said. “You’re such hypocrites. Your mate is a human. Is she in danger?” Ross looked ready to kill something or someone. “It’s different with Tanya. It is the royal bond that has made her stronger. The bond has made her capable of dealing with two vampire males in their prime. It would not be the same with this female.” He waved his hand in her direction. “You would not be able to live with yourself if you maimed or killed her.” Zane looked truly concerned. “Think rationally about this. What if you got her with child. Would her body be able to cope with a non-human pregnancy?” “I can’t believe I’m about to say this…” Rushe mumbled beside her, drawing the attention of all of the vampires in the room to him. “Royalty has nothing to do with it. If a human female mated with any of your males she would become stronger due to the bond. She would take on some of the characteristics of the male. It is the bond that has made your human stronger not your royal blood.” “Bullshit, wolf. Stay out of this.” Brant didn’t take his eyes off of Ross. “How do you know this to be true, wolf?” Zane asked, his voice low. “I’d rather not say.” Rushe kept his eyes locked with Zane. “Your statement holds no weight unless you can back it up now with fact. I will repeat, how do you know this to be true, wolf?” Zane growled. “Forget it.” Rushe growled, his voice lower, almost raw in comparison to the vampires. “So, you wolves have been mixing with humans?” Zane smiled, it was a scary sight to behold. Becky worked hard to keep her face neutral. She didn’t want to give anything away. Zane’s eyes flicked to her for a second before he thankfully let his gaze settle on Rushe. “Quite frankly, I don’t care what you wolves do or how many humans you fuck just as long as it doesn’t affect us.” Zane kicked his toe in the dirt. “Your indication that the royal blood does not affect things suggests that your kind have taken at least one human female as a mate and she has become stronger due to the bond. Am I right?” Rushe’s mouth was a thin white line, he shook his head. “I’m going to call a meeting with the alpha to discuss this.” Zane put a hand through his tightly cropped hair. “Fine,” Rushe finally growled. “A regular wolf mated with a regular human and she is stronger because of it. There is no royal blood required. Any human female will become stronger if mated to a non-human.” It was Rushe’s turn to run his hand through his hair and he did so several times while looking agitated. “I can’t believe I just said that. I’m actually helping you here.” His eyes landed on Ross. “I must be seriously crazy,” he mumbled to himself. Brant shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. Our lores are clear, it wouldn’t work the same between vampires and humans.” Brant actually look bored. What a complete jerk off . “Actually. Your union with the human is proof that it would work just fine,” Rushe said. The silence that followed was deafening. “Don’t talk about my mate.” Brant snarled at Rushe, making Becky flinch and grab ahold of him. “I don’t want you going near this female again, Ross.” Brant gestured to Becky. “Are we clear?” “ This female , as you insist on calling her, is my mate. Whether she believes it or not. Whether I end up getting her or not.” Ross gave a hard yank on the chains. His muscles bulged. Fresh blood flowed. Becky swore that she could smell its tangy, irony scent which must just have been her imagination. ”Unlock me,” Ross bit out. “You’ll go straight to her.” Zane actually looked sorry. “This is something that has to be debated long and hard. You can’t just go after this female. I gave you permission to have one night with her. That night is come and gone. Move the fuck on.” “Didn’t you hear what I just said”—his colossal chest heaved—“that female is my mate. She is