Page 19 of Love Bites Really Hard (Mated to the King #4)

nineteen

ZORA

We took a detour to Lex’s room. It involved us knocking until they finally got out of bed long enough to answer, and a set of hugs and congratulations. Afterward, we changed into swimsuits and made lunch together, then spent the rest of the day under the water.

We were late getting out of the pool, so we ended up wearing our swimsuits to the meeting. I had my coverup dress, so Bane’s possessiveness didn’t kick in.

Kai, Clementine, and Talon were the only ones there when we arrived in the large, open room that the kings always met in. All it had inside was some bookshelves along with five couches set up in a circle.

Clem got off hers and Kai’s couch long enough to throw her arms around me and exclaim over how good I looked—even though I looked incredibly normal. She had been insanely happy since she and Kai figured things out, and I loved seeing her like that.

When the hugging was over, Bane took me over to our couch, draping his arm over the backrest as I leaned against his side.

Clem was right.

Sirens needed to snuggle. It made everything better.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Talon’s voice was low, and there was no hiding the fury in it as he leaned forward, placing his gigantic forearms on his thighs. “They gave you a siren too? You didn’t even fucking need one.”

He was talking to my mate, but my own defenses rose. “No one gave me to Bane. One of his monsters imprinted on me, and when I was trying to get out of the situation, he imprinted too. The whole thing was a mess. None of it was planned.”

The way Talon’s nostrils flared told me he didn’t buy it. Not even a little.

He’d just have to get over it, because it was the truth.

Izzy and Porter walked in, and Izzy eyed the pissed-off dragon before looking at Clementine. She shrugged. When they looked at me, I scowled in Talon’s direction.

Blair and Damian finally showed up a few minutes later, eyeing all of us when they felt the tension in the room. There was no ignoring it.

“Well, I guess we should start off by welcoming the newest member of Mistwood’s royalty,” Clementine said, flashing me a quick smile. “Everyone, this is Zora. Zora, this is everyone.”

Talon snarled and stood up. His chest was heaving, his breathing rough. “I’ve told you over and over again that I need a fucking siren, and now you’re down to one. Are you going to give her to me, or am I going to have to take her?”

His eyes were on Damian, but the threat in them was clear as his gaze slowly swept the room.

He was talking to all of us.

Bane was on his feet in an instant, his body shifting forms.

When I looked around him, I found the rest of the men standing, too. Protecting their mates with their own bodies.

“We have offered to help you from the beginning,” Bane said, his voice low but controlled. “If you threaten our mates’ sister, you threaten all of us.”

“If you want war, Talon, we can give you war,” Hale said smoothly.

The dragon king’s face twisted with fury.

Without another word, he turned and left the room. A door slammed behind him.

There were a few moments of tension before the men all sat down, sprawling over their couches and looking grim.

“Should we be worried?” Izzy asked.

“No. Talon’s bark is bigger than his bite,” Hale said.

“Most of the time.” Bane didn’t look as confident about it as Blair’s mate was.

“We should move her to one of the other wings of the Manor, just to be safe,” Blair said.

“Not ours.” Clem shook her head quickly. “If a fae traps her in the realm, she’s hosed.”

“The pack is safe. She could come with us,” Izzy offered.

“The safest place for her is with the female monsters,” Hale said.

Everyone looked at us.

I nodded. “She would be safe there.”

“Then it’s settled. Now we just have to convince her to move,” Clem said, with a slight grimace. “I don’t want that job.”

“I’ll talk to her.” Blair rose to her feet. “She’ll understand.”

“We’ll do it together,” Izzy agreed.

An hour later, we were all sitting on the ledge of Blair’s pool.

“No,” Avery repeated firmly, for at least the tenth time. “I’m not going to hide, and I’m not going to take a mate. If he catches me, he catches me. He can’t force me to seal a bond.”

“You’re not listening,” Izzy growled. “Talon is a real threat, Avery.”

