Brant couldn’t help it, he snarled at the thought of losing Tanya and snarled at the vampire that would’ve been responsible for her death.
Zane unclasped his arms, his hands falling into tight fists. It wasn’t lost on Brant how the vampire king had widened his stance. “I am here because I want to keep her safe. The female’s wellbeing is of just as much importance to me as it is to you.”
“You want heirs.”
“As do you.”
“I want more than just offspring. I want to share my life. I want her to be happy.” Brant felt frustration rise within. Zane was not capable of any type of emotion let alone love. He would never be able to give Tanya what she needed, what she deserved.
“Write a god damned love song. We’re here to discuss her safety or there will be no heirs for either of us.”
Brant grit his teeth to try and stop himself from retorting. The other vampire was right, but he didn’t have to like it.
“The alpha still needs a mate. I think that he plans on taking her for himself.”
Brant took in a deep breath letting it out slowly. The thought of a beast laying a single claw on Tanya made his blood sizzle, his veins burn. His skin grew tight. “Destroy our people and take our queen? He can’t fucking have her.”
“I feel the same. We are very much on the back foot. Neither of us can mate with her until the new moon. Nine whole days. The alpha doesn’t have that problem.”
“Why did you invoke Mate’s Lore in the first place?” Brant fisted Zane’s shirt grinding his teeth so hard he was sure they would crack.
“Get your hands off me,” a low growl.
Brant held on for a second longer. “If it weren’t for Tanya, I’d take your head.”
“You would try.”
That’s where Zane was wrong, it wouldn’t be easy but he would win in the end. Brant had a reputation of being the ‘just’ king, the ‘honorable’ leader, he was also greatly underestimated which suited him just fine. “You should have left us alone. Tanya and I would’ve been mated. The future of our people guaranteed.”
“What? Your little coven against two species? I think not.”
Zane was right. The elves and the wolves would’ve attacked regardless of whether Tanya had mated one of them or not. They saw an opportunity and had taken it. He would do anything to ensure that Tanya did not become collateral damage.
“Just for the record, I wanted the female from the start.” Zane locked his jaw for a second, looking to the left of Brant. He stuffed his hands into his pockets. Zane turned his gaze back on Brant.
He wasn’t sure he wanted to hear what Zane had to say.
“I didn’t want a repeat of what happened to our fathers. I knew you had your sights set on the female so I chose another.”
His heart stopped beating for a second even though blood rushed in his ears. Zane had wanted Tanya from the start.
“It’s why I chose the way I did. I wanted to avoid another war.” Zane’s eyes narrowed.
“Bull fucking shit.”
“Listen up asshole, I didn’t have to explain this to you but you asked why I invoked Mate’s Lore and so I’m telling you. I wanted the human from the start. I should have fought you for her then.”
“The only reason you invoked the lore is because you killed your human.”
Zane took a step towards Brant, his whole body had tightened like a coiled spring. Brant secretly hoped Zane would come at him. The longer he spent in the same room as the bastard, the more he wanted to feel his bones crack beneath his fists.
“Someone is spreading untruths about me. The human took her own life. It had nothing to do with anything I did or didn’t do.”
“It seems human females are in a habit of offing themselves on your side of the fence. Can’t say I blame them.”
It was a low blow with the expected results except Zane moved quicker than he anticipated and managed to plant him straight in the jaw. Thankfully the blow wasn’t direct as he was moving away, so although it hurt like a bitch, his jaw remained intact. Brant kneed his enemy in the stomach enjoying the grunt Zane made and the way he hunched over for a split second.
****
Tanya took in the familiar decadent décor. Her mind going at a thousand miles a minutes. So much for not letting her out of his sight ever again. After they had fucked, Zane took her back to his tower. After a light supper she had fallen asleep, exhausted from the day’s events only to have woken alone in his bed. She hated the disappointment. Hated that she felt it in the first place. Zane hadn’t so much as said goodbye to her when she’d left. Tanya had pretty much thrown away her future with Brant and for what, a roll in the hay with one times dickhead.