Page 36 of Seared Fates

“And I’ll be there,” Rurik adds.

I tamp down the sudden urge to bare my fangs at my second youngest.

“Vidar?” Apollo calls my name, mischievous laughter in his voice, and I have to drag my gaze away from Kai to the little vampire’s sparkling eyes. Never a good sign. “You’re getting a vibe that something went on between them because—”

“Well, this isn’t going to go well,” Luc sighs.

“—they fucked.”

Rage engulfs me so quickly it’s like I’m made from paper, burning away all sense until I’m only flames.

“I don’t wanna go through another fucking window,” Rurik grumbles.

“Mate!” Kai shouts at Apollo.

Apollo flips up two fingers, smirking. “Twice.”

I bare my fangs, ready to lunge—only to get hit in the face with a cushion, Kai now standing in front of me, his stern glare stopping me more effectively than any weapon.

“Oi, fucking chill out,” Kai demands with such strength that I have no other option than to listen. “First, Apollo, you're my friend, and Rurik is your soulmate—”

“Prove it,” Apollo grumbles stubbornly.

“But what happened between us is actually none of your fucking business. And second, Vidar, it ain’t yours either.”

“He touched you!” I seethe.

“Yeah, plenty of people have, I can be kinda slutty. Just like I’m betting literally thousands of women have touched you. So build a bloody bridge and get over it.” Kai crosses his arms. “Alright,bestie?”

“Annoying,” I growl, wrapping my arm around Kai’s middle to tug him flush against me before I can think better of it. I suck down lungfuls of his lavender scent while shooting daggers at Rurik over Kai’s braided head. Rurik looking at me like he’s out of patience.

“You’re so clingy,” Kai complains, but stays put.

“I’m Kai’s third-best friend, by the way,” Apollo says, grinning wide.

“Right now you're a dickhead,” Kai counters.

“I’ll keep Kai safe; everyone else will hunt down Emma,” I order, my senses full of lavender, pencil shavings, and something else. Something I can’t quite name. My fist twists in the back of his shirt. Maybe if I hold him closer, I’ll figure it out.

“Safe how?” Kai asks, looking up at me, his hands taking hold of my forearms, and for a moment I’m lost in something thatfeels like a memory yet hasn’t happened—Kai on his back, head thrown back, mouth open, the sounds he’d make as he clings to my arms while I push deeper… and deeper…

Molten-hot heat floods my veins, rushing straight to my cock. I swallow, trying to wet my suddenly dry throat before I can answer. “I’ll come to work with you.” I leave no room for arguments.

“Great, another bloody vampire hanging around,” Apollo complains.

“Dude,you'rea vampire,” Golden says, and Apollo waves it off as if that’s irrelevant.

“Well, I won’t fight you on it, Emma was…” Kai shudders. “I don’t wanna ever deal with that shit alone again.”

“Good.” I lean down, my lips so close to his ear, my mouth salivates for a chance to taste the salt on his skin. “Am I at least your fourth-best friend?”

Kai tilts his head to the side, thinking. “Maybe sixth.”

I huff an angry breath through my nose, but at the sound of Kai’s full-body laugh, my lips twitch upward—and in that moment, I vow to beat back every opponent.

I will become Kai’s best friend.

Chapter fifteen