Page 158 of Filthy Rich Vampires: For Eternity

Lysander growled, a bit too convincingly. Maybe Thoren was onto something. “You’re next in line.”

“She seemed to think it was your turn.” He winked at him.

I thought Lysander might actually rip his head off, but he aimed his quiet fury at Thoren. “And you?”

A brow arched over his mask. “I asked nicely.”

I bit back a laugh as Lysander cursed them both.

“Chill.” Sebastian’s hands dug into his pockets. “I’m sure Aurelia will be here. Maybe she’ll be wearing a red hood and looking for a big, bad—”

Lysander curled his lip, a feral snarl cutting our brother off mid-sentence. “I don’t what you are talking about.”

Sebastian snorted. “I have eyes, brother. Big ones.”

“Seb.” Warning laced Thoren’s voice. “We should patrol.”

Sebastian grimaced. “You were serious about that part?”

“C’mon if you behave, I’ll let you check out that blood orgy in the ballroom.” Thoren grabbed our brother’s shoulder and prodded him forward, tilting his head in apology to us before they both vanished into the crowd.

We watched them go, Lysander muttering under his breath about fairness and duty.

“Now you know how I felt last October,” I told him as we wove our way through the guests.

“At least you got a mate out of it.” The crowd parted before us, whispers following us. Not that any of them knew who we were under these masks, but they’d done their job. Ahead, a cluster of females in Grecian gowns, each mask a near identical face, each turned to analyze the crowd, searching for prey. The one in the center turned to her sisters and murmured in their ears. All three turned curious eyes in our direction.

One stepped forward, her gaze roving over us with interest. “Wolf,” she purred, resting a hand on his chest, “have you ever fucked a Goddess? How about three?” When he didn’t respond, her eyes skipped to me. “Your dragon friend is welcome to have a turn, too.”

A low growl rumbled in Lysander’s throat, his fangs snapping at her. She stumbled a step, careening into her sisters. They soothed her as we continued on.

“You could have just said no, thank you.” I couldn’t keep the amusement from my voice.

“You’re mated,” he said, the words rough and guttural.

“They were more interested in you,” I pressed. “All three of them.”

That earned me a snarl, but I laughed. I didn’t tell him I thought Sebastian was on to something. He was already down. Why kick him? Whatever was happening between him and Thea’s bodyguard was his own business. Still.... “If you need to talk about it, I’ve been in your shoes.”

His mouth twisted as he shook his head. “Thea wanted you.”

I clapped a hand on his shoulder to tell him I understood and dropped it.

“We’ll have better luck from the center of the courtyard,” he changed the subject as he aimed us away from the perimeter toward those mingling in the middle of the space. Even amongst vampires, we stood nearly a full head taller than everyone in the room, so looking out over the crowd might help us spot Thea.

Unfortunately, someone else was holding court at the heart of the party. We shared a look and cut our way through the crowd.

CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

JACQUELINE

“Are you planning to be a wallflower all night?”

I turned to find Camila at my side, and... words failed me. The mask had chosen well, transforