Selma gave him an annoyed side-glare. “Really? She’s a person, you know, not just a morale-boosting prize for your warriors to fight over. And may I remind you, as a future demon’s mate, she’s my subject, not yours.”
Kain smiled, a ridiculous, soft expression flickering in his eyes as he stroked a thumb over her cheek. “I’m aware, little one. Which is why this woman is currently safe with Kesh and not being processed for auction. The changes you’ve made to Breeders’ lives aren’t diminished by how desperate our men are to find a mate to worship, hmm?”
Selma leveled him with a flat stare. “So we’re calling it ‘worship’ now? You know, what you horny bastards consider worship, the rest of us call marathon sexing. Which is fun and all, so long as you’ve not been traumatized by your would-be admirer first.” She sighed with resignation, then returned her focus to Kesh. “How is she, Kesh? Is she still scared? Does she miss her family? Do you need me to make a visit and try to reassure her?”
Some of his irritation eased at the genuine concern in his sister-in-law’s eyes. As annoying as her iron will could be, the fact that she was taking her responsibility to Breeders—and Georgia in particular—seriously enough to offer to travel to him with the single purpose of reassuring his ward, made a measure of gratitude toward her bloom in his chest.
“She is still a little on edge about the whole situation, but she’s settling in remarkably well.” He sighed softly, his gaze flickering to Kamaran in her arms. As often happened when he saw his nephew, he couldn’t help thinking that. if things had gone differently, Kam would have been his son. He was grateful they’d managed to save his brother, and he hadn’t had to take Selma as his mate after all, but the thought still popped up now and then.
“At this point, it would not be worth the risk for you to travel. But I promise to inform you if that changes, my queen.”
Selma chuffed, arching an amused brow. “Listen to him, trying to keep his sister-in-law at bay with honorifics.”
“If the girl is settling in, it would be best to wait with a visit until I can prepare for your travels better,” Kain rumbled. His arm snaked around his mate’s shoulder, pulling her tight to his body. “If the Europeans ever get a hold of you. Or Kam…”
“I know, I know,” she sighed, rolling her eyes even as she allowed him to plaster her against his ribs as his instincts took over at the thought of losing her. Normally, Kesh would have been rolling his eyes right along with her, but this time, unbidden, his thoughts went to Maine, and the acid shock of terror he’d felt when Mallorn had let him know Georgia had been on the fucking battlefield. At risk of imminent death. And that was before…
He cut off his thoughts, not willing to bring back the flutter of soft, idiotic feelings that had bloomed during last night with her. Not now, not in front of these two.
“Speaking of the Europeans… We nearly lost Maine, and Aran along with it. I don’t know what the fuck happened. Aran is one of the oldest lords in the Northeast, and even at two to one, he should have had the edge. Or at the very least not been on his literal knees within a day.” Kesh crossed his arms, a frown pulling down his brows as he recalled the absolute disaster he’d arrived to. “And even more baffling is—they fell within hours once I arrived. They seemed relatively inexperienced in battle. Aran should have been able to handle them on his own.”
On the screen, Kain and Selma exchanged a look.
“What?”
Selma glanced at Kain one more time before she said, “I felt… something. Yesterday. Through my Stone of Power. Something I haven’t before.”
A sense of unease crept up Kesh’s spine. The three Stones of Power had been in the European royal family’s possession for more than a millennium—powerful tools they’d employed to keep the gods from gaining the upper hand in the Eternal Battle. And to secure their right to rule.
Selma's gaining control of one of the stones was a large part of how Kain had been able to gather the American lords under his banners and break away from European rule. But the knowledge that such immense power was in the hands of a fragile little Breeder still filled Kesh with unease.
“What kind of something?” he asked.
“It’s hard to describe. It was a vibration of sorts. A swelling of energy. With what you’re saying about what happened in Maine, I have to wonder if—” Her train of thought was cut off when Kam began fussing. “Shh, little man. You’ve just been fed. Are you really hungry again?”
“You’re wondering if the European lords had a Stone of Power with them?” Kain prompted, his brows furrowing.
“We didn’t find one on either lord’s corpse after the battle,” Kesh murmured, his focus slipping when Selma, without any hint of shyness, pulled out a breast and popped the nipple in her baby’s mouth.
Something dark and needy curled in his lower abdomen.
Kain cleared his throat, breaking his single-minded focus. The moment he looked back up, he caught sight of Kain’s glare.
A touched of heat brushed Kesh’s cheeks, and he grimaced, shooting his brother an apologetic look. He had no interest in delving into why, but the sight of a woman nursing? Fuck, it got him every time.
Unbidden, a hazy image of Georgia flickered through his mind. Swollen breasts. A baby in her arms. Milk leaking from her ripened nipples…
Nope. Not going down that fucking path.
With a command of will, he forced his mind back to the matter at hand. “An outside source of power would explain their ability to subdue Aran so swiftly. But whatever it was, they must have lost it when I arrived. Outside of a Stone of Power, I don’t know of anything that could have boosted their strength like I saw, but… Who the fuck loses one of those in the middle of a battle?”
Kain sighed deeply and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I’m going to send Kirigan up to Maine to speak with Aran. Search the area. If anyone knows how to locate some obscure power source, it’s our father.”
“It would also be nice to not have him hovering for a few days,” Selma muttered, focus still on her nursing baby.
“He’s still…?” Kesh trailed off, not sure how to describe the mad demon’s behavior after his daughter-in-law gave birth to his grandchild. ‘Disturbing’ didn’t really cover it.
“Yep. Even follows me to the freakin’ bathroom if Kain’s out of the house for so much as five minutes.” Selma shifted her grip on Kam, grimacing slightly at the weight of him. Kain spotted her discomfort immediately.
