Page 5

King

Mate, Beast chided.

Wet mate, I whispered back with an internal laugh.

Flinging Marinah into the pool satisfied something inside me that had been missing these past days. The sheer joy of her sputtering indignation brought a rare moment of lightness. Unfortunately, I had all of two seconds to enjoy it before I was attacked from behind.

Claws sank into my back and wrapped around my face, aiming for my eyes. A three-hundred-pound mountain lion, or at least that’s what it felt like, was out for my blood. By the time Marinah broke the surface of the water, coughing and spitting, I was in the fight of my life.

The noise coming from my throat wasn’t Warrior-like in the slightest. A claw raked across my forehead, and teeth latched onto the side of my face.

“If you hurt Callie, you’re a dead man!” Marinah shouted between choking coughs as she expelled pool water from her lungs.

“She’s the devil!” I shouted back, my voice strained and pitched higher than I cared to think about as I tried to save my left eye from being gouged out, or worse, eaten. The hellcat clung to my head like a furry vise, wiry body somehow carrying the strength of a feral beast. She probably weighed no more than three pounds. Where did this demon creature come from?

Callie hissed, a sound that could curdle blood, just as Marinah surged forward to rescue me. Or maybe she was rescuing the cat from me before I lost my patience and used my fangs to end her reign of terror. As Marinah peeled the feline off my face, I gingerly touched my forehead, checking for damage. That’s when a heavy kick hit me in the back of the knees, and Marinah threw her weight against my shoulders, sending me into the pool with an unceremonious splash.

By the time I surfaced, sputtering and thoroughly drenched, my mate and her ferocious furball had vanished.

A gruff laugh rumbled from my throat. Maybe, just maybe, this little scene would bring whatever was bothering Marinah to the surface. The entire citadel had been walking on eggshells while she stormed through the halls in those ridiculous boots, yelling at everyone like a queen at war with her kingdom.

I knew this was all new to her. I also knew she didn’t want the alpha title, not until the moment quick action was needed, and she slipped effortlessly into Queen mode. It came as naturally to her as breathing, and still, she fought it every step of the way.

I rubbed at my face, feeling the faint sting of Callie’s scratches. Maybe the day wasn’t a total loss. If nothing else, I’d earned a little leverage against Marinah. After all, who could resist teasing their mate when her demon cat made you look like you’d lost a fight with a hedgehog?

With a small grunt, I realized I was turned on and needed the cold water. My loud laughter echoed off the walls, and I felt better. Too bad my handsome face was forever damaged by that hellcat.