Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Colt
“She’s a whore—a hybrid whore who is fucking others to gain votes,” my father hissed to my mother, her attempts at trying to calm him ineffective as the man worked himself into a fit.
The tick in my jaw and tension rolling through me at his words weren’t something I was willing to examine just yet.
I nearly rolled my eyes at that, knowing exactly what it was, but instead kept them trained right where they’d been since she entered the room.
Ama.
I had absolutely no idea what to make of the woman, and it was both infuriating and exhilarating. I loved the way she continued to challenge everyone, including me. I’d also loved the sleepy little scowl on her face this morning when I’d gone to wake her up.
I wanted to push her until she lost control while basking in her interesting mix of magic that was like a euphoric buzzing sensation against my skin. I exhaled slowly, taking a sip of my drink, as I tried to not let that other feeling slide into my consciousness.
The one that told me to rip her out of the king’s arms. His Incubus power flooded the space around him as usual, as if he was trying to compensate for something.
Even if it didn’t affect her—if it was somehow nullified by her own Succubus magic—I hated the way he was touching her.
I hated the leering way he leaned closer to her.
The emotions I was feeling were ten times more than the annoyance I’d felt at her being in Damien’s arms. I didn’t like the Hellfire prince.
At all. He was far better than the king, but still not my favorite person here.
It felt wrong that someone like Damien got to dance with Ama.
What had the man done to deserve that? To deserve her attention?
He was completely uncontrolled, and while he was terrifying to most, it was only because of his unpredictable nature.
And the absolute chaos and massacres his Hellhound wrought upon enemies of the realm.
It wasn’t because of his natural leadership ability—he was just a psychotic force to be reckoned with in his Hellhound form.
I would bet Ama didn’t know any of that.
I would bet she had absolutely no idea what he turned into—shifting into not just a Hellhound, but a notoriously murderous one.
I shook my head and tried to block out my father’s words as they began to grate on me.
Why the hell wouldn’t he just let it go?
Seriously, you would have thought the man cared about Ama’s opinion, based on the way he was griping and insulting her. I knew that wasn’t the case, though.
No, he’d just had his pride and ego absolutely decimated by Ama, so now he hated her more than he had before.
It didn’t help that she was a hybrid, but he hated when any women stood up to him—which was why my mother was so damn submissive.
I loved the woman, but watching her get walked all over by my father made me more and more uncomfortable as the years went on.
Ama would absolutely never be okay with that.
The thing I worried about was that my father was rather…
irrational when it came to his pride. I was worried he would go after or try to hurt Ama.
The idea infuriated me, and while I supported our territory, Angelus, I didn’t think I could justify hurting Ama just because of my father’s ego.
I just hoped it didn’t come to that. I hoped I never needed to make that choice.
I really needed to get this woman out of my head, but instead, I found myself standing as she tried to push away from the House of Sin’s king.
It wasn’t a hard shove, but the look of disgust on her face was enough that I was crossing the room, feeling more than validated in removing her from the presence of that asshole.
Good thing my parents hated the House of Sin as well. Hopefully, they wouldn’t think my actions were that odd. I didn’t have a good explanation for them.
“You’re seriously disgusting,” Ama hissed. “What is wrong with you?”
The man chuckled, his fingers digging into her back in a bruising hold that had me wanting to snap them off. “The only thing wrong right now is that I’m not getting a chance to see what’s under that tight fucking—”
I had never been so thankful for my strength and size as I was in that moment.
I towered over the man, my fingers wrapping around his wrist as I exerted enough pressure that he cried out.
Immediately, he let go of her, and she stumbled into me, her face flushed with anger as she narrowed her eyes at the bastard.
I wouldn’t lie—I loved how she was leaning into me, allowing me to shield her from him. I shouldn’t love it, but I did.
“Prince Colt.” The king adjusted his outfit and tossed Ama a scowl, “If you had wanted a dance, you should have just asked.”
“Just like I asked you to let go?” Ama growled like a fierce kitten, her magic amping up as I smoothed a hand around her waist, lightly massaging the skin that was no doubt sore from his grip.
