Page 112 of Pretty Little Prey
“How am I—the crazed, red-eyed vampire who is haunted by countless victims’ memories—the one acting the sanest right now?” Nikolai shot back. “We need a plan if we’re going to take her from him.”
“Wecan’ttake her from him,” Sly exclaimed, throwing his hands up to his reddish bronze hair. “We ‘take’ her, and we start a war. And maybe she doesn’t want to be taken! Did you forget how mad she was at us for turning her into a vampire? She said she hated—”
“I know what she said,” Bastille bit out.
“So, are we going or not?”
“Oh, we are going,” Bastille said, storming toward the door to leave. “I’m going to kill that fucking dragon right before his wedding.”
“And what if the witches turn her back and they get married before we get there?” Nikolai asked.
“I will make her into a widow.”
Sly dropped his face in his palms and cursed.
“Luna is a new vampire. Her emotions are heightened, and the last thing she felt toward us was—” Nikolai choked out, “—hatred. She won’t be happy to see us when we get there.” He took a deep breath. “Young vampires are known for being needlessly violent. Experiencing raging tempers and spurts of bloodlust. If Luna hasn’t fed since she left us, she could be on the brink of an episode like that.”
“I like my mate feisty. So what?” Bastille shot back.
“So, if Luna accidentally kills a light shifter before we get to her…”
The Light Ones would have the perfect excuse to assign her a death sentence. Not to mention what killing someone would do to her mental state. Luna was delicate. She was naturallygood. Nikolai had spent centuries coming to terms with his nightmares, with his past. If Luna killed…
Kobe grunted, “We go now.”
Chapter 44
If Luna thought being a prey was bad, she had no clue how horrible vampirism would be.
She couldn’t even enjoy stuffing her face with delicious looking hors d’oeuvres when she felt a hundred glares and narrowed gazes focused on her in the ballroom. Daxton had described the night as a long-awaited introduction of the new queen. He made it sound happy and exciting. Welcoming. Instead, she had been met with frowns.
Hated. Despised.
“Parasite,” someone had whispered when she strode by them to move toward where Daxton charmed a group of people across the room.
“Leech,” another one called Luna as she passed.
Each word was a hot poker, stabbing at her again and again, causing pain and annoyance. Anger. Luna just felt sofullof anger. It was not like her. Sure, she got pissed at times in life, but this was an overwhelming haze of red over her vision. Prey or predator, why could no one accept her as she was?
Thump, thump.
Gods, there were just so many people in the room. And she was so damn thirsty.
Thump, thump.
And their heartbeats were so freaking loud. And their judgmental whispers speared through her ears, left and right.
“She was with the snake king.”
“A bloodsucker as our queen?”
Luna scowled, her fangs peeking out from behind her lips as they protruded. Her teeth sensed a threat. Her throat stung.
The Light Ones were supposed to be the “good guys?” Other than Daxton, Luna had found them to be a bunch of pricks. As much as Luna claimed to hate Bastille, she better understood him now. If he had been raised in this type of environment, where people viewed him as a monster without ever knowing him, no wonder he turned out so rough. The basilisk shifter had trust issues, same as Luna.
“How much longer until the witches fix her?” one stranger asked at normal volume as Luna walked by him.
Fix me?She glared at the man and flashed her fangs. His quick look of terror calmed her rising anger—for a moment.
