Caspian reached down, seized Kevin by the throat with one massive clawed hand, and lifted him into the air. The scarred brute dangled like a cloth doll.
“Cowardly and disloyal.” The words were guttural, half-growl, vibrating with a rage that made the air heavier. He brought Kevin’s face close to his own. “Do you know who she is? She’smine. And you dare to touch what’s mine?”
My heart kicked wildly. Had the shifter prince just called me his? In a voice that carried across the camp like a war horn? In front of his pack?
Nikolai thought I was his, too.
And Aelindor…
Whom did I belong to, then?
I belong to myself.I held on to that thought with both hands before the insanity of musing on the four princes dragged me under.
Caspian tossed the would-be rapist a dozen feet. Kevin hit the dirt in a heap and didn’t move.
“Bring this piece of scum back to the compound,” Caspian ordered. His cold voice carried the authority of a prince and the menace of a beast. “He’ll be made an example. Sexual assault on a woman is considered far worse than cold-blooded murder under Covenant law.” His growl deepened. “And he fucking dared to touch my girl.”
I blinked. Did he just say that? Twice.
Bryn looked as shocked as I was at the wolf prince’s declaration. He’d staked a public claim on me in front of witnesses. I had no idea what it would mean for myfuture, or what Aelindor and Nikolai would say when they heard.
My friend stole a quick glance between the shifter prince and me, then lowered her gaze. You didn’t look an alpha straight in the eye, a rule I’d been violating since day one, getting into glaring matches with Drakken at every opportunity.
Two shifters hauled Kevin up and dragged him away.
Caspian shifted back to his human form. Nine feet of hybrid predator compressed back into the frame of a man. He stood in the lantern light, his wine-red hair plastered to his forehead with sweat.
Naked.
My gaze dropped before I could stop it. And stayed longer than it should have.
Shit.His cock was large even at rest, thick and hanging heavy against his muscled thigh. My mouth went dry, and then it watered. I had to gather my strength to tear my gaze away. My heart fluttered in my ribcage, and this time for an entirely different reason than fear and rage.
A shifter stepped toward his prince with a pair of trousers and a shirt. “Sir.”
Caspian nodded and shrugged them on without hurry. His green eyes never once left my face. When I finally dared to look at him again, he smirked. The bastard had caught me staring at his cock in open fascination, and his smirk said he wanted me to think about it for a long, long time.
Maybe I should explain the situation, like why I looked?
But I could barely breathe. The heat in his eyes could have laid me bare more thoroughly than the dragon fire had. All I wanted was to close the distance, grab the shifter by his hair, drag his mouth down to mine, and kiss the hell out of him. Taste him until the hunger humming through my body finally, finally shut up. I was taller. I could overpower him, right?
Shit.I blinked awake.
Were these my thoughts or the demon’s?
They couldn’t have been mine. I couldn’t be that desperate.
I licked my lips and stepped back by sheer will, terrified that if I lost my shit, I’d sprint straight into his arms in front of everyone. And then I’d never live it down.
“Prince Caspian, thank you for your timely rescue,” I said, lowering my head a couple of inches in respect and gratitude.
We might be miners, but we had manners when civilization opened its doors to us. Mom used to say that.
“I’ll always come for you, Max.” He grinned at me. “No need to thank me for that.”
“That’s sweet,” I murmured. “But how did you know I was being attacked? Were you just in the neighborhood?”
“I sensed you,” he said, those green eyes steady on mine. “I smelled you.”