J. Ward - Dark Lover

"I saw Havers in an alley."

Wrath frowned. What was the good doctor doing in that part of town?"

"Asking Zsadist to kill you."

Wrath quietly closed the door. "You heard this? Clearly?"

"I did. There was a lot of money on the table."

"What was Z's response?"

"He said he'd do it for free. I left and came here immediately in case he moved on you right away. You know how he works. He's not going to take his time about it."

"Yeah, he's efficient. It's one of his strengths."

"And we've only got a half hour until daybreak. Not enough to do anything offensively tonight unless he shows up here in the next ten minutes."

Wrath looked at the floor, putting his hands on his hips. By vampire law, Z was now under a death sentence for threatening the king's life.

"He'll have to be put down for this." And if the brotherhood didn't take care of the job, the Scribe Virgin would.

Man, Phury . The brother was not going to take this well.

"This is gonna kill Phury," Tohr murmured.

"I know."

And then Wrath thought of Marissa. Havers was also dead for all intents and purposes, and the loss of him was going to rip her apart.

He shook his head, dreading that he was going to have to kill someone she loved so much after everything she'd been through already as his shellan .

"The brotherhood needs to be told," he said, finally. "I will call them."

Tohr pushed off the edge of the desk. "Listen, do you want Beth to come stay with me and Wellsie until this is finished? She might be safer at our house."

Wrath glanced up. "Thanks, Tohr. I would. I'll send her over as soon as the sun sets tonight."

Tohrment nodded and walked to the door.

"Tohr?"

The brother looked over his shoulder. "Yeah?"

"Before I mated Beth, I was sorry for what I said to you. About you and Wellsie and how devoted you are to her. Now… I, ah, I understand firsthand. Beth is everything to me. More important even than the brotherhood. Wrath cleared his throat, unable to go on.

Tohr came forward and put his hand out. "You are forgiven, my lord."

Wrath grabbed the outstretched palm and yanked his brother into his arms. They clapped each other on the back hard.

"And Tohr? I want you to know something, but you've got keep it from the brothers for now. After Darius's death is avenged, I'm stepping aside."

Tohr frowned. "Excuse me?"

"I'm not fighting anymore."

"What the hell? Like you're taking up knitting or something?" Tohr pushed a hand through his short hair. "How are we going to-"

"I want you to lead the brothers."

Tohr's mouth fell open. "What?"

"There has to be a total reconfiguration of the brotherhood. I want them centralized and run like a military unit, no more of this fighting-alone crap. And we need to recruit. I want soldiers. I want whole battalions of soldiers and training facilities, the best of everything." Wrath eyed him steadily. "You're the only one who can do the job. You're the most levelheaded and stable of them."

Tohr shook his head. "I can't… Christ, I can't do that. I'm sorry-"

"I'm not asking you. I'm telling you. And when I announce it at my first forum, it's law."

Tohr let out his breath in a low hiss. "My lord?"

"Yeah, well. I've been a rotten king. Actually, I haven't done the job at all. But that's going to change now. Everything's going to change. We're going to build us a civilization, my brother. Or rather, rebuild one."

Tohr's eyes glistened, and he looked away, casually rubbing under them with his thumbs. As if there were nothing much going on, just a little irritation. He cleared his throat. "You're ascending to the throne."

"Yeah."

Tohr dropped to the floor on one knee. Bowed his head.

"Thank God," he said hoarsely. "Our race is whole again. You're going to lead us."

Wrath felt sick. This was exactly what he didn't want. He simply couldn't bear the potential for tragedy inherent in his being responsible for so many. Didn't Tohr know he wasn't good enough? Wasn't strong enough? He'd let his parents die, had acted as a feeble weakling, not a worthy male. What had truly changed?

Only his body. Not his soul.

He wanted to walk away from his birth burden, just leave…

Tohr shuddered. "So long… We have waited so long for you to save us."

Wrath shut his eyes. The desperate relief in his brother's voice told him how badly a king was needed. How hopeless so many were. And as long as Wrath was alive, by law no one else could fulfill the role.

Tentatively, he reached out and placed his hand on Tohr's lowered head. The weight of.what lay ahead of him, of them all, was too immense to comprehend.

"We're going to save the race together," he murmured. "All of us."

Hours later, Beth woke up hungry. Slipping free of Wrath's heavy arm, she put on a T-shirt and drew his robe around herself.

"Where are you off to, leelan ?" Wrath's voice was deep, lazy, relaxed. She heard his shoulder crack, as it did when he stretched.

Considering the number of times he'd made love to her, she was surprised he could move at all.

"I'm just going to get something to eat."

"Call for Fritz."

"He did quite enough last night and deserves the rest. I'll be right back."

"Beth"-Wrath's voice was sharp-"it's five in the afternoon. The sun is still out."

She paused. "You said I might be able to go out during the day, though."

"It's theoretically possible-"

"So I might as well Find out now."

She was at the door when Wrath flashed in front of her. His eyes were fierce.

"You don't need to know at this moment."

"It's no big deal. I'll just head up-"

"You're going nowhere," he growled, his massive body throwing off all kinds of aggression. "I forbid you to leave this room."

Beth closed her mouth slowly.

Forbid me? He forbids me ?

We're going to have to nip this one right in the bud , she thought, sticking her finger in his face.

"Back off, Wrath, and wipe that word from your vocabulary when you're speaking with me. We may be married, but I'm not going to be ordered around like a child by you. Are we clear on this?"

Wrath closed his eyes. Worry bled through the harsh lines of his face.

"Hey, it's going to be fine," she said, stepping into his body. She hefted up his arms so they were around her shoulders. "I'll just duck my head out into the drawing room. If anything happens, I'll come right back down. Okay?"

He gripped her, holding her tight. "I hate that I can't be with you."

"You're not going to be able to protect me from everything."

The growl came back.

She kissed the underside of his chin and hit the stairs before he started arguing again. When she got to the top landing, she paused with her hand on the painting.

Down below, she heard the sound of a cell phone ringing. Wrath stayed in the doorway of the chamber, looking up at her.

She pushed the painting open a crack. Light pierced the darkness.

Down below, she heard him curse and shut the door.

Wrath glared at his cell phone until it went silent. He paced. He sat on the couch. He paced some more. And then the door opened. Beth was smiling. "I'm good to go," she said.

He rushed over, feeling her skin. It was cool, healthy. "Did it burn at all? Did you feel hot?"

"No. The brightness hurt my eyes when I went outside-"

"You went outside?"

"Yeah. Whoa." Beth grabbed for his arm as his knees went out. "Dear God, you're pale. Here, lie down."

He did as he was told.

Holy Christ . She'd gone outside in broad daylight. His Beth had waltzed outside into the sunlight. Where he wouldn't have been able to reach her at all. At least if she'd stuck to the drawing room, he might have had a chance…