Chapter 30

DOE

Belle’s gaze swerved to mine. It was clear she didn’t know how to respond. And she seemed as dumbfounded as I was that he’d noticed the effect of her magic.

Kyle stopped chewing, his brows raising. “Oh, you are ~so~ up to something.”

“No, I’m not. I’m not up to anything.” Belle did not sound as nonchalant as she was probably hoping.

I pushed my chair away from the table. “Maybe I should go back to my room,” I suggested.

“No, Doe, stay,” Belle told me. “Kyle can go.”

Kyle laughed. “First of all, rude. Second of all, I’m not going anywhere. This is the most fun I’ve had all day.”

He looked between the two of us. “Does this tiny human—at least I ~think~ she’s human—have something to do with why you’ve spent the whole day avoiding your moping mate? Emphasis on ~moping~.”

Belle hesitated. “Well, I…I—”

“You know that he canceled the pack meeting tonight because he found out you weren’t going to be there, right?”

“What?” Belle’s spine went straight. “He ~canceled~ it?”

Kyle grabbed another chunk of ham. “He said he wouldn’t go another minute without seeing you. Kind of dramatic, that one.”

“Wait, if he’s not at the meeting, does that mean he’s looking for me?” Belle asked.

Kyle shrugged. “Last I heard, he was on his way to Minnie’s apartment. You know, because that’s where you said you were going to be?

“But since you’re ~not~ there, I would say you’ve got approximately”—he looked down at the nonexistent watch on his wrist—“sixty seconds before he starts tearing the palace apart looking for you.”

“Shit,” Belle swore as she jumped to her feet. “Shit, shit, shit.”

I stood too. “I should go back to my room now, right?”

Belle nodded. “Yeah, I think that might be for the best.”

Kyle grabbed a plate and casually scooped a mountain of potato salad onto it. “Too late.”

The room shook under the tremor of a violent, rabid growl.

I crouched in fear. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, and before I could stop it, a strange, high-pitched sound emerged from deep within my chest.

At the sound of my whimper, Kyle’s body seized, and his wide eyes zeroed in on me. “How did you make that noise?”

I stepped back and noticed Kyle tracking the movement. His interest in me was much more intense than before. It was incredibly unnerving.

“What noise?” I squeaked.

“That whining noise.”

I frowned. I wouldn’t have called it a whine. I wasn’t a petulant child throwing a tantrum.

Belle was unaware of Kyle’s and my strange interaction. She’d run to the door and was checking the hallway for signs of her mate before turning back to me and gesturing me forward.

“Come on, Doe. If we hurry, I can get you back to your room before Grayson finds me.”

I took one step, only for Kyle to stop me with his deep voice.

“I already mind-linked him and told him where you are.”

Belle froze. “You what? Why the hell would you do that?”

Kyle raised an eyebrow. “Because you have a fucking ~omega~ with you and obviously don’t understand the significance of that. If you did, you wouldn’t be trying to hide her from your damn mate.”

He shrugged and brought a forkful of potato salad to his mouth. “Plus, I like drama.”

My heart dropped. Belle’s face went slack.

Rapid, heavy footsteps made their way down the hall.

Belle swore under her breath. She pointed menacingly at Kyle. “I am ~so~ getting you back for this.”

Kyle flashed her a charming grin. “I’m looking forward to it.”

A large body appeared behind Belle in the doorway. I didn’t get the chance to process what was happening before the man had Belle in his arms and pressed against the wall.

Belle yelped in surprise but was quickly silenced by the man slamming his lips down on hers in a deep kiss.

After an age, he pulled back and growled, “You have no fucking clue how much I missed you today. Fuck—~Fuck,~” he groaned against her lips.

He gripped her hips like he was afraid she was going to disappear—which, to be fair, was something she had proven she could do—and helped guide her legs around his waist.

I could only assume this was her mate. At least, I hoped he was. Grayson Stoll. The most powerful alpha in the world and the king of the supernatural.

And I thought ~Kyle~ was the biggest man I had ever seen. He didn’t hold a candle to the monster that was Grayson.

Belle gasped, obviously not expecting to be so abruptly manhandled, but as Grayson continued to kiss her, she melted against him, completely giving in to the mate bond.

She moaned against his mouth and slid her fingers into his thick brown hair, tugging him closer to her.

~Um…okay then.~

Not knowing what to do, I nervously glanced at Kyle. He was watching the couple in front of us with a bored look on his face while he scooped potato salad into his mouth with a fork.

I had the feeling this was something he was forced to witness often.

When he noticed my eyes on him, Kyle pointed at his open mouth and made a gagging noise, shaking his head at the couple as if he were saying, “Get a load of these two, huh?”

I would’ve smiled if I weren’t so intimidated by the giant men on either side of me.

My gaze slowly slid to the open door. ~Could I make a run for it?~

Still kissing her mate, Belle’s eyes found mine over Grayson’s massive shoulder. That seemed to snap her out of whatever trance he had her under.

She gasped and pushed at Grayson’s shoulders. “Grayson,” she mumbled after tearing her lips from his. “Grayson, we have company.”

Grayson growled and started kissing along her chin. “Kyle is irrelevant.”

