My spine prickled at those words, the urge in me to fight back and show them the measure of my strength surging up in me like a tsunami. I’d technically been stripped of that right. I wasn’t allowed to challenge a Fae to a fight because of my status and though I didn’t give a shit about breaking the law, I didn’t think those assholes would be beyond having me locked up for it. Darcy and Tory may have held the power around here, but it was too deeply ingrained in our kind to let go of my shaming after it had been made so public, so official.
Even if the Vegas could one day take the throne and pardon me of my crimes, the damage was already done. I would never be seen as worthy for a Vega Princess. But all the while she wanted me, I’d keep coming to her in secret, keep offering all of myself for as long as she’d have me. But deep down, I knew that if she eventually took a seat on the throne beside her sister, she would have to think of heirs to that throne. And a Power Shamed Fae could not provide legitimate ones. No Fae in this land would acknowledge them as such even if Darcy ordered it, it was our way. So who was I to take that away from her? To place that burden on her children? I’d never seen myself as a father, but with her, well, anything was possible with her.
My gaze locked on Seth over the top of Darcy’s head as we walked across the snow, following a Faelight that Darcy had cast as we headed towards the boundary.
“Darius had something interesting to say about you, mutt,” I said and he looked to me with intrigue.
“Was it about the nipple thing? Because I can teach it to you if you both want to try it?” he asked excitedly.
“Ew.” Darcy wrinkled her nose at him. “What nipple thing?”
“Do not answer that,” I growled as Seth opened his mouth. I had zero desire to hear about him and the weird sex shit he got up to in his free time.
“So what was it then?” Seth asked, looking even more curious.
“Apparently you’ve been goading me, making me jealous when it came to Darcy so I’d try and get her back.” I fixed him with a sharp glare and a smile broke across his face as Blue looked to him for an answer to that too.
Seth pushed a hand into his long dark hair, smirking like an asshole. “I can’t confirm or deny my secret mastermind plans.”
“Well let’s put it this way. Either you sent me photos of yourself with her just to try and piss me off, or you really did try to get with her and you’re currently walking your final steps towards your bloody grave.” I smiled like a demon, locking an arm around Darcy’s waist and pulling her against me as we moved out of sight of the guards.
“Seth?” she pushed as he glanced between us, mulling over his answer.
“Okay, the truth is, I played you like a horny little piano who hadn’t had her keys touched for a decade,” Seth said, his smile wide and cocky and punchable.
“Are you kidding me?” Darcy growled, fire sparking in her hair as she tried to lurch toward him, but I kept hold of her, my sights fixed on the Wolf who had messed with us in every way he could think up.
“Why?” I asked in a measured tone, deciding how I was going to approach this. I could be a reasonable kind of guy. If the definition of reasonable was stringing this Heir up in a tree and beating him like a pinata until his guts bled out.
“Don’t be angry,” he begged with a whine in his throat, looking at Darcy more than me. “I know how protective assholes work. Lance was getting all gives-upsy because he thought it was the right thing to do. He’s a noble assbag, you see? So I had to give him a nudge by making him think I’d spread you out in my bed and fucked you raw like a good little Beta.”
My fangs lengthened at the mere idea of that and I shot toward him, slamming into an air shield the same moment a violent earthquake knocked me to the ground.
“See?” Seth said innocently, giving Darcy the big eyes. “He’s so easily riled up. He’s like a gorilla-sized chihuahua.”
I snarled, slamming my hand to his air shield and freezing it solid before throwing my fist against it hard enough to shatter a hole in it. He yelped as I grabbed his ankle and froze that too, his legs going as stiff as boards under my power before he toppled forward, smashing through the ice and landing on top of me.
“Stop it,” Darcy gasped, rolling Seth off of me so he hit the floor on his back, his legs still frozen together and as rigid as a ruler.
I got to my feet, dusting the snow off my ass as Seth used air magic to rise onto his feet like some kind of awkward scarecrow.