Page 268 of Cruelly Bitten

“I enjoyed that more than I probably should have,” Damien mused, the royal unconscious at his feet.

If there was one thing I’d learned in the last five minutes, it was that Damien clearly had a death wish.

Yes,Lily replied, my attention instantly returning to her.He and Cam are discussing Ismerelda’s fate.

Good.That meant he wasn’t focused on Lily, which was part of the plan.

A plan I’d conceptualized with Khalid and Hazel. Only, Lily hadn’t originally been part of it. That change had been a concession for the lycans.

While Khalid had met with Ryder earlier, I’d hunted down Luka.

“You’re a hard wolf to find,” I’d told him near the airfield. “But we need to talk.”

The look he’d given me in return had said he’d rather shoot me instead.

However, I’d captured his attention when I’d added, “Khalid knows the truth about Mira. But she’s not the only one pretending to support Cane’s rule. Hazel is, too.”

The former served as a way to inform Luka that Khalid and I knew a lot more than the others did.

And the latter was a truth Hazel and Khalid had given me permission to share. One that represented a peace offering of sorts.

Because Mira would likely know about Hazel’s connections to Cane. He’d purposely arranged for the territories around Italy to belong to his allies. He’d been protecting his pet project.

Only that pet project had grown into something Hazel couldn’t stomach.

She’d understood his need to kill slayers, as she’d apparently been there when Aurelia had betrayed him. But she felt he’d taken his quest for global domination too far. His treatment of the lycans was her primary sore point. She saw it as a betrayal to the species, and she couldn’t forgive it.

Of course, she hadn’t been pleased to learn about Emine, especially since Khalid had waited until this week to reveal that information in front of Hazel and the others.

But she was very familiar with Khalid’s proclivity for testing loyalties and reading reactions.

He’d needed to be sure of Hazel’s truths, and her response to Emine had proved she could let go of the past—something Cane appeared to be incapable of doing.

Luka hadn’t asked me to elaborate on any of that, though. Instead, all he’d done was say, “I’m listening.”

I hadn’t bothered with formalities or long-winded speeches. I’d told him my plan, laying out every detail. Including the fact that Khalid was in the process of recruiting Ryder. “But he’s nottelling him everything. Khalid doesn’t trust easily. He needs to see how Ryder performs first.”

It was a penchant of his—like his loyalty tests—that irritated the fuck out of me. But I couldn’t deny how well it worked.

“Your plan has a flaw,” Luka had finally said after several minutes of processing my idea.

“What is it?” I’d asked, open to suggestions.

“What’s your stake in all of this?” he’d countered. “I get Khalid’s stake—he and Emine are likely going to be captured. Perhaps Ryder and Willow, too. That gives them something to fight for. But you’re just going to what? Find Damien while Hazel waltzes into the underground with a wire?”

“It’s not a wire but a transmitter,” I’d corrected him. “It’ll allow us to hack into Cane’s mainframe, something I need to do with Damien outside of the compound. Which means I can’t join Khalid and Ryder.”

“No, you can’t,” he’d agreed. “But yourErositacan.”

I’d blinked at him. “Excuse me?”

“If you want us to cooperate with you, we need to establish trust. Which means we need you to have a stake in this—a stake we can all understand and appreciate. That would be your mate.”

“You’re asking me to put my mate in danger… as some sort of loyalty test?” I’d demanded, furious at the very concept.

“Yes.”

No elaboration.