"Yes, mighty king," she replied overly enthusiastic.
I snorted. She really was something else.
"Have you and Bishop managed to get anything off those laptops yet?"
"No," she snapped. "And it's pissing me off. There must be something on there because there is a stupid amount ofencryption on there. Bishop is currently working on it, but I’ve been putting the package together on Lawler. We will be back on it later today."
"Good," Damyr said. "Let me know if there is any progress."
"If?" she huffed. "I'm going to break that code whether it likes it or not."
Then she clicked off the line, and the screen turned black. Byron's phone buzzed in his pocket beneath my ass, making me jump.
"That'll be Roxie sending us the info packet on Lawler," Byron whispered by my ear.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to jump."
He pinched my chin between his thumb and forefinger and brought my gaze to his. "Stop apologising, baby. You don't need to."
I nodded, unable to find the words to reply. It was such a knee-jerk reaction, to apologise, that it was going to take more than Byron telling me not to, to rid me of the habit.
"Let's call that the end of the meeting," Damyr said as he rose from his chair. "Byron, let me know what you find. Wilder, may I have a quick word?"
My breath hitched as fear spiked in my veins. Byron must have sensed it because he held me closer and wouldn't let me go when I tried to stand.
"Byron, I just want a word with him. I'm not going to steal him away," Damyr said, amusement lacing his tone.
"Good, because if it came down to it, I’d kill you for him."
Damyr's eyebrows shot up and he pursed his lips. "Noted."
I pressed a kiss against Byron's lips and smiled at him. "Thank you."
He frowned at me. "For what?"
"For being you, I guess."
He brushed the hair from my forehead. "Baby, I’d prefer not to kill my family, but I would if I had to. If it came down to you or them, I’d chose you every time."
"You won't ever have to do that for me." I kissed him again, just because I could. "I might let you kill Acheron though. I could live without him."
Byron chuckled and let me go. My legs were a little unsteady when I walked over to Damyr and I could feel Byron's stare burning a hole in my back.
“Come with me,” Damyr said as he pointed towards a door and led me into a separate room.
I gave Byron a reassuring smile over my shoulder and followed Damyr, hoping he wasn’t about to do something that would cause Byron to get a little twitchy. Pretty sure that would set him off on a murder rampage.
The door closed behind me with a soft thud and my anxiety spiked as Damyr hit me with his piercing stare.
“Are you alright, Wilder?” His voice was soft and low, a soothing tone that eased my worry a little.
“Ha,” I barked. “Not even close but I think I’m getting there.”
“I know that Byron is a lot but if you need—”
“Let me stop you right there, Damyr,” I interrupted, my confidence building despite interrupting one of the most powerful vampires I’d ever met. “I am fully aware of how intense and possessive Byron is, but I’m still choosing him. We’ve not quite figured everything out, and yes, he’s a pain in the ass and he can be a complete dick. He’s also protective of me, and I can’t believe I’m actually saying this, but he’s also sweet and thoughtful.”
“Alright,” Damyr replied, holding his hands up placatingly. “I just wanted to make sure. Whether you realised it, you have become a valuable part of this team. I know you’re a Rowan, but you will have a place with us for as long as you need.”