Page 153 of Cruelly Bitten

“Assuming you like the concept of death, then yes, you probably would,” I replied.

The other man grinned, taking control of the video. “I’ll consider that a formal acceptance of a future date, old friend. But in the interim, we have no army. Just me and one of my sovereigns, as well as our mates.”

That information had Jace lifting his head. “Mates? And which sovereign?”

“Land and find out,” he replied. “Or hide and miss out.”

The call went dead.

Amusement taunted the edges of my mouth. “Oh, we’re definitely going to land now.” Because he’d just issued a formal invitation to play my kind of game.

One involving guns.

And knives.

Andblood.

“Willow,” I called. “Follow me. It’s time to find some toys.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

IZZY

Talkingwith Damien hadn’t distracted me like I’d hoped it would. Instead, it’d just left me feeling wary.

Everyone was coming.

Jace. Darius. Kylan. Ryder. All of their respective mates. And my brother.

Normally, I would be excited to see them. But not right now. Not like this.

Swallowing, I opened the garment bag Cam had ordered for me. I expected to find a translucent dress, the attire common for a vampire’sErositain this current world.

However, what I found waiting for me wasn’t translucent at all. It wasn’t even a dress.

“Jeans and a sweater?” I asked, unable to hide my surprise.

Cam glanced up from his own garment bag—a black suit lying inside—and arched a brow. “I read in your mind that this is your preferred attire. Did I get it wrong?”

“I… no. You didn’t get it wrong.” My voice was soft, bordering on uncertain.

I wasn’t sure how to handle this version of Cam.

Hell, I wasn’t sure how to handle any of this.

“The otherErositaswon’t be dressed like this. They’ll probably be in see-through evening gowns.” Maybe he just wasn’t aware of the current protocols. While I didn’t really care for them, it seemed wise to warn him of them.

He snorted in response. “I am not putting you on display for others to admire. You’re mine until you tell me otherwise.”

I stared at him, stunned once again. Only this time, it was by his words and not what was in the garment bag.

Mine until you tell me otherwise…

“What do you mean by that?” Maybe it was a stupid question, but I couldn’t determine the answer.

For the better part of the last two weeks, he’d essentially intended to use me until he found a suitable replacement.

A new immortal blood bag.