Page 72 of Their Rejected Queen

A vibration runs through my body, pleasantly tingling all the way to my core, and I realize that he’s making a sound I can only describe as a purr. I squeeze my legs together in response as I look up at him. I curl my fingers, because I didn’t notice that I was tracing his tattoos. “Sorry,” I whisper.

He nuzzles into my neck and inhales. “Never apologize for touching me.”

I hate it when he does that, mostly because I enjoy it too much.

And it’s hard not to remember that he’s completely naked. And now there’s something very rigid pressing against my hip.

“I thought you said this was dangerous,” I say as my heart skips a beat.

Godric’s presence seems to dominate mine in the best kind of way.

His tongue flicks out to taste my pulse, and my toes curl. He doesn’t ask what I mean by “this.” His body surely knows what mine is screaming for.

“Very dangerous,” he confirms. “But I’m having difficulty restraining my wolf after…” He releases a low growl full of warning.

After three vampire hybrids tried to kill me.

Godric is hardwired to protect me.

But why?

“I thought you weren’t a sponsor,” I protest before this progresses any further.

There’s a tension between us I can’t explain, and I feel like I’m going to snap.

He seems to force himself to lean back, which might be even worse because he has me trapped by his magnetic gaze again. “Assuming I don’t care about King Njord’s wrath, I don’t have to be a sponsor to mate you. But I can’t take a mate.”

My stomach drops. Ulara had already suggested as much, but to hear it from Godric fills me with disappointment. “Why not?”

His jaw flexes before he answers. “Some monsters carry a curse, little moon.”

“Like Arwan and Ze’ev?” I ask.

He nods. “That’s about the only thing the three of us have in common.”

“You’re all cursed, then,” I state.

He tilts his head. I can’t help but notice how close his lips are to mine. I don’t dare move. “Arwan is a slave to the court and trapped between worlds, among other horrors I probably don’t know about,” he explains. “Ze’ev is mute and psychotic. And I became the leader of the Blood Moon Pack after my parents were killed by a rival pack.”

I have a feeling that becoming the leader of a pack comes with strings, but I’m more curious about the circumstances.

“Why did they kill your parents?” I ask.

Darkness clouds over his eyes as if a storm had covered the moon that’s shining down on us. “They wanted me. Packs are elevated either when they merge or when they take powerful offspring. My mother was the winner of one of the Monster Games.”

My eyes widen. “A human?”

He shakes his head. “A pureblood shifter. Very rare. And it’s even rarer for two purebloods to successfully mate. The only way to protect the survivors was to merge packs.”

I cover my mouth with my hand, then drop it. “Wait, you became the pack master of the very wolves who killed your parents?”

He remains lethally still as he replies. “Yes, and when I ascended to the top, I killed everyone responsible.” Something seems to soften in his features, and he drops his gaze to my lips. “But I can’t take a mate. My wolf spirit is too vicious. I’ll prioritize a mate over anyone and anything else. My people deserve better.”

“Is there no one who can take your place?” I ask, genuinely curious.

His gaze tracks over me like he wants to memorize every feature. I squirm under his scrutiny. “There is no one suitable.”

“What about Ulara?” I ask.