Page 84 of Wicked Bite
“Don’t say that.” His hands curled into fits. “There is nothing wrong with you or your choices.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, as proven by this situation. And you want me to live here with you? That’s gonna be a no for me.”
A low growl escaped his lips. “You are my progeny, you will stay here for as long as I say so.”
Oh, this was an ugly side of him that I didn’t want to see. Grayson had made me believing in romance again, in something more. But this . . . this was not that. This was complete bullshit. “Right, because what you want matters. I think you’ve gotten exactly what you want all the time, Prince.”
“You. Will. Stay,” he hissed, and I could feel the anger rolling off him.
I waved his words away. This was not a side of him I was willing to tango with. Either he’d get it together or I was out. Pretty bathrooms be damned. I was strong now, and I’d like to see him freaking try to keep me here. “Why did you change me? If you were just going to be a coward, then why? Why take the time to make me feel good? Or start a relationship with me? Was this your plan from the start? Find a girl, make her love you, then wham—turn her into a vamp. Keep her forever or until you get bored?”
“I was gonna break up with you!” He turned away from me and groaned. He ran his fingers through his hand and pulled at the strands. He sucked in a few deep breaths, and when he turned back, he looked like a completely different Grayson. Gone was the cocky, come what may attitude, and in its place was one stressed-out vampire.
That drew me up short. “What?”
“That night . . .” He paused and cleared his throat. “. . . the night you died. I was going to end it with you, then I saw you get hit.”
Speechless, I looked around the room for something to say. Some way to escape this very moment. Tears threatened to spillover, but I held them back. There was no way I’d let him see me cry. I’d been right the whole time.
Stupid picker. “You are a coward. You should’ve let me die.”
“Not in my nature to let the wonders of the world die.”
Charming bastard. “Gee, Piper, I’m going to break up with you but also at the same time turn you into a vampire for eternity. Oh, and by the way, I’ll be your sire and linked to you forever, making this the most awkward ex situation possible!”
He lowered his voice to make it sound sooo calm. “Only if you make it so.”
Two could play at that game. I put on my pleasant customer-service voice. “I want you to listen closely, and I mean this in the nicest possible way, go fuck yourself.”
I stormed past him and right for the door. I didn’t know where I would go or who I could ask to take me back to the Night Spawn headquarters, but that seemed like a good place to start. This was bullshit. He was going to break up with me and then on a whim decide nah I’ll make her immortal instead and take her away from everything. Who knew if I was even going to die in that street or if he’d just made the decision. Grayson Shade couldn’t be trusted and neither could my damn picker.
I opened the door and stormed out into the hallway of the castle. Everything was so Gothic, so pretty, and it all looked the damn same. Grayson flew out behind me. “Piper!”
I froze and didn’t dare turn around. A group of vampires who’d been meandering in the hall stopped to look at us. “Get used to your surroundings. Because you’re stuck in this palace for a year.”
“The hell I am!” I whirled around, ready to go head-to-head with him. His princely ass was about to meet my bartender boot.
“What’s this now?” Moira’s gentle voice interrupted our little spat. And by spat I meant me being so right and him being so wrong.
I took a deep breath and turned to face her. I forced myself to curtsy and schooled my features so as not to offend her. It wasn’t her fault her son was an ass. “Your Highness. With all due respect, I need to leave . . . now.”
She smoothed her dress and then motioned for me to move closer. The moment I started walking toward her, she crooked a finger toward Grayson, and he too began walking toward her. We met in the middle, and I refused to look at him. Anger, frustration, and hurt warred within my body. I trusted him. I wanted him. He offered me hope when he shouldn’t have. I was fine on my own, working my job and hanging with my best friend. Life was fun and yet when he came along, I reached for that something more in my life that I shouldn’t have. I wanted to trust him, to have a love that no one else did, and yet he’d broken my heart worst of all.
Moira lowered her voice, “And what is this about?”
How could I tell his own mother, whom I’d just met, that her son hurt me. “Your son is an ass. And I’d like to leave, please.”
“Tell her she is not to leave.” Grayson’s face turned a bright red. His hands curled at his sides, and the muscle in his jaw ticked.
“Grayson, darling, why don’t you go find Sav?” He opened his mouth to say something else, but she cut him off. “People are watching.”
He pressed his lips together and his nostrils flared. “Fine. I leave you to this.”
“What a lovely idea, darling. Give us some time to get to know each other.” Moira moved to my side and took my hand. She hooked it in her elbow and gave it a little pat. He glared at our hands but said nothing else and then stormed away.
Moira lifted her chin and looked at our audience. They jumped back into conversation as quickly as they’d stopped to watch us. Everything about vampire court was intrigue and secrets. There was an undertone to all of it that I couldn’t put my finger on. It was like I didn’t know the rules to a game I’d just became a major player in. There were so many things I felt Grayson hid from me, and the rest all kept those polite smiles.
“Have you ever engaged in girl warfare?” Moira guided us down another hallway away from onlookers.
