Tears filled the backs of my eyes, but I shook my head and bent until we were face to face. I took his in my hands and held his gaze. “Not above,” I said, shaking my head. “Equal. You. Me. Always.” Not that I truly believed I was his equal, but I knew he’d argue if I told him how amazing he was.
He pressed his forehead against mine, closing his eyes as he loosed a long breath. “Ransom will be your guard tonight,” he said, and I smiled, bouncing against him as I stood to my full height. He quickly followed, still holding my hands. “Lachlan and Benedict are with me tonight, and Hawke will stay with Avi.”
“But Olivia,” I said, tilting my head. Avi’s bodyguard definitely appeared soft spoken and sweet, but I could see it in her eyes. She had the same ferocious tenacity as any of the Assassins. The sweetness was likely another weapon to throw off her opponents. “Do you think the threat is bad enough that she needs more protection?”
Alek sighed. “I’m not taking any more chances,” he said. “I know you’re stronger as a vampire, Lyric,” he said. “But you’re not trained. Yet. And Ransom is the finest combat general I’ve ever seen in all my centuries. His predictive senses are lethal. If anyone can detect an attack before it happens, it’ll be him.”
I clapped my hands together before throwing my arms around his neck. “Wait,” I said, dropping to my feet. “I get to train?” Anticipation flooded my veins—the idea of being an asset beyond my research abilities fueled the fire in my blood.
“Get to?” He titled his head. “Lyric, the choice is always yours. I won’t force you, but I’d breathe easier if you knew how to defend yourself. Do you not want to?”
I let the fire show in my eyes. “Unknown enemies are attacking our family, our home,” I said, and his eyes guttered. “Hell yes, I want to train.” A cold slice of terror shot through the fire in my blood.
“You don’t have to fear them,” Alek said, smelling the shift in me. “I will find them and kill them—”
“It’s not them,” I cut him off.
“Then what is it?”
I pressed my lips together. “Do I have to train with Hawke?” I knew the assassin would never harm me, but there was something about the brutal edge in his eyes that told my every instinct to fear him. To never take for granted that he was on our side.
Alek let out a rough laugh, smoothing my hair back. “You’ll train with me. But, when the time comes that you want to test my enforcer, I will be more than pleased to watch you kick his ass all over the estate.”
Appreciation and pride and love and lust and hunger rippled along the bond between us, and I smiled up at my mate. “Thank you,” I said, pressing a gentle kiss to his lips.
“For what?”
“For giving me you. For giving me this extraordinary life.”
His brow knitted. “A life filled with attacks and blood and pain.”
I shook my head, cupping his cheek. “A life filled with love, with family.” I shrugged. “I’ve never had anything like it before. It’s…you’re more than I ever hoped of finding.”
Alek pressed his lips to mine, soft at first, then harder and harder until I was a breathless, limp thing in his grasp.
I was late to my meeting, but only by seconds. Ransom drove even faster than Lachlan, if that was possible.
After a quick farewell, I walked out of the advisor’s office beaming. She’d more than loved my thesis and had given me a glowing recommendation letter to use at my discretion for any endeavors I may pursue. Of course, being what I was now, I wasn’t sure exactly what I would do, but I knew it would be to help the family. To be the best queen I could be for my newly inherited people.
“From the cheesy-ass smile on your face, I’m guessing you didn’t make a snack of her?” Ransom pushed off the shelf of books he’d been leaning against in the campus library, cocking a brow at me. His sapphire eyes practically glittered beneath the library’s amber-colored lights, his black hair falling just perfectly over his angular face. He was by far the most beautiful of Alek’s Assassins, and from what he’d told me, the deadliest as well. Coincidentally enough, he was likely the funniest, too, which set me at ease.
I flipped him off, and his lips parted open, his hand splaying over his chest like I’d physically wounded him. “Don’t make fun,” I whisper-hissed as I neared him. “It was hard enough being in a closed room with her.” The smell of her was thick and rich, but it was nothing compared to Alek’s. Yes, I’d been tempted by the smell, by the way the blood pumped through her veins, but I hadn’t needed it bad enough to act on it.
“You’re tougher than you look,” he said, his eyes grazing over my small frame compared to his massive one. “Alek wouldn’t have let you out if he thought you weren’t in control.”
I nodded, knowing it wasn’t for his benefit to keep me protected in the estate, but for mine. I definitely wouldn’t have forgiven myself if I’d eaten my advisor. I shuddered at the thought, and Ransom placed a hand on my shoulder.
“I wouldn’t have let it happen either,” he said, eying me. “You know that, right?”
I nodded, taking a quick scan of the library. Several female students were shooting daggers my way, and I chuckled.
“What?” he asked before following my gaze. “Oh,” he said quickly and dropped his hand. “Damn. Now I’ve lost all those prospects,” he hissed, a flicker of mischief in his deadly eyes.
I rolled mine. “Please,” I said, shaking my head. “You could walk up to any of them right this second, tell them we’re married, and they’d still go home with you if you asked.”
Ransom growled. “Don’t even joke about that,” he hissed as we walked toward the library’s lobby. “Alek would tear me to pieces and use my torso as a display piece in the banquet hall.”
I paused in the lobby, the marble floor squeaking under my shoes. “Ick.”
He furrowed his brow at me. “What?” He smoothed his hands over his impeccable abs. “You deny these are a work of art?”
Another laugh ripped through me, and I rolled my eyes again. “I’ve got to hit the bathroom before we make the trip back home.”
Ransom blew out a breath, following me to the left where the restrooms laid. “I can’t wait until you learn how to wend,” he practically grumbled under his breath.
I spun outside the bathroom entrance, arching a brow at him. “I’m sorry,” I said, my voice all jest. “Are you grumbling about your queen?”
His eyes widened in apology, but I burst out laughing, and he chuckled with me.
“You’re going to be fun,” he said, wagging his finger at me. “Finally. It’s been centuries since someone has known the value of a good laugh.”
I nodded at him, then went to push open the door. Ransom was hot on my heels. “What are you doing?”
“I go where you go.” He shrugged.
“Uh,” I said, shaking my head. “I think I can manage to pee by myself.”
He grimaced, a battle raging in his eyes. “Alek will literally kill me. Not in the funny way.”