Page 5 of Royal Bite
What she wouldn’t give to be taken from this life and given to the warrior princess. Stormey desired to be loved, cherished, and protected. She’d heard rumors that all the mates to vampires were satisfied. She didn’t know anyone personally, but she’d heard from others who did know someone that vampire mates never wanted to leave their vampires.
Stormey’s infatuation may be next-level stalking. She had researched everything she could find about the heir to the throne. The amount of information that as available left Stormey confused on how the world hadn’t known about vampires before the war. Stormey knew everything about the vampire that was made public. Her obsession with the princess was like that of a schoolgirl crushing on a famous rockstar.
It wasn’t the wealth that was attractive. Stormey wasn’t that shallow.
It was Hegna’s sense of strength and power. That night where she and her vampires had come in and defeated the rogues was still ingrained in her mind. The way her army followed her commands had been impressive.
The woman was downright sexy. Her dark hair, toned body, and ice-blue eyes. Stormey had viewed multiple pictures of her on the web. She had spent many hours at the library doing her research into vampire history, traditions, and the Riskel family.
Stormey had caught stories of the princess’s prowess on the news. There were tales of her lovers and her love of adult entertainment. The heir to the throne was the last of the Riskel daughters to be mated. Her sisters, Velika and Lethia, were mated to their human women via the draft. Hegna was considered one of the most eligible bachelorettes on the continent, if not the world. The princess had been photographed with various unnamed women, and Stormey could never confirm if she was in a relationship with any of them.
She couldn’t wait for the day her name was picked so she could go down to the government lab and get her blood drawn.
She wanted someone to claim her.
Stormey knew she would make a damn good mate to whoever. She had skills that would be helpful. She was a great cook, but vampires didn’t consume food. Her cooking skills could be useful for entertaining. She was kind, loyal, and at times a night owl. She could get used to the nocturnal way of life.
She chuckled and shook her head.
“Enough daydreaming,” she muttered. She walked to her cart and grabbed clean linen. She turned around and went back in to finish her job. Once she got home, she could daydream about Hegna Riskel until she drifted off to sleep like she had done so many other nights.
Stormey’s body ached, but she ignored her complaining muscles. It had been a long day at work, but she wasn’t done yet. She was going to stop by the orphanage, Friends of Greta, which was on her way home. Friends of Greta was run by Greta Brothers, a former nun. She was an older woman who’d started the orphanage thirty years ago. After the war, her orphanage had been flooded with children in need.
Volunteers like Stormey helped her to keep it running as smooth as could be. Greta was getting up there in age and needed all the help she could get to keep up with the rambunctious children.
The war had caused so much devastation. The vampires had swept through their world and destroyed everything. Life as humans knew it was never the same. Humans were no longer at the top of the food chain.
And lately, the world had been in another uproar. It would appear that it wasn’t just vampires they had to deal with.
Now there were the lycans.
Stormey shivered at the thought of the wolf shifters. It felt as if she were living in a paranormal movie. Shifters and vampires? Who would come out next?
It would seem that humans had been so arrogant to think they were the only ones inhabiting the planet. Stormey was sure there was so much more out there that they didn’t know about.
She hefted her bag onto her shoulder and marched out of the employee lounge. A new wave of energy flooded her with the thought of spending some time with the kiddos. She pushed open the door that led to the hotel’s front desk and saw Jack on the telephone.
“Goodnight,” she called out and waved.
“Stormey.” Jack motioned to the phone. “Phone is for you.”
“Me?” She skidded to a halt. Who would be calling her? Whoever it was, the call must be important. Unfortunately, she didn’t have a phone of her own and gave her work number for anything important. Her heart seemed to leap into her throat. Her feet were heavy as she walked toward the front desk. “Who is it?”
“I’m not your secretary.” Jack blew out a deep breath. “I understand why some of you give out this number, but I’m not in the business of taking messages.”
He thrust the phone into her hand. She swallowed hard and lifted it to her ear.
“This is Stormey Jaymes. How can I help you?” Her voice didn’t shake, and she was proud of that.
“Yes, Ms. Jaymes, this is Lucy Donovan from the Wichita Draft Office. I need to ask you a few questions to verify your identity.” The woman’s voice was cold and lifeless.
“Yes, of course.” Stormey answered the simple questions. She had to contain her excitement. She had been waiting for this day to come. Deep in her gut, she knew her life was about to change forever.
“Thank you, Ms. Jaymes. You have been identified as a human who will need to report for the draft. Do you understand what this means?”
“Yes, I do.” Stormey had to fight to keep a smile from forming.
“Good. You will need to report to the following lab. Do you have a pen and paper to write down the address?”
