Claimed

Chapter 29

Emma slowly opened her eyes, her entire body loose and relaxed in the big bed. She inhaled the scent of sandalwood and snuggled her nose into Dage’s hard chest. She felt totally relaxed.

Her wrist caught on the pillow. Or rather, the intricate golden cuff manacling her wrist caught on the pillow. Dage’s cuff. She frowned, trying to yank the ancient jewelry off. When the hell had he put this on her? The band didn’t move. With a sigh, she glanced at the king.

He breathed evenly next to her. Even kings needed rest. She fought a yawn and closed her eyes, letting peace waft over her. She’d argue about the cuff later.

Dage growled low.

Emma frowned, opening her mind to him. Pain. Agony. So much hurt. She gasped, fighting to draw in air, and anger surged. He’d held back. As devastated as she’d seen him while reliving the moment he thought she’d died, he’d held some of the pain back. Protecting her.

In his dreams, he failed to shield. She could feel every desperate thought to the second when he decided to die too.

Without her, life stopped.

The king ended.

The man perished.

Tears pricked her eyes. Responsibility straightened her spine. She’d protect the king. She’d cherish the man. And if she needed to keep herself safe to do so, she would.

Cara and Janie had Talen now. Emma would always be there for them, but the king needed her more. She’d keep him safe.

She placed her hand flat against his heart. Hers.

The phone buzzed and he rumbled awake, flipping the lid open. “What?”

Emma smiled. What a grouch.

He sat up in bed, tugging her into his side. “What do you think? No. I can keep them here if I choose.” Quiet reigned while he listened to the caller. “Okay. We’ll be ready in thirty minutes.” The phone snapped shut, and Dage rolled her onto her back to nip at her bottom lip. “I’d hoped to go for round two, love.”

Emma stretched against him. “Not sure I’m up to more, King.”

He smiled, his hair falling over his face and giving him a roguish look. “I bet I could change your mind.”

“I’m sure you could.” She cradled his enduring face in her hands. “I love you, Dage. I’ll stay safe, I promise.”

He gave a short nod, his eyes warming. “I love you, too, and I’ll keep you safe as well.”

She huffed out a breath. “Then I’ll keep you safe, too.”

“Deal.” He rolled over and tugged her to straddle him, her bare butt perched on his hard abs. “Ah, I owe you an apology.”

She stretched like a satisfied cat. “The sex was amazing, Dage. No apology.”

A lethal grin lit his face. “Not for the sex, love. Trust goes both ways. If I’d given you mine, you wouldn’t have hidden rather important information from me.”

She warmed from her heart to her toes. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that I’m stronger with you by my side rather than safely kept in a box.” His silver eyes twinkled. “Not that you’d ever stay in a box.”

“I won’t let you down.”

“I know. You’re strong and smart, and frankly, I could use your support.” He brushed a curl off her cheek. “So I was thinking.”

She fought a snort. “Probably a frightening prospect for me.” Her nails raked down the strong planes of his chest. Damn if she didn’t love the way his eyes shot blue through the silver from her touch. His grin warmed her heart even as his body heated her thighs.

“True.” He stretched a long arm and yanked open a drawer of the bed table to remove a worn velvet box. He placed it on his chest, flipping open the lid. “Marry me.”

She gasped. At least four karats of sapphire sparkled, surrounded by the clearest of diamonds. “It’s beautiful.”

He removed the ring and clasped her left hand to slide the cool metal on her ring finger. The fit was perfect. Raising an eyebrow, the king waited.

Lifting her gaze from the amazing jewels, she met his pure blue gaze, which more than rivaled the beautiful ring. “Yes.” Not that he’d actually phrased the proposal as a question. But still the correct response. The one she needed to say.

The most powerful being in existence grasped her head and lowered her to his mouth for a kiss sweet enough to taste like forever.

She straightened up, holding her hand out to admire the sparkle. “I didn’t know vampires believed in marriage.”

He shrugged, nearly knocking her off his large body. “We don’t. But you do. Besides, the ring was my mother’s. She’d like your wearing it.”

Tears pricked Emma’s eyes. “That’s so nice.” She cast a glare at the golden cuff on her arm. “The ring clashes with the cuff, Dage.”

He tugged off the cuff. “We can’t have that.”

She flashed him a look of surprise.

He grinned. “I don’t need the cuff to find you, love. I just like shackling you once in a while.”

