Page 37

Brayden

Because it has to end with the vampire who started it all

A ri grabbed the wall of the operations room and glanced around as if he’d just teleported in and was shocked to see them all.

“You okay?” Brayden asked.

“Get your fucking feet off the desks when the king is in the room.” Craig whacked at Ben’s sneakers.

“That’s not even a rule.” Ben went to lift his feet again and next minute the two vampires were in a tumble.

Brayden rolled his eyes.

“Sorry, Your Majesty, I normally have these assholes under much better control.” Brayden grinned at his uncle.

Ari blinked.

Jesus. Was he ill?

“Seriously, you okay, Ari?” He took a step closer. “Should I call Sage?”

The king’s mouth opened. “Sage.”

Wow. He was spacing out.

“Your—”

“Queen.” Ari said, blinking, and it was as if the fog disappeared. “Sage, my queen.”

“Ah, yes, unless you have another one hidden away, then that’s the queen, I mean. Sage.” Brayden laughed.

A smile formed on Ari’s lips, and he took note to tell the queen, who was also a talented scientist, to take a look at him later.

Kurt and Marcus tried to lift Craig off Ben.

“Quit it!” Bray yelled at them, and Craig gave him a dirty look while climbing to his feet.

Ari walked up beside him. “And stop calling me Your Majesty.”

“Wondered when you were going to react. Talk about delayed reaction. You hit your head or something?” Brayden laughed.

Ari might be the king, but he hated being referred to that unless they were in a formal setting.

“Something like that. Where is your brother?”

“Vincent is probably crunching numbers and talking politics in his office, just like every day. He is your adviser, so unless he’s become a soldier, I doubt he’s in the training room,” Brayden replied.

“Alright, everyone, settle down. The king only has twenty minutes, so we need to get this presentation underway.”

“Still want me to present the wolf section?” Mack asked.

He nodded to the hybrid. “Given you and Callan are leading it, yes.”

“Gotcha.”

After the team had killed Nikolay in his home, they’d learned he was planning to go to Moscow to meet with the president. God only knew what kind of shit show that could’ve caused if he had.

Thankfully, Ari had given the go ahead to destroy the human before that happened.

Over the past twelve months, a lot of work had gone into human and vampire relations. They now resided in the Italian Moretti castle and the king was in regular contact with world leaders, ensuring humans were educated about their race.

Not that they could identify them all that easily.

“Close the blinds so we can see the screen.” Craig called out to Marcus, and the vampire darted across the room, pulling down the roller blind.

“Let’s do this. I’m taking Ella to the beach this afternoon, and she’ll shoot me if I am late.” Mack crossed his arms. “Again.”

“Lucky you won’t die then, I guess.” Logan, who had his huge arms crossed, bumped the guy’s shoulder. “And by the way, it’s a double date. Brooklyn and I are also invited.”

“Says who?”

“Our mates. Who, let’s face it, are the bosses.”

All the males in the room nodded and chuckled.

The beach. That sounded like a great idea. Brayden connected with Willow.

Hey sexy, how about we take the girls to the beach tomorrow?

Fine, but you’re rinsing all the sand from their toes.

Brayden loved spending time with his little princesses. Three females in the house was not how he saw his life going, but in a way, it balanced out all the testosterone from his work life.

Also, I love you.

This time, Bray grinned. How did he get so fucking lucky? A beautiful mate, healthy family and their race now working alongside humans to coexist. It was unthinkable centuries ago.

But they were doing it.

Life had been touch-and-go for a while for the vampire race, after being exposed. Now, with BioZen’s research completely destroyed—including the serum—and Ari’s leadership, they’d hunted down and killed every single person who knew anything.

It was ruthless, but necessary.

The king hadn’t missed a beat. Even Craig had side-eyed him a few times, but Ari was clear; eliminate any and all threats.

“No life is worth more than the collective.”

That was the king’s mantra. One they all lived by.

The door opened, and the queen walked in.

“We’re coming to listen,” Sage said, carrying the heir in her arms. “Hope that’s okay.”

“Gah!” Little Gio cried, his lungs more powerful than any of the warriors in this room.

And that was saying something.

Ari crossed the space between them without hesitation and kissed Sage, then his son’s head. “Hello, my little prince.” Then the king tucked his queen and prince under his arm and nodded to Brayden. “Let’s begin.”

Brayden nodded at Tom. “Power it up, big guy.”

He stared around the room at all the warriors and knew they were in good hands. All of them were powerful, strong males who would protect the race no matter what was thrown at them.

With a growing team and more warriors wanting to join the king’s army in record numbers, they would ensure the race thrived for many years.

“Just for the record, I recommended we double the weaponry budget in this proposal.” Craig lifted a single shoulder as he chewed on a pen. “But apparently I’m being”—he used both hands to do air-quotes—“dramatic.”

Brayden rolled his eyes.

Here we bloody go.

“Let me translate. Craig wants more shit to blow up.”

“Always.” Craig grinned, and Bray couldn’t help it, he grinned back.

Life was good.

Brayden walked over and leaned against the wall next to his best friend and let the SLCs and wolves present their new strategy to King Ari. One that would take them into the next few decades, protecting them from known and unknown threats.

Brayden glanced at his uncle, and the two shared a knowing look. Something was different...and yet the same. He wasn’t sure exactly what, but a sense of rightness pulsed through his veins.

The power of the Moretti blood was strong.

That was all that mattered.