Shiloh rolled his eyes. “You think I’ll punish you if you admit it?”
“I think,” he began slowly, as though trying to find the right words, “you’re the prince and I’m merely the underboss.”
“Which still puts you miles above Dio.”
“So…you won’t have him?”
“No.” Shiloh looked away and settled back into his seat. “I will not.”
The alpha was quiet for a moment, but when he spoke again, his voice seemed lighter.
Or, maybe it didn’t.
Maybe it was still all in Shiloh’s head.
“Would you like to stop for cake, Prince? There’s a famous shop on the way to the compound.”
His ears perked at this. “I’ll order three slices. And I will eat them all.”
The corner of Sarang’s mouth curved upward. “Understood.”
Interesting. Usually the alpha scolded him about his sugar intake.
“How long will your business take?” Shiloh considered convincing him to turn around, since it didn’t seem like they’d be leaving the planet right away, but the promise of cake and a quiet moment with the alpha stayed his tongue.
“It’s a routine check-in,” Sarang explained. “I have a meeting with Imperial Heir Altair in the morning, then a run through of the base. Our distribution site in Shadow City also needs—”
“Leave that to me.” If he was going to be stuck here, he might as well get some work done.
“We’ll stay together, or you’ll remain at the compound,” Sarang stated firmly.
“Don’t be absurd. If we split up, we can cover more ground. I thought you wanted me back on Glyph as soon as possible?”
“Synastry isn’t safe.”
He snorted. “You do recall this is my home world, right? I’ve lived on Glyph for less than a year.”
“And it’s been barely a year since you were taken off these streets and—” The alpha clamped his mouth shut, inhaling through his nose to calm himself, before trying again. “I’ve been tasked with keeping you safe. I won’t risk it.”
“The trafficking ring has already been dismantled.”
“You say that as though you have a shortage of enemies.”
“All right, that’s fair. But how many of them would be ballsy enough to actually come after me?”
“While the Dominus is off planet? Who knows. You’re forgetting how often you were attacked in the past. Isn’t that how we met? You were on the run and took shelter with me for a weekend.”
Sarang didn’t often bring up their meeting, and Shiloh was curious why he was talking about it now.
“You’re keeping something from me.” That was the only explanation he could think of for the alpha’s anxiety. Sure, nothing he was saying was untrue, but it wasn’t like Shiloh had been treated like glass since his kidnapping. For the most part, things had gone back to normal, with only a few whispers about his “misfortune” happening when no one thought he was listening. “Tell me.”
He licked his lips and adjusted his grip on the steering wheel. “The Leviathan has been spotted in the city.”
Shiloh quirked a brow. “And?”
Sarang took his eyes off the road long enough to send him a heated glare.
“You don’t actually think he’s here because of me, do you?” What a ridiculous notion. “He has no reason—”
