“What about him?”
“Shiloh.”
He rolled his eyes, then straightened in his seat and turned to face the alpha. “I’m honestly not following, Rang. Ask me plainly.”
“Diogenes was there tonight,” he stated, “with you.”
“Yes? And?”
“You told everyone you wanted space, yet welcomed him into your private territory. Does that mean you’ve decided to accept him?”
“Accept…” Shiloh blinked at him, momentarily caught off guard. “You knew about his feelings for me?”
Sarang grunted. “He’s hardly subtle about it. Everyone knows.”
Did they?
The two of them were going to have to have a talk about that later, but for now…
“Why would you think, even for a second, that I would ever accept someone like him?” Shiloh asked.
“Someone…like him?” He frowned. “I don’t understand. He’s a legacy member of the Eumia, who you’ve grown up with. He’s high standing—”
Shiloh snorted. “Yet you, after only three years with us, became the underboss instead of him.”
“That was your doing, not mine.”
“Upset, alpha?” Shiloh tipped his head in his direction, grateful for the darkness that helped hide his expression. He wouldn’t be wearing one of those sappy, soft looks he had to fit over his face so often. “Regretting your decision to follow my orders and rise in the ranks?”
Ever since their chance meeting at the salt farm, Sarang had acted as Shiloh’s righthand. That somewhat changed when he’d been given the position of underboss, but it’d been necessary. If Shiloh and Sloane were going to give up the throne, they at least needed people they could trust as close to it as possible.
Sarang was loyal to the mafia and to Kian.
But he always put Shiloh first, and didn’t keep that a secret.
“No,” Sarang said. “Being underboss means I can better protect you.”
“Protect me,” he sneered it before he could help it.
“Why do you sound like that?”
“I’m tired.” There’d been slipups in the past, of course. He was a good actor, but he was no god. Tonight was particularly obvious though, and he used his exhaustion as a suitable excuse just to get the alpha off his back.
Watching Kian dote on his new mate was proving detrimental to Shiloh’s mental health. He was irritable, prone to outbursts, and envious. So envious, in fact, it was a wonder the world wasn’t doused in green, what with how thoroughly he was consumed by the emotion.
Why did Kian get it all?
Was it because he was alpha?
Shiloh had never minded being omega, but now…He had doubts, and he didn’t like that. There was only one person in the entire universe who truly knew and understood him, and that was himself. The second he started second guessing things, he was doomed.
“Too tired to discuss Diogenes?” Sarang asked.
He seriously wasn’t going to let this go.
“What? Hopeful I’ll take another alpha so you can finally be free of me?”
“I wish you wouldn’t say things like that, Prince. It puts me in a bad place.”
