Darkness Everlasting (Guardians of Eternity #3)(56)
Author: Alexandra Ivy

She was a vegetarian, for Christ’s sake.

He gave a faint shake of his head before he plucked the crossbow from his desk. It was aimed directly at the door as it was pushed open to reveal the hulking form of Hess.

The weapon remained steadily pointed at the man’s chest as Salvatore glared toward the unwelcome intruder.

"I warned you, Hess, I’m in no mood to be bothered," he snarled.

The cur gave a shallow bow, his gaze remaining on the lethal arrow.

"There is a car arriving, my king," he warned.

With a frown, Salvatore glanced over his shoulder. Sure enough, a long, gleaming limo pulled to a halt in front of the building. His muscles tensed. There was only one person who would dare to draw such unnecessary, gaudy attention.

The last person he desired to see at this moment.

"Damn," he muttered, not bothering to watch the woman slide from the back of the huge car.

Returning his attention to Hess, he tossed the crossbow onto the desk and replaced it with two silver daggers that he slipped into sheathes hidden beneath his jacket. Unlike Darcy, this woman was always eager to unleash her more feral nature.

"Take the curs to the street and don’t return until I give you word," he commanded as he smoothed his hair from his face.

"You want us to hide?"

Salvatore smiled at the cur’s ruffled pride.

"Sophia possesses a temper even worse than my own, and she is not going to be pleased with the news I have to share. I don’t want any accidental deaths before she has an opportunity to calm down."

"Oh." Hess swallowed heavily. "Good thought."

"Yes."

Salvatore watched as the cur scurried from the room.

He could trust Hess to gather the rest of the pack and hustle them safely out of the building.

Of course, that meant he would be alone to face the queen’s wrath.

Leaning casually against the edge of the desk, he was as prepared as he was going to get when the powerful pureblood swept through the door and moved to stand directly before him.

Any other man would have fallen to his knees at the sight of her. Not only was she drop-dead gorgeous in her skintight leather pants and barely there halter top, but the air around her actually seemed to smolder with sexual invitation.

It took another Were to sense the predatory hunger that shimmered in her green eyes and her love for violence in the hard edge of her smile.

"Ah, Salvatore, as devastatingly gorgeous as ever," she purred as she boldly pressed her body against his. "Mmm . . . surely you have a kiss for your queen?"

Salvatore grasped her upper arms. "Not now."

She gave a taunting laugh as her hand ran down his body to cup his cock. His teeth snapped together as she gave a teasing squeeze.

"You are such a naughty boy to keep me from sharing all this delicious goodness."

Salvatore pushed her sharply away. He didn’t mind a predatory woman, but he did draw the line at offering his seed to a woman who shared her bed with a dozen men. All at the same time.

He was a king, not a lowly member of the pack.

He would choose his consort, and she would belong to him alone.

"Now is not the time for this," he growled.

Sophia’s beautiful features, which looked as youthful as those of a teenager, despite the fact that she was well over three hundred years old, briefly hardened before she forced a tight smile to her lips.

"Still sulking because I refuse to give you exclusive use of my body?"

He gave a lift of his brows. "Not even exclusive use could tempt me to taste what has been shared by every Were and cur on five continents."

With a blur of movement, Sophia reached out to backhand him. Salvatore accepted the blow with a faint smile that was designed to irritate.

"You bastard. You may be king, but you do not yet rule me," she hissed.

That was true enough. As a pureblood who had managed to become regularly pregnant and to even whelp a full-term litter, this woman was revered among all Weres.

Until he could produce his own litter, he was forced to offer her at least a measure of respect.

"Then keep your hands off me unless you’re invited."

She snapped her teeth at him before turning to stroll around the cramped room. A hint of disdain touched her face at the shoddy surroundings.

Not surprising.

Sophia was more the Ritz-Carlton than slumming it type.

"Where is your pack?" she at last demanded when she came to a stop.

"Patrolling the streets."

Her lips curled. "You fear an attack here?"

Salvatore straightened from the desk. "Do I look stupid? Of course I fear an attack. The vamps would love nothing better than to exterminate us once and for all."

"Tell me of this Styx."

"Cold and dead and too arrogant to know he should be in his grave," Salvatore snapped. He detested vampires under the best of circumstances, and he had had a belly full of Styx, freaking master of the universe.

Sophia laughed at his sharp tone. "Ah, you reek of jealousy, Salvatore. This vampire has really managed to crawl beneath your fur. I must meet him."

He forced a smile to his lips. "I’ll arrange a meeting if you want, although I really must warn you that he obviously prefers a … younger version of you."

A sudden heat crackled through the room, as if lightning was about to strike. Sophia was not without power, or a temper to rival his.

With an effort, the woman controlled her savage anger and stabbed Salvatore with a smoldering glare.

"Where is the girl?"

"Darcy?" Salvatore deliberately used her name. Despite the fact that Sophia had given birth to the four female babies, she possessed no maternal feelings. To her mind, her duty ended once the babies left her body. It was the pack’s responsibility to raise them. Of course, these babies were special enough that she had been forced to join in the search once they were lost. A fact that had done nothing to improve her temper. "She is not currently here."

Predictably the green eyes flashed with fury. "And what the hell does that mean? Not currently here? You told me you had her in your grasp."

He shrugged. "Do not worry. I have spoken with her. It is only a matter of time before she contacts me again."

Her low growl trickled through the room. "What did you say to her?"

"I told her that she had a family who was very anxious to meet her." His lips twisted with sardonic humor. "Especially her most devoted mother."

Sophia ignored the sarcasm as she returned to her pacing. "She knows what she is?"

Salvatore shivered at the feel of heat that swirled through the room. It had been too long since he had taken a pureblood to his bed.