Page 114 of Hateful Prince
All my protective instincts came to life as soon as I realized Tor was uncomfortable. I put myself in front of him, blocking the vampire’s path, useless as that might be.
“Leave him alone.”
“Dahlia, I don’t mean him any harm. I swear to you.”
“It doesn’t matter what you want. My mate doesn’t want to see you, so do yourself a favor, and fuck right off.”
Tor’s hand wrapped around my hip, his fingers digging in as he tugged me back against him.
Two women came skidding up to Noah’s side, one a voluptuous brunette and the other a petite goth girl with white hair tipped with pitch black.
“Oh my god, Tor. Alek and I have been so worried. What are you doing here?” the brunette blurted, hands reaching out for my beast.
“What happened to keeping in touch, Viking? You need a reminder on how to spell your name?” the goth girl sniped. “It’s pretty easy. T-O-R. I can spell mine for you too. Moira. M-O?—”
“Tor, do you know them?” I asked.
“I’m his sister-in-law, Sunday,” the brunette said.
“And we’re basically besties.” Moira flipped her hair over her shoulder.
He heaved a sigh and stepped into the light, his big body tense. “In another life.”
Sunday gasped as he came into full view, her hands shooting to her mouth. “What happened to you?”
Chapter
Thirty-Five
TOR
Sunday’s heartbroken expression was exactly what I’d hoped to avoid. This was why I hadn’t reached out to Alek. Why none of them knew about my plight. I didn’t want to see the pity in their eyes. This was never supposed to be their burden. I’d taken it so they could be free and bask in their hard-won happy ending.
“Sunday, I can ex?—”
“G-get away f-from my mate!” Bentley Mercer snarled, charging over to our ever-swelling group.
Wonderful, just what we needed to add to this shit show—more fuel. I’d nearly killed him in an underground fight before I’d been shipped off to Blackwood. That’s not to say he wasn’t dangerous. The Mercer twins were formidable opponents. Deadly, even. Ben was an alpha wolf who had never lost a fight—until he had to face off against me. That had to have been a bruise to his ego.
“I thought Sunday was married to your brother,” Dahlia asked, confusion painting her beautiful face. “Is this one of her other mates?”
“No,” Rosie said with a sigh. “That one’s mine.” Rosie stepped between us, stopping him in his tracks with a gentle palm to his chest. “It’s fine, Ben. He isn’t going to hurt me.”
“So you aren’t mated to a shifter?” Dahlia asked, turning her attention to Sunday.
“Oh, she is. And she loves it, don’t you, Sunshine?” Kingston joined us, all swagger and hair. He’d started growing it out, but it wasn’t quite long enough to tie back yet. I didn’t have the heart to tell him he looked like a shaggy surfer. “Hey buddy, that’s a new look for you. Horns, huh? Bold choice. Get tired of the identical thing? Or is this some kind of marketing ploy? You gonna take The Novasgardian Nuisance on the road?”
“It’s the B-Beast of N-Novasgard,” Ben said, his body still trembling with the urge to protect what was his.
I understood the feeling. My hand wrapped around the nape of Dahlia’s neck in a possessive hold, and my beast was snarling at me to get her as far away from these other men as possible.
“Stars and stones, you assholes can’t go for five minutes without trying to start a pissing contest. We get it, you all have big dicks. Jesus.” Moira groused as Father Caleb Gallagher approached us, looking broody and stoic as ever.
“Tor,” he said, nodding. “You look . . .”
“Beastly, padre. He’s going for the whole primal thing. Sunday likes it from time to time, right, baby?”
I shook my head, the chaos of the last few minutes giving me whiplash. My beast was unsettled, not sure if we were going to battle or if it was safe. Sensing my unease, Dahlia curled herself into my side.