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“Mate,” she whispers, stepping toward me. Leli groans and watches her come closer to me. I reach out and cup her cheek, and the moment I make contact with her skin, it’s like a ball of tension inside me loosens. She leans into my touch and her eyes flutter closed for a moment.

“Hello? Who are you?” Leli asks impatiently. Vash is keeping his mouth shut. He’s a smart man. A woman just came up to him and called him Master in front of his emotionally compromised mate.

“My name is Maple Ganleya,” she says after tearing her eyes away from mine and looking at Leli. “I was Vash’s maiden.”

“What?” Leli growls.

“Oh shit,” Volis says.

“Leli,” Vash says softly.

“What?” She turns to him with bright red eyes. She is enraged, more than I’ve ever seen her.

Chapter Forty Four

Leli

Day Five

“What?”Iturnandgrowl at Vash, abandoning my anger for Maple. “She’s your fuckingmaiden?”

“Leli,” he says again softly, which only makes me angrier. I shove him backward.

“You had a goddamnmaiden? You have the fucking audacity to stand here with me after knowing what I went through as a Maiden? WhatLilithwent through? What she’s going through right now?”

“Leli, you need to take a breath and let me…”

“I don’t have to let you do shit,” I yell at him. “Fuck you. Go find someone who’s okay with men who brutalize innocent girls. I’m…” Vash cuts me off when he suddenly grabs me by the throat and pushes me against the car. He immediately pins me against the car with his body pressed against mine as his lips crash over mine. I am stunned and slightly aroused at how this giant man just dominated me.

“If you would kindly shut the fuck up for two godsdamn seconds, I would be more than happy to explain things to you,” he says with a low and gravelly tone. “Are you going to let me talk?”

“Uh…huh,” I say quietly, my rage quickly turning into something else.

Vash softly kisses me before taking a step back from me. I look at everyone else, and they look amused at what Vash did. Maple looks as stunned as me. “Why does she look freaked out?” I ask with a frown. “I swear to the Gods…”

Vash growls as he grabs me by the throat again and pulls me to his chest. “If you don’t shut up and let me speak, Little Demon, everyone here is about to watch me swat that pretty little ass until it’s bright red,” he whispers in my ear. My face heats up, and naughty thoughts swarm my mind. “Are you going to stop now?”

“Yes,” I choke out. He lets go of me once more but doesn’t let me go far away. I have no doubts that he will follow through with his promise and spank my ass in front of the gods and everyone.

“Now… Maple likely looks freaked out because she’s never been around me when a tiny little brat rages instead of listening,” Vash says.

Striker and Volis both laugh, and I glare at them. “I’m not a brat,” I say to Vash with a frown.

“You really want to argue with me right now?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.

“No,” I say, trying to dampen my grin.

“Maple was my Maiden for four years,” he says. “She came to me the day she turned eighteen.”

“Four years?” I ask, trying to not let the anger seep back in. “You... for four years?”

“Leli, honey. I never touched her or anyone else,” he says, cupping my face. “Not only was I waiting for my mate, I had no desire to have a maiden. I let her stay because she’s a witch, and I knew what would happen if she ended up with someone who hated them.”

“Is this true?” I ask Maple. Vash steps back so I can turn to her.

“Yes,” she says. “He was very good to me.”

“Never once?”