As he faced his sire, the Blind King’s wraparounds were orientated straight ahead, those carved arms overflowing the chair, the legs splaying out, the shitkickers making him look like he was prepared to stomp out any disagreement by anyone about anything.
“I fucked off Shuli last night.” L.W. crossed his arms over his chest. “We were in the field and he wanted to divert to a club.”
“So I hear. To check on Lyric.”
“She was fine. It was a waste of time. But I don’t want him getting into trouble. I didn’t give him a choice.”
Those slashing black brows dropped below the shades. “How so.”
“I ghosted him. And then I turned off my phone.”
There was a long pause, and he had the clear impression that his pops was calling on an epic load of self-control. Either that or the male’s jaw was doing chin-ups at his ears just for shits and giggles.
“That was fucking stupid,” came the gritted response. “On so many levels. You may have survived the night—alone, in the goddamn field—but now we gotta contend with the Shuli shit. The punishment for anahstrux nohtrumif he fails to perform his duty is clear. I can have the male killed. Right now.”
“You won’t do that, though.”
A cold wave blew out across the room to him, and the words that followed made his balls tighten. “Won’t I.”
“No,” he said in the same tone. “It would be unfair. If Shuli fucked me off, that’s one thing, but that’s not what happened. And as for killing me instead, you’d have to tell your mate you offed her only son. Pretty sure that’ll leave you sleeping on the couch for a couple hundred years.”
The armchair creaked as his father leaned forward, plugging his elbows on his knees. For a split second, L.W. considered taking a step back. Even though the male was supposed to be blind, you’d swear thoseeyes were not just focused on you… they were burning a hole through your flesh and bone.
“You have all the answers, then.”
“No, I just know that you’re not going to kill an innocent male.” L.W. focused on the black diamond that sat on the middle finger of that right hand. “And if anyone calls you on not ordering the hit, you’re the King, right? You’ll just change the rules to suit yourself or maybe bury the naysayers. That’s the way it works, isn’t it.”
There was a long silence, and he could tell the dog was uneasy with the vibe in the room. George moved his body closer to his master’s feet, and he kept his muzzle lowered like he didn’t want to chance being in the line of fire.
That imperial head shook slowly, the hard face showing no emotion at all. “You don’t have any idea how anything works.”
The rage that was never far below L.W.’s surface flared up. “How would you know what I think or what I know. We’re strangers, you and me. Linked by biology, nothing more.”
More with the jaw shit, like Wrath was chewing his own molars to stubs. “Look, I realize the last three decades were hard—”
“You don’t know shit about what life has been like here—”
“Do you think I was on afuckingvacation.” That autocratic voice cracked like a whip, and then the King rose to his feet. “You think Ichosewhat fucking happened?”
Oh, so we’re going to do this, huh. Fucking fine.
L.W. jerked forward on his hips. “I know you weren’t supposed to go out that night. But you did, and you fucked everybody by making the choice that suited you.”
The laughter was low and nasty. “Just like what you did to Shuli last night. Guess that biology runs real deep, doesn’t it.”
As L.W. locked his own set of teeth, he deliberately unhinged his chin.
“I’m out of here.” He wheeled around. “I’ve said what I need to say—”
“If this happens again, I’m taking you off rotation. You’re out in the field with Shuli or you can stay the fuck home.”
L.W. glared over his shoulder. “I’m not a teenager you can ground. And I’m not on your rotation anymore—I quit.”
That expression got so dark it had its own gravitational pull. “Why are you so fucking determined to fight everything.”
“There’s a war going on out there. It’s what we all need to do.”
“Not if you’re fighting the wrong people.”
