Chapter 10 Ch 10

The raw ache in my throat was the first thing to wake me. As I came to, I felt the other bad things. Crusty eyeballs. Headache. Hot as hell.

I peeled my sticky eyelids open to look around. My mind replayed the last moments of consciousness, so I half-expected to wake up back on the ground where I conked out. Instead, I was in a bed. My hotel bed. And I wasn't alone.

Tensing, my head slowly turned to the side. I was laying on my back so it wasn't difficult to see who was beside me. Lee would have been the most comfortable surprise. Tandan would have been the sexiest. Then I saw the soft black fur and my stomach dropped. Basileus didn't even have a category in my mind.

His massive chassis of muscle and fur took up pretty much the whole damn bed. Even though it was queen-sized, his legs hung off the end. Basileus sure as hell wasn't queen-sized himself. He breathed in deeply, and I watched his body rise up before falling again. Everything about him was peaceful and safe. For now. There was no telling what would happen if that giant head faced me.

I slowly inched myself to the edge of the bed. Not only did I want to put some space between me and the giant animal, but I also had to pee. The second my toe hit the carpet floor he jumped up. I squeaked and plastered myself into the bed.

Basileus was already standing, legs bent and teeth bared. His glowing eyes dimmed at no apparent threat before turning on me. Some very strange feeling burbled in my belly.

"How are you feeling?"

This time I jumped. His voice was so deep and throaty and . . . shit, was I turned on?

"I-I'm fine," I totally lied. My mind still reeled over the fact that I understood him. "How can I—"

"Angelica," he replied.

Nodding, I gulped. My throat throbbed out in protest. "Is that why my throat's sore?"

Basileus took a step around the bed and I couldn't help but cower back. He either didn't notice or pretended not to notice. His body knelt down beside me. At this point, he was only a few inches shy of my eye level and I was sitting on the bed.

"It could be," he told me. "What else hurts?"

"My head."

A gigantic clawed hand lifted. I stared at it as he brought it closer to my head. "Forgive me, Flower. I didn't catch you in time."

"Catch me?"

"That bastard who tried to kill you. Your head hit the ground. I wasn't there soon enough to catch you."

I sighed and shook my head. His hand gently cupped the back of my skull.

"Not your fault," I said. "I shouldn't have approached him. I know how wolves can be." Before I could add what monsters they were, I remembered who I was with.

"And how can they be?" he grumbled with a wolffish chuckle.

Biting my lip, I shook my head. The more I looked at him, the more I felt amazed and horrified. He was so animal-like . . . but he could talk. This was like some reverse Doctor Doolittle shit on steroids.

"Lee has told me what you think."

My throat swelled with a gulp of apprehension.

"She said," he continued, "that you want to leave. Your family might still be alive. Also, that you are not so fond of me."

"I thought—I just thought you . . ." I pushed back the wave of emotion and tears at the memories. "So many were killed and you gave the order."

I couldn't look at him. Now that I'd said it, that it was out in the open, I couldn't bring my cowardly self to face him. Something touched my cheek and I jumped. Basileus leaned in, closer now, with his arm extended. But what had touched me wasn't his clawed paw. It was a finger. A fleshy, human finger.

With a soft gasp, my gaze flicked up to his face. That much hadn't changed.

"You-you're—"

"Still human," he said to me, using his human hand to cradle my face. "Sometimes. If I let him, my vessel would take over and, frankly, never let me come out. But I'm stronger than him."

"Your vessel is Rylee's friend?"

His breath whisked out onto my cheek. "Yes."

"She misses him, I think," I told him, though I didn't know why.

It wasn't any of my business. For some reason, I still cared though. And if I was the only one who could bring this side out of Basileus, I felt guilty for not at least convincing him to let her friend out once.

"She does." The rumble of his deep voice resonated in my chest.

"Why don't you ever let her see him? If you're stronger than him?"

He let out a low contemplative growl as his eyes flashed away. "I can't afford to relent the power I have now. My vessel has his own agenda and would very much like to ruin my plans."

"Like killing humans?"

While his eyes swung back in my direction, I quickly averted mine and ducked my head. I half expected him to slap me or something. Instead, he lifted himself onto the bed. His body awkwardly clung to the edge, the thick fur of his coat encompassing my skin. He felt stiff and uncertain.

"Humans have never meant anything to me," he grumbled, somewhat repentantly. "They've been far more a pest than anything. I believed ridding them of their superiority would relieve some of the issues of this world . . . and I still believe that. But I understand how that must have been for you, Flower. Now I loathe myself for making you into this fearful creature." His arms now gathered around me in what felt like a hug. My loins began to burn traitorously. "You are clearly made for a much better life than I forced upon you."

I slowly relaxed in the warmth of his embrace, inhaling the earthy pine scent that seemed to be his essence. Everything about him was so comforting when it should have had me running.

This wasn't over yet. I couldn't give up my side so easily for the sake of feeling. Gritting my teeth, I leaned away from him. The space felt vacuumed and wrong, but I needed it.

"My family," I forced out. "I need to see them. I need to make sure they're okay."

His massive head bobbed thoughtfully. "We cannot go immediately. I still have things to do here."

"You don't have to come," I said with newly discovered courage. "I can go alone."

"What?" he snapped. I jumped away, frightened by his higher volume. He bared his teeth in threat. "I understand you are eager to be reunited with your kin, but you are never to go anywhere without me. Hasn't Lee informed you of my tracking habits?"

"She did." Scowling, I attempted to roll away from him on the bed but he ensnared me between his hulking arms. I was trapped. A glare fixed on my face as I snapped, "You can't keep me prisoner!"

"And why not?"

"Because! I'll hate you!"

"You can hate me, abhor me, detest me all you want," he snarled, clawed fists puncturing the mattress on either side of me. "You will be by my side so long as there is air in your lungs."

My hatred boiled up and over, singeing the rigid hair on my body. A wave of fury rolled through me. I sucked in a breath and raised my hand to his hairy mask of a face. His eyes didn't so much as blink. My gut twisted up as I realized my crime.

"I'm—"

"My mate," he growled. "And you will stay with me whether or not you want to!"

Before I could respond, his face was at my neck and the fur was brushing my exposed shoulder. A ping of pain ripped through the muscles in my neck.