Chapter One
I entered the living room of our new brownstone home and found Kassie, Mona, and Tommy there. "I need to go out and meet Matteo at the restaurant." It was time to give the alpha a heads-up that someone was threatening me here in NYC. The last time it had happened, the vampire prince attacked one of his pack members, and we had to bring the witch, Rose, to heal her.
A Manhattan map lay in the center of a dark cherry coffee table, and Kassie sat on the beige leather couch, leaning over, examining it like it would reveal some sort of treasure.
Tommy sat close to her. I was glad they were finally able to put their differences aside. Both he and Kassie rarely got along, having had some sort of rivalry since they had both been tasked with guarding my father, King Corey, prior to his death.
"There's no way in hell." Kassie's dark amber eyes raised to meet mine. "There is some looney out there, looking for you." Her short black hair managed to bob with her jerky movements.
"Kassie." Mona stood across from them, right underneath the flat screen. She arched her eyebrows so they were hidden under her blonde bangs as she narrowed her brown eyes. "You know better."
"I'm not sure if it bothers me worse when you or Tommy does that." Kassie pouted as she glared at Tommy.
"Hey, I didn't do anything this time." Tommy tugged at his salt and pepper mustache that matched the hair on his head. His dark brown eyes stayed focused on the map as he stretched out his back. "Don't get me involved."
Mona and Kassie were the reason I didn't die with my parents almost thirteen years ago. My uncle, Darren, had wanted to be king so badly that he killed his own brother and attempted to kill his brother’s family. Little had he know I had been hidden away and survived.
"You look gorgeous in that dress." Mason walked out of our bedroom in a black suit that molded to his muscles in all the right ways. He was my fated mate and provided the perfect balance I needed. His short, dark hair was a little longer than normal, and his emerald green eyes scanned over me. "The way the red contrasts with your hair is sexy as hell." He walked over to me and pulled me into his hard chest. "Do we have to go? I could think of better ways to spend our time.” His lips captured mine, releasing some of the tension in my shoulders.
I wish we could. His lips undid me. Hell, looking at him made me feel things, and I hoped that would never change. Images of last night flashed through my mind. He’d done things to me that I never thought possible. Every time was better than the last, and our bond grew stronger with every passing day.
"If that is a consideration, I say no. Despite the horror it brings to mind telling you this, you should go get it on." Kassie lifted her chin and frowned. "It's not safe outside of this house."
Now, that I didn’t expect. Mason chuckled as he brushed his lips against mine once more.
The doorbell rang, causing a wolf howl to fill the entire house.
Ella descended the stairs from where the other five bedrooms were located and entered the living room. Her blonde hair bounced with each step, and her hazel eyes lit up. "I told you that would make an epic ring. So much better than any other place has."
"It's kind of annoying." Louis appeared right behind her. Together, they went over and sat on the other section of the L-shaped couch.
"Let me go grab the door." Mason shook his head and turned toward to the door. "Is anyone expecting someone?"
"Nope." Ella sat back in the seat and placed her feet on the coffee table.
"What the hell are you doing?" Kassie reached over and smacked her legs. "This is a map."
"What?" Ella pointed at the television. "Elena didn’t tell us they were going out, so I had plans to be comfortable and veg out. You can get a new map later."
"If you weren't the King's sister ..." Kassie growled.
Tommy pulled out his walkie talkie and shook his head. "My King, one second." He hurried over and pressed the button down. "Anyone know who's out front?"
There was a pause before a voice got back on the line. "It's ..." He cleared his throat. "It's King Adelmo."
Well, there go those dinner plans. Louis must have told him where we lived. I turned around and pointed at him. "Why didn't you warn us?" I'd hoped that Louis had taken care of this. He was the Prince of Europe and had submitted to me prior to he and Ella sealing their mate bond. His dad had been calling him when we were trying to save Alec. I figured Louis would eventually talk to him and figure this shit out.
"I didn't know." His gray eyes landed on the ground.
"Have you talked to him?" Ella arched an eyebrow and reached over, taking some popcorn out of the bowl he was holding.
"Not exactly." Louis ran his hands through his medium blond hair and sighed. "I was still thinking about what to say."
Great, this is going to go over well. I glanced at Mason. Do you mind calling Matteo and letting him know we won't be there?
Fine, but I'll be right back. He hurried off into the bedroom and shut the door.
"Ha, here I was thinking I'd miss out on dinner." Ella removed her feet from the table and turned her body in my direction. "But at least, I'm still getting a good show."
"You can be a real pain in the ass." Her antics always cracked me up, but right now we had more important things to face. "You." I pointed to Louis. "You're going to have to confront him. This isn't on me."
He huffed and placed the popcorn bowl on the table. “Fine.”
"For the love of God," Kassie grumbled and lifted the bowl off the table to remove the map. "We'll have to do this another time. Between Ella's nasty feet and the butter from the popcorn, I better move it."
"My feet aren't dirty." Ella stuck out her tongue at Kassie.
"Should we let him in?" Tommy glanced in my direction.
"Yes." I didn't have time for this, but if Louis had been avoiding him for the past several weeks, that wasn’t good. Him doing that was only going to make their disagreement worse. "Let's get this over with."
"Okay." Tommy walked over to the door and opened it.
King Adelmo burst through the door, and surprisingly, his gaze didn't land on me. Instead, he scanned the room, obviously looking for his son. "Louis. Get your shit together. You're coming home."
"No, I'm not." Louis took a deep breath and leveled his eyes on his father. “How did you find out where we were?”
They looked so similar. The king's hair was a shade lighter than Louis's blond, but the rest of their features resembled each other.
"That wasn't a question, and I tracked your phone." His father's nostrils flared, and his hands clenched into fists. His tone was laced with alpha power. "I said we're leaving now."
"You know that won't work on me anymore." Louis straightened his shoulders and met his dad’s gaze head-on. “You’re not my alpha.”
Yeah, that’s not helping anything. I wasn't sure what the hell I should do. "King Adelmo ..."
"Stop." His eyes landed on mine and were full of rage. "You've done more than enough."