Page 35 of Third Offense

CHAPTERNINE

NOVAK

I’d votedto stay in the room and go straight to dessert.

Alas, Layla needed food.

And I wasn’t about to starve my mate.

I could also go for a meal. It would help with strength, something I suspected we would be needing soon.

Especially with thatprincewandering around.

The fragrant aroma of garlic and onion preceded our arrival in the dining hall.

I inhaled deeply, my stomach rumbling in approval. Both from the fresh scent of food, and from the lingering taste of Layla on my tongue.

I love you, she’d said. Three words I never expected to hear, nor ever wanted to hear. However, hearing them in Layla’s voice had awakened a part of me I didn’t know existed. A part of me that craved that sentiment and shared it in kind.

Because I loved her, too.

So fucking much that it hurt.

It left me feeling vulnerable, a sensation I did not appreciate. But sensing her essence on my skin satisfied some of my more possessive urges—like the one that demanded I kill Ketos for being compatible withmymate. Knowing he was powerful didn’t help matters because that also made him a threat. And I did not like threats.

However, I needed more strength if I intended to fight him again. Being taken down by his manipulative energy caused me to be even more uncertain about our surroundings.

Because I shouldn’t have been that easy to beat.

I’d beenweak.From the elixir?I wondered again, flexing my wings.Or something else? Hunger, perhaps?

My stomach growled again, lending credence to the thought. It felt as though I hadn’t eaten in years, which was more realistically a day since our last meal had been in Buenos Aires the night before.

Well, with the time change, I suppose that made it more than a day,I mused. Except it feels like a lot longer than a day.

My brow furrowed as I tried to calculate the number of hours that passed on the plane ride here. I’d been awake and alert throughout the flight. And Auric had as well. Yet I questioned whether or not that was true. Because somehow we’d gone from night to day time in what had felt like a blink of an eye.

Perhaps as a result of the globe spinning with our flight? Turning night to day faster than anticipated?

Controlled flying had never appealed to me, which explained a lot of my disorientation.

But fuck, I was starving. It felt like a week had passed, not a mere day.

Perhaps it was a result of the travel prior to reaching Kyril’s contacts.

Or maybe the scent of fresh food jolted my hunger into overdrive.

Swallowing, I quieted my urges and focused on our surroundings, taking note of the abundance of Noir in the room.

Only a handful of them sat at the table. Layla’s father took over the head position with Gaia beside him. And Ketos sat on his opposite side, the pompous ass smiling benignly as though he hadn’t pinned me to the earth beneath his power only hours ago.

His wave of energy had left me extremely unsettled. No one should be that powerful. Except I sensed a similar air to Vasilios.

Gods, I thought.They’re descendants of the Gods..

Which was mind-blowing, indeed.

Layla moved to the open space beside her mother. Auric sat beside her, leaving me the end seat in this row with Kyril at the opposite head. Zian seated himself across from me, then Raven took the chair next to him, and Sorin placed himself between Raven and Ketos.