35. Rhys
RHYS
You would think my fated nearly dying would get my need in check.
It didn’t.
I bit back a moan as Rae drank greedily from my vein. The scent of her blood, the feel of her lips against my skin… It was nearly too much for me to take. And my dick certainly couldn’t ignore it, as it stiffened against my zipper.
“That’s enough, Petite étincelle.” I stroked her cheek with my fingers, my skin still stained red from the asshole’s blood. “That’s enough.”
It was all I could do to keep my voice gentle.
Because Ruger had nearly killed her—my fated, my mate, the one whose life was forever tethered to mine.
I could see it as clear as day. Even now, as the flesh on her neck knitted back together and blood still caked her skin, seeping into her torn dress.
I couldn’t help the low growl that emanated from my chest.
The sound was enough to startle Rae away from my vein. She blinked rapidly, her gaze going back and forth between my wrist and my face. “Wha—? I… Did I just drink your blood?”
The shock carved into her expression and soaking her tone nearly had me chuckling. She had no idea how godsdamned adorable she was. It only made everything harder.
“You needed it,” I explained, trying to keep my voice even.
“Your blood…”
“It’s healing you.”
Her gray eyes widened. “What?” she squeaked.
Footsteps thundered down the hallway, and I could already scent Kian, Pax in his wake.
“What the hell happened?” Kian demanded as he scanned the room, his gaze halting on the beheaded form.
“There was an incident,” I explained calmly, as if I weren’t replaying in my mind just how close I’d come to almost losing Rae, how badly this all could’ve gone.
“You don’t fucking say?” Kian snarled.
Pax crossed my side. “I looked in her room before she came in. There was no one here.”
“He was hiding in the armoire,” Rae croaked.
It made sense that her voice was raw. I could see the red marks where Ruger had grabbed her throat. I wished I’d ripped his dick off before his head.
Pax frowned. “I didn’t scent him. I should’ve.”
“He might’ve been using a cloaking spell,” I muttered, which meant that he’d been delving into dark magic. The kind that came with a hefty price. The kind that would explain why he was so comfortable draining an innocent.
Fucking hades.
She wasn’t an innocent. She was from the bloodline that had killed my father and sister.
I shoved to my feet. The moment I broke contact with Rae’s skin, I felt the loss of that connection.
It cost. Pain and cold filled me. That’s what the loss of her meant.
And we hadn’t even completed the bond. That required the presence of all her fated. And all of us making the choice.
Even without completion, merely stepping away from her hurt. And that was totally and completely fucked.
“Take her,” I clipped in Kian’s direction. “I need to deal with something.”
The coldness I felt slipped into my tone as I spoke, and Rae blinked up at me, hurt and confusion swirling in her expression.
Kian was there in a flash, crouching to frame her face with his hands. A second later, he whipped his head around. “Did you heal her?”
I stared back at him blandly. “Would you have preferred that I let her die?”
He cursed again. “We’re going to have to watch her.”
“What do you mean, watch me?” Rae pressed.
Kian winced. “There can sometimes be…extreme reactions to consuming Nocturnae blood for those who aren’t one.”
Her slender fingers fisted in Kian’s shirt. “Wait…am I going to become a vampire? Will I only be able to drink blood? Will I hate double-chocolate cookies and french toast?”
I scoffed. “That’s a ridiculous human myth.
” Only it wasn’t. Not exactly. My blood would remain in Rae’s body for the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours.
If she were killed in that time frame, she wouldn’t become a vampire or a Nocturnae.
She’d become something else entirely. Something so dark and hungry it would be a blessing to end her. But we wouldn’t let that happen.
My teeth gnashed as I bent to grab Ruger’s two halves, and a plan formed in my mind. It seemed my people needed a warning, a lesson. And I was going to give it to them.
“Rhys, what are you doing?” Pax asked worriedly.
I hoisted the body over my shoulder as I held the head by the hair. “Sending a message.”
“I think I’m going to be sick,” Rae whispered.
My gaze flicked to Kian, and jealousy burned through me at the sight of him touching Rae, comforting her. “Get her cleaned up.” I turned to Pax. “You clean up her quarters. No one else sets foot in here but you and Kian. No one.”
Pax jerked his head in a nod. “Understood.”
He was already moving to the phone by the wall, I was sure to call down for cleaning supplies. I didn’t care. I had a kingdom to reckon with.
I stormed out of Rae’s room and down the hall just as the captain of my guard moved toward me. There was the only barest flicker of reaction in the grizzled woman’s face as she walked. “I see you dealt with the incident.”
“The guards you’ve assigned to this wing are done. They will not serve again, and they’re lucky I’m not taking their heads, too.”
She jerked her head in a swift nod. “Offense?”
“He tried to kill my fated.”
Air hissed between Trix’s teeth. “Understood. I’ll hold the wing tonight and have a word tomorrow.”
I knew the word would come with punishment—a weight the entire guard would carry for the mistake of two individuals.
I lifted my chin in assent, unable to give her any words.
But as I passed the two guards, men who looked like they were currently pissing themselves, I did speak.
“You two should make sure you stay out of my sight for the next century, or I might reconsider making examples of you both along with Ruger.”
They didn’t wait. They ran.
Smart.
I prowled down the stairs to the main level of the castle. Stunned cries and whispers of shock spread as the people milling around parted. I didn’t give a damn.
As I stalked into the hall, the music cut out and the voices died. I waited, making sure every eye was on me. On Ruger. “If anyone comes for my mate, this will be your future.”
I tossed the body from my shoulder, letting it sprawl onto the stone floor as people gasped. Then I held the head out by its hair. “Do you understand me?” I bellowed, each word vibrating with my alpha growl.
Every head in the room dipped in submission.
I didn’t relish forcing my people’s hands. It wasn’t the leader I wanted to be. But I would do it. For Rae.
I let the head drop as my brother rose from his seat and crossed to me. He looked at the body, assessing my handiwork, then his gaze lifted. “And you say I have a flair for the dramatic?”