Total pages in book: 192
Estimated words: 192810 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 964(@200wpm)___ 771(@250wpm)___ 643(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 192810 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 964(@200wpm)___ 771(@250wpm)___ 643(@300wpm)
“We could have salvaged something, Aleksei,” she told him. “But not after you rubbed her in my face. Could you not have waited at least a few more months before announcing to the world you replaced me?”
“I’m afraid an assassin took that opportunity away from me,” Aleksei retorted. “But allow me to remind you, you’re sleeping with my brother, Anna. And along with him, you carried on with Windstalker, and you did this publicly. Both of these happened before I met Laura. Although I’m unsurprised you find you can behave any way you please and expect others to dance to your direction, this is actually not the way the world works.”
She looked side to side, got closer, so I got even closer, and she hissed, “Beings can hear us and they’re listening. Please, can we speak privately?”
“Again, you aren’t listening. I will, however, repeat myself. We have nothing to say to one another,” Aleksei returned.
She assumed a pretty, pouty expression underneath her mask.
“Lexy, please,” she begged.
Lexy?
Blech.
Unfortunately for her, “Lexy” had lost patience.
“For fuck’s sake, Anna, you killed what we had by doing everything in your power to stop me from being me and mold me into what you wanted me to be. Then you made certain it could never be resurrected by using my brother in an attempt to hurt me. I have no interest in this conversation, and even less in anything you could say to me, privately or not. What we had is done. What we shared before that, you stained. For the love of all the gods, let this be done. Live your life and allow me to have mine.”
She stood woodenly, staring up at him before she said through stiff lips, “I guess I know where we stand.”
“I hope so,” Aleksei muttered impatiently.
She didn’t move.
But we did.
After Aleksei bid a dismissive, “Enjoy the Masque,” he took my elbow and led me away.
I noted a great number of guests pretending they hadn’t been watching what had just gone down, but my gals had retreated to the next ballroom (the one with the food).
Aleksei and I ignored people poorly pretending to ignore us and met them there.
Bash was with them, so Cat did the introductions between the two males.
We chitchatted.
Everyone avoided speaking about that altercation with Anna.
But we didn’t need to. It happened. It was clear Aleksei didn’t enjoy it. It was also clear he wasn’t dwelling on it.
I still stayed close to him, and I was pleased he felt my support, even more so when he lifted my hand apropos of nothing in order to kiss my knuckles, communicating he appreciated it and he was fine (okay, so our beasts humming contentedly to each other told me that, but either way, I got the message).
“Would you like me to make you a plate, darling?” he asked me.
“I can get it,” I told him.
He grinned. “I know you four are dying to tear Anna apart, so allow me to give you the opportunity to do that.”
I nearly started laughing as he ended this by tipping his head toward an antechamber.
“Hungry?” Bash asked Cat.
“Would you?” she replied.
He dropped a kiss on her lips, and it was sweet, so I was a little bummed because I’d been rooting for Tanyn to get in there. After witnessing that, I wasn’t sure.
The males moved off and Monique latched onto me, Cat doing the same to Gayle, and they all but dragged Gayle and me into the antechamber.
Boy, it seemed they really wanted to tear Anna apart.
There was no one in the chamber, which was nice and gave me the opportunity to go to a sofa and sink into it.
Ahhhhhhhhhh…
Yes.
“Tell her,” Cat demanded before I was even settled.
My attention perked, and I noticed they’d all sat as well, putting us in a circle.
“Now’s not the time,” Gayle returned.
“Oh my gods, you have to tell her,” Monique said.
“She just got Princess Anna’ed,” Gayle snapped.
“Okay, I’ll tell her,” Cat stated, turning to me.
“No!” Gayle cried. “It’s mine to tell.”
Oh my gods!
Now, with all of this, I was dying to know whatever it was.
“Someone tell me,” I demanded.
Gayle looked over my head and didn’t say a word, so I sent a questioning glance to Cat and Monique.
Monique beamed.
Cat pitched to the side and elbowed Gayle.
I ignored Monique’s beam and focused on Gayle’s face behind her mask.
I couldn’t tell for sure what it was, because of the mask, but I could tell something was up.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
Her eyes came to me, and she blurted, “Prince Cormac is my mate.”
My body jolted and I blinked.
I did the blinking part again.
Then a rush of excitement raced through me, I leaned forward and breathed, “What?”
“You know, I’ve opened myself to it,” she said. “So I felt it.”
“I know…and he…it’s him?” I asked.
This was…
This was…
Super, double, extra mega.
But wait.
“Why aren’t you with him?” I asked.