Her thighs clenched against his flesh in response. “Hmm. Well, who was on the phone?”

Rolling from the bed, he tugged her with him. “The prophets want to leave for their headquarters and we’re having a quick send off breakfast.”

She frowned. “Why would they leave?”

Dage shrugged, lifting her and striding into the attached bath, flipping on the shower and stepping inside. “They do have work, love. And their guards are usually top notch.” He placed her on her feet.

“Oh.” Emma rolled her neck, letting the warm water cascade down her back. “That’s too bad. I wanted to get to know Lily better.”

“Well,” Dage poured shampoo into his hands and lathered up her hair. “I’ll keep her here if you wish.”

Emma fought a groan at his wicked fingers along her scalp. “Can you really tell the prophets what to do?”

Dage shrugged, rinsing the suds from her hair. “We’re at war. I’m the military commander. I can do what I want.”

Lots of power there. “Hmm. Sounds like a lot of responsibility.” She reached down and took him in her hands, challenge sparking her smile. “So, about round two ...”

Dage frowned at his mate across the long expanse of table. Whoever thought to put one long table in the underground executive dining room should be shot. She was all the way across the room from him, damn it. The sparkling smile she kept sending his way made his cock throb to be inside her, and the vixen knew it.

She looked at home surrounded by priceless oil paintings and gleaming antiques. Light glinted off the purest of crystal, still no match for her beauty. She spoke animatedly with Guiles on one side of her and Milner on the other. The woman was surrounded by prophets.

Talen cleared his throat next to Cara, who sat on Dage’s right. “Maybe you should stop scowling.”

Caleb laughed, reaching to pour more champagne in his orange juice on the other side of Lily, who sat to Dage’s left.

While Dage liked both Cara and Lily, he wanted Emma next to him. He’d arrange the seating much better next time they had an official meal.

Jordan, Katie, Kane, Jase, Conn, and Maggie took up the center sides of the sprawling table. Dage glanced again at the end of the table. Guiles still looked like somebody had thrown him through a meat grinder. Dage didn’t blame the guy for wanting to heal at home. Kane had taken all the necessary blood samples and recorded the prophet’s accounting of the kidnapping.

Basically the man was lucky to still be breathing. He’d been tortured for days, but vehemently denied giving up their former location. Dage was inclined to believe him.

Talen frowned and leaned forward until only those closest to him could hear. “I’ve excluded most of the guards from having access to both of our suites.”

“I figured. We rotate them, so I doubted one would’ve had access to both.” Dage finished his scrambled eggs. He placed his napkin on the table. Time to take his mate back to bed.

“So who would?” Talen huffed out a quiet breath. “I sent men to interview the humans last night. None of them came close to our suites.”

“You’re sure?”

“A few had to be taken to the hospital after the, ah, interviews.”

“We’ll pay the hospital bills.” Unease began to trickle at Dage’s neck. Who’d been invited into the rooms? Who did that possibly leave? Reality—so clean and simple slammed into him. No, his world couldn’t be so screwed up. He smiled to his left. “Did you enjoy breakfast, Lily?”

She dabbed the corner of her mouth, her black eyes sparkling. “Very much, King.”

He let his smile widen. “Rumor has it you’re quite the poker player.” It couldn’t be.

Her twinkly laugh made his gut clench. “Well. I did all right but Katie was the big winner that night.”

“I taught her to play years ago.” Dage leaned back in his seat. “I wanted to thank you for keeping Emma company in our suite when I was busy.” It was a long shot.

Lily nodded, her smile so sweet. “Of course. I enjoy spending time with the queen.”

He shoved down a low growl. “She likes you, too.” Smooth as a sigh, he began to reach into the prophet’s head.

She lifted an eyebrow ... and shoved him out. “You have something to ask me, Dage?”

The woman had some serious power. “That’s quite the talent, Prophet.” He kept his voice low and his face set in pleasant lines, ignoring Talen’s sudden stillness next to him.

“Thank you, King.” Irritation began to swirl through those otherworldly eyes. “May I ask why you thought to plumb my brain?” She kept her voice low and pleasant. So much so that conversations continued unhampered around them.

He narrowed his gaze. “You had access to my suite and Talen’s. You’re the only one who did.”

Surprise flashed in her eyes followed by anger. And then hurt.

It was the hurt that gave him pause. “I’m sorry, Lily.” What had he been thinking?

