Page 224 of The Queen’s Shadow

I wasn’t blind, I could tell Rycon was obviously attracted to me, and until he got what he wanted, he would probably continue to act jealous and possessive. I had seen this type of behaviour before, but it never lasted. I was only as good as the first fuck, then guys like him usually got bored and moved on.

I had hope though, that if we ever did hook up, he would still want to be friends after. He had been so kind to me in the bathroom when I had started spiralling. I hadn’t expected him to be so understanding about something that made me feel so vulnerable and alone. I could still use a friend like that, even if he didn’t want anything more.

Rycon reappered a few moments later with a plate of food and my stomach growled. I realized I should have grabbed some for myself before I left the serving table. I moved to get up to grab myself a serving when Rycon plopped his plate on my lap and handed me a fork.

“You guys did way better with the marinade than those fuckers last week.” He said, using his own fork to steal a bit off my plate. Well, I guess our plate. “Way less dry.”

“Such a critic.” Koda laughed, shaking his head.

“Hey, if they don’t want to be criticized, maybe they should suck less.” Rycon responded mildly, popping a tiny tomato into his mouth with a smirk.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the prodigal son returned to claim the throne.”

I glanced up from my meal to see two striking shifters approaching. They both had flawless, ebony skin, and wore vibrant, patterned clothing. The male was tall, muscular and had a shaved head. The female, who was clearly his mate, was elegant and had a tight perfect afro. They each had a regality about them that just screamed royalty, and I found myself wondering if I should bow.

I was still contemplating whether or not it would be appropriate to give them maybe just a little bow when Koda slid the plate off my lap and Rycon pulled me to my feet.

“Yeah, yeah. Claimed that shit weeks ago, where’ve you been?” Rycon drawled and I slapped him on the shoulder.

“Rycon! Don’t be rude.” I snapped, feeling like we shouldn’t be so informal with these two for some reason. The female raised her eyebrows at me and smiled.

“I like this one.” She purred and I suddenly got serious ‘lioness’ vibes from her.

“Yeah, get in line. So does everyone. Kasha, this is Queen Neema, she runs the Tanzanian pride with King Kafil.” He said, gesturing to the male next to her.

“Woah. I never thought I would have the honor of meeting a lion shifter. Especially not the King and Queen!” I exclaimed excitedly, unable to keep the awe out of my voice. There were tons of fairytale stories for daemon children that involved lion shifters in The Dominion. There was just something so powerful and romantic about them. I moved to dip forward into a bow when Rycon slammed his arm across my chest, preventing me from completing the movement. I glanced at him, confused.

“You don’t bow to them.” He growled, and I frowned, not understanding.

Neema and Kafil exchanged an amused look, both of them looking as surprised as I was at Rycon’s strange reaction.

“This is Kasha,” he bit out, glaring at me still, though I had no idea why. “She’s my… she’s, my guest.” He said, and again the lion shifters exchanged a look. Kafil’s nostrils flared and his eyebrows rose.

“She bears your mark.”

“Fucken right she does, so paws off.” Rycon snapped and I slapped him in the shoulder again.

“Rycon!” I hissed, mortified. “Can you stop swearing in front of The Origin-damned King and Queen? It’s humiliating.”

Without warning he snatched my face by the chin and rested his forehead against mine, our lips so close they were nearly brushing against each other.

“I’m the fucking King, Kasha. And I’ll do whatever the fuck I want.” He growled and origin spare me… my ovaries definitely twitched. I swallowed, but yanked my face out of his hand, painting a defiant scowl on my face.

“Got it. You’re the King. The King of Douchebags.”

He narrowed his eyes at me, but Neema let out a mellifluous laugh.

“I really like her.” She purred, her dark eyes shining as she stroked her mate’s arm affectionately. He chuckled and dipped his head in our direction.

“We look forward to getting to know you better, Kasha.” He said, his voice deep and full of power. “However, for now, we take our leave. We have come a long way to be here, and my mate is hungry.”

Neema laughed again. “You are the hungry one my love. I had the foresight to hunt on the way.”

Kafil smiled at her as he led her away. “It is not my fault you did not deign to share.” He purred.

“Arrogant pricks.” Rycon snorted and I frowned at him.

“I thought they were lovely, what’s your problem?” I snapped and Aiden laughed from where he still sat behind me.