Possession (The Mate Games 3)

Finbar tossed him a disgusted look. “Your opinion means nothing to me. You are a disgrace to your court and the rest of the fae.”

“Better a disgrace than a mindless slave.”

Finbar cocked a brow. “It looks to me as though you are the only one in this room on his knees, at the mercy of a demon.”

“Clearly you don’t understand how much power comes from submission,” Lilith said, surprising everyone in the room by coming to her new pet’s defense.

“I’m not interested in your bedroom habits, Lilith.” Gabriel stood in the center of the room and stared at me. “Nor am I interested in yours, Caleb. I just want to know about the events that led to the death of a Shadow Court warrior.”

“The Viking brutally killed Seamus. There wasn’t enough of him to bring back home to his wife for burial.” Finbar’s voice shook with anger.

“If Alek killed him, there was a reason. My son would never harm someone without cause.” Nord, jarl of Novasgard, stood from his chair, having replaced his previous ambassador. Not surprising after I’d learned how she’d meddled.

“He was protecting Sunday,” I offered.

Blaire Belladonna scoffed. “I still don’t understand why you won’t let me brew her one of my special tonics. Women have been coming to my family since the dawn of time to help with her specific affliction.”

“She’s pregnant, not diseased.” Lilith rolled her eyes.

The elder witch shrugged. “Same difference, really. Not everyone views childbirth as the miracle it’s proclaimed to be.”

“Don’t forget, this isn’t a child. It’s a demon. The harbinger of the apocalypse.” Ronin Farrell stood from his chair. “Whether my son sired the blight or not, it needs to be snuffed out or, at the very least, kept contained.”

Antoinette raised a single finger and cut a glance at Ronin. “There will be no snuffing on my watch.”

“I already tried to get her to stay at my compound in order to take care of matters myself. She’s a headstrong little bitch, just like her grandfather.”

Niall Fallon snarled from his seat, but Antoinette continued speaking before he could respond to the verbal dig.

“Sunday Fallon is my responsibility, and I will not allow her to be harmed.”

“You seem to be rather shit at your job,” Cashel Blackthorne said, his knuckles white as he gripped the armrests of his chair.

Antoinette gave him an icy stare. “I assure you, Blackthorne, you have no idea how determined I am to see my job completed successfully.”

“My son could have died.”

“And he didn’t.”

Cashel huffed. “Are we all going to ignore the fact that our children are at risk because of this girl? This child?”

Gabriel cleared his throat. “Now, now, don’t be overly dramatic.”

“The end of the world seems like the right time to be dramatic, angel.” Ronin’s tone was a strange kind of sarcastic.

I quietly seethed, the indignation of the wolf patriarch not quite ringing true. He was enjoying this far too much.

“So what are we going to do about the girl? The priest clearly cannot be trusted to play his part in keeping my granddaughter out of trouble.” Niall leveled me with a pointed glare.

“It’s not simply fae after her. Demons, hunters, and more will come for her once news of the child gets out.” Blaire shook her head. “This has gotten out of control. I still don’t see why you won’t let me take care of it. One drop in her morning smoothie, and the baby is gone.”

“These things must be handled with more finesse, witch. Certain rites must be performed now that the harbinger is on the way. There are seals to be closed. Blood sacrifices... it’s all very biblical.” Gabriel sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Father, give me strength.”

My chest tightened. I didn’t know what the right choice was now. Where did I go from here?

“Then we bring her to Blackthorne Manor and hide her until the time comes. Somewhere she’ll be safe from prying eyes and where we can watch her.” Cashel’s eyes bounced between Ronin and Antoinette. “Since you two managed to do the exact opposite.”

“Is no one going to address the fact that the Shadow Court was sending their warriors after this girl? Or do they get a free pass since they’re in this merry band of perverts too?” Crombie’s cultured drawl was cut off as Lilith gave his chain a tug.