Reminding her that he was an apex predator no matter what form he wore.
Uncomfortable under his heated gaze, she shifted her focus to Draven, the last to leave the room.
While the others remained frozen, he sauntered to the bottom of the stairs, his long hair slicked back. His form was sleek but muscular, allowing him to easily hold his own in any battle. He gazed up at her with a smirk that reminded her of his womanizing ways when they first met.
He was confident and cocky and sexy as hell.
That was until you looked into his stormy blue eyes.
Underneath was a man devoted to only her, his love shining through all the darkness he’d endured just to reach her. When he held out his hand, she was helpless to resist, descending the rest of the stairs. He tugged on her arm, spinning her in a circle, causing the dress to fan out around her legs. The lights caught the stardust sewn into the material until she sparkled like a princess.
“Absolutely stunning.” Draven lifted her hand to his mouth…then the fucker licked the back of it. “I licked it, now it’s mine.”
“Dork,” she muttered, but couldn’t resist smiling at the idiot. Before he could get up to any more shenanigans, Kincade caughther free hand and pulled her close until she was nestled against his chest.
His mouth hovered just over hers, so close that she could feel the heat of him. Then he gave a muted groan and pulled away, reminding her of the upcoming meeting, and the fairy-tale quality of the evening vanished.
She stepped back, shivering at the loss of his warmth. “How much time do we have before they arrive?”
But even as she spoke, the wards around the coven warbled like a gong. Morgan grimaced and brushed at her skirts, then sighed in defeat and headed toward the door. “I believe our guests have arrived.”
The guys stiffened, going into warrior mode, the enjoyment of a second ago wiped away. A tiny spark of unease gathered in the pit of her stomach, and she stomped it down. She didn’t have time to be anxious. She’d faced down bigger and badder to just survive, and she’d do it again.
“Follow our lead. Don’t say anything more than necessary. Let us do the talking if at all possible,” Atlas said as he came to stand next to her, Caedmon right behind him, taking up residence on her other side, the pair of them imposing dressed in their finery.
Though they’d discussed this in the meeting, she still didn’t like the idea of them drawing attention to themselves, wanting them as far away from the fae as possible, but she had been outvoted.
Morgan nodded reluctantly. The guys studied her for another beat, as if unsure she would behave. She’d had no interaction with other elves besides Caedmon and Atlas, but the stories they told about their own kind were not very favorable. While they might be honorable, they also were a bunch of asses, and the last thing she wanted to do was offend them and cause more trouble.
They already wanted to kill her, and they hadn’t even met her yet.
Just think how they’d react when she opened her mouth.
Kincade pulled back his shoulders, the mantle of leadershipsettling over him. “Take her upstairs. We’ll greet the fae contingent and bring them to you.”
When Atlas touched her elbow, Morgan crossed her arms, refusing to budge. She glanced at her mates suspiciously, not trusting them an inch.
The fuckers were up to something.
When Atlas reached for her again, she jerked away. “No, I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what you have planned.”
She wouldn’t put it past them to lock her in a room to keep her safe. She didn’t give a shit if the fae had to wait, she wasn’t moving until she had answers.
Ryder stepped in front of her, and she braced herself to be tossed over his shoulder. She could fight him, but she wanted the fae to see them as a united front. She suspected if the fae saw even a hint of unrest in the group, they would destroy them.
“Do you trust me?” Ryder stared down at her with an earnest expression.
“You know I do.” She scowled back at him, answering begrudgingly.She hated that they used that on her every time she wanted something they thought was unreasonable.
Draven snorted and nudged the big man out of the way, his earnest blue eyes clear of mischief. “Fae observe certain formalities. They thrive on order and following customs. The wolves met them at the wards, acting as guards, and will escort them here. As your mates, we will welcome them into the house and make sure they’re unarmed before we lead them to you.”
“What the hell?!” She reached out to smack him, then glared at him when he danced out of reach, holding up his hands to ward her off. “Why the hell didn’t you just say that in the first place?”
Draven tugged his shirt back into place, completely unruffled. Ascher looked a little sheepish and shrugged. “Because you’re so stubborn that we thought it would be easier to just do it.”
“It was my decision.” Kincade ran a hand through his hair, a grimace of distance on his face. “I thought you would insist onbeing here to ensure nothing happened to us when they first arrived. They need to see you as our queen. They need to show you respect. If you greet them at the door, they would see that as a break in protocol.”
Morgan sighed, not sure that she could blame the guys for their small deception. She hated protocol and rules and probably would’ve done exactly as he said. She didn’t like the idea of her mates being alone with the fae, even if it was only for a few minutes.
