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

by Kel Carpenter

You can’t break someone who found strength within their own destruction. - Unknown

My mate—my first mate— had rejected me six years ago. Every time I thought about it my heart hurt. Malachi. My best friend. How could you spend your entire childhood with someone, grow with them, love them, and then just reject them when you find out they’re your mate?

“Oh, it gets better,” I added, picking up an item from my plate and shoving it in my mouth. Something broke between my teeth, followed by a course and leafy sensation scraping my tongue. I grimaced and chewed through it painfully while looking at my plate. “What the hell did I just eat?” I ground out. “A whole chocolate covered strawberry, green top included. And a toothpick.” My eyes widened while I chewed. “Is anyone watching me?” Sam looked around. “A few.” “Mmm, so good!” I said, smiling and giving a thumbs up.

“Is there a problem?” my father asked, seeing that Ty had stopped paying attention to him. “No, just making sure Nikki is okay. She’s looking a little jittery,” he answered, not taking his eyes off me. When my dad looked in my direction for clarification, a logical explanation wasn’t the first thing that came to mind. “I ate a toothpick earlier,” I blurted out. “You . . . what?” Alex asked, cocking an eyebrow and trying to suppress a laugh. Ty remained unchanged, and my dad looked at me incredulously.

My alternative was putting my lust-driven self in the same house as my incredibly gorgeous subway-mate, my lickable—and frustrating—ex-mate that unrejected me, and a dude that looked at me like I was a goddess denying him the right to breathe.

didn't know how to deal with a traumatized mate when I was still so messed up myself—and I still am. Make no mistake, Nikki, with me you won’t get a nice normal guy. I will fight for you. I will love you fiercely. I will protect you with everything I have in me. I will do my best to comfort you and to treat you with respect, because you deserve it. You are the most important person in my life, but I'm not normal.

We would do anything for our mate. I didn’t know Malachi well, but I didn’t need to. If he felt a modicum of what I did, then we’d burn the world if she’d asked.

“Why is it that fragile male egos think the worst thing a woman can be called is a whore? Hmm? What does it matter to men who I choose to let into my bed? If my choices are between living with a group of guys or going with you, I guess you can just fuck off and call me Snow White.”

“By the time the mate bond clicked, I’d already been in love with you for years. I was eighteen when it snapped into place—and you were sixteen and nothing happened to you yet. You were my best friend, and I didn’t want to mar that relationship so that it felt like a betrothal you had no say in, you know? So I waited. I didn't have family—I didn't have anything—but I always had you. You were my family. You were my everything.”

Logically, I knew she was a phoenix. Rumors were nothing could kill them. She was also my mate, which meant my logical brain wasn’t home.

The bathroom door opened. Without looking, Niall said, “Get out.” “Yeah, no can do.” The sassy mermaid shook her head. “You got an issue with someone, take it outside.” “Bloodstains are a biiiiitch to clean,” Nikki said under her breath. Her words were still slurred, though they came through clearer that time. “Exactly,” the mermaid said motioning to her. “She understands.”

I never really was a damsel in distress. Princess never suited me. After all, I did fuck the dragon.