She frowned, her hands twisting the napkin in her lap. Her gaze dropped to her plate and disbelief filtered through her expression. Her breath hitched. Shock flashed across her pale face. “No. I wasn’t the only one,” she whispered, lifting her gaze to meet his.

He stiffened, every cell in his body standing to attention. “What do you mean?” he whispered back, letting his words barely carry as conversations continued in the room.

She glanced down to the end of the table and back up. “Prophet Milner escorted me both times. On poker night, I used the facilities and came back out to find him gone. I didn’t think anything of it.” Her face paled more than normal. “And he retrieved ice water for the queen and me in your suite earlier that day when we dropped by for a visit. It was his idea to do so.”

Talen sat forward, a pleasant smile on his face, his eyes hard as stone. “This raises a question about the Kurjan Idaho compound. They’ve been concentrating so hard on research, why have a complete compound without any labs? I mean, why take Milner to that place? It’s almost as if ...”

The back of Dage’s neck prickled. “Almost as if the whole thing was staged?” His gaze narrowed on the prophet at the end of the table. Why were the soldiers at that compound so young and inexperienced?

Talen lowered his voice even further. “Yeah. Think about it. There was no research to gather, no prisoners to free besides Milner. He was rather easy to get to.”

Compared to Guiles. They’d almost lost a couple soldiers rescuing him. Come to think of it, while Milner had a couple of scratches, the man certainly had avoided torture. Were the slight injuries just for show?

Anger ripped through Dage and he ruthlessly stamped it down. He slid a smooth smile on his face, winking at his mate. “Emma? How was breakfast?” He narrowed his focus while keeping his expression bland. Get up from the table and walk this way, love.

She started and pushed back her chair to rise. “It was wonderful, thank you.” Her eyes lit with curiosity.

Damn but his mate couldn’t lie worth shit. She began to move around the chair when Prophet Milner grabbed her arm.

He smiled. “I’m still a bit woozy, Highness. Help an old man up, would you?”

Dage fought the urge to leap across the table and take him down. Nobody touched his mate.

Emma faltered and tightened her wrist against her hip so he could hold on. “Of course, Prophet. Here you go.” She gently helped him up.

Milner’s muddy brown gaze met Dage’s, and he stood. “King?”

“Yes, Prophet Milner?” He forced politeness into the words. Dage had to get the man away from Emma.

“I believe we have a problem.” Swift as a snake, Milner yanked Emma in front of him and pressed a thick knife to her neck. “Sorry, Highness.”

She began to struggle and stopped abruptly when the knife drew blood. Her wide-eyed gaze met Dage’s across the room as red dripped down to stain her blouse.

The sight of her blood chilled him into a deadly focus.

Sound erupted around the table as warriors shoved back chairs and leaped to their feet. Jordan herded Maggie and Katie toward the door, reaching out a hand for Cara as well.

“No.” Cara slapped him away. “I’m staying.”

Jordan waited for Talen’s nod before pushing the shifters out the door and shutting it, leaning his back against the thick oak. No one would get through the lion to escape that way.

Caleb edged to the left and rested against the only other exit. He smiled and crossed his arms.

Stay calm, love. Dage waited for her slight nod before focusing on Milner. “Prophet? If you release my mate right now, I promise I won’t kill you.” He used his most reasonable tone, while rage and fear battled in his gut. He began to ease around the table while Conn mirrored his moves on the other side.

Milner scowled. “I’m a prophet determined by the fates, Kayrs. You can’t kill me.” The hand on the knife handle began to tremble.

Damn it. The blade was large enough to take her entire head off. Large enough to kill her. “You are threatening my mate. Last chance. Or you die.” Dage took a couple more steps. If the bastard shook any more, he’d slice Emma’s jugular by accident. She’d heal from that, but not from decapitation.

Milner’s face paled and his eyes widened. “You don’t understand. I’ve seen the prophesy. They must die.”

“Who must die?” Talen drew the prophet’s attention toward him, allowing Dage and Conn to draw nearer.

Milner flicked his gaze to Talen. “All of them. They can’t live. The Paulsen women. They can’t.”

Talen growled low and flashed his fangs. “Why not?”

Dage maneuvered even closer, pausing when Lily darted forward and placed one pale hand on Milner’s arm.

“Samuel? You’re confused. Please release the queen.” Lily reached her other hand to grasp Emma’s arm.

