Page 58 of The Alpha's Protective Mate

I don’t remember talking about the author. I must have been very drunk.

“Charlotte?” Jazz asks curiously, peeking over my shoulder to look at the note. “What does that mean?”

“Nothing,” I shake my head.

I should throw the card away, but when I hold it over the trash bin, my hand refuses to release it. Sighing, I tuck it back into one of the books.

Devious, devious man.

He knew exactly how to get under my skin.

If it had been flowers or chocolates or any of the normal gifts guys send, it would have been easier to be unaffected. This is much harder. It’s as if he reached inside me, took a small desire that I never had any hopes of achieving, and turned it into a beautiful reality.

“Jerk,” I mumble to myself.

As I hurry to the back room, hugging my precious bounty to my chest, I hear Jazz say, “Who gets that excited over books?”

I put the novels in my bag and close my locker before smiling giddily. I can’t wait to get home and look at them again.

The day can’t end fast enough for me, and as evening falls, Gina reminds me, “You have to lock up today.”

I close my eyes. Damn it.

Locking up alone means more work.

Unfortunately, this is my job, and I can’t exactly say no. I flip the closed sign once the hours are up and begin putting the chairs on the tables. Gina was kind enough to prepare the mop water for me today; I quickly clean the floor, then go into the bathroom to drain the bucket. After washing it, I put it in the small storage room we have in the back for cleaning supplies. As I’m about to close the door of the storage room, I hear a sound coming from outside.

Frowning, I take off my rubber gloves and make my way to the front of the cafe.

A woman is standing there, near the counter, her back to me.

“I’m sorry,” I begin. “We’re closed.”

Two things happen at the same time: I see the way the front door lock has been broken, and the cold energy that can only belong to a vampire reaches me.

I freeze.

This is not good.

The woman slowly turns, and I recognize her almost instantly. My blood runs cold.

Chapter 12

Charlotte Sanguinite

“You,” I breathe, rooted in place out of fear and shock.

The last time I saw Arabella, she was sneering at me, a kind of viciousness in her eyes that no ten-year-old should have. When it came to her appearance, Arabella inherited our father’s dark looks, her skin a beautiful olive shade, her eyes a sharp green, and her hair black as a raven’s, falling to her waistline like a waterfall. As a child, she was cute, but as an adult, she’s gorgeous. Her cheekbones are sharp, her eyes almost catlike in shape. She has lost all her chubbiness, her figure slim like a model’s.

Compared to her, I look like a frumpy maid, with my hair in disarray, my curvy figure, and the bags under my eyes.

I see the way my sister looks at me, her eyes running up and down my body in a horrid mixture of disdain, disgust, and delight.

“I always thought you died the night Father threw you out.” She giggles, covering her mouth with her perfectly manicured fingers. “I saw you the other day, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. I just had to check. I’m so glad that I did. Look at you. How are you more pathetic than you were back then?!”

The sound of her laugh is like soft bells, easy on the ears. Vampires have exaggerated beauty. It’s not talked about, but I have never met an ugly vampire. The stronger the blood, the more striking their looks. However, Arabella’s sharp tongue and the maliciousness in her eyes paint a harsh picture.

I don’t know why she’s here. Her motives worry me.

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