Beastly Desires by Nikki Winter Read Free Book Online Page A

of others and make it look like an accident, and every once in a while they involved themselves in human misdeeds such as gun running. Underground, Nico and his pride were gods, but he wanted to be known as such while standing in the sunlight. Nico wanted it all.
    Unfortunately they couldn’t make any major moves financially until he had Kamali back. She’d have to sign over all businesses, leases, and properties to him, and then he would be able to announce himself as the new owner of the Oriade Empire. As of right now they were operating on a small scale and attempting to not draw attention to themselves. Bills were automatically debited from the pride funds so he didn’t have to concern himself with financing anything but with Enilo dead, Nico would have to work twice as hard to make everything look relaxed and normal to the outside world.
    He wouldn’t hand what he’d fought so hard for over to a cub that belonged to his now-deceased sibling, the one who’d turned his back on him and left him behind, the one Nico had vowed to kill himself. Alfre had abandoned him for what he perceived to be greener pastures. He’d done what he swore he wouldn’t, and then stepped on Nico just to escape. Having had a different father—being known as the bastard—made Nico’s brother bitter. Alfre wasn’t the only one who was misused, talked down to, pushed out of his home. He hadn’t caught the brunt of their father’s rage or their mother’s disgust. No, he’d been gone. He’d been living here.
    Initially, when Nico decided to seek his brother out, it had been with the purpose of killing him and moving on. But once he’d caught sight of the luxuries his sibling had been enjoying, the woman his sibling had been enjoying, his purpose changed. Nico had studied every shifter code he could. He’d watched, waited, and when the time was right, he struck. From the outside, from the perspective of those who had followed him, it had the appearance of a rogue attack—blood spilled in the need for control. He knew better.
    Nico did what he did because he wanted what Enilo Oriade had. He wanted his position, he wanted his money, he wanted his power, and most of all he wanted Kamali.
    In the grand scheme of things, all else paled in comparison to being able to force the princess to her knees, make her accept him as her mate, as her ruler. However, he’d miscalculated. He’d forgotten she wasn’t as delicate as she’d always appeared when he’d watched her. Kamali’s quiet strength, her clear ruthlessness, were what drew him.
    After she’d murdered Alfre in cold blood for his betrayal of her trust, Nico’s interest had been piqued. And once he’d discovered exactly what ties her pride’s name held, Nico decided he would swipe the playing board clean, starting with her king. It hadn’t taken much aside from a few promises to the right people, those willing to overthrow Enilo’s rule and toss dirt on any tracks left afterwards.
    Nico had come in like a tidal wave, easily overcoming the weak defenses his victims had put up. Their problem hadn’t been that they weren’t strong enough. Their problem was that they’d forgotten the basic instinct of their beasts and allowed themselves to become too pampered, too comfortable, leaving them vulnerable to an attack by a smaller pride of twenty. He’d come under the pretense of joining Enilo’s pride and was invited for dinner. Right as the mashed potatoes were being passed, he’d slit Enilo’s throat. The screaming had begun from there, and everyone else he’d murdered was collateral damage. They mattered not.
    Per shifter protocol, what he’d done could be looked at in the same way as a dominance battle. He’d already begun to slowly implement every step in his grand design, but there was a problem. Kamali’s son was still alive—the living heir to all that Nico had in his grasp, and the one thing standing between himself and total supremacy. The elders would look to the