"Why? We've never met before today. I don't even know who the hell you are."
"I am Khalon, king of the Soldati, and I am your mate." Saying the words alone pained him greatly.
"Hey, if you want to be friends, that's cool, but friends don't kidnap each other or chain each other up. Okay, maybe some do, but why don't we start small? Maybe grab a cup of coffee instead?"
Khalon stopped pacing. "What?"
"You said you were my mate. Are you British, a little Australian, maybe? I can't make out the accent."
"I am neither. Why would you assume as much?" Khalon waved a hand in dismissal. "Never mind." It was quite possible the man was an idiot. "I meant mate as in lover. Partner. You are fated to rule and hunt at my side as my prince."
"Whoa." Riley let out a laugh and held his shackled wrists up before him. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. You chain up all your dates? On second thought, don't answer that."
"The great priestess has made a mistake. A terrible, horrible mistake." Khalon was certain of it. He was king of the Soldati. His destiny was to be united with a great prince, a warrior like himself who possessed remarkable skill and a force of magic rivaled only by his own. Not some frail human with wispy hair. Khalon's frown deepened. He stopped before Riley and crouched down, his head cocked as he studied him.
"Finally we agree on something. So why don't you let me go and you can square things off with the... great priestess, is it? Square things off with her, and we'll just pretend this never happened. I won't press charges. I'll go back to my ordinary life serving up scones and lattes, and you go back to... whatever it is you do, and we're good. I'm good. You're good."
"Be quiet."
Khalon reached out to take a lock of Riley's hair between his fingers. It was golden like the sun. Not entirely unpleasant. For a human. It was also soft and reached his brow. His lashes were somewhat long and there were faint freckles strewn across his nose and cheeks. There were flecks of amber and green in his eyes. His lips were pink and full. Not an entirely displeasing exterior. Pretty, for a human male. He was rather small, but then most humans were, compared to Soldati.
"What are you doing?" Riley sank back into the chair, squirming in the seat. Khalon ignored him. He took hold of Riley's arm and pushed up his sleeve. Not as scrawny as he expected.
Taking a handful of Riley's shirt, he then attempted to push it up, only to get his hand smacked away. Khalon narrowed his eyes.
"I don't give a shit who you are," Riley ground out through his teeth. "Don't touch me."
Khalon threw a hand out, wrapping it around Riley's slender neck. "You are mine until otherwise released." He brushed his thumb across soft skin, the stir it caused in Khalon's stomach unsettling. If something wasn't done and quickly, the connection between them might grow. Khalon couldn't have that. The last thing he needed was to form some false sense of attachment to this creature.
"Screw you! I'm not scared of you."
Khalon leaned in, his fangs growing as he grinned at the all but trembling prince. "Then why do you reek of fear?"
Riley lifted his chin in defiance. "I reek of a guy who got chased by a bunch of demons down a piss-stained alley."
Khalon let out a snort of disgust and released the incorrigible human. Unbelievable. How could he be expected to mate with this... this impudent pixie? Riley was about as fierce as a newborn fawn, all wide-eyed and fluffy tailed. It was humiliating, to say the least. Besides the insult there was the profound threat the human posed to Khalon and his Soldati warriors. Khalon could not risk his people on such a frail and fickle creature.
Riley rubbed at his neck, his glower on Khalon. "You have some serious anger issues."
With a frustrated grunt, Khalon tugged on the golden rope near his wardrobe, ringing the bell to summon the servants. Toka was promptly at his door.
"Get him out of my sight before I finish what those bastard demons started. Clean him up and feed him. I need time to think of my next course of action without him and his incessant babbling."
Riley gasped. "And you're still single? How is this injustice possible?"
What sounded like a giggle escaped Toka before he clamped a hand over his mouth. Was Khalon losing his touch? Now the servants were laughing at him!
"Forgive me, Your Majesty. I meant no offense." Toka's big amber eyes grew glassy and Khalon sighed. The last thing he needed was to make the foxling weep. Rayner would become irate with him, and Khalon had enough to deal with at the moment without one of his friend's insufferable lectures.
"Just go."
Riley pulled his arm from Toka's reach. "Now hold on a second. I demand--"
"Go!" Khalon roared, balling his hands at his sides before the urge to strangle Riley overpowered him.
"Going." Riley turned and fled from the room with several servants in tow. Toka excused himself when Khalon called out to him.
"Keep an eye on him."