Milner swung his swirling gaze to his fellow prophet. “You don’t understand, you’re nothing but a figurehead, Lily.” Spittle formed at the corners of his mouth, and he yanked Emma harder against his trembling body. “I’ve seen the future. The child cannot live.”

Dage gave Lily a subtle nod to step back. She released Milner and did so, the skin on her face so pale as to be nearly translucent.

Caleb spoke up from his vigil at the door. “What child?”

Milner shifted his stance so Emma stood directly between Dage and the prophet. “The child. The prophesy. They’ll bring destruction upon us all. I’ve seen it.” His eyes began to glow as madness swirled through them. “I have no choice. The women must die.”

How had Dage missed this? The prophet was insane.

Emma drew in a shaky breath. “You infected them.”

“Of course.” Tears leaked from Milner’s eyes as he focused on Lily. “I’m so sorry. You were not to be infected, Prophet Sotheby.”

“But I was?” Cara shoved away from Talen, fury spinning red through her skin. “Twice?” He grabbed her arm and yanked her behind his large body until only her pale face was visible as she peered around his back.

“I had no choice. This must be stopped.” Milner’s mouth began to move in a barely audible chant.

Dage? Why don’t I teleport? Emma drew in a shaky breath, the blood still dripping down her neck.

He had to fight his rage just to mentally answer her. It’s too soon since last time.

She rolled her eyes.

In danger, a knife to her throat, the woman had the audacity to roll her eyes at him.

Freakin’ trust me. I can draw on enough of your power to make it. Please trust me. And then she winked at her sister. Winked!

Dage drew air in through his nose. He could send her enough power to make it work and he did trust her. Okay. But try to land close.

Milner’s hand tightened on the knife handle. “The queen must die.”

“Now,” Dage roared, shooting power through the air to Emma. She fizzled and disappeared to thinly materialize next to him. He reached for her and felt ... nothing. He reached deeper, past oxygen, past space and grabbed her arm, ripping her through dimensions to land next to him.

Milner screamed a shrill cry and leaped for them, the blade extended, glinting in the soft light.

Dage shoved Emma behind his back, pivoting and letting Milner’s momentum carry him near enough to grab the knife. Prophet or not, Milner had made Emma bleed. Life was no longer an option.

Dage yanked the weapon out of Milner’s grip, spun the blade and plunged it into the prophet’s neck, twisting to the side while the man’s eyes bulged out in pain and surprise. Blood sprayed across the room and the earth trembled. Lights flickered. Oxygen molecules popped through the air like bubble wrap.

Rage filled the king and he followed his prey to the floor, ripping through cartilage and bone until Milner’s head rolled under the table.

Breathing heavily, Dage threw the knife to the ground and rose to clutch his mate close.

“Holy shit,” Jase said from where he shielded Lily. “You killed a prophet.”

Dage swung Emma around and propelled her toward the door, determined to get her away from death. A hard slap of freezing air stopped him. The earth roared. A gust of wind swept through the room, throwing plates and utensils to the ceiling and down to land hard on the table and floors. Chairs rose into the air to smack against each other, and Dage shoved Emma between his body and the wall.

A spark of neon light zipped through the space, clapping against furniture and rock walls before sliding over each occupant in the room. Electric static emanated from it, giving a small shock. It slithered around, crackling with a slight burn until consolidating once again and hovering for a moment in the very center of the table. The colors mutated from neon to bright blue to navy and finally back to an electric blue before shooting toward Caleb.

Dage pushed Emma back farther, his stance set to defend. What the hell? The light surrounded Caleb, visibly digging into the man’s skin and bones. His mouth opened wide on a silent scream and electric light poured out, then rays shot from his eyes and ears.

A piercing whistle rent the air and everyone clapped hands over their eardrums in pain. The air lifted Caleb up to smash against the ceiling before smacking him into the wall. Caleb dropped to one knee, his hair billowing up behind him. He roared in anger, and a thick dark Celtic knot emerged along the back of his neck.

The room quieted.

Caleb struggled to stand, the breath heaving out of his chest with hard bursts. “What the fuck?”

Jordan stepped closer, his gaze on the tattoo. “The Mark of the Prophesy.”

Caleb stilled, rushing over to shards of glass remaining from an antique mirror on the wall. He yanked his head to the side, eyeing the new marking. He lifted his head to the ceiling and bellowed out his displeasure. “Bloody hell.”