Chapter 17: Pillow Talk

KOL

I was red with rage. The reporter was a member of my pack, a traitor.

I understood completely the need to get a story out there. It would have been a good story that their beloved alpha had found a mate, yes, but she wasn’t just anyone.

She was a princess. The king’s daughter. ~Fucking royalty.~

I stopped my pacing and looked at her. She just sat on her bed, calmly watching me, a look of amusement in her eyes.

“~What are you looking at~?” I spat at her. I instantly regretted it, but I was on a rampage, my testosterone too high. I was a wolf who had had his pride wounded.

A wolf whose wife had been plastered all over every media outlet that belonged to a pack. Her most intimate parts of herself, saved only for me, her husband. Her mate.

I huffed with rage, doing another lap of the room. “~What~?” I growled again. She didn’t get angry or scream or shout at me. Instead, she just sat there, waiting.

Now that our home had been deemed unsafe, her father had—well, I would say ~insisted~, but let’s face it, he demanded that we stay here until this blew over.

I couldn’t just stay here, though; I had to do something. Raphael was right; examples had to be made.

Then I remembered something. Without another word to Gia, I simply pecked her on the cheek lightly and headed for the door.

She looked confused but didn’t question me. I guessed deep down, she knew what this meant. I paused at the door and looked back at her.

She just looked back at me. “I love you, Kol,” she said. “No matter what.”

My eyes hit the floor. “I love you too.” And with that, I closed the door behind me.

I walked down the hall and stopped, realizing—

~Shit.~

~Fuuuuck.~

~Which room?~

“His room is three doors down to the right.” I turned to see one of the twins coming out of a room, which one, though, I had no idea. They looked identical to me.

“Thanks,” I grunted and stomped down the hall.

I came to a stop outside the door and knocked. It opened on the second knock, and there he stood. Diego.

The guy hated my guts. He’d made that perfectly clear from day one, but if I was to do what I was about to do, then I needed the king’s best soldier to do it.

Diego had terrorized every wolf in this city to protect his sister on his father’s orders, and I needed him to do it again, but this time I needed him to do it with me.

He stared at me. “What do you want?” he grunted at me. I swallowed down my ever-building rage long enough to spit out what I needed to say to him.

“Diego, I need your help.”

GIANNA

I woke with a start when I heard my bedroom door open. I checked the time. It was 4 a.m.

I lay still and pretended I was asleep, but Kol didn’t come to bed. Instead, he headed straight for the bathroom. I slid out of bed quietly and followed him. I heard the shower turn on.

~What the fuck?~

I opened the door and gasped, my eyes wide with shock. There he stood in my pristine white marble bathroom, his blue shirt soaked with blood.

“~What happened~?” I managed to choke out.

He looked up at me, his hazel eyes emotionless and empty.

“I took care of it.”

I choked down the lump building in my throat and nodded, reaching for some towels. I stepped forward and checked that the water was warm in the shower. Perfect.

I turned and undressed him and led him to the shower.

“Are you hurt?” I asked him, pushing him into it gently.

“No.”

I nodded. ~Good~, I thought.

“Did Diego go with you?”

“Yes.”

“Is he hurt?”

“No.”

Again I nodded, going through the motions. I’d seen Diego come home covered in blood enough times to know what had happened.

I wasn’t stupid. I knew what “took care of it” meant. I’d patched Diego back together enough times.

I wandered back to the bed and sat there, waiting for him to come out of the bathroom and join me. When he did, he just lay there, not facing me.

“Look at me.”

He turned around slowly so I lay down to face him, our noses practically touching. We were that close, but it wasn’t sexual. It was intimate and affectionate.

“Thank you.”

He nodded and wrapped an arm around me. “I’d do anything for you, Gia.”

“Have you ever killed anyone before?” He tensed at my question and looked away. It was a stupid question. ~He’s an alpha; of course he’s killed.~

“Never for a woman,” he replied, staring at the ceiling now. I couldn’t help but feel a bit flattered, if I’m being honest.

I rolled closer to him and lifted myself up so I was looking into his eyes again. His gaze met mine slowly.

“My father is a king; my brother is a savage beast but also Father’s best soldier. You are not the first man to walk through those front doors covered in blood protecting someone you love.

“There will never be judgement here, and nothing you will ever do will stop me from loving you.” His expression softened, and he looked back at me.

“I do love you, Gia, really.” His fingers stroked my arm absentmindedly.

I kissed his lips gently. “And I love you.”

He pulled me close into a cuddle. What he needed tonight was comfort and warmth. Sex he would get in the morning.

“Kol?”

“Mmm?”

I grinned up at him sheepishly; he looked curious.

“You’re one of us now.”

A smile appeared on his lips, and his eyes closed as he drifted off to sleep. I couldn’t help but feel a bit proud of him as I fell asleep moments later.