Covet Me (Immortal Vices and Virtues: Her Monstrous Mates, #1)

by Kel Carpenter

This was the only life—the only world—I’d ever known. Brutal. Savage. Desolate.

Not when I refused his rejection before he ran off. If I were smart I would have accepted it, letting the bond break.

Whatever it was called to my senses, tugging at deeper and baser instincts.

He was a shifter hybrid with no family, no pack, no House, and no affiliation to speak of.

Niall had it out for the Mafia leader more than he had it out for those that had wronged him in his past. His mate was Phaon’s daughter, and he wanted nothing more than to be near her again. The years of separation had significantly strained his power and control. All supernaturals that had mates were pulled to them, but shifters had a connection to an animal—and animal desires ignored logic. I didn’t know how any of it felt. I didn’t have a mate.

Most of the time, we dealt with Alex, and while neither Niall nor I liked any of these people, we preferred him. He was still a Ward, but he was the more levelheaded of the brothers. Ty on the other hand . . . well, I could go a lifetime of never seeing him again and it would still be too soon.

Get in. Do the deal. Get out. One step closer to his mate. One more mark against Phaon. That is all we needed to accomplish.

I couldn’t believe Niall’s mate was related to these people. It made me wonder if she was as screwed up as they were,

I understood why Niall was willing to go to such lengths to get her back. If they hadn’t tainted her yet, I could only imagine what was going on at home.

Phaon claimed to be a family man, but what father kept his daughter’s mat...

“Fuck,” he growled, crouching down on one knee, breathing through pain as though I had somehow used my powers against him. But I hadn’t. I couldn’t.

He stood, chest heaving, looking down at me. His sheer size dwarfed me and I wasn’t just meaning height. He had a good foot over me, but his wide shoulders and thick arms more than hinted at his strong physique.

Bright blue eyes practically burrowed in my soul. He was handsome; his sharp jawline shadowed in stubble. His curly black hair shimmered under the poor lighting, just a fraction of an inch from falling in his eyes.

he reached up and tried to pull off my glamour, as though it was some type of ski mask, and I felt the protective shield struggle to stay in place. My thoughts screamed in my mind. He shouldn’t have been able to do that. This wasn’t natural. The moment his eyes met mine, his pupils dilated, and my breath whooshed out as a whole new reality slammed into me.

Away from my mate.

My beast was raging. Livid.

He was just wrong that it wasn’t worth it. She was worth all of it. Every bad deed I’d committed in the last four years. Every asshole I killed. Every casualty that got caught in the middle of it.

I didn’t like him, but the bastard ran a tight ship. Very little went on in his syndicate without him knowing, or so I’d thought.

To find one's mate was no small thing. It often took years, decades, even centuries. Adrian was young for a fae; only eighty years old.

It was almost like divine intervention. I was so incredibly close to giving up when she was dragged into the facility where I was kept. It was the happiest and hardest day of my life.

That was four years ago, and I hadn’t been allowed to see her since.

To be Adrian’s mate, she’d be powerful. No doubt about it. While he liked to play off his abilities, he was far more dangerous than he let people believe, particularly his parents.

“I think I would know it was her if I saw her again, but I have no idea how to find her.” Another emotion thickened in his voice. This one I was painfully familiar with. Loss.

Adrian sympathized with me over the years because I’d struggled with my emotions surrounding my mate. She was drugged when w...

Then grief. Her father sent me away. Told me to become a man that he could respect. One that could take care of his daughter, if I ev...

Logically, I knew she was barely an adult at the time and I was more animal than man, but it still hurt that she never sought me out. That she never went against him. That she was right...

Adrian made banal remarks that it was better to have one and know she’s alive than not. He was right, but that didn’t stop me from being...

Twenty-four hours had passed and all I could think about was his face. My mate.

The way he looked at me . . . he was certainly stunned, but he knew it too, right? He seemed like he did. That’s how finding your mate worked. Except, it shouldn’t have. Not for me.

My mate—my first mate— had rejected me six years ago. Every time I thought ...

Malachi had wrecked me. The moment those words came out of his mouth I was utterly devastated. My breath felt like it had been stolen. A future. A life. Possibility. It had all been ripped away from me that day.

I hadn’t accepted his rejection. I’d refused to believe it. What we had was real, and I knew that deep down. But I was wrong.

But he walked away from all the possibilities we had and never looked back. I hadn’t seen him since, and my heart still felt the phantom pains. I just wish I knew why he’d rejected me.

Malachi aside, I just didn’t get how I was able to have a second-chance mate when I hadn’t severed the bond with my first. That wasn’t just unusual. It was impossible. I needed answers, but there was no one to ask.

If anyone else tried being that level of smartass with him, they’d need to sleep with one eye open. Ty might not be my favorite brother, but I was arguably the only person aside from our mother who was exempt from his wrath.

Alexander snorted. “You’re a terrible liar, you know that?” Better liar than you think I am.

“You'll marry the winner.” My heartbeat stopped.

You won't enjoy everything you have to do in life, but you will live and flourish because you’re a Ward. Your hand in marriage will secure the alliance we need.” That was easy for him to say when he wasn't the one being auctioned off like a prized cattle.

It hurt to think about what my worth was as a woman in this family. He may not care for Gavriel, but my brother wouldn’t be auctioned off. None of them would.

He may emotionally abuse him, but having a dick between his legs granted him more worth than me, even though we were both family.

“Malachi Duarte.” If I lived a hundred lives, I never would have expected him to say that name again. “The fuck?” I sputtered, forgetting myself for a moment. “He’s gone. He left years ago . . .” “He didn't leave; he just went away for a while. I knew where he was.”

My father had no idea that Malachi was my mate and that he'd rejected me. Left me. He had no idea the hurt and pain Malachi had caused, so there was no way he could know how much hurt and pain he was causing me now just by telling me I’d not only see him again—tonight—but that I might have to marry him. For power.

To find out that fucker had been basically next door in Queens the whole time? Betrayal was an understatement.

A charge I hardly recognized stirred to life after remaining dormant for too long. My breath caught in my chest when the most stunning sight caught my attention, literally stealing my breath away.

A woman so beautiful, her face could have been carved by a goddess. Long lashes framed eyes so dark, they appeared black.

It might feel overpowering to a lesser being, but it called to me, unlike many females that smelled sweet or sugary. Nikki Ward was anything but.

I hadn't laid my eyes on her in six years, and they were the longest years of my life. I stood there staring at her dumbfounded with leaden feet. They weighed me down as if I were strapped to concrete. My emotions warred.

Awe filled me as I took in the woman she'd become, but it was followed by irreparable sadness that while she was clearly the same Nikki, she also wasn't. There was a strength to her eyes that she didn't have before. A guarded expression.

She was sharp angles and hard edges.

He seemed to love her more than anything, so I took it to heart when he said I shouldn't show my face. That she was too distraught. Too fragile.