Darkness Everlasting (Guardians of Eternity #3)(70)

Salvatore pushed her sharply away. He didn't mind a predatory woman, but he did draw the line at offering his seed to a woman who shared her bed with a dozen men. All at the same time.

He was a king, not a lowly member of the pack.

He would choose his consort, and she would belong to him alone.

"Now is not the time for this," he growled.

Sophia's beautiful features, which looked as youthful as those of a teenager, despite the fact that she was well over three hundred years old, briefly hardened before she forced a tight smile to her lips.

"Still sulking because I refuse to give you exclusive use of my body?"

He gave a lift of his brows. "Not even exclusive use could tempt me to taste what has been shared by every Were and cur on five continents."

With a blur of movement, Sophia reached out to backhand him. Salvatore accepted the blow with a faint smile that was designed to irritate.

"You bastard. You may be king, but you do not yet rule me," she hissed.

That was true enough. As a pureblood who had managed to become regularly pregnant and to even whelp a full-term litter, this woman was revered among all Weres.

Until he could produce his own litter, he was forced to offer her at least a measure of respect.

"Then keep your hands off me unless you're invited."

She snapped her teeth at him before turning to stroll around the cramped room. A hint of disdain touched her face at the shoddy surroundings.

Not surprising.

Sophia was more the Ritz-Carlton than slumming it type.

"Where is your pack?" she at last demanded when she came to a stop.

"Patrolling the streets."

Her lips curled. "You fear an attack here?"

Salvatore straightened from the desk. "Do I look stupid? Of course I fear an attack. The vamps would love nothing better than to exterminate us once and for all."

"Tell me of this Styx."

"Cold and dead and too arrogant to know he should be in his grave," Salvatore snapped. He detested vampires under the best of circumstances, and he had had a belly full of Styx, freaking master of the universe.

Sophia laughed at his sharp tone. "Ah, you reek of jealousy, Salvatore. This vampire has really managed to crawl beneath your fur. I must meet him."

He forced a smile to his lips. "I'll arrange a meeting if you want, although I really must warn you that he obviously prefers a ... younger version of you."

A sudden heat crackled through the room, as if lightning was about to strike. Sophia was not without power, or a temper to rival his.

With an effort, the woman controlled her savage anger and stabbed Salvatore with a smoldering glare.

"Where is the girl?"

"Darcy?" Salvatore deliberately used her name. Despite the fact that Sophia had given birth to the four female babies, she possessed no maternal feelings. To her mind, her duty ended once the babies left her body. It was the pack's responsibility to raise them. Of course, these babies were special enough that she had been forced to join in the search once they were lost. A fact that had done nothing to improve her temper. "She is not currently here."

Predictably the green eyes flashed with fury. "And what the hell does that mean? Not currently here? You told me you had her in your grasp."

He shrugged. "Do not worry. I have spoken with her. It is only a matter of time before she contacts me again."

Her low growl trickled through the room. "What did you say to her?"

"I told her that she had a family who was very anxious to meet her." His lips twisted with sardonic humor. "Especially her most devoted mother."

Sophia ignored the sarcasm as she returned to her pacing. "She knows what she is?"

Salvatore shivered at the feel of heat that swirled through the room. It had been too long since he had taken a pureblood to his bed.

He needed Darcy, and he needed her soon.

"I tried to tell her." A surge of annoyance tightened his expression. "Not surprising, she was less than convinced. She didn't even believe in werewolves until a few days ago."

"I should have known you would make a botch of this."

"A botch?" His hands itched to circle her slender neck. He was king. His decisions were not open to debate. "I notice you do not have any of your delightful daughters tied to your apron strings. I, at least, have managed to locate and make contact with Darcy. It is considerably more than you have been able to do."

Sophia moved with sinuous grace to sand before him. "And where is she now? In the hands of the vampires?" she sneered. "Ah yes, you've done a magnificent job."

He resisted the urge to once again push her away. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction of knowing her proximity bothered him.

"As I said, she will soon come searching for me. I have the answers she so desperately desires."

"You fool. We can't sit around simply hoping she might decide to contact you."

"What do you intend to do?"

"I intend to bring my daughter home."

His eyes narrowed. "Or more likely send her fleeing in terror."

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Darcy was raised by humans," he reminded her in a mocking tone. "Do you truly think that you can play the role of June Cleaver?"