The King (Black Dagger Brotherhood #12)(107)
Author: J.R. Ward

Wrath went over to the desk and ran his hands down the carved edges. Then he fingered the top of the throne, caressing the ins and outs of the wood.

“Wrath. Talk. Now.”

Even with her laying it down like that, it was a long while before he spoke. And when he finally did, his reply was nothing she expected … and as devastating as any piece of it all.

“They based it on … you.”

Okay, time to have a little sit-down.

Going to the same sofa he’d sat in, she all but fell into the soft cushions. “Why? How? What did I do?”

God, the idea that she’d cost him the throne because of something she’d—

“It’s not anything you’ve done. It’s … who you are.”

“That’s ridiculous! They don’t even know me.”

“You’re half-human.”

Well, that shut her up.

Wrath came over and knelt down in front of her. Taking her hands, he held them in his so-much-larger palms. “Listen to me, and you have to be clear on this—I love you, all of you, each and every part of you. You are perfect in every way—”

“Except for the fact that my mother was human.”

“That’s their f**king problem,” he snapped. “I don’t give a f**k about their goddamn prejudice. It doesn’t affect me at all—”

“Noooooot exactly true, is it. Because of me you’re not sitting on that throne anymore, right?”

“You know what? The shit’s not worth it to me. You’re what’s important. You’re what matters. Everything else—everyone else can f**k off.”

She glanced over at the throne. “You mean to tell me you don’t care that your father’s seat is no longer your own?”

“I hated the job.”

“That’s not my point.”

“The past is the past and my parents have been dead for centuries.”

She shook her head. “Does that really matter, though. I know why you stuck with it all—it’s for them. Don’t lie to me—more important, don’t lie to yourself.”

He sat back sharply. “I’m not.”

“Yeah, I think you are. I’ve watched you these past two years. I know what’s motivated you—and it would be a mistake to think all that commitment up and disappears because some third party says you can’t wear the crown anymore.”

“Number one, it’s not ‘some third party.’ It’s the Council. Number two, it’s a fait accompli. What’s done is done.”

“There must be something you can do. Some way around this—”

“Just drop it, Beth.” He got to his feet, his head turning in the vague direction of the throne. “Let’s move ahead—”

“We can’t.”

“Fuck that.”

“It’s one thing if you resigned, or abdicated or whatever the hell it’s called. That’s free choice. But you don’t do well taking orders from other people.” She tacked on dryly, “We’ve discussed this before.”

“Beth, you gotta let this go—”

“Think about the future, a year from now, two years from now … do you mean to say you’re not going to resent me for this?”

“Of course not! You can’t change who you are. It’s not your fault.”

“You say that at this moment, and I believe you—but a decade from now, when you look your son or daughter in the face, you think you won’t resent me a little for cheating them out of—”

“Getting shot at? Criticized by all comers? Placed on a pedestal you don’t want to be on? Hell, no! All that shit is part of the reason I didn’t want a goddamn kid!”

Beth shook her head again. “I’m not so sure about that.”

“Jesus Christ,” he muttered, locking his hands on his hips. “Do me a favor and don’t make up my own f**king mind for me, okay.”

“We can’t ignore the possibility—”

“I’m sorry, did I miss something? Did some fortune-teller slip you a crystal ball or some shit? Because no offense, you can’t look into the future any more than I can.”

“Exactly.”

Wrath threw up his hands and started in with the stomping. “You don’t get it, you just don’t f**king get it. This is done, it’s zipped up. The vote of no confidence passed—I’m castrated as a ruler, I have no power or authority. So even if there was anything I could do from a legal standpoint? I’m not the person who can change things anymore.”

“So who is?”

“A distant cousin of mine. Real peach of a guy.”

Her hellren’s tone suggested peach of a guy was a euphemism for total f**king douche.

Beth crossed her arms over her chest. “I want to see the proclamation or document—there had to be one, right? I don’t think they’d just leave you a voice mail.”

“Oh, my God, Beth, will you leave this alone—”

“Does Saxton have it? Or did they send it to Rehv—”

“Will you be f**king normal!” he hollered at her. “You just went through your needing! Most females are in bed for a week, why can’t that be you? You want a young, go lie goddamn down—that’s what you’re supposed to do. I’m surprised with all that time you spent with goddamn Layla she didn’t tell you…”

As he went on and on, she knew this was just steam being released through vocabulary. But they didn’t have time for him to keep it up indefinitely.

Getting up from her seat, she walked over to him and—

Slap.

As Beth followed through with her palm, the sharp cracking sound faded in the room and her beloved mate shut up.

Staring at him calmly, she said, “And now that I have your attention and you’re not ranting and raving like a lunatic, I’d appreciate your telling me where I can find whatever they sent us.”

Wrath let his head fall back as if he were utterly exhausted. “Why are you doing this.”

Abruptly, she thought of what he’d said to her when her needing had hit and he’d found her trying to get at the drugs.

In a voice that cracked, she replied, “Because I love you. And you either don’t want to acknowledge it, or you can’t see that far into the future, but this really, totally matters to you. I’m telling you, Wrath, this is the kind of stuff that people never get over. And like I said, you want to quit? Fine. That’s your choice. But I’ll be good and goddamned if I’m going to let someone take it away from you.”