Page 18 of Kingly Bitten

“I see.” He ran his eyes over me once more, then looked around me to take in Gretchen and James at my back. “Hey, King Jace!” he shouted. “I found something you’re going to want to see!”

5

Jace

“King Jace.”I rolled my eyes. “I really hope that doesn’t catch on.” Unlike Lilith, I didn’t need or require the validation of my role or position.

“Better go see what Damien has to show you,Your Highness,” Darius deadpanned.

I met his green gaze and arched a brow. “A title you’ll be hearing a lot in your future as the replacement royal of my region.”

“I don’t recall accepting the job.”

“I don’t recall giving you a choice,” I returned as I started through the rubble to breach the tunnel entrance. We’d found it hidden in an old hut, the door locked up tight and riddled with security codes. Rather than hack it, we’d blown it up.

And then we’d found a bunch of dead lycans on the other side.

Damien had gone in first to clear it all out. He’d given the all-clear a few minutes ago and said he needed to work on gaining control of the elevator, as it appeared to be the only entrance into whatever the fuck this place was.

Darius and I had returned to the plane to gather a few more firearms, as well as Juliet. She’d remained on board while we’d set the explosives. Being Darius’sErositamade her immortal in the way that she couldn’t die, but it didn’t grant her all his vampire strengths.

I navigated down the hall, the general layout reminding me of an abandoned hospital wing, apart from the scent of fresh blood. My nose twitched as I tried to discern the origins.

Some of it came from the dead lycans from the blast—an unfortunate event that we’d not expected.

The rest appeared to be stemming from the trio standing in front of Damien. He had his gun aimed at the blonde female while the other two hid behind her. I assumed this was what he’d called me in here to see.

He confirmed my assumption as he said, “King Jace, meet Dr. C.”

My brow furrowed until I caught the name etched into the lab coat.Calina.

“She states that she’s in charge here,” he added, his amusement palpable.

“Actually, I said I’m the lead researcher of Bunker 47,” Calina corrected, her sultry tone holding a regal flair that had me wondering at her origin. “Lilith is in charge, not me.”

“Lilith,” I repeated, intrigued that she hadn’t referred to the dead royal as theGoddess. It was Lilith’s preferred nomenclature among humans, of which Calina absolutely was one.

And yet, her blood possessed a sweet potency that was distinctly other. It made my mouth water for a taste. Pair that with her pretty face and slender build, and she was most decidedly appetizing by my standards.

Except for one thing.

“You work for Lilith?” I asked. Calina had used the present tense when claiming Lilith was in charge of this operation, thus it seemed wise for me to follow suit. Particularly as those of us who preferred reform had agreed to keep Lilith’s demise a secret until we were ready to inform the world of the truth.

Calina’s bright blue eyes met mine, shocking me with her boldness. However, beneath the shock was a hint of wonder because her irises possessed a distinctly wolfish flair to them.

Fascinating.

She smelled human. Actually, her scent reminded me a bit of Juliet, making me wonder if Calina possessed the rare essence of a blood virgin. My canines ached with the notion of taking a bite, but I knew better than to react impulsively.

However, I might very well indulge in her later.

Yes,I thought.Yes, I think that’s exactly what I’ll do with you, darling.

Work first. Play later.

“Who are you?” she demanded. “I’m not familiar with aKing Jace.”

“I prefer just Jace,” I replied, even more enthralled by the beauty before me.A human standing up to a royal?“But I think the better question here is, just who are you, Doctor Calina? How did you come to work for Lilith?”