Page 33 of Blood Moon Bound

“Douglas said it wasn’t what well-bred females did.”

His mouth hardened. “Douglas is a fucking asshole.”

After their confrontation at the ceremony, his words didn’t surprise me. “You really don’t like him, do you?”

He held my gaze as if he were searching for something. “Do you?”

I licked my lips, my belly gripping uneasily. “Of course, I do,” I lied.

“You can tell me the truth, Delphine. Remember, that’s what bonded couples do.”

I’d been taught how wrong it was to speak ill of your parents. Douglas had made it clear that disloyalty to family was the worst crime a person could commit. He wasn’t here, though, he couldn’t hear me, but even the thought of saying it out loud, how I truly felt, sent fear arrowing through me, and I found myself saying the words he demanded of me whenever I angered him. “I love my stepfather. He took care of me when my own father left us. He provided for me and my mother nearly all my life. I’m incredibly grateful to him and all he did for us.”

Constantine continued to study me for several seconds, his expression unreadable, then it softened slightly. “Go upstairs and put on a pretty dress.”

“Why?”

He chuckled. I stilled, surprised and delighted. I’d never heard him make that sound before, it was dark and rough and made my belly curl. “You’ll never just do what you’re told, will you, my curious little bride?” He tucked my hair behind my ear. “I’m taking you dancing.”

* * *

Constantine

The Bank was a popular club frequented by humans and others, and a front for a second club below it. The Vault was one of the few feeding clubs that catered to blood drinkers in Roxburgh.

Nero had opened the place about ten years ago, choosing to spend more time here in the city than at the border. Nero was also the oldest among us, and had more than served his time. He’d been fighting the fae long before the rest of us were even able to pick up a sword. Now he was the monster we sent in to do the job when everyone else had failed. He preferred to work alone, was utterly deadly, and if he still felt a sliver of emotion, he didn’t show it.

I wondered how his bride was faring. Nero wasn’t just made of ice, he had particular tastes, and young and innocent had never been his preference.

I sat back in my chair and scanned the club.

Tonight, instead of the place being packed with customers, the only beings dancing were our brides. I nursed my glass, watching as Delphine laughed with the other females, her cheeks flushed and eyes bright.

“Any more trouble from Albertan?” August asked.

I glanced at him. “He sent two more assassins this last week. I dealt with it.” I made sure they never left.

“Does Delphine know?”

I shook my head. “I’ve increased security, especially the garden where she likes to spend time. She has no idea what’s going on. It helps that my guards are good at concealing themselves.”

“Put him down and be done with it,” Nero said.

I planned to. Douglas was relentless, determined…desperate, and it was only a matter of time before he made a mistake because of it, but I couldn’t just kill the male. “We’re not on the battlefield anymore. I need proof for the court, and both assassins died before I could get anything out of them.”

Stefan’s silver rings glinted as he placed another bottle of whisky on the table. Nero slid it his way, filling his glass to the top. His usual icy exterior exuded something else, something dark and volatile, and his gaze had only briefly left his female since they’d arrived.

It was the most I’d ever felt from him. “Problem?” I asked.

“My mate is willful. She taunts me, does not fear me, and refuses to acknowledge my authority.”

I glanced over at Nero’s bride, Mina. She was standing opposite Delphine, and wearing what had obviously once been a pink dress. She’d cut off the sleeves and chopped it so it was short, just above mid-thigh. She glanced our way, and when she saw Nero watching her, she lifted her chin and turned her back on him.

He growled under his breath.

“And that just makes you want her more?” August asked, knowing our brother all too well.

Nero’s always stoney expression cracked and he actually scowled. “Yes.” He downed the entire glass and refilled it. “She says she won’t have me.”