Page 48 of Cinderella and Her Vampires (Dirty Paranormal Fairytale Haremlan 5)

“Vampires,” Silas said, “are extremely territorial. Especially with those we mark. So, you should consider yourself lucky you didn’t end up in a worse position.”

“Threatening me isn’t going to do you any favors,” I said. “I’m willing to help, remember?”

“Think about it,” Xavier said, leaning closer. “What made you give in to us?”

I blinked at him as a pinch formed in the center of my head. I wasn’t sure what he was trying to get at, but I wasn’t liking it. “I was horny… so my hormones did.”

“The point is, we didn’t force you. Instead, we played off your signals,” Xavier explained. “What did you really want?”

“A direct request for consent,” I snapped. “Not to be followed by vampires for the rest of my life, without being able to change my mind.”

“You’re looking at this all wrong,” Brock said. “This could be a good thing.”

I snorted. “This coming from the guy who, two minutes ago, didn’t want me doing any such thing.”

He shrugged. “I changed my mind. I see the reasoning behind marking you.”

“How kind of you,” I muttered.

Silas took his seat and leaned back. “Is it really that hard for you to accept that all we want is to protect you?”

I shrugged. But even I couldn’t deny that sentence sort of disarmed me. “Why is the big question.”

“We’ve never met a woman like you before,” Silas said and smiled. “And we’ve been around for a very, very long time.”

He fell silent for a few moments. Almost as if he was recalling all his memories from dozens of human lifetimes. At least, it could have been dozens. I wasn’t sure.

He smiled at me. “It would be a shame for you to fall victim to another vampire.”

“But why me? What is so special about me? You hardly know me,” I said.

“You might as well be asking why the sun rises,” Brock said. “It just is.”

I shook my head and leaned back in the chair. There was so much wrong with this whole thing. I didn’t even know where to begin to start making sense of it all. So, instead, I started thinking of that man I heard the vampires call Collin and thought about his repulsion to me when I first encountered him in the basement. At first, I thought it was the same issue he had with me when we first met in the bar, but there was so much more at play than I realized.

“Huh,” I said, “Well, that explains why Collin recoiled and ran away from me the way he had.”

“Explain,” Silas said, dragging out the word as though he wanted to mask it as a request when I knew full well it was a demand.

I told them about Collin’s reactions to me in the basement.

Silas nodded. “Precisely. Of course, my blood is more potent than the others. I’m the Prince of Vampires. Essentially you carry an innate, invisible ‘no touchy’ sign for all other vampires. Including newborns.”

“We weren’t clear with you about our customs before,” Xavier said. “For that, I want to apologize.”

Silas added, “And if, after the fight, you would like to return to your life as it was, we will let you go. The mark should wear off in a few months. After that, we won’t bother you again and you would be free to live out the rest of your existence as you see fit.”

I smiled. “I appreciate you being willing to let me go. I’m not property, and I refuse to be treated like I am. I only want to make the decision for myself.”

“Very well,” Silas said.

Brock stood with his jaws clenched.

Xavier sat to my side, relaxed as ever.

“I don’t want to rush you into any decision,” Brock said, “But we don’t exactly have all the time in the world.”

“You’re impatient for a vampire,” I said.

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