Page 223 of The Queen’s Shadow

Aiden snorted. “Yeah, so much space that you were able to suck on her fucking neck.” He laughed and I shot him a glare.

“Fuck you, douchebag.”

“Are you offering?” He smirked and I flipped him off, flopping down on one of the benches, staring into the pyre.

“You’d probably like it too much.” I snapped and he laughed. He strolled over and slouched down next to me, tossing his arm over my shoulder, and pulling me in to rub his fist aggressively in my hair. I shoved him off me, scowling, but he just grinned.

“Listen, I dont really give a shit if you wanna mate with a daemon. I’m just telling you, a lass like that isn’t going to be okay with you calling all the shots and making decisions for her. Trust me, I’ve been there.”

“Oh yeah? Who did you sleep with for long enough that you had an argument over who got to wear the pants?” I asked, and to my surprise, Aiden pursed his lips.

Interesting. Maybe I wasn’t the only one who had grown out of fucking everything that walked.

“We’re not talking about me, are we?” He asked, shooting me a sly smirk.

“I guess not.” I responded. We fell into an amicable silence and Aiden lit up another smoke. He took a drag before passing it over to me.

“What are you going to do when Anaya gets here?” He asked quietly, and I sighed.

“Fuck man. I don’t know. I was hoping to just keep them separated.”

Aiden laughed and shook his head. “You really are a fucking idiot. You know that’s not going to happen.” He tossed a look over his shoulder at Kasha, who was happily chatting away with a young panther cub, showing them how to peel a potato.

“Anaya is going to get one whiff of your scent on her and go straight for the throat.” He warned and I sighed.

“I know.” I said, suddenly wishing Kasha was still in her I don’t want to leave the house phase.

Aiden snatched the smoke back out of my hand and gave me a considering look.

“If I were you, I would talk to your girl before the viper gets here. You know Anaya’s going to play dirty.”

I sighed again, dropping my head into my hands. I knew he was right, but it was too fucking soon. I didn’t know what to say to her, or how to even bring it up. There was no way she was ready yet. What was I supposed to do? Walk up to her and say: Hey, so I know we just met a few months ago and you recently went through a horrifying and traumatic experience, but we’re mates. Hope you’re okay with that. We’re together now and I’ll never allow you to look at, touch or sleep with another male again.

Yeah. That would go over fucking great. She would run for the hills, and I would have to chase her down and then nothing would get done in regards to recruiting muscle for Raven’s war.

It was better to just ride this out until we were back at court. I could tell her then.

“Not yet.” I said out loud. “I’ll just have to deal with Anaya when she gets here and make sure she stays in her lane.”

“Good luck with that.” Aiden smirked, and I almost punched him in the face for the second time that day.

Kasha

Dinner was in full swing by the time the rest of the representatives started arriving. The sun had started to go down and the entire community was bustling with life. Families with young children had come out of their tree homes to gather around the pyre and pile their plates high with roasted boar and vegetables. The evening air was filled with friendly chatter and laughter. I was helping Rhyalla plate servings of food when my scalp prickled and Rycon appeared to tug me away.

“Come on, I want you to meet some people.” He said, grinning at me. I smiled back.

“What are you smirking at?” I asked, allowing him to pull me away from the long serving table and up to the Pyre where Aiden and Koda were eating.

“You, duh.” He winked and I laughed, shaking my head. Sometimes even I could admit that he could be sweet. He wasn’t always a douchebag, no matter what he wanted the world to believe. Lately, he had been showing me more and more of a softer side of him that I hadn’t known existed.

I chalked it up to him being in his natural environment and surrounded by his own kind. I was sure when we returned to Pride he would go back to his usual dickish self, but for now I was going to enjoy this softer version of him while I could.

“Food’s great, good work, lass.” Aiden grinned at me as I approached.

“It was all Rhyalla, I just followed her instructions.” I said with a grin. I noticed Rycon didn’t freak out this time when I went to sit next to the wolf shifter. I assumed that had something to do with that marking thing I had let him do to me. He’d actually been more relaxed than I had seen him in days, but it must have to do with more than just marking me. I couldn’t believe that his entire mood was that dependent on something that had to do with me.

“Be right back,” Rycon said, before dropping a kiss on my head and disappearing into the crowd. I felt myself flush as Aiden raised an eyebrow at his friend before shooting me a mischievous grin.