Page 2 of Crave Me

“So you keep saying,” I muttered. Larus often served as my political liaison, his ability to politely appease others far superior to my own. But as the head of the House, I had an image to maintain. And he helped me accomplish that by advising me on appropriate responses.

Such as now with all these requests.

“It will mean more coming from you,” he’d said as the requests had started pouring in. “Our people need to know you care.”

Which I did. I cared about them more than they could even fathom. I just preferred showing it via protective measures, not politically correct ones.

It wasn’t about power, although I did enjoy the benefits of being king. But it was more about duty for me. I was the strongest in our lands. Therefore, I led. If someone stronger surpassed me, I would consider relinquishing the role.

Alas, the only one close to me in strength had no desire to lead.

Kaspian, my second-in-command, much preferred playing in the shadows. He hid his power behind a mask of boredom, choosing to follow my command rather than create his own. But when needed, he showed up. And that, at the end of it all, was what would eventually push him into a leadership role.

“Here.” Cara gestured with her elven-shaped chin toward the coffee table in front of them, and a muffin appeared. “Espresso chip with a few extra chocolate chips.”

Some fae could conjure weapons. This one could conjure baked goods. Not exactly a helpful mercenary trait on the surface, but it didn’t detract from her lethal nature. It simply made her that much more deadly.

A true black widow—sweet on the outside, absolutely deadly on the inside.

Larus grinned. “A woman after my own heart.”

“No. I already own that.” Her confident words had the male beside her humming in agreement. The mated duo shared the role as my third-in-command, the powerful fae couple being two of my best sharpshooters.

Only my second-in-command could best them.

My talent for guns paled in comparison to all three of them. Mostly because I preferred a good old-fashioned sword. Throwing knives worked, too.

Or simply fangs.

Alas, I was trapped in my office for the unforeseeable future.

I need a good fuck,I decided.Or a fight.

I’d have to arrange something for later. Or maybe both. Perhaps Jira would be up for some playtime. She always did fancy—

A stack of papers on my desk fluttered to the ground as my second-in-command appeared beside me, his vampiric speed rivaling my own.

I set my coffee mug down and eyed him. “Do you have any idea how long it took me to organize those?”

Kaspian glanced at the mess, then set his phone on the desk. “Slater just called.”

That certainly wasn’t an expression of regret. However, those three words made an apology moot.

Because there could be only one reason why Slater would have called my second.

I locked gazes with Kaspian. “He found it?”

Itbeing the unknown magical entity causing issues all over the fucking country.

Gold and Garnet had taken responsibility for trackingitdown nearly three months ago, and so far all my mercenaries had failed despite the hefty bounty hanging over the unknown entity’s head.

I’d finally given the job to Slater, my best tracker, with the hopes of wrapping all this up. Because whatever this thing was, it was causing issues. All of vampire kind could feel the presence of the unwanted power. And many other supernaturals had sensed it, too.

Which had led to a myriad of messages and phone calls that I would prefer not to be taking on the issue.

“Yes. It’s in a pub,” Kaspian replied, his dark irises radiating savage excitement. “In Ireland.”

“A pub?” I repeated. “Slater’s sure?”