“You are not only a freak, but a prude one,” the king snarled, leaning towards us, “You don’t fit in anywhere, do you?
Not in the House of Death, not in the House of Sin, and for sure not amongst royalty.
I would start thinking about your options, Ama, because the only way you have a chance of surviving this experience is by spreading your pretty thighs. ”
A low growl tore from my throat as I caught her around the waist, the Incubus fleeing like a little bitch as Ama tried to follow.
I immediately spun her against me and grasped her jaw gently, forcing her to look away from the asshole in question and instead focus on me.
Something that I found myself feeding off of. That couldn’t be healthy.
“Calm down, Princess, he’s not worth it. No one here respects the House of Sin. Trust me.”
“I don’t care about respect! I care about him being a creepy bastard,” Ama snarled, shaking my grip on her jaw off but not moving from my grasp.
“What exactly did he say to you?” I had to ask. Of course I had to ask—even though I knew it would no doubt piss me off.
Her face started to look less flushed, and she closed her eyes, pressing her forehead against me as she attempted to calm down.
My fingers were splayed gently against her waist, and I had to fight the urge to wrap her hair around my fist, wanting to feel the soft texture against my rough fingers.
I cleared my throat so the groan at the image of her bent over as I fisted her hair didn’t break through.
I knew she was trying to calm down—she would probably detonate if she discovered that I was being a bit of a creep as well.
At least I had the damn courtesy to keep those thoughts to myself.
“He said that he’d never fucked a hybrid before,” she muttered, shaking her head. “He thought it would be an ‘exotic experience.’ Who the hell says that to someone?”
“Someone from the House of Sin,” I answered immediately and winced at the face she made. How easy it was to forget the woman was from the House of Sin as well…genetically, at least. She clearly hadn’t been raised in their culture at all; she was completely different from them.
Her body tensed and she tried to step away, as if just now realizing whose arms she was in, “Why are you over here, again? I appreciate the save, but I could have handled it myself.”
But you allowed me to handle it, Princess.
Why did I want to continue to handle her problems for her?
Better yet, why the fuck was I so protective of this woman?
I should have stepped away and left her alone, but instead, I found myself leading her from our standstill on the dance floor to the side, an empty table allowing us to have some level of privacy.
I was only spending time with her to try to win over her vote…
. was what I was telling myself. It was a complete lie because I knew that wasn’t why I was leaning closer to this woman as she watched me with caution.
There was no chance of me getting the House of Death’s vote, but I was loyal to the House of Fallen, so I had to at least give it a chance.
“I have to apologize for the first night we met,” I offered sincerely, keeping my gaze locked with hers as I sat forward, my elbows on my knees.
The woman was the picture of elegance, her skin-tight dress shaping the way she held herself—like the future queen she was, sitting on her throne.
My cock only got harder at the idea of fucking her on that throne, and I seriously needed to get laid because this woman was doing a number on my head.
I would have attempted a random hookup, devil knew there were enough women here who would be willing, but the idea made me…
well, I didn’t have a good word for it. Uncomfortable?
Maybe it was because I knew that my attraction to Ama was strong enough that it would taint every other experience.
It wouldn’t be worth it. I wasn’t positive what I was going to do, but fucking some random chick wasn’t it.
“You were sort of an ass,” she agreed, her lip twitching. “Why the apology?”
“Because we got off on the wrong foot,” I explained.
“Wrong wing, not foot,” She smiled, eyeing my shoulders as if she expected my wings to pop out over them from my back.
“Of course,” I chuckled. I swear to the devil, if the woman ever asked to see my wings, I would fucking lose it. I tried to ignore the surge of lust that slammed into me at the idea of her touching them. Her delicate fingers running along each and every feather…
“Why were you at that restaurant?” She narrowed her eyes.
“I’d been traveling through your territory for a few days and was exhausted,” I shrugged, “Then, I assumed you were using your magic on me and got pissed.”
Her eyes lit with amusement, “Why did you assume I was using my magic on you?”
Fuck. I felt my jaw tighten, “You had an effect on me that I hadn’t expected.”