“Never. I promise. I will always protect you.”
Filled with glee at Cormac’s promise she hopped up and down, clapped her hands and darted away.
18
Cormac
Iknew exactly which member of Siren had dared sneak into Styx territory. Shade. I’d allowed him to live and now, apparently, he decided to repay the favor.
Or save his legion. My brother had already requested a formal meeting with Siren in the neutral territory. If Styx didn’t get the answers he wanted from her—specifically the names and heads of whoever in her legion was responsible for Ruk’s condition as well as the stolen tech they’d sold to the Hive—there would be a lot of blood spilled in the coming weeks. I knew much of the death would be by my hand.
Abby watched the little girl as she walked away and the softness in her gaze made me dare ask a question I had held back until now. I still struggled to accept she was mine. I did not need more. Whatever she wanted I would give to her.
“Do you wish to have children, mate?”
She jumped as if I’d poked her then laughed. “Not right now. But yes. Maybe in a few years? Do you want a family?” Her small fingers squeezed my hand where I held hers. I’d been touching her every moment I could, grounding myself in her peace, reminding myself that we were alive and well. Home.
“I want you.” Leaning down I whispered the next bit into her ear. “I want what you want, female. I need you to be happy. Food. Children. No children. Orgasms. Anything, mate. Ask and I will provide.”
Her face turned that delightful shade of pink I had not seen since we’d left Transport Station Zenith. “Cormac!” She smacked my chest with her free hand as I nibbled on her neck. My fangs were throbbing, eager to sink into her soft flesh as I fucked her with my cock.
Abby turned her head so that our lips touched and I took full advantage, kissing her in front of everyone. I did not care who watched. She was everything I wanted in a mate and she was mine.
With a quiet sigh that made my cock jerk in my pants, she pulled back just far enough to end the kiss. “People are watching us.”
“Yes. And now they all know exactly how I feel about you.” I kissed her gently, a brushing of lips. “And they know what I will do to them if you are upset or hurt.”
“Upset or hurt?” She shook her head. “Women get upset all the time.”
“Not my woman.”
“You’re impossible.”
“I am yours.”
Her smile made me feel like I had just slayed an entire legion of her enemies. “How can I be irritated when you keep saying things like that?”
“You are not allowed to be irritated with your mate.”
She lifted her face to the ceiling and laughed, the sound pure joy. Anyone who had been pretending not to watch our interaction gave up the pretense and stared. I could not blame them. She was beyond lovely.
We settled into a comfortable silence and she squeezed my hand once more. “Cormac, what’s in the note?”
I had glanced at the message as Amora walked away. It was short and succinct. “A name.”
“A name?”
“Yes. The name of a group within Siren responsible for placing the bomb on my ship. They are also, apparently, the same group who sold our tech to the Hive and have been kidnapping native Hyperions to sell.”
“One group of people is doing all of that?”
“Yes.”
“How many are there, in this group?”
I had not seen them for some time, but I knew their leader well. He was scum. I should have killed him years ago, but I had followed orders and allowed him to live. This time, he would not be so lucky. “The last I knew there were seven or eight. I do not know their numbers now.”
“What are you going to do?”