Franco turned, his purple eyes swirling. At seven feet tall, the man held grace in spades. “You look ridiculous.”
Kalin shrugged. “The black paint makes it easier for me to walk among humans.” So he could spend more time with Peggy. Show her that fifteen was old enough for her.
“I wish you’d get your head back in the game.” Franco scowled. “You haven’t even read my brother’s newest report about the chances of turning Virus-27 airborne.”
“Won’t that endanger Kurjan mates?” Kalin yawned again, scratching his belly. Man, he needed more sleep. Sadness filtered through him that he couldn’t mate Peggy. The idea made his groin harden. He dreamt about her ruling with him—once he cured her of that independent streak. He couldn’t mate her, and not just because she wasn’t an enhanced female. Fate held other plans for him. Peggy would make a nice companion on the side.
“Possibly.” Franco shrugged. “Hopefully Erik will come up with an antidote. If not, well, you understand the final plan.”
“Yep. Though I plan on killing Talen Kayrs long before that.” Kalin stretched his neck. “The bastard killed my father. . . and his head is mine.” His father had taken Cara Kayrs, and Talen had retaliated. He wondered if he should hide the fact that he intended to kill Talen from Janie?
“Of course.” Franco turned back toward the silent sea.
“If my father had lived, he’d have passed the reins to me.” Would Kalin need to kill Franco to take his rightful place? Intriguing thought.
“Your father was as ambitious as he was foolhardy. He would not have easily given up ruling.” Franco swirled around, power filling his eyes. “Why is this in your mind? Apparently you just want to screw around with humans and have stopped dedicating yourself to training.”
The smile sliding across Kalin’s lips failed to keep his fangs from dropping. “I’m dedicated, and you know it.” He cocked his head to the side. “You’re correct that ambition ruled my father. To be honest, I’m not sure he’d ever have turned over control.” At some point in time, leadership would’ve come down to a fight to the death.
Franco shrugged. “True. We have many years to plan each other’s deaths, Kalin. At some point, I may want to step down. My immediate plans are a bit more narrow in focus.”
Interesting. “What plans?” Something tickled the base of Kalin’s neck. What motivated Franco if not power?
“Irrelevant.”
No. Knowledge equaled power, a lesson Kalin learned early on. He clicked through facts. “Oh yeah. The Prophet Lily?”
“Don’t you worry about Lily. I’m making plans as we speak.” Franco licked his lips.
Kalin leaned forward in his chair. Wait a minute. “The virus. Please don’t tell me you came up with this whole virus plan to free Lily from her dead mate.” The virus took a vampire mate down to human again ... hopefully ... so she could be remated. Kurjans only got one mate. One living mate, that was.
Franco snorted. “Don’t be silly. Freeing Lily to mate again is a fortunate by-product of the virus. Of course, I made sure the waiter infected her last year.”
The dark flush crossing Franco’s face made Kalin bite back a grin. “Well now. Good luck with her.” She’d lost her mate centuries ago, but had only contracted the virus recently. “How odd the virus actually allows women the chance to leave a mating match. We’re following the humans.” What was next? No-fault divorce laws?
Franco growled. “Mind your own business. I do wish you’d hurry up and desert your current phase. Take off the black lipstick ... and return to killing people.”
Kalin stretched to his feet and sauntered toward the door. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Chapter 18
April in Alaska was like the dead of winter anywhere else in the States. Conn adjusted his earpiece, tugging the bulletproof vest down farther. Bruised clouds hung low, sending spirals of mist to the ground. Even so, majestic pine trees dotted through, providing more cover for the men preparing to strike.
“The plan is solid”—he stomped snow off his boots—“for this unexpected situation.” Jordan Pride, the head of the feline nation, stood next to Conn. Jordan had been staying at headquarters to plan strategy against a couple rogue clans still after the Prophet Caleb because he’d supported his brother when the man married a shifter who’d been betrothed to a demon. Just one of the lame reasons Caleb had been exiled until last year.
Jordan tied thick blond hair back at the nape. “Yes. The demon attack against one of my clans is a surprise move.” His tawny eyes flared hot. “They’re trying to splinter support for the Realm.”
If so, the demons didn’t know Jordan very well. The situation just pissed him off.
Conn eyed Jase. What a fine time to make sure his brother was ready to fight the demons. Fortune was smiling. Well, not for the captured shifters. He turned his attention toward Dage, biting back a growl. “I just finished lecturing my mate and holding you up as an example of a leader who understood staying behind and sacrificing for the greater good.”
Dage loosened the securing straps of several knives along his vest, anticipation flashing bright in his eyes. “That probably backfired.”
“Yes. The woman is on edge, even more than usual.” Instinct whispered across his mind that all hell was about to break loose.
Dage nodded. “The Nine took a preliminary vote last night to withdraw from the Realm. If they do so, their first action will be to put Moira to work.”
Everything in Conn stilled. He’d learned long ago not to question Dage’s inside sources. “She won’t betray us, Dage.”
“So she’ll betray her family?” Dage smacked a clip into a glowing green gun.
“No.” If Conn knew his mate, she’d figure out a way to please them all, possibly getting herself killed in the process. “How preliminary?”
“Probably very, considering another member of the Nine was taken.” Dage rolled his neck. “Keep your head in this game right now, Conn. We’ll deal with the rest later.”
A rumble rolled across the earpiece lines and Talen’s irritated voice belted through. “If you ladies are finished with chat time, do you think we could blow this place to hell?” The demon compound stood set against the Shelton Mountains, more than likely extending deep into the earth.
“The taking of hostages is a new tactic for the demons.” Conn released the safety on his gun. “We can only hope they’re unaware they kidnapped the mate of a pride member away from home.” Upon learning of the raid, the man had immediately zeroed in on his mate’s location. Feline mates could track each other anywhere in the world, as could vampire mates. A fact that had saved Cara and Emma when Talen had tracked Cara after a Kurjan kidnapping.
Dage gave a short nod. “Jase, take the lead.”
Jase had developed a daring and intricate plan on the helicopter ride. He clicked on. “Conn, set the charges. Talen, head to the west side behind him.” Grabbing his gun, he nodded to his team of three, which included the king. “The front door is ours.”
Conn hefted the bag of C-4 and ran through the night, dodging branches and creating a new path. He’d wanted to flank Jase, but maybe it was time to let the youngest brother stand on his own.
One demon guard stood in Conn’s way. With a strong arm around the neck, he snapped hard and tossed the body to the ground. A broken neck wouldn’t kill the guy, but it would take some time to mend. Three more bodies littered the forest floor by the time Conn reached the side of the metal building. The final one managed to give a strangled cry into his communicator before losing his head. That soldier wouldn’t recover.