Page 38 of Cinderella and Her Vampires (Dirty Paranormal Fairytale Haremlan 5)

I rolled my eyes. “I’m trying to help you up from the floor. Unless you want to lay there all night long.”

“I thought about it, actually,” she said. “I’m pretty comfortable.”

“Just take my hand, would you?” I asked, becoming impatient.

“Fine.” She took my hand and I hoisted her from the ground.

Now that she was on her feet, I kept a hold of her hand and led her to the wing where I kept my donors. I had an empty room that was available and could lock her inside until things blew over. She would be out of my hair, out of danger, and out of the way.

I found the door and opened it into the room, and then gestured for her to go inside.

“What’s this place?” she asked, raking her gaze from wall to wall.

“You do love asking questions, don’t you?” I asked.

She shrugged. “People learn by asking questions.”

“It’s a room,” I said. “Go in.”

“Why?” she asked.

“Does everything need to be a challenge with you? There is a vampire on the loose. A newborn one. One with uncontrollable thirst. You’re lucky he didn’t drain you on the spot. But he’s out and on the run and impossible to track down. This is my only way to ensure you stay safe. Now, are you going to go in there or am I going to force you?”

“You wouldn’t dare force me. I’m not going in that room. I don’t know—”

I growled and forced her inside then shut the door and locked it.

She banged on the door. “That wasn’t fair!”

I shook my head and walked away. My next step was to find Silas and let him know what was going on. If the last couple of nights had been anything to go off of, he was about to leave the mansion and head to the bar. He had no idea Cindy was here. If he had sensed her or even sniffed her, she would have been with him already.

I found Silas as he was heading out the door.

“Wait…” I called out.

He stopped and turned his confusion-filled gaze on me. “What’s going on?”

I stopped a couple of feet in front of him and said, “You might want to reconsider leaving tonight.”

“Why?” he asked.

“The girl is here,” I said. “She’s safe though.”

“Again?” he asked, eyes growing wider. He took a couple of steps toward me and stared into the darkness filling the mansion. “I didn’t even sense her. When did she get in?”

I held up a hand to stop him. “None of that matters when you hear what else I have to say.”

“Make it quick, Xavier,” he said, leveling his gaze on me. I could feel his need to find the girl seeping off of him. His tone was slightly sharper… but that was only the urge to protect forcing its way through. He claimed the woman.

I swallowed the ick of jealousy so that I could accomplish my mission.

“Brock turned the human,” I said. “I warned you not to keep the human around.”

“What?” his voice came out flat, almost as though he truly hadn’t heard me. But I knew he was in disbelief. The same thing I felt when I first learned of Collin’s situation.

There was hurt in his voice mixed with disappointment. He had so much banked on Brock. He was being groomed as Silas’s successor. But after tonight, that was all going to change.

I sighed. “I’m sorry, Silas. I warned you he was hot-headed. I wished I had caught on before now. I probably could have stopped him.”

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