Page 39 of Third Offense

Who ishe?I wondered as I took another bite of my food.

The King nodded and excused himself to take the call, not putting the device to his ear until the door was already halfway closed behind him.

Hmm.I shared a glance with Auric, his interest as piqued as mine.

But our silent conversation was soon derailed by Ketos taking over the discussion on living in the mortal world with Layla.

She giggled at something he said, making my eyes narrow as a servant placed some kind of meat in front of me.

I stabbed it with a knife, purposefully looking at Ketos as I did so.

“Novak,” Layla warned, and I carefully sliced up the meat, sliding a piece into my mouth.

Using the knife. Not the fork.

She rolled her eyes, but I could only behave for so long.

Auric held his knife as if he debated throwing it at Ketos’s face. A sentiment I shared.

Ketos ignored us, resuming his conversation with Layla with an elegance I loathed. However, when I moved to take another bite, a heavy weight rested over my entire body, making it hard to breathe.

My gaze snapped up at the royal asshole, but he didn’t even look at me.

I’m going to kill you,I vowed.I’m going to bleed you dry and drink your blood like wine in one of these damn crystal glasses, wear your entrails as a tie, and break each of your obnoxious feathers one by one until they’re dust.

Layla laughed again, the sound filling me with a mixture of emotions.

My bloodlust cooled upon hearing the delightful sound, but she’d laughed at something Ketos had said again.

When I turned my gaze onto her, I frowned at finding her ripe as a damn cherry while seated across from the suave prince.

Based on the pulsating coming from Auric’s jaw, he was just as ready to commit murder as I was, but he glanced at me and told me to cool it without words.

I knew why. Ketos had already proven to be our match. And he was still doing it with that fucking weight on my shoulders.

Deciding to play him at his own game, I fought the energetic hold and used my knife to stab another piece of meat.

It took effort, but I managed to bring it to my lips.

Which earned me a smirk from the prince as he released me from his hold.

I couldn’t help but feel he was testing me a little.

Not a smart plan,I thought at him.You test me and I’ll test you. And I guarantee you willfailmy test.

“Ah, Ketos is telling you about his Dublin Estate,” Vasilios said as he returned. “It is truly glorious.”

Ketos sipped a glass of wine before responding, “You give me too much credit, my King. Dublin was already an impressive estate before I came along.”

Gaia placed a hand on Layla’s arm. “He’s being humble. He tripled the Dublin estate’s lands, not to mention what I already told you about our estate. Your father and I have managed our financial empire among the humans for many years, but Ketos makes it look easy.” She gave him a warm smile. “Through your gifts, we’ve had a chance to focus on other matters to help save the Noir and bring us back to our former glory.”

The conversation continued, praising Ketos for what a fucking gift he was to Noir kind.

Ketos, Ketos, Ketos.

I fucking hated the name.

Perhaps it was childish on my part and I should be open to Layla taking another mate.