Page 288 of Cruelly Bitten

To be with me,Cam murmured into my mind.

Sure. But…I trailed off, not wanting to rehash everything that had happened.

Because in the grand scheme of things, it no longer mattered. He wasmyCam now. The past was simply history.

“But thanks for the knife,” I added as an afterthought, my words for Mira.

“You might not understand my motive, but I did what I had to do,” Mira told me. “I wanted to prolong lycan life. Cane and Lilith took that objective in a direction I didn’t agree with, one I probably should have seen coming. Alas, by the time I realized their true intentions, it was too late to stop them. So I did what I could to salvage the situation.”

My teeth ground together. Primarily because I understood her motive. However, that didn’t mean I could forgive her for what she’d done.

“The lycans will pursue justice where appropriate as far as Mira is concerned,” Thida announced.

“Actually, I think that topic, among several others, should be addressed at the Blood Alliance meeting set for…” Khalid trailed off as he entered the room, his focus on his glowingwatch. “Roughly thirty-four hours from now, give or take thirty minutes.”

Emine slipped in behind him, her expression bored despite her blood-streaked clothes.

She’d clearly killed a few vampires. Maybe some lycans, too.

However, Khalid looked like he’d barely broken a sweat, his all-black suit crisp and clean. Just like Ryder’s dark jeans and long-sleeved shirt.

I highly doubted either of them had held back in the chaos below. They were justneatwhen it came to their lethal natures.

Unlike me,I thought, glancing at my blood-soaked hands.I really need a shower.

“I realize the lycans and vampires are at odds, but we need to allow all of our brethren—vampire and lycan alike—to join us here before we make any more rash decisions,” Khalid went on. “Your lycans are free. The vampires involved with imprisoning and experimenting on them are dead. And we all know Cam wasn’t truly behind it. He was never one of Cane’s allies. The same cannot be said about you or Mira.”

That last sentence was delivered directly to Thida, Khalid’s gaze hardening as he spoke.

“You know, I’m starting to think you might make a better king than Jace,” Ryder drawled, breaking the tense silence. “And obviously you’d be a better choice than Cam.”

“Who says anything about having aking?” Thida countered. “And in what world do you think lycans would ever bow to a vampire after all that’s been done?”

“Yet another topic for the meeting,” Khalid smoothly interjected. “Let’s take thirty-four hours to calm down, and then we’ll regroup.”

I flinched as the lights popped back on, my glasses lighting up like a firework. Cam swiftly removed them from my face as I rubbed my eyes, the unexpected change leaving me dizzy.

My nose crinkled as I realized I was spreading blood all over my face.

Shit.

I dropped my hands, wincing at my soiled state. It was bad enough that I still had Michael’s imprint all over me. And now I had his bloodin my damn eyes.

“Thirty-four hours,” Cam echoed as he scooped me up into his arms. “We’ll be back then.”

“Hold on?—”

“I wasn’t asking, Thida,” Cam bit out. “Just like I wasn’t asking you all to move before. You saw what happened then, and I’ll happily do it again.”

The lycan grimaced, his jaw tightening.

But Luka simply laid a hand on the other man’s chest and forced him back a step. “Just let him go,” he said. “Khalid’s right. Save it for the Blood Alliance meeting.”

Cam didn’t wait to discuss it more, simply stalked off into the hallway and went directly to the stairs.

Do you have any idea where you’re taking me?I asked him.

Back to the room we occupied earlier,he replied.Where I’m going to worship every fucking inch of you with my tongue.