His Virgin Mate(23)

I wanted her. Not this. “Leave it be, Cosmo. She’s mine.”

Cosmo lifted the man before him by the shoulders and set him aside as if the full-grown Everian weighed no more than a child’s doll. Cosmo was a Hunter, like me. His strength and speed enhanced by his rage, his desire for what was mine, for revenge.

He was drunk and in pain. He didn’t truly want my mate. He wanted to hurt me, to take something precious from me, as he believed I’d done to him.

“I hate you, Von. You will not claim her. Not until you answer to me.” Cosmo practically roared his demands and I heard Lexi’s gasp behind me. Her fear acted as acid on my patience, burning it away between one heartbeat and the next.





Chapter Nine

Von



“Leave now, or I will break you. Walk away, Cosmo. Leave it be.”

“You know I can’t.” Cosmo glowered as he walked past me. I followed his movements, placing myself between him and my mate at all times. I didn’t rest easy until he was gone, out of the restaurant and out of sight. Tomorrow was soon enough to deal with him. Tonight, I wanted to focus on my mate.

Lexi moved to me, her eyes wide, her face flushed. “What is his problem? You two have bad blood?”

I shook my head. Bad blood? There was nothing wrong with my blood. I nodded my thanks to my friend from home and he disappeared back into the main dining hall as silently as he’d arrived. Not for the first time, I was grateful for the men, the friends and fellow warriors who guarded my back. “My blood is fine, Lexi.”

She grinned, clearly amused at something I said even as I fought to get the Hunter within me under control. My instincts raged at me to chase Cosmo down and kill him for threatening my mate. But I was more than my instincts, I was a man, a man very much in need of the soft, feminine touch of the female standing before him.

“That’s not what I meant, Von. It’s an Earth saying. It means you two have history together, something happened in your past that made you enemies.”

“I don’t want to talk about Cosmo. Not tonight.” I ran my fingertips lightly over her cheek because I couldn’t seem to stop touching her.

She looked up at me, studied me, her dark eyes near to piercing my soul, but she inclined her head. When I held out my arm for her once more, she wrapped her small hand around my elbow so we could follow the host upstairs to our private dining room.

“Okay, Von. For tonight.” Lexi’s hand tightened on my arm, but I covered it with my own, allowed my heat and confidence to comfort her through the small touch. She responded at once, relaxing next to me as we followed the large man to the private dining room I’d reserved. I’d heard that Viken males had seed power, a chemical in their seed that made them and their mate constantly aroused to help with claiming.

Everians didn’t have that. We had the marks and their ability to make the chemistry between mates so intense that they were unbelievably attracted and eager for each other. I hadn’t believed it before, but I did now. I wanted Lexi with a ferocity that grew each moment I was in her presence. The way she responded to me, it was working on her as well. It seemed to have become even more intense when I’d nuzzled her mark in the dream the night before.

Our host held a chair for my mate, but I shooed him away. Doing this was my honor, my privilege. I would not share her, not even in this small thing. She was mine to treasure, to care for.

With a raised brow, the Officiate hurried to the door. “Senior Hunter Von, are you aware of the dining protocols?” He lifted his hand to the wall, flipping a switch near the door from the left to the right. The switch itself turned from yellow to red. “Yellow is for dining service. Red for privacy.”

I nodded but said nothing as he moved the switch back to yellow and left us alone, the door sliding closed behind him.

The room was small, but more than adequate for my needs. A round table rested near one wall. Delicate dining service, gold utensils, tall glasses for wine or ale and beautiful crystalline lights created an intimate experience for couples to get to know one another. The chairs were plush, a soft green that made me think of forests and living things. Of life outside this artificial fortress.

I walked to a chair and held it out for my mate, pleased when she sat at once. The back of it rested just below her shoulders, and I took advantage of the moment to lean over and place a chaste kiss on her exposed shoulder.

She gasped at the contact and I longed to do it again, to hear her moan. I didn’t dare linger, but took my place opposite her as the first course of sweetened fruit and cheeses was brought in with wine.

My mate ate like a bird, barely picking at the food that melted on the tongue like soft candy.