“And the rest of the kings aren’t?” She gestured to the four gigantic men sitting on lounge chairs off to our side. They were far enough that they could pretend they weren’t hearing anything, but we all knew they were listening to every word. “Everyone’s a threat to us. We’re always in danger. I’m not moving again. If I’m not safe here, I’m not going to be safe there, either.”

“You’re acting insane,” Clem protested. “When Curtis closed in on us, we moved here. Our safety always comes first. I know it’s not ideal, but?—”

“But nothing,” she said firmly. “I’m not going to run from the dragon king. If he’s going to capture me here, he’s going to capture me there too. I’m done hiding.”

Blair groaned, running a hand through her hair. “It’s not that big of a deal. If you just move until the threat blows over?—"

“It’s a big deal to her,” I said.

All four of them looked at me.

There was gratitude in Avery’s eyes.

“She’s the last of us without a mate,” I said. “She’s alone in a way none of us have ever been. If she says she isn’t willing to move, then she isn’t willing. It’s her life. She gets to risk it if that’s what she wants to do.”

“We’re not just going to let her sit here and risk losing her freedom,” Izzy argued.

“How are you going to stop me?” Avery asked.

Silence followed the question.

“You could have one of your mates abduct me, I guess. Turn me into the werewolf king’s prisoner. Or the fae king’s. Or the monster king’s. Hell, or even the vampire king’s,” she suggested.

We all scoffed at the idea.

“Or you could put me out on the street. Let me find my own way and my own life,” she said, her voice deceptively calm.

“Obviously, we would never do that,” Clementine argued.

Blair held her hands out. “You don’t understand, Avery. If he takes you, our mates have to declare war. If they don’t, they’re telling everyone in Mistwood that sirens are free game. That we’re free game. We could let you risk your life by putting yourself in danger, but they can’t. All of their instincts revolve around our safety.”

Avery looked over her shoulder. “Hale?” she asked, lifting her voice.

He looked at her.

“Is that true?”

There was hesitance in his expression, but he finally dipped his head. “If someone gets away with taking a siren, more people will think they can do it. It’s unfortunate, but it’s the way things always go here.”

Avery bit her lip, then nodded, slowly. She looked back to the pool, staring at the water.

“Okay,” she said quietly. “I’ll move in with the female monsters. We can leave at lunchtime tomorrow. I want tonight to pack my things and wrap my head around it. Alone.”

There was something in her voice and in her eyes that put me on alert. I didn’t bring it up, though. Avery and I weren’t the closest among our sisters, but we had things in common that the rest of them couldn’t understand.

I took care of them physically.

She was always there for them emotionally.

Neither of us ever let anyone take care of us, though. And in her situation, you could be damn sure I wouldn’t have hidden with the female monsters.

“We get it,” Izzy promised, taking Avery’s hand and squeezing it. “Thank you.”

Avery nodded.

The other girls hugged her and thanked her, all of them stepping back to give her some space. I made sure to go last, and murmured in her ear as I hugged her, “What are you doing?”

“I’m never going to run from a man, Zor. He doesn’t deserve the pleasure of chasing me.” Her voice was barely more than a whisper, but she knew that I wouldn’t try to stop her.

“Be careful,” I whispered.

“Please make sure no one starts a war.”

I gave her a small smile. “I love you.”

“Love you too.” Her lips curved softly, but I could see the darkness in her eyes.

She’d escaped one dominant, controlling male. I had to trust that she could escape another.

We all headed out to give her the privacy she’d asked for, and Bane didn’t speak up until we split from the rest of my family.

“We’ll wait and take our vacation after we know she’s alright,” he said.

He didn’t have to say that he’d heard what Avery said to me. With those bat ears, he couldn’t have ignored it if he tried.

“He won’t hurt her, will he?” I asked quietly.

“No. I don’t know what he needs her for, but Talon has a sister. I’ve seen him with her, and he’s a whole different man. He won’t hurt her.”

She was going to be okay.

I had to believe that.