Page 106 of Pretty Little Prey
“Come, little mate.” Daxton lifted her to her feet and guided her to exit the small luxury plane.
She did her best not to smell him, listen to the beating of his heart, or stare at his thick, juicy neck.
“It is time for our future to begin,” he said.
Two worries nibbled at the back of her brain.
Are the Dark Ones coming for me?
How much longer can I go without feeding?
The lunch with his parents was…awkward.
At first, they had welcomed her with open arms, gushing about how happy they were that their son found his mate. Then, his father sniffed her and reeled back in disgust at realizing she was a vampire.
“Mated to a Dark One?” his father had asked, aghast, like it was a fate worse than death.
“She was a prey shifter. A Duttur. But Bastille…” One Daxton’s hands tightened into a fist before he released a heavy breath. “The Dark Ones turned her before I could get to her.”
His mother had frozen, staring at Luna with wide eyes that seemed to flare with…guilt? “Bastille did this to her?” she asked unevenly.
“Yes.”
Daxton’s mother laid a hand over her heart, clutching a gold string of diamonds around her nape. “You poor thing.”
“One of the witches will be able to turn her back,” Daxton said in a rush. “There must be a spell.”
“To reverse vampirism?” Daxton’s father stated slowly, “I know of no existing spell.”
“The witches will have to come up with something. She must be changed back.”
Luna shifted all of her weight on her opposite foot as she assessed the situation. She had gone from a lowly, disrespected prey to a hated Dark One in the palace of light shifters where she was perceived as a monster.Can no one accept me as I am?She shook her head at the thought. Shewantedto be turned back to her old self.
Eventually, everyone awkwardly sat at the long, wide grand dining table. Salads sat on beautiful porcelain plates featuring gold etchings. Luna picked up her fork, feeling hungry, then remembered what she was hungry for now did not equate to normal food. She frowned at the salad.
Daxton’s mother took a long sip of ice water from her glass goblet before breaking the silence. “So, you can only, ahem, consume blood?”
“I used to be a herbivore,” Luna stated sadly, swallowing down her sorrow. Her throat burned as thirst raged. “But, um, yes. N-Now food tastes like ash to me.”And I’m trying not to take a bite from your son’s sexy neck, she thought but kept that to herself.
“And how do you plan to feed while you are here?”
“Mother,” Daxton scolded.
“What? It is an important question. If she gets lost in bloodlust, she could hurt someone.Killsomeone—”
“She will feed from me,” Daxton replied, his eyes narrowed on his parents.
They scoffed. “Be serious about this, Daxton. A new vampire? What if she cannot control herself? What if she hurts you?”
“She will feed from me,” he repeated. “And only me.”
“You would let a leech have your blood?” his father asked, incredulous. “Weakenyou?”
“We strengthen each other. Like true mates.”
“Gods, hopefully the witches answer our calls soon.” His father blotted his stern mouth with a burgundy cloth napkin. “You are waiting to marry her until she is turned back, I hope? Not that being a prey is much better—”
“Father,” Daxton growled back, baring his teeth. “She is my mate.”