Kyle gasped dramatically. “Not very nice.”

Belle’s jaw tightened. “I’m not talking about Kyle.”

Grayson finally leaned back. He dragged his eyes around the room until they landed on me behind him. “Oh. Hello.” He frowned as he studied me. “Sorry. I didn’t see you.”

“What do you mean you didn’t see her?” Belle asked, pushing him another step away from her. “She was standing right there the whole time!”

“It’s true,” Kyle said with a rise of his fork.

Grayson shrugged. “Only got eyes for my mate, I suppose.” He grinned at Belle and stepped back between her open thighs, running his hands up and down her legs.

Suddenly, Grayson’s head shot up, his nostrils flaring as he sniffed the air. His gaze flew back to me. “You don’t have a scent.” He looked at Kyle. “Can you smell her?”

“Nope,” Kyle said around a mouthful of food.

A line flexed in Grayson’s hard jaw, and he peered at me through darkening green irises. “Why can’t I smell you?” he asked me.

The blood drained from my face. I gulped and stumbled back a few steps.

I wasn’t sure why I was so intimidated by Grayson—and Kyle too. Belle didn’t seem affected by these powerful men, so why did I feel like I was about to piss myself? I swallowed a whimper of distress.

Belle cleared her throat, mercifully stealing everyone’s attention from me. I let out a silent breath of relief. She picked at the fabric of Grayson’s shirt while avoiding his gaze.

Grayson’s eyes narrowed on his mate. “Belle,” he started carefully, “why can’t I smell her?”

Belle shrugged and lifted her palms in feigned innocence, her smile sheepish. “New fairy power?”

Grayson groaned and dropped his head onto her shoulder. “For fuck’s sake, Belle. Masking someone’s scent is against werewolf law! That’s how we identify people around here.”

“Good thing I’m queen then,” Belle chirped, innocently kicking her legs. She rubbed Grayson’s neck and winked at me, obviously trying to communicate that she had the situation under control.

I wasn’t sure I believed her.

“A corrupt ruler. I dig it,” Kyle said.

Grayson squeezed Belle’s hips. “That’s not how it works, and you know it.”

He let out a long sigh. “All right, well, are you going to introduce me to your little friend? And maybe explain why you felt the need to keep her from me?”

They all looked at me, and I found myself wishing they would go back to talking about me as if I weren’t there.

There was something about having Grayson’s eyes on me, in particular, that made me feel especially nauseous. My pulse rapped urgently in my throat, and my palms started to sweat.

I wasn’t used to feeling so intimidated. Sure, I didn’t necessarily love being around strange men, but what woman did? Then again, I usually had Ace at my side, making me feel safe and protected.

Maybe it was because Grayson was an alpha? And Kyle, I presumed, must have been his beta.

That’s when it hit me—it was the stupid omega in me.

I had read about omegas being submissive toward and fearful of more dominant and powerful males. It was a survival instinct. Alphas were strong and temperamental. Submitting to them meant living.

“Hold on.” Grayson’s tone was just as stern as he continued to inspect me. “You’re an omega. Are you…? Are you Dorothy Kennicott?”

“Holy fucking shit,” Kyle muttered, looking at me with huge eyes.

I took a hesitant step backward. “Um…”

Belle put her hands on her mate’s shoulders, digging her thumbs into his stiff muscles. “Don’t get mad. Please.”

Grayson gave her a dumbfounded look. “Don’t get mad? Don’t get mad?! Do you realize who you were having dinner with?”

Belle chewed her bottom lip. “Uh…Dorothy Kennicott?”

“And do you have any idea who Dorothy Kennicott is?”

“Well, I only met her a few hours ago—”

“Dorothy Kennicott is the ~missing~ mate of Ace Stoll, one of the most powerful alphas in the country—and my ~cousin~. I truly hope you’re not ~helping~ my cousin’s mate hide from him.”

Belle winced. “Okay, but you should hear what he did to her—”

“I don’t care what happened between them. There is a very powerful alpha out there who doesn’t know where his mate is. Do you know how dangerous that is?”

“Pfft, ~I~ went missing and you were fine. Ace can just hold his horses—”

Grayson snarled and slammed Belle’s body against his. “I was ~not~ fine. I was the furthest thing from fucking fine. And neither is Ace. They’ve had to detain him.”

“What?” I asked, quickly approaching him. “Detain him? What does that mean?”

I tried not to quiver under the aura of dominance that surrounded Grayson.

“It means he’s about to lose his fucking mind and he’s turning violent. Because you, his mate and the love of his life, are missing.”

~Turning violent?~ “Is he okay? Is the pack okay?” My hand automatically reached for the bracelet at my wrist, ready to rip it off so I could reach through the bond to check on my mate.

“The pack is fine, as far as I’ve heard. Your stepfather is taking care of things.

“Your mate, however… He’s been given tranquilizers to keep his wolf from completely taking over. He was on the brink of going feral.”

Fear climbed up my throat and threatened to choke me. “What does that mean, going feral? Like, his human side is completely taken over by his wolf?”

“Exactly. It essentially means the death of your mate’s human side.”