Chapter twenty-four
Amaya was in all black. The silk wraparound skirt tied at her waist left her right leg exposed nearly to the top of her thigh.
A leather corset cinched in her waist and had her titties sitting high.
The diamonds from the six-carat tennis necklace and matching bracelet sparkled in the light, painting a rainbow prism across her skin.
A gift from Levi. It had taken her breath away the moment she pried open the lid of the velvet jewelry box.
She danced her fingers along the cool stones, giddy.
Her hand trailed down to skim the very visible bite mark Levi had left on her skin.
Amaya had specifically chosen the corset top to show off her mating mark.
The two tiny holes were closed, now dark like tattoos, a permanent fixture on her neck.
The bruising around the marks wasn’t permanent, but was proof of how carried away her mate had gotten.
She smiled at that.
Her mate.
She was dressed to go out on a date with her mate and his best friend. Nervousness blended with her happiness. Was this the right thing to do?
It was too late to back out, even if it wasn’t.
Gliding her touch down the silk skirt, she smiled at her appearance.
The only other bits of color on her came from her matte red lipstick and the gold stilettos strapped across her feet.
She pushed her mass of hair up into a knot, allowing a few tendrils to caress her cheeks.
Satisfied with the beat on her face, she sent kisses at the mirror and left Levi’s room.
She felt different.
But that was to be expected. She was a mated woman now.
Though she felt more secure now that she was tied to Levi, there was still that fear in the back of her mind.
They had gone against every warning her family had given her.
Mating between the Bayi and the Chawi was strictly forbidden.
And Amaya had no idea what the fallout would be.
When the king had asked her to go out, she’d had a moment of hesitation.
Were they doing the right thing? It wasn’t the mating that she doubted, it was flaunting it that gave her pause.
Were it up to her, Amaya would probably hide out at Levi’s compound and pray the elders of her family didn’t find out.
Clearly, she’d forgotten who she was mated to.
The King of the Bayi didn’t hide, and he certainly didn’t cower from anyone.
Rolling her shoulders and lifting her head, Amaya decided then and there that she would be the same.
Hell, she’d been abducted by her mate and hadn’t broken; with him by her side, she could take on the rest of the world.
Still, there were butterflies in her stomach as she reached the end of the hallway and the top of the stairs.
Below her, Levi waited in the middle of the stairs, and below that, his coven filled the space of the foyer spilling into the dining and living room on either side of that. Her stomach fluttered.
‘What’s going on?’
Levi smiled but didn’t answer. He grabbed her hand when she met him and lifted it to his lips. His soft kiss sent a shiver of want throughout her body.
He turned and faced his coven. “I’m sure all of you felt the change in me, but let this be the official announcement and introduction to your queen.”
She sucked in a surprised breath, her hands getting sweaty.
“Allow me to introduce Queen Amaya Cauly of the Bayi.”
Whistles and cheers went up, the applause flooding the space with sound. Her once-nervous smile widened as she was swept up in the goodwill coming from his coven. Through her tie with Levi, she could feel it all.
It was a heady power.
Levi’s eyes speared her and heat flushed her cheeks. Her legs weakened when he smiled showing off his gold fangs. Gods, this man was too fine. Privy to her thoughts, his smile turned lascivious. Winking at her, he turned back to face his coven.
“Along with the introductions, I want to say something to all of you. Under the influence of the Akachi stone, I was not myself these past few months. I want to apologize to y’all.
My arrogance had our coven in disarray. Thanks to your new Queen, I’m back to myself, and back to the business of taking this coven to the top of all this shit. ”
A deafening roar of agreement went up and Amaya laughed. Her mate’s coven was filled with both males and females as bloodthirsty as their master. She prayed she was enough to live up to their expectations.
‘I don’t expect anything less from you, baby doll,’ Levi encouraged, pulling her into his arms.
The king held up his hand to quiet the noise.
“It’s a new time in our coven’s existence.
We gon’ claim back the power stolen from the Bayi and ain’t nobody standing in the way of that.
With every new mating in this coven, our power is expanding, and that’s a good thing for us.
We’re done hiding in the shadows, accepting scraps.
We’re no longer allowing the Collective to tell us who we can and cannot mate.
They’ve starved this coven and others like ours and that ends now. ”
He leaned down and kissed Amaya until everything around her disappeared.
His tongue swept into her mouth and she wanted to melt on the spot.
Now that they were mated, Amaya understood his obsession with her because she felt it for him.
She would follow this man to the ends of the Earth, and clearly, his coven felt the same.
His loyalty was well-earned. She saw the way he moved for the Bayi, the sacrifices he’d made over the years. It had all been there in his heart and mind when they’d merged. The Bayi were lucky to have him as their leader.
Giving Amaya one final kiss, he turned back to the crowd and touched his fist to his chest.
“Thank y’all for riding this out with me. We’re going out tonight because clearly muhfuckas forgot who I was. But in the upcoming days, feel free to make yourself known to my queen. Dismissed.”
Levi guided her the rest of the way down the stairs and though he’d dismissed the coven, some still stuck around to greet her as they headed to the door.
She waved and smiled, accepting their hand kisses as she passed through the crowd.
She looked forward to getting to know everyone.
Bas and Raven were waiting at the SUV when they got outside.
Raven pulled her into a hug. “Congratulations!”
There was worry in the other woman’s gaze, but Amaya could still feel her happiness for the mating and that relaxed her.
“Thank you, Raven.”
“Are you ready for tonight? We’re going to get stares,” Raven told her, as they both shuffled into the very back of the SUV.
Amaya nodded. “If I can survive Levi’s bad temper, a few stares should be easy.”
