Page 82 of Hateful Prince
“Stay the fuck away from me, you creepy crawly menace,” I roared as I bolted down the hallway in search of my mate.
Someone needed to get this horrifying plaything out of Blackwood, and it certainly wasn’t going to be me. On instinct I turned to go to her room, but remembered at the last second that she’d gone with Hades last night.
Spinning on my heel, I tore off the other way. The change in direction took me past a rumpled Kit and notably unrumpled Sorcha.
Sorcha eyed me from head to toe, a shit-eating grin stretching her crimson lips. “Well done, Dahlia. I’d heard rumors about Vikings and their... assets. It’s nice to know the stories were true.”
“I’m standing right here, my little viper.” Kit’s annoyed chastisement had her clucking her tongue at him, but I didn’t have time to bother with the rest of their conversation. I was certain that doll was hot on my heels.
I came to a skidding halt at Hades’s door. “Cain!” I bellowed, slamming my fist repeatedly against the door. “Dahlia! Let me in!”
The door swung open, Dahlia blessedly standing in front of me now with wide eyes and concern etched on her face. She was wearing one of Hades’s black button-down shirts and nothing else. In another time, I may have stalked in, torn his clothes from her body, and marked her with my scent right in front of him. But right now, all I could do was rush into the room and slam the door shut behind me.
I fell against it with a relieved sound that might have been a whimper.
My heart was racing, sweat dripping down my face. I had to look like I’d just run for miles instead of simply escaped from my bed.
“What the hell happened?” she asked. “Why are you naked?”
I glanced down at my completely nude form and then back up at her. “There was no time.”
“What? Why?”
“The doll. She’s after me.”
Hades chuckled, shaking his head from where he was still lounging between the sheets. Asshole yipped and nibbled at my toes.
“She’s locked up in my chest in my bedroom. How could she be after you?” Dahlia asked.
“I can assure you she is not.”
“But how?”
Now that the threat had passed, embarrassment crept up my neck, blazing a path to my cheeks. “I might have accidentally released her.”
Dahlia’s eyes narrowed. “Whhyyy?”
“I threw a fit when I couldn’t find you yesterday.”
“And by fit, you mean tantrum?” she asked, hands on her hips. I probably shouldn’t have noticed the way the move pulled the fabric of the shirt taut over her ripe breasts.
“I was worried.”
Her lips quirked into a small smile, and fuck, they were tempting.
“Hell, man, cover that thing up. I didn’t consent to this,” Hades grumbled, throwing a blanket at me.
I caught it one-handed, then glanced down at my rising erection with a smirk before I wrapped the blanket around my hips and adjusted myself.
“I guess I should, erm, go and clean up the mess I made of your room,” I offered, knowing that my magic would repair the worst of it. Hopefully before she ever had to see it.
“Wait,” she murmured, coming over and placing her hand on my arm. “Before you go, tell us what happened with Brian last night.”
“He’s not the Ripper. He’s a prat and a Peeping Tom, but he’s not a murderer.”
“Wait, what? He was spying on us?” Her lip curled back in disgust.
“Just Merri, evidently.”