The music restarted and slowly, the chattering began again. Whatever grand entrance this prince had made was done and the party resumed. Still, no one approached me and I shuffled to the fringes, trying to decide what to do next. Voices swirled around me. Sheridan had given up on her argument and sat at a table in hushed conversation with the wrinkled old man beside her. Thill, they’d called him. Snippets of conversations reached me. I ignored most of them but one comment in particular caught my attention.
“I can’t believe Regan is going to have to marry that monster. Maybe she can kill him when he falls asleep on their wedding night.”
I searched through the small huddles of guests until I found the speaker. She had light-brown hair, shoulder length, and a pointy chin. Her eyes were the same exact shade of green as Carter’s. I remember seeing them sitting together behind us at the council meeting. I assumed this must be Bevin, Carter’s sister; the one who planned on helping Regan train for the competition.
“Dummy. Vamps don’t sleep,” said the girl beside her. She was small and slender and had her hair cut shorter than Bevin’s, in a pixie cut.
Bevin snorted. “That explains the dark circles under their eyes.”
I turned back to the front before they could notice me listening in. I kept my expression carefully neutral and stared down at my hands. The sureness in Bevin’s voice sparked anger in me. She was acting like it wasn’t even a question that Regan would win and become the alpha.
What about me? I had a chance. It might be small compared to her. I might not have the fighting skills or hunting skills she did (the thought of killing and eating something in my wolf form made me want to gag), but it was possible. Or it could be. If I wanted it.
And for some reason, the knowledge that I’d been so easily counted out had awakened competitiveness inside me I hadn’t known was there. After what Regan said earlier, I couldn’t bring myself to entertain the idea of forfeiting any longer, but I refused to be cast out of the running so easily. I could at least put up a fight, show them I should be taken seriously.
If I was ever going to belong somewhere, Paradise was it.
I made a decision. I would learn to fight. And hunt. And I would find out everything I could about leading a pack. If it meant I had to marry this Owen guy, I’d do it. No more daydreaming about a friendly vampire in the woods. I would be loyal only to my pack and somehow, I’d earn their loyalty back.
I was a Vuk. It was time I acted like it.
“I’m going to go find a drink,” I said to no one in particular and stomped off.
There wasn’t a drop of alcohol in the clearing. It was all apple cider and punch. Punch? In a gathering of werewolves? I couldn’t believe it. I would have been much more prepared to find glasses of blood or something for the vampires.
I found a mostly unoccupied buffet table and stationed myself next to it, snacking on grapes and scanning the crowd. Everyone who passed gave me a hard look but I ignored them. What was I supposed to do? Wave to the crowd like the Queen of England?
“Why is such a beautiful creature standing all alone?”
I whirled at the familiar voice. The vampire I had met at the clearing had somehow materialized at my back. I hadn’t even seen him arrive to the party. He had been dark and handsome the last time I saw him, but it was nothing compared to the way he looked now. He wore a black suit cut close to the lines of his body that accentuated his slim figure. A brush of hair fell over his eyes—I tried not to dwell on his red irises. Heavy gold rings marked his fingers, the kind of jewelry that was passed down through generations of family. The only splash of color in his suit was a crimson tie. Definitely dressed to impress.
“You! What are you doing here?”
“I could ask the same of you,” he said, circling me slowly. I could feel him behind me even when I couldn’t see him, like he was trailing a hand along my back. I closed my eyes and shivered, ignoring my wolf as it warned me not to turn my back on my new friend.
“Don’t you know this is a dangerous gathering?” His voice came from my left but still, I pretended to be unconcerned and stared ahead.
“It’s supposed to be a party,” I said.
“You don’t believe that, do you?”
I shook my head. When I opened my eyes, he was standing right in front of me, his chin tilted as he studied me, and it was all I could do to keep breathing. His eyes glimmered. But this time, the red had nothing to do with my fascination. Instead, my attention caught on the way they were focused on my lips.
I couldn’t help it. I had to touch the arm of his suit. It was spun from fine silk, and I was willing to bet I had never touched anything so expensive in my life. Slowly, I reached out a tentative hand and let my fingers brush along the silky fabric. The moment I did, my senses seemed to come awake and I jerked my hand back as my cheeks heated in a blushed.
The vampire was looking at the place I touched him, but now a few others were watching. I didn’t have to look up to know. I felt it just like I’d felt him. My wolf growled inside me, warning me just what it was that watched us.
“This is a mistake,” I whispered.
His hand brushed my chin. “The party, or…?”
“All of it,” I said quickly.
“You have no clue how much I agree, darling,” he murmured. His hungry gaze raked down my body. “You look beautiful.”