Sebastian chuckled as he buckled into the seat in front of them.
“Not too much on me, baby doll,” Levi said dryly as he did the same.
She smiled, rubbing her mate’s shoulder. Headlights illuminated the interior of their SUV, so she turned in curiosity. There were two other SUVs being loaded behind them.
“All these people are coming with us?” she asked.
“Just the one behind us. Lucas already sent enforcers ahead to the restaurant,” Levi told her.
On cue, her stomach grumbled. Food sounded good.
Half an hour later, they were pulling up to a swanky restaurant in downtown Black Hollow.
Levi and Sebastian got out of the truck first before helping them out the back.
By the time they came around to the restaurant entrance, the four of them were surrounded by balaclava-clad vampires.
It was intimidating to say the least. Pride for her mate filled Amaya and she straightened her shoulders, the sway in her walk one that matched her king’s.
She was on the arm of the most powerful man in the city, and damn, that felt good.
They were guided to a private dining room, and just as Raven had predicted, all eyes were on them.
The staff was overly gracious, pulling out all the stops for the King of the Bayi.
Amaya couldn’t hide her smile when they were finally seated at the elegant table.
“This is fancy,” she murmured.
Raven snickered. “I was thinking the same thing. I’ve been asking Bas to bring me here for a lil minute.”
“Where are the menus?” Amaya asked, searching the table.
“You won’t need them. Bas spoils Firefly, so we’re having the chef’s menu. It’s six courses, so you’ll get a little bit of everything,” Levi said, waving the waiter over.
He ordered wine for the table and Amaya bounced in her seat in excitement.
The waiter brought two wine bottles to the table.
One of Levi’s enforcers stepped to the table and watched like a hawk as both bottles were opened for the first time.
Still, the male tasted both before nodding to Levi and Sebastian.
It dampened her excitement just a little at the reminder that someone had tried to kill her mate two nights ago.
Levi slid a reassuring hand up her thigh and kissed her exposed shoulder. ‘I’m not going anywhere any time soon, baby doll.’
She nodded and took a deep cleansing breath.
Amaya eyed the bottle as Levi poured it into his glass.
The wine was more viscous than that which he’d poured into hers and Raven’s glasses.
Clearly, it contained blood, and why did that make her possessive?
She wanted to be the only one to provide for him.
She was almost jealous of the unnamed donor who gave for that bottle, and that’s when Amaya realized she’d gone off the deep end.
She sipped her wine and chuckled to herself.
Their dinner went well. The four of them got along and the conversation flowed between them easily.
Levi’s hand never left her. His power along their connection heated her from the inside.
That, coupled with his attentiveness, had Amaya smitten.
Levi made his presence at her side known.
His hand constantly strayed to her thigh, his small touches sending pleasurable shivers down her spine.
If that wasn’t enough to have her squirming in her seat, the soft kisses he lavished on her exposed shoulders had goosebumps raised on her arms. Amaya hadn’t been prepared for an affectionate Levi.
By the time they wrapped it up and stood to leave, her whole body was flushed.
‘Have I told you how amazing you smell?’ Levi leaned into her neck, nuzzling her skin.
His dark chuckle had her trembling as heated tension grew between them. She was ready to be home, in his bed. Levi guided her from the private dining room, his hand on the small of her back, sending little pings of awareness flitting across her skin.
Amaya was so wrapped up in the king that she nearly ran smack into her grandfather, who was standing at the hostess table, his steely gaze on her.
As always, Bradford was dressed crisply, not a wrinkle or stitch out of place.
His salt and pepper hair was the only indication that he was over the age of fifty.
Like all supernaturals, with the long lives they lived, it was hard to ascertain their age.
The disapproving look stopped Amaya in her tracks. Surprise momentarily had her mute. Her grandfather hardly ever left the compound, complaining about the way the world around him had changed. To see him not only out, but with two of the other elders of her family was shocking to say the least.
“Grandfather.”
“Amaya. How is Anita?”
She blinked at his brusque tone. “She’s better these days, actually.”
He looked shocked. “Really? Paul said she was in trouble.”
“The opposite. No thanks to Uncle Paul, we’re staying somewhere safe after his latest scheme. The lack of stress has done wonders for her.”
He frowned at the slight censure in her tone. “And you?”
“Wonderful.”
His eyes went directly to Levi and Amaya ignored his pointed look. The king wasn’t having it, though. He nudged her with the hand on her back and she swallowed a sigh.
“Grandfather, this is my mate, Levi Cauly. King, my grandfather, Bradford Armstrong.”
All three elders gasped, sharing a look between them.
Amaya knew what that look meant and knew it would only be a matter of time before she or her mother were called before them.
She looked around and noticed all eyes were on them, watching this conversation play out.
Levi’s soothing touch in her mind grounded her.
In no mood to deal with it tonight, Amaya injected levity into her tone. “Want me to tell mom to call you?”
“Don’t worry. I will be in touch with you both.” Her grandfather’s eyes were hard, his jaw tight with anger as his gaze skimmed her neck.
“Then goodnight,” Amaya rushed out and grabbed Levi’s hand, leading him out of the restaurant.
Her grandfather wouldn’t make a bigger scene and for that, she was thankful. Bradford’s presence was a slap in the face, reminding her why she was not supposed to be mated with a Bayi vampire. Payment would come due for her betrayal, but she would gladly pay any price to be with Levi.
“Breathe, baby doll,” Levi whispered, kissing her shoulder as the SUV slid to a stop in front of them.
“I’m fine,” she promised him.
And she was. For now, at least. Tomorrow, when the rest of the supernatural community found out what they had done, was another separate problem.