"It was a lot you. I owe you, brother mine. "
"You'd have done the same. "
That patented autocratic tone came out: "I. Owe. You. "
"So buy me a Sam some night and we'll call it evens. "
"You're saying my life is only worth six bucks?"
"You vastly underestimate how much I love a good longneck - " A big blond dog head shoved its way under his armpit. Glancing down, he said, "See? I told you he'd be all right. "
Wrath laughed a little, then grimaced as if things hurt. "Hey, big man. . . "
Tohr moved out of the way so master and canine could reconnect. . . then ended up scooping the ninety-pound bale of hay-colored fur up and settling it next to the king.
Wrath positively beamed as he looked back and forth between his shellan, who was asleep, and his animal, who was ready to be his nurse.
"I'm glad that's our last meeting," Tohr blurted.
"Yeah, I like to go out with a bang - "
"I can't let you do shit like this anymore. You realize that, don't you. " Tohr stared down at the king's forearms, tracing those ritualistic tattoos that spelled out his lineage. "You need to be alive at the end of every night, my lord. The rules are different for you. "
"Look, I've been shot at before - "
"And it's not happening again. Not on my watch. "
"What the hell is that supposed to mean? You going to chain me in the basement?"
"If that's what it takes. "
Wrath's brows dropped low, and his voice grew stronger. "You can be a real prick, you know that. "
"It's not a matter of personality. And it's obvious or you wouldn't be getting your panties in a wad. "
"I'm not wearing any. " The king cracked another smile. "I'm naked under here. "
"Thanks for that picture. "
"You know, technically you can't order me to do shit. "
Wrath was right; you didn't tell the leader of the race a good goddamn thing. But as Tohr met the male's blind eyes, he wasn't talking to the ruler of them all; he was talking to his brother.
"Until Xcor is neutralized, we're not taking any risks with you - "
"If there's a Council meeting, I'm going. Period. "
"There won't be. Not unless we want there to be - and right now? Nobody needs you anywhere but here. "
"Fucking hell! I'm the king - " As Beth frowned in her sleep, he calmed his voice out. "Can we talk about this later?"
"No reason to. We're done on the subject - and every one of the brothers is behind me on this. "
Tohr did not look away as he got hit with a glare that, in spite of those eyes being blind, was strong enough to burn a hole in the back of his skull.
"Wrath," he said roughly, "look at what's next to you. Do you want to leave her on her own? You want her to have to mourn you? Fuck all of us - what about your Beth?"
It was a low-down dirty to play the shellan card, but any weapon in a fight. . . .