real, is fickle,” Shiloh said.
His mother had claimed to love him once.
He had the scars to prove it, both physically and mentally.
“I can do far more with guilt than I can with love. This secret must have been eating away at Sarang. He feels indebted to me. Sure, I could be angry with him for tricking me. But it would be nothing more than a waste of my time. He saved my life, and in doing so, chained himself to me in a way I’d never be able to achieve on my own. ”
Shiloh hadn’t just been teasing the alpha back in the room when he’d mentioned how chatty he got when he was knotting. They’d spent an entire week like that, him wringing confession after confession out of Sarang by strangling his cock with his hole and taking his knot.
He knew Sarang had fallen for the mask. For the docile, delicate omega prince.
“Sarang thinks my affection is manufactured, but he’s just discovered my personality was. Only one of those things can be confirmed. He admitted himself he can’t be sure that I like him because of the life-bond, but I’m positive I faked being kind for that very reason.”
He’d eased off once they’d learned about Grays, and figured out Sarang’s body was struggling to heal with all the overstimulation.
Admittedly, it was Shiloh’s fault for not rushing him to a medic that day he’d been shot in the parking garage.
He should have waited to fuck him, but he’d been drunk on bloodlust and desire. Mad about the alpha’s rejection.
He understood now why Sarang had tried pushing him away. It all came back to that pesky guilt.
“The alpha doesn’t believe my feelings for him are real,” Shiloh repeated. “He thinks he may have created an emotional link between us by forming the bond, and is afraid to take advantage. I can use that. That is the only important takeaway from this. Is that understood?”
Kian was supposedly capable of love, so there was a good chance Shiloh was as well, but he couldn’t linger on what ifs and maybes.
One thing at a time.
“Guard him. Don’t let anyone near the building. Put the renovations and interior designs on an indefinite hold. You know what else to do?” They’d discussed the plan while Sarang had been unconscious and healing, but he wanted verbal confirmation they were still on the same page.
“I’ve already purchased all the necessary supplies,” Bishop reassured. “I won’t leave the premises until you return.”
“It’ll be a while.” He slapped the visor back down and flicked the hoverbike on. “Mind, heart, and body, huh? I’ve got his body, but I’ll need his mind to get the bite.”
“Understood, Prince.”
He checked the coordinates Bishop had sent to his multi-slate. “This where they’ll be?”
“It’s been confirmed.”
“Perfect.” After this conversation, Shiloh could use an outlet.
* * *
Shiloh twirled the handle of a short dagger, legs crossed, leaning back in the cheap, partially rusted metal chair one of his men had dragged over from the corner of the back-alley room.
The group who’d attacked him were running a shitty, two-bit gambling den from it, trading petty coin on the outside, running elixir on the downlow.
The latter was the only reason Shiloh had given them a couple of weeks before coming after them. Bishop had easily gotten answers from the alpha Shiloh had knocked out in the parking garage, but they’d needed more than busting a somewhat illegal operation to pacify Kian.