Shadows of Discovery by Brenda K. Davies

Chapter Sixty-Five

In the moonlightspilling through the opening above, his bite on Lexi shone a brilliant silver against her creamy flesh. Too late, Cole realized the Lord had purposely waited until nightfall to bring them in here.

It was a good thing he’d admitted she was his mate because this was exactly what the Lord intended to learn about her when he brought them here.

And he’d done so because someone in the Gloaming had told him about Lexi being by his side. Malakai had a hand in these events, but one of his subjects came here to reveal a weakness to this man.

An image of Becca formed in his mind. It could have been anyone or more than one, but he couldn’t shake the conviction it was her. He would find out who had betrayed him and make them pay.

The Lord turned to Malakai. “Do you still want a woman that another man has claimed?”

“I don’t want him,” Lexi stated.

The Lord waved a hand dismissively at her. “I don’t care.”

“He should have no right to her. She is the daughter of one of your most loyal soldiers, and he attacked her,” Cole stated.

“Is this true? Did you attack the woman?” he asked Malakai.

“He didn’t like seeing her with me and has convinced himself she wasn’t perfectly willing,” Malakai replied.

“That’s not true,” Lexi protested.

When Cole stepped toward Malakai, the Lord rose a little from his throne. “There will be no fighting in my hall!” he bellowed.

His words caused all the dragons to turn toward them. They moved closer until three of them were only inches away from him and Lexi. The three of them lowered their heads to glower at him.

“Cole,” Lexi whispered and rested her hand on his arm.

He relaxed a little beneath her touch, but no matter what happened here, he would kill Malakai if the Lord decided to hand her over to him. It would mean his death, but so be it; she would at least be a little safer.

The dragons’ attention shifted to her, and one edged a little closer to release a smoky breath that coiled over where her hand gripped his arm.

“Oh,” she breathed.

“It’s okay,” Cole assured her. “You’re going to be fine.”

“Now,” the Lord said as he settled on his throne again, “I don’t care if he attacked her or not. He got a little overzealous, or she teased him; she is a woman after all. We all know how fickle they are.”

When Lexi’s hand tightened on his arm, Cole grasped it and gave it a gentle squeeze as Malakai laughed.

“That they are,” Malakai agreed.

“Do you still want a woman that another man has claimed?” the Lord asked Malakai again.

“That bite will fade,” Malakai replied. “And I will leave plenty of my own on her.”

The Lord roared with laughter as he slapped his knee. He was crazier than the last time Cole saw him, and it was obvious the lunatic liked Malakai. Not only had he given the vamp a sun medallion to allow him to walk in the day, but he found the asshole amusing.

“You are correct!” the Lord agreed. Then, as suddenly as the laughter came, it vanished. “But, if I give her to you, then I will make an enemy of the king of the dark fae, and since I just killed the last one, I should probably keep this one alive for a little bit.”

His attention shifted to Cole. “I should kill you. You’re too powerful, and I don’t like it.” He leaned forward. “But as long as I allow you to have her, then I can control you. Before, I only had the threat of destroying the Gloaming to keep you in line, but now… now, I have something that means so much more to you… your mate.”

He chuckled as he leaned back on his throne. “I couldn’t have planned it any better if I tried. Any other dark fae king wouldn’t have such a weakness, but you… oh, you have lycan blood in you, and the lycans will do anything for their mates.

“And oh, how I plan to use her. The second you step out of line, King Colburn of the dark fae, I will take her and give her to him”—he pointed a finger at Malakai—“and I will make you watch while he fucks her.

“From what she says, she will not be willing, so I’m assuming it will be brutal and something you will never forget. The second you mess up, you’ll hear the screams of your mate as another takes what you think is yours but is mine. You may rule the Gloaming, but I control all the realms and everyone in them.”

Cole’s joints and bones popped as they twisted and shifted. With sheer strength of will, he shoved the wolf back into its cage.

“And no matter how powerful you are, you cannot stop my friends or me,” the Lord said and waved his fingers.

Behind him, the dragons shifted again, and more of them crept closer.

“I want your brothers, Cole,” the Lord said.

“You’ll have them,” Cole replied.

“Good, because if I don’t have them soon, then I will have her.” He thrust a finger at Lexi. “I’ll fuck her before I give her to Malakai, but don’t fret; I’ll give her back afterward because she will always be my leverage against you. And as your mate, you’ll take her back, even if she’s sucked every dick in this realm.”

* * *

It tookeverything Lexi had not to vomit at the picture the Lord’s words conjured. Her mind screamed denials at her even as her heart acknowledged the truth. This monstrosity would pass her around to every man he knew while making Cole watch.

What they would have to do to Cole to get him to watch would probably damn near kill him.

When the Lord finished with her, he would give her back to Cole, and Cole would take her back. And he would do it, not because she was his mate, but because he loved her. He would never blame her or hate her for what happened.

He would hate himself and never recover from it, but neither would she. They’d both be broken and battered by it and their helplessness, and all because this sick bastard was determined to destroy everything good in the world.

“If Varo and Orin aren’t here by the end of the month, I’m coming for her,” the Lord said. “So, you had better start hunting. And if you try to hide her from me, I’ll level the Gloaming and more of the human realm in search of her. So, the two of you will have to decide between having her blood on your hands or millions of others’ blood on them.”

Lexi would never let that happen. She couldn’t imagine much worse than being passed around to countless others by this monster, but the lives of thousands staining her soul was one of them.

“What about me?” Malakai asked plaintively.

“You’ll have to wait to see if you get a turn at her or find someone else. Do you believe she is your consort?” When Malakai didn’t reply, the Lord turned to face him. “Do you?”

“I don’t care if she is; she will be my bride.”

“Not if I say no, and I am saying no… for now.”

Malakai’s gaze swung to her, and red flashed through his eyes. Lexi glared back at him.

“Colburn, take your mate and get out of my hall,” the Lord said and waved dismissively at them.

Cole pulled Lexi’s hand from his arm and kept hold of it. “Let’s go,” he said.

Before they could go anywhere, one of the dragons swung its wings forward. Their vast size blocked out the room as the lethal points at the bottom of those wings hit the floor on either side of Cole. He didn’t acknowledge them.

Lexi glanced up at the creature as it rose over them, but she’d rather face its wrath than the Lord’s. Then the dragon lowered its head to peer intently at her.