*Rafe*“It’s just a bunch of bullshit!” Kris shouts at me. I take him a few steps further away from the chapel and into the forest, watching Ainslee say goodbye to her friends out of the corner of my eye. It’s best if she and I don’t have another encounter for a while, so I’m fine if she doesn’t know where I’m at. I don’t need two people shouting at me.“Lower your voice, Kris.” It’s a command, one he is compelled to follow.“Those assholes were hiding in the chapel all fucking night, and Zeke knew about it. He steered me out of there on purpose so they could get away. That’s fucking bullshit, and I’m taking them back to the castle!” He is so angry his face is turning red, quite the feat for a vampire.“Zeke was acting on my orders,” I clarify, digging my fingertips into my hip to remind myself to stay calm. “You’re not doing anything, Kris. Those shifters are free to go back to their packs.”“I would’ve found all of them. I could smell them.”“I understand that, Kris, but that’s not
*Ainslee*“Why didn’t he just reveal himself to me in the middle of the night?” I ask Zeke as I sit in front of him on his horse. His arms are around me, but only so he can reach the reins. It’s a little uncomfortable, but we are getting to be decent friends, I suppose, so it doesn’t bother me too much.“He couldn’t tell you without striking panic in your friends who would’ve flown out of the crypt and ended up captured by the likes of Kris,” he tells me. I can tell by the way he’s talking he doesn’t want to be the one who explains this to me and answers all my questions. He keeps sighing, urging the horse to go faster. I don’t know why I’m not on the same transport vehicles as the other feeders. That is what I am now, after all. But I have decided not to ask that question when there are so many others I need answers to.“Why even hide in the first place? He could’ve just grabbed me in the woods.” None of it makes sense to me. None of it.And nothing Zeke says helps either. “He had hi
*Ainslee*“Whose room is this, Zeke?” I ask again, waiting for the burly vampire to respond to me.He lets out a loud sigh and strolls into the room. Reluctantly, I follow, afraid this is some sort of a ploy. Why has it not occurred to me at all since I left home that these vampires might use feeders for more than just their blood? Or maybe they get their jollies from sucking our blood and don’t need to do other things to us.“Look around, Ainslee.” He spreads his long arms out in the middle of the room near the four-poster bed and doesn’t come close to touching anything because the room is so large.I step inside and look things over. The bedspread is a light green color, and it looks so soft, I long to touch it. The bed is huge—big enough for my whole family to sleep in without anyone kicking anyone else. I’m not sure what that would feel like. It’s been so long since I slept in a bed alone, I don’t remember it.There’s a large armoire in the same rich cherry wood, as well as a dres
*Ainslee*The light streaming in through the open window is dim when I hear the door open. I sit up abruptly, on high alert. I knew, eventually, someone would come to wake me, to let me know there’d been a mistake. I’m honestly surprised it took this long. The clock on the wall says it’s almost 7:00 in the evening. Rafe really should have better control of his people.“Pardon me, Miss Ainslee.” The woman who stands before me is tiny with dark hair and the longest eyelashes I’ve ever seen framing her chocolate eyes. She wears a black and white maid’s uniform and looks to be about my age, though I smell the metallic odor of blood and know she is a vampire, so it’s hard to say how old she is. “I’m here to get you ready for dinner.”I stare at her for a long moment, trying to comprehend what she’s said. Not that I didn’t hear it; I did. But what I can’t understand is why. “Dinner?” I echo. Zeke had mentioned that, but I thought he had to be pulling my leg or something.“That’s right, miss
*Rafe*Standing in the hallway, waiting for someone to open the door to Ainslee’s room, I’m feeling nervous. It’s not a sensation I’m used to, not one I like to admit to. But it’s true. We parted on ugly terms when I saw her earlier today, and I don’t know if she’s had time to calm down or if she’s still simmering over the edge.I’m also concerned about how some of the other guests at dinner might treat her. I’ve told King Axel why she is here and my intentions, but he thinks I’ve gone too far. Perhaps he’s right, but only time will tell.Riley will see her in the same light that a lion sees a savory piece of meat.And Kris is irate about the situation at the culling still, so I’m sure he’ll be a prick.I just hope that Ainslee can keep from saying anything too harsh to me or anyone else. If she mouths off, there’s a good chance I’ll finally have to take her down a notch or two, which might be more difficult to do now that I’ve started treating her the way she should’ve been treated
*Ainslee*The king’s announcement knocks the air out of me. I’m still trying to process exactly what he’s telling me when I turn to look at Rafe. His expression isn’t as revealing as normal. I can’t tell if he was aware of this or if it is news to him as well.If I had to wager, I would say he knows, and he has known for some time. Perhaps since I shouted at him in the street. That would explain why he was kind to me. He must think he can get something out of me.I turn back to the king, and with the biggest smile I can muster plastered on my face, I say, “I appreciate your hospitality, Your Highness.” Then, I pick my fork up again, take the knife next to my plate, and begin to cut my meat. As I do so, it’s a struggle not to saw through it the way I want to, like an animal. Like this is Rafe’s heart I’m tearing into, but then, I’m not convinced he has one.Next, the king asks about the culling. I try not to listen. He isn’t speaking to me, only to his lieutenants. I focus on eating. D
*Ainslee*“Zoey, you can leave for now, thank you,” Rafe tells the maid. She hesitates, looking from him to me, as if I also need to tell her it’s okay. He’s the prince; who am I to argue with him? Well, over that anyway. I nod, and she scurries out the door, but I don’t think she’s gone too far. She’ll need to come back in a bit because I’m not sure I can unzip this dress. Thoughts of Rafe being the one to unzip it enter my mind, and I almost laugh out loud. Yeah, uh, that’s not what this conversation is going to be about.“Well?” I ask him, folding my arms under my chest. I realize I am inadvertently pushing them up to the top of my lowcut dress, but that’s not my intention, and if he notices them, there’s nothing I can do about it.“Well….” He is staring at my boobs for a moment before he raises his eyes back to my face. “Well, I’ve known you are a Luna for about two days,” he admits. “Zeke told me right before the culling.”I stare into his eyes, waiting for him to blink, waiting
*Ainslee*The metallic taste I’ve been smelling for days hits my tastebuds as I press my lips against Prince Rafe’s. His mouth is warm and soft, even if I can taste a bit of what he had for dinner, which isn’t exactly appealing, but it doesn’t stop me from holding my mouth to his. He is stunned. I can feel it in the tension in his face. At first, he is unyielding, probably wanting to pull away from me. But I am persistent and continue to keep my mouth on his for so long, eventually, he gives in.And then he is kissing me back. Tentatively at first, like he is also leery of tasting my meat mouth. When his hand slides up my cheek and around the back of my had to hold me in place, my heart surges in my chest, and an ache begins to form low in my belly. His lips release mine for a moment, but then we both go back in for a second kiss, one with a bit more fire in it, and then my mouth falls open, and his tongue slips between my lips.We continue to kiss for several seconds before I have to