Page 28 of Haunted Nightmares
“It’s not fine,” he snarls, turning his head to shoot her a dirty look. “Ana will be pissed if?—“
“Don’t mean to get in the middle of alover’s quarrel.” Why do I have the unbridled need to tear this male’s head from his shoulders and punt it across the room? Especially at the thought of these two beinglovers. If Zenlothanai wasn’t so eerily quiet, I’d worry they’d taken my insanity to a new level but they are, so it’s justme.“Just wanted to apologize for before, nothing more.”
I stand and button my jacket as Nate turns his attention back to me. “King or not, you stay away from Iris.”
The growl that rumbles through my chest is involuntary but it happened the second my eyes snap to his. Instead of doing or saying all of the things I want to at this moment, I simply grin. “King or not, yeah? Bold of you to say something like that to my face.My facethat should be an indication all on its own why a comment like that might be better left unsaid?”
“Why does it matter how you hear what I have to say when you’d just dig through my head to find it anyway?”Jackass.
The last bit wasn’t audible to anyone but me and that’s a red flag. So much so that following these two around to get to the bottom of things has jumped up my todo list rather quickly.
“How long has it been?” Nate asks as I scowl. “Six months, give or take?”
“Six months sincewhat?” I swear to the gods he better not be asking what I think…
The asshat glares as he widens his stance. “Is that a standard mourning period for Descendants, or do they typically start prowling for the next warm place to bury their dick sooner?”
The shock wave of icy shadows that explodes from my body happens so quickly and with such force both Iris and Nate stumble backward several paces, the surrounding tables overturn, and all of the bottles behind the bar explode. And it almost distracts me from the way my hands dart out to simultaneously grip Nate’s bottom jaw and throat.
“Never,and I do mean never, speak on things you knownothingabout.” His hands come up to my wrists as I lift his feet off the floor, lowering my face close to his as I reposition my hand on his neck so only my thumb is prying his insolent mouth open. “Your attitude alone would get you killed but spewing shite about my grief, my mate,your queen…”I take one of his fangs between the thumb and index finger of my now free hand and begin to twist. “That, my dear boy, will have you begging me for death through busted teeth.”
Nate’s jaw cracks as I pop the pointy little piece of enamel from its home, the male’s eyes still locked with mine and showing a slight sliver of fear but when I move to his other fang on the bottom of his mouth, a small hand lands on my arm and stops me.
“He didn’t mean it,” Iris whispers as my head swings in her direction. “Please, he didn’t, I swear.”
I study her face for a few beats, looking over each and every inch and just when I start to convince myself no one can actually look the way she does—the too blue eyes, the too symmetrical features—Irisglitchesagain.
In and out of existence. Her entire being flickering and fading like static on an old television.
Which is exactly why I listen to her.
I drop Nate into a heap on the floor, wrapping my fingers tightly around his fang then fix my clothes with a huff. “Let this be a warning.”
She nods and takes a step back. “Thank you, my lord.”
Instead of using my words I simply growl, snap my teeth at the male then spin toward the doors only to stop short when I hear, “I’m sorry for your loss.”
My hackles raise and my stomach rolls but I force myself to look back over my shoulder.
“So sorry.”
And with a curt nod, I barrel through the crowd I’ve drawn, burst through the doors then quickly dematerialize to the roof in order to wait for them to leave.
8
Truth vs Legend
Iwalk slowly and a few paces behind Iris and Nate along the roof of the building next to them, unseen and unheard thanks to my many talents. “I’m telling you, you fucking berk, I’ve no interest in her outside of what she is.”
“I heard you fought for her, Wraith,” Orion growls down the line. “And that’s bullshit. Not that I wanted you to be alone forever, not really, but Zeph?—“
“Don’t. If you know what’s good for you, you will not finish that sentence.”
“Only six months. You need to get your dick wet, fine, but I’d like to think you had more respect and?—“
“Good fucking god!” I growl back. “I nearly dismantled that fuckwit because of what he said about my gentle breeze, not because I wanted to shag the female he was with. Zephyr is it for me, the beginning and end, she is everything in between, and my current condition should be enough to prove that. I want no one else, will never want anyone else, I simply want to be left to my evil ways so that I can speed death along and rejoin her. And if one more motherfucker implies otherwise…”
I jump to the next roof as Orion sighs long and loud into the phone. “Ok, fine. Sorry. It’s just hard sometimes to separate howyou were before from how you are now, and when I heard you lost your shit at Plasma I, well, I’m sorry.”
