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"Fine, but this information doesn't leave this room." Khan shrugged his agreement. While not ironclad, Leo would take it. "The fae witch—her name is Yesenia—has some conditions before she'll let me bite and fuck her. Ones I'll need your help with since it's related to the bloody fae witches."
Khan's half-lifted smile returned. "I like her already."
Leo glared. "I want to fulfill her requests as quickly as possible so I can claim her and move on. Will you help me or not?"
Khan didn't even blink at Leo's irritated tone. "Before I agree to anything you ask, I'll have to send one of my council members to talk with her."
He frowned, not liking the direction of this conversation. "You don't even know what I'm going to ask for."
"You already said it's fae witch related. And I won't upset the council by keeping this female's location a secret. You know as well as I do how they're still wary of any fae witch on vampire territory."
Thanks a lot, Great-Uncle Arsehole.Yates tugged his waistcoat down. "And how long will that take, to have one come and visit her?"
Khan tilted his head a fraction. "Impatient to bed her, are you?"
He growled, "Only so I can be rid of her."
"Interesting." Khan studied him a second—the fae witch had to be a bloody mind reader, Leo thought—before asking, "So what are her demands? If I know ahead of time of what they are, I can prepare for them. That way, if the council member is convinced she's not here against her will, I can set everything into motion much quicker."
Fuck.Yesenia was, in fact, here against her will, at least to a degree.
Leo would just ensure the blasted female understood the stakes. It might take some creative half-truths to convince her, but he'd had more than eighty years to learn how to skirt around his inability to lie. "She wants a fae witch assessor and access to your kind's libraries."
Khan raised his brows. "She wants an assessor? How old is she? Because if she's still a child, she's going to come home with me right now, no matter what you threaten or say."
The urge to cross the room, pin Khan to the wall, and growl out she wasn't going anywhere flashed through him. Knowing it was his instinct, one that wouldn't pass until he'd claimed her, he took a few deep breaths and finally controlled his emotions. He answered, "She's definitely past eighteen, although I'm not sure of her age exactly. She's had a soft, comfortable life, judging by her face and hands, so anywhere from twenty to thirty years old is my best guess."
Khan stood up away from the wall at that news. "Then she's far past the time when her magical abilities would've emerged and been identified. Unless she's been living in some remote area and never had access to an assessor before, I don't know why she'd ask for one."
As if he'd know. "Well, sheisan American, so maybe that explains it. How do things work there for fae witches? I'll admit I don't know."
All Leo cared about was ignoring the American vampires and capturing any who slipped into London. The American vampires had tried to take over London shortly after their country gained independence. Maybe the fae witches had some sort of similar struggle going on.
Even more interest flickered in Khan's eyes. "She's an American? I didn't hear that titbit, but that's impossible. It's against the law for American fae witches to cross the ocean, and very few manage to smuggle aboard a ship and survive."
Leo shrugged. "That's what I thought. But she's clearly upstairs, and her accent is American." His brows knitted together. "Although I never asked from which part she hails, exactly."
He'd been too interested in her scent, and her curves, and her inner fire.
Just more proof of why he needed to get Yesenia out of his life as soon as possible. He didn't need the distraction.
Khan sighed. "And here I thought vampires were supposed to adore their fated ones and do everything possible so they can quickly fuck and bite them."
"Ah, but that's your mistake. I don't adore her. I semi-resent her."
Khan rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes, she derailed all your long-term plans. But I say good for her, because now you're at least on the same level as me and my kind."
Fae witches didn't stop aging, except in a few rare circumstances. Vampires froze completely at their prime age and their hearts stopped beating until they found their fated ones. "So will you help me with her requests for an assessor and access to your libraries or not?"
Khan studied him yet again before nodding. "Provided my council member gives a favorable report, I don't see why not. Although you'll owe me a massive favor later."
"I'm aware."
"Good. Then if that's all, I need to get away from all these people. Given your new mysterious foe, the last thing you need is for every person's greatest nightmare to come to life as an illusion around them and destroy your reputation."
Leo suspected Khan wouldn't ever do that, but he wasn't going to argue. "If you hear anything about that bloody new rival of mine and want to gain another favor or maybe an information trade, contact me."
"I will. You'll hear from my messenger later tonight concerning the council member's visit."
With that, Khan exited the room and Leo smoothed back his hair. Soon he should be able to meet Yesenia's demands and go forward with making new plans for his life, new ways to protect his family and his territory now that it was much easier for him to die.
He glanced at the report sitting on his desk, but Leo knew he wouldn't be able to concentrate on it in his current state. However, he refused to find his fated bride and sooth his instinct to claim her. He'd just have to avoid her until she was ready to surrender to him.
So Leo exited his office and headed for the business sections of the building, ready to talk with some of the patrons and learn what they wanted in a gaming hell. Focusing on business and forming a strategy to remain the most-attended hell in the East End was exactly what he needed.
