Page 138 of Kingly Bitten

Lajos deserved his fate. Those words revolved through his mind, not necessarily for me to hear, just a statement of fact that he continued to repeat.

It wasn’t the way he’d intended for any of this to happen.

And there wasn’t anything he could do to change it.

He’d already begun concentrating on the future and the next steps, which primarily focused on finding Cam as soon as possible.

“I’m not sure what shocks me more,” Kylan said slowly. “The fact that the master strategist deviated so severely from his course or that he did it for a woman. AnErosita. You, of all vampires, were the last I ever saw taking a permanent mate.”

“I could say the same to you,” Jace replied, his lips against my neck. I listened as he contemplated Kylan’s termpermanent mate, his mind calculating the veracity of the wording and finding it appropriate. “How is your Raelyn?”

“She’s currently talking to Willow about a baby lycan,” Kylan said slowly. “Another detail I’m rather confused by.”

“Hmm, well, Ryder will have to catch you up on that one, as we’re about to land and I need to find Calina some clothes.” He rolled off of me with the words, then went to the closet while mentally telling me to stay on the bed. The jet’s decline made the floor unsteady, and he didn’t want to risk me falling in my recovering state.

I was fine. But I didn’t mind admiring the view of him walking around naked.

I heard that, little genius.

It’s an instinctual reaction to your supernatural physique,”I told him.

“Ah, and theErositahas a name,” Kylan said, interrupting our mental flirtation. “Where did you find her?”

“In the same place as the lycan pup Raelyn is learning about now,” Jace replied.

“The labs.”

“Yes. And we’re on our way to a third one that supposedly has information on Calina’s creation. We’re hoping to find Cam, too.”

“The elusive saint meant to save us all. I wonder how he’ll feel about this deviation from the plan.”

“He’ll be too busy focusing on future strategy to be concerned about my life choices.” Jace’s tone held a note of censure.

But Kylan merely chuckled in response. “I suppose we’ll see. Anything I can do to help?”

Jace returned to the bed with a pair of jeans and a white sleeveless shirt. “Put these on.”

“Put what on?” Kylan asked.

“I’m talking to Calina.”

“Rude,” Kylan drawled. “I’m on the phone.”

“Yes, a call I don’t remember accepting.”

“Life is full of surprises, mate.”

“Isn’t that why you called—to express your dislike of surprises?” Jace’s tone reflected a note of irritation, but a hint of a smile caressed his lips, suggesting he was teasing Kylan more than chastising him.

“I never claimed to dislike it, just expressed my displeasure over being left out of the fun.”

“So you called to pout,” Jace replied, amusement edging out the annoyance in his voice.

There was a long history between these two very old vampires, one shrouded in a deep friendship that had fractured due to their similar interests. I caressed the memories, learning more about their past and their shared outlooks.

By the time I finished reviewing the thoughts, the call was done and Jace stood before me in a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt. “Are you going to keep poking around in my past or put on clothes?”

I considered that for a moment, my mind still very much connected to his. “You don’t want me to put on clothes,” I said, picking up on that opinion in his thoughts.