Page 51 of Blood Day: Part Two

I was so blissed out that I barely noticed the buzzing on my wrist.

By the time I acknowledged it, the call had ended.

I grunted and pulled Lily up to kiss her, not bothering to look at who had tried to interrupt this precious moment.

Except the vibrating began again as my lips brushed her swollen mouth.

I ignored it, intent on worshipping my mate with my tongue.

However, a third call had me pulling away to look at the notification on my watch.

Silvano.

Of fucking course.

Lily froze on top of me, her eyes widening. “Shit. I need to answer this, Lily.”

I shifted her to the side and sat up, then urged her with a thought to duck beneath the covers and hug my leg. She didn’t speak, just did as I demanded and curled into me.

Clearing my throat, I hit the answer button—as my wrist started buzzing for thefourthtime—and said, “Good evening, My Prince.” The screen populated the air before me, which meant he could see my nude chest and mess of hair.

That should serve as an explanation for my delayed response.

He arched a brow. “Busy evening?”

“An enjoyable one,” I told him.At least until you interrupted it. “How can I help you, my liege?”

His gaze danced around the screen like he was searching for my snack. I didn’t give anything away, just relaxed into the headboard and feigned boredom.

Do not make a sound, Lily,I warned her.He’s looking for evidence that you’re still here.

I understand.

Another beat passed, and Silvano’s moment of fascination fled. “The situation with Walter is coming to a head,” he finally said. “We need to meet to discuss next steps.”

“Is he still misbehaving?”

“He’s mistaken me for a fool,” Silvano gritted out. “And you leaving seems to have made him think he’s free to continue his antics.”

“I see.” So this discussion would really be about forcing me to come home indefinitely to play babysitter to the errant alpha lycan next door.

Great.

“Anyway, I’m already on my way to you. I should arrive by daylight. Please see that my rooms are ready.”

Oh, so this was more than just a courtesy call to inform me that our two-year agreement was about to be voided due to his games with Walter. No. This was primarily a call to demand that I prepare his quarters for his unexpected arrival.

We were supposed to meet in Romania—home of the Blood Day ritual.

Not here.

He could have called Adrienne to make the arrangements. But he chose to call me in a show of power meant to put me in my place.

“I’ll see that everything is ready for your arrival,” I informed him, doing my best not to react to the belittling request or the very clear intention of him reneging on our deal for my temporary freedom.

It was almost as though Silvano wanted me to walk into Khalid’s open arms.

Or perhaps that was the point of all this—some sort of fucked-up loyalty test.