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Kian turned his head towards him and hissed. “It’s mostly females and children here, asshole. I don’t blame them.”

Camden gave Julian a stern look, and the young alpha bowed his head in submission. “My bad.”

Kian clicked his tongue against his teeth, turning back to Camden. “Alright, come in.”

A ripple of energy ran through us as Kian parted the shield, and the village appeared before our eyes. We were immediately accosted by said vampyr children—all boys, of course—who poked and prodded our naked forms in wide-eyed curiosity.

“Wow, I’ve never seen a shifter alpha before!”

“Kian’s right, they do smell funny…”

Two fae females, carrying baskets on their hips, whistled suggestively towards us as they walked by. “Looking good, gentlemen!”

I’d become so accustomed in the past few days to not wearing clothes, the sight of my pack mates’ genitalia no longer bothering me. But suddenly I wished for a pair of pants more than anything.

As if reading our minds, an older vampyr male came forward with some clothes in his arms. “Unless you enjoy the attention of somevery unladylike attention,”he said loudly, making sure to direct thecomment towards the other females who’d come to gawk and wink at us, “I have some things for you to wear.”

I nodded my thanks and quickly dressed, as did everyone else aside from Julian. He flexed and stretched a bit to make the females laugh before finally covering up.

We gave our names to the leader of the village, who introduced himself as Cavelli and his Lunessa as Elyndra, and then followed him to a long table outside, where a hot meal was waiting.

The vampyr children, their interest in the new shifter guests still piqued, crawled all over us, reminding me of my nephews. We each found ourselves balancing a toddler or two on our knees while we tried to eat.

I knew vampyrs had children, obviously, but for some reason I’d never considered how they might fit into their society. The atmosphere here was more similar to shifter communities, where children were accepted as little agents of chaos and smothered with love rather than admonishment.

Camden especially had a huge soft spot for kids, and couldn’t keep his cool, alpha pack leader scowl intact as he and the boy on his lap began making increasingly sillier faces at each other.

“We really appreciate your hospitality,” Nolan began, taking the reins from Camden. “I take it you got enough details from Kian about our current situation?”

“Yes,” Cavelli replied. He refilled our wine glasses, then Elyndra’s, before pouring into his own. She gave him an appreciative pat on the shoulder and then addressed us herself.

“What kind of information are you looking for?”

The pack looked at me expectantly, and I cleared my throat. “I suppose the first thing we should know is exactly what kind of power the king possesses.”

“His magic is of the mind,” Cavelli replied. “He can trick you to believe you’re in the most pain you’ve ever experienced in your life or bring you to the highest pleasures. He can plant hallucinations, make you believe you are somewhere else or seeing something that isn’t there. He can plant ideas, nurture them until they grow and take over, until you never knew them as anything other than your own. He is a master manipulator, alphas, and I fear for any female caught in his gaze. She may very well be under his influence already.”

Camden closed his eyes.Hey babe, what do you think of the fae king?

He’s a giant douche and I fantasize about ripping out his throatconstantly. Why?

We all smiled, and the vampyrs and fae around the table eyed us in confusion. Kian whispered to the vampyr next to him, “They’re speaking to her now through their bond. They kind of glaze over when it happens. I’ve gotten used to it.

No reason. Stay safe.

Love you.

“Thankfully, she appears immune to his powers for now,” I said.

“If anything, I wouldn’t be surprised if her scent is actually affecting him greater than any power he can wield over her,” Kian added. “Even vampyrs who have smelled her have been reduced to slobbering dogs in her wake—no offense.”

I looked to Camden to see if he would take the bait, but he just sighed. “Humans too, I think. Right, Arch?”

“Yes, her scent is potent.” A fresh wave of anger flowed through my veins as I recalled that night in Chicago, but it was soon replaced by the memory of our first meeting. I couldn’t believe I’d had that much control over myself, sitting across from a beautiful omega on the cusp of a heat.

“Okay,” Elias said, getting us back on track. “We know what the king is capable of. Do we know what his range is? How many people he can use it on at one time? He can’t be all powerful, otherwise he wouldn’t need Marlowe and her brother to start this new war, right?”

Another vampyr joined us at the table. “Amongst most fae, he’s quite strong. The problem is with shifters and vampyrs. Alphas have commands, and vampyrs have compulsions. The king can enter our minds if we’re within a short range or before him as individuals. But as groups, his magic can be overridden by our inherent mental powers and predisposition towards deference of those we deem more dominant. He’d always had trouble controlling the shifters, and when he learned of the prophecy, was able to convince the alpha leaders of the time to allow him into their enclaves, promising to elevate their status due to the twins’ potential.”