Jaded [The Moonlight Breed 9] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) by Gabrielle Evans (best free novels txt) 📕

but the guard had no reason to censor his thoughts. Other than his friends, Spiro was the only one who knew he was a telepath or a shape-changing Desirable.

“Don’t move,” he ordered seductively. “I have a surprise for you.”

“Ah, I like surprises.”

“Uh-huh.” Backpedaling to the door, he gave one last endearing smile and then turned to let himself out, leaving Marcel with the assumption that he’d return shortly.

The doorknob was in his hand, and he’d turned it just halfway when a large body slammed into him from behind, pinning him heavily against the door. “Nice try,” Marcel growled into his ear. “Rissian was late for the meeting. He left two minutes before you walked into the room.”

He could kick himself for being such a damn fool, but that wouldn’t get him out of his predicament. Instead, he chose to take action, shifting back to his normal size in hopes that he could slip through Marcel’s arms.

The act only left him at a further disadvantage, though. “What are you going to do?” he taunted. “Are you going to kill me? You know you’ll never get away with it.”

“Actually, I will. I kill you, which in turn kills your mate, and then Rissian steps in to save the day and rids the island of this plague that took the life of the new king and his beloved mate. Rather brilliant, don’t you think? Rissian will be a hero.”

His blood ran cold, but he wasn’t afraid to die. His only regret would be that no one would ever know what a deranged monster Marcel was. “One little problem with your plan.” He squirmed until he could look over his shoulder with an evil grin. “Spiro hasn’t claimed me. We’re not bound.”

“Bullshit,” Marcel spat. “You’ve been together for weeks. No shifter can resist the urge that long.”

Zuriel lifted one shoulder as far as he could, which admittedly was very little. “Believe what you want.”

He was beginning to piece it together, but none of it would save him. Marcel wasn’t strong enough to take on Spiro, but if Zuriel and his mate were bonded, their life forces were linked. Kill one, the other dies. However, even though that plan hadn’t worked out, Marcel wouldn’t leave him alive now that he knew the truth.

“So, tell me something. Do the bodies look like that because of the venom, or because you sucked out their souls?” If he was going to die, he might as well ask his questions.

“It’s a combination of oversaturating the blood with venom and forcibly removing the soul.” Marcel sounded confused by the question, as though he wasn’t sure if Zuriel was playing with a full deck. Too bad he snapped out of it just as quickly. “No more talking.”

It was on the tip of his tongue to ask why poor Lily had needed to die in this quest for power, but he figured he already knew the answer. She and the café owner were both just decoys, used to distract everyone from the true target.

“How long were you poisoning the king before you finally killed him?”

“Shut it,” Marcel snarled. “I have to think.” He was clearly growing more desperate now that Zuriel had thrown a wrench into his plans. “Not here,” he mumbled. “It can’t happen in this room.”

Jerking Zuriel away from the door, Marcel wrenched it open and stuck his head out into the hall, presumably to check for witnesses. “Where are we going?”

“Who knows you’re here?”

“No one,” he lied.

“You’re lying.” Damn shifters and their ridiculous sense of smell. “That’s okay. You were kidnapped. I tried to save you, but sadly, I was too late. By the time I caught up to you, the kidnapper was gone, and you were dead.”

“Really? That lame story is the best you can come up with? How are you going to explain being naked?”

“It’ll be enough when I produce a murderer. I’m thinking Nithron will do nicely. Everyone suspects him anyway. As for my nudity, I had to shift, of course.” Once sure that no one would see them, Marcel yanked him out into the corridor by his hair. “Let’s go.”

Before Zuriel could even open his mouth to scream, a long, sharp talon pierced the side of his neck, burning like a white-hot poker. Immediately, he felt his limbs grow heavy, his eyelids started to droop, and though fire coursed through his veins, it wasn’t enough to keep him conscious.

He registered being lifted off the floor, but that was the last thing he felt before the darkness swallowed him whole.

* * * *

“The families have been notified, and the ceremonies will be held together at the burial grou—”

“Spiro!” Three voices shouted his name in unison as they rushed into the office where he was holding a meeting with his siblings. “Spiro, you have to save him,” Mihail demanded. “Go, go now.”

“Save who?” Rissian asked. “What happened?”

“Where am I going?” Spiro asked. “Take a deep breath, Mihail, because you’re not making any sense.”

“Oh, for the love of dildos,” Jacobi yelled, ending on a dramatic huff. “There’s not time for explanation, but we think Zuriel is in trouble.”

“Where?” Jacobi was right. The details weren’t important just yet. All Spiro needed was a location.

“He was pretending to be Rissian, and he went to talk to Marcel,” Mihail supplied. “Please.”

“Marcel?” Rissian jumped to his feet so quickly that his chair toppled over behind him. “Why would he go see my mate?”

“There’s no time!”

“Calm down.” Holding his hands up, Rissian made placating gestures to calm the agitated group. “I don’t know what’s going on, but Marcel wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

“I believe them.” With squared shoulders and a steely gaze, Nithron stepped into the open doorway. “Marcel said he found Jaeah dead, and the shop hadn’t been opened yet. I bought a cup of coffee and a bagel from Jaeah, though, not twenty minutes before I heard Zuriel calling for help.”

“We think he’s a demon,” Nikola hurried to add, “an Arsidian Demon.”

“They don’t give off a scent. Haven’t you ever noticed