“What is this?”
“It’s breakfast with the alpha council, sweet girl.”
“Stunning, considering what a whore her mother is,” an alpha stated icily, cutting in on our whispered words.
“We should bend her over and fuck the grief out on her,” another said.
“If you wish to keep your fucking tongue, Landon, you will keep it in your mouth and not speak about bending any bitch over my table. Especially one who now carries my scent on her and is under my protection,” Knox said offhandedly, as if he’d just announced it looked as if it might rain today.
I turned, staring at Knox as he piled meat onto his plate before picking up a piece of pineapple and pushed it between his lips, drawing his gaze back to mine as he made a noise indicating it was delicious. I blushed to the white-silver roots of my hairline and swallowed the groan before tearing my eyes from his back to the meat.
“She is accused of murdering my son and heir. Yet you would claim her and offer her your protection?” Fallon, the head alpha, asked in outright disgust.
“She is merely accused, not condemned. She had nothing to do with your son’s death, and the investigation is ongoing. Eat, woman. You’re too thin as is.” His eyes watched the rise and fall of my breasts before he pushed the entire plate of pineapple in front of me. “Eat now.”
I picked up a piece, shoving it into my mouth without waiting to see if he said anything else.
“She didn’t murder your son because she was with me,” he said, and I exhaled, grabbing another piece as relief washed through me.
“Doing what exactly?” Fallon asked coldly.
“She was riding my dick,” Knox stated, pushing meat into his mouth. I coughed, covering my mouth while my eyes widened in horror. “Smell her pretty pussy, she carries my scent, but more than that, gentlemen, she carries my name next to her flesh, and has to speak the truth when I command it. You will cease demanding her head be brought to you, and will immediately cancel the bounties you placed for it. If you murder an innocent witch, well, you become no better than the one who murdered your son. I understand your grief, better than most of you. She belongs to me now, unless anyone wishes to challenge that claim?” He waited, pushing more meat between lips while I watched him chewing it silently as his eyes smiled at me.
“No challenges will be forthcoming, but I would like to know what Aria had to say about your claim on her since she is royalty by the laws of the Nine Realms.”
I turned to Fallon with genuine grief, smiling sadly with tears in my eyes. “I am so sorry for your loss, Fallon. Jasper was one of the few children—ever—who showed kindness to me outside of my sisters. I am so sorry that he was taken, and I hope you find who is responsible and get justice for him. You are owed it by the law of the Nine Realms.”
“And if it is your twin? Your flesh and blood who murdered my son?” He waited, watching me for any sign of guilt or weakness.
“If it was Amara, then I’ll take her head myself. If she is behind this, whatever befalls her...Well, she would be beyond our protection, now wouldn’t she? The law states that we cannot offer her sanction or sanctuary if it interferes with those investigating the case. If she is guilty, then by the laws of the Nine Realms, she will be punished accordingly, or a representative from there will help decide her fate.”
“And your family’s name?” he continued, sitting back as he inhaled.
“My mother has already besmirched it enough, Fallon. We can withstand the charges, as whatever is happening does not involve us. We may be guilty of claiming the evil bitch that created us, but I assure you, we can stand on our own without worry. As you know, Hecate witches are resourceful and favored within the Nine Realms by men from all nine.
“Our bloodline is the reason you sit here today, having created the portal that discovered every realm. We helped unite them, did we not? We broke down the walls that separated the realms between each one of them. Hecate herself brokered the peace between the realms, showing that trade from each would ensure prosperity and power for each race that lived there and followed the pact.
“I may be young, but I have studied our homeland and know what each race and land provides in exchange for peace. I also know which creatures are where, and which of them are favored to win a war should it come to pass. I am very accustomed to the laws of treason, as well as the cause and consequences of them. If the accusations are true, then Amara will pay for what she has done. Neither my sisters nor I would think to protect her past the laws of the Nine Realms, should they be followed and proof is provided. Do not think you can threaten me with ruining my family’s name, as we have survived much worse than this.”
“Of all the women Jasper could have chased around, you, Aria, were the one I hoped caught his eye for a fruitful union between our bloodlines. Your mind is beautiful, and not many women come with the full package. Yet you never showed interest in the royal heirs, even when your sisters began showing interest to some races. You were well-studied, and loved learning of our home realms, and would have made a great queen to the alphas when Jasper took his throne. Now you claim this creature instead of a match among one of the Nine Realms original bloodlines, why?”
Creature?
Knox placed his hand on my leg beneath the table, squeezing it. I didn’t flinch or jolt, even though I wanted to from the heat of his touch. He was offering me an out by confronting the alphas, and while I was glad for it, I wasn’t his anything.
“Because he makes me shiver, and gives me the most delicious feelings when he fucks me,” I informed huskily, playing the part. Knox’s hold tightened on my leg, and I shivered. “It may change later, but for now, his cock suffices to fill my needs. I have agreed to give him a spin around the block to see where this thing goes. If he can continue to sate my rather large appetite, I may allow him to continue doing so. You know how we witches are, never satisfied and always on the lookout for someone with more power.”
“Aria, there is no one more powerful than Knox Karnavious.”
I blinked and smothered my surprise by covering my mouth with the napkin, dotting at the invisible juice. Looking to Knox, I narrowed them ever so slightly. “We’ll see; the world is large and vast, and there are plenty of men within the Nine Realms to choose from. We are immortals, are we not?”
“Even in the Nine Realms, Aria, you’d be hard-pressed to find something bigger or stronger than the man sitting beside you.”
My heart stopped, restarted, and then sped up. I fully knew of the monsters within the Nine Realms because I’d made it my purpose in life to know everything bigger than me if I had to visit that realm. His fingers pinched my thigh, and I nodded on cue, turning to stare at him. I couldn’t very well come out and ask what he was since I was supposed to be riding him already.
There were rules about crossbreeding species, and it was against the covenant to even sleep with another creature before asking details about the creature they could create from a union. Not that it was enforced, but still, people wanted to know what would show up during the birth of their offspring.
“Indeed,” I stated through clenched teeth. “I’m very aware of that, but I am hopeful all the same. A girl can always dream, can she not?”