My cheeks heated, but instead of retreat, I planted my heeled feet and stood my ground. I’m a Vuk, I reminded myself. I couldn’t run away from my first vamp encounter, especially in front of so many onlookers. “You look pretty good too,” I said, forcing my voice light and uncaring. “So how are you related to the family anyway? You’re not with those uptight royals, are you?” I turned my nose up in obvious distaste.
His laughter rang out like the chime of bells. It was surprisingly pleasant and lit up his face. “Uptight royals, hmm? I like that. I’m with them, but believe me when I say it’s not by choice.”
“Yeah, we can’t choose our family,” I muttered, shooting a glance at my dad. He was in the middle of a tense conversation with the vampire king and queen, but all of their eyes were trained on me. I shivered as the strange vampire leaned in, either unaware or uncaring of our audience.
“No matter how much we wish we could,” he added softly.
Our eyes connected. I recognized that expression of distress and resignation. For the second time since I had been abducted to Paradise, I felt like someone understood me.
Our fingers touched. His eyes widened with surprise—but not displeasure.
Oh man, what was I doing? That was on the wrong side of the line between flirting and friendly. Considering I was supposed to be at an engagement party—maybe even my own engagement party—I should not have been sharing flirty compliments with anyone. Especially not the enemy.
I took a step back, but that was as far as I got before the music shifted, signaling something happening up front.
I turned just in time to see Sheridan climb onto the stage. She strode to the center where a microphone had been placed, a perfect smile on her lips. “A toast!” she said, lifting her glass of sparkling cider. “Could we get Prince Owen and the sisters up here? Please?”
People turned to look at me. A dozen faces stared with expectation, some moonlight pale, some tan and familiar.
The sisters. That included me. Right.
I squared my shoulders, taking a deep breath to try to slow my racing heart. The vampire walked me to the stage, and the crowd parted for us, letting me step through without having to bump any shoulders. I kept my eyes open for this horrible vampire prince I was supposed to marry. If he looked anything like his father—severe, austere, and scary as all get out—he wouldn’t be hard to pick from the crowd.
My new friend gave me a hand up on stage. I took it, though only to avoid the commentary if I’d refused. I gave him a look that hopefully conveyed Go Away! before turning away from him and making my way toward Sheridan. The lights were so
bright that they warmed my shoulders immediately. I pumped my hands open and closed as my palms clammed up.
I stepped into line, shoulder to shoulder with Regan and felt someone brush up beside me on my left. I looked over and froze.
My vampire stranger stood beside me, his attention on the crowd. No one said anything about it and I realized with slow, frigid awareness that he was here because he was supposed to be. And suddenly, everything about him was commanding. He faced the crowd with a charismatic smirk, opening his arms wide. “Thank you so much for having me here,” he said into the microphone.
I flinched—an icy shiver rocking through me as I understood but struggled to find a reason to be wrong.
“No way,” I whispered.
As if I’d spoken only to him, my vampire turned and winked at me before continuing his formal hello and offering up a toast to the crowd. All I could do was stand and listen, numb, as I went through the motions of raising my glass and sipping appropriately to my own—or Regan’s—impending marriage.
I couldn’t believe it.
The friend I’d made in the forest—my vampire—was the evil, scary, monstrous Prince Owen.
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Bitterroot, Part 2 is now available!
One month ago, Charlotte Vuk—Charlie—was living in a small town in Oregon with her mother, completely unaware she was next in line for alpha to a werewolf pack so steeped in tradition and rules that they banished her mother 17 years ago for being “the other woman.” Now, Charlie is here in Paradise to meet a family she never knew she had. And to compete for a title she never wanted in the first place.
Regan Vuk needs to be alpha—and fast. Her father has completely lost his mind; promising his daughter's hand in marriage to their worst enemy in exchange for a peace the vampires ruined when they killed Regan’s mom is crazy. Regan needs to unseat him and bring order back to her people. Even if it means hurting Charlie in the process.
Charlie doesn’t understand why everyone hates the vampires so much. So far, Owen’s done nothing but help her. He’s the only friend she has, the only one who has taken the time to get to know her. But Owen isn’t the only one who sees her, and soon both girls realize there’s someone else out there against the idea of another Vuk becoming alpha. It might even be the same person who killed Regan’s mom. When they discover a vampire’s scent on their tail, Regan isn’t surprised they're in danger.
For Charlie, it’s beginning to feel as if her world is crumbling in around her. For Regan, it's just another day in Paradise.
Bitterroot, part 2 is available now!
To find out more, visit the author’s website at www.heatherhildenbrand.com
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Bitterroot Part 1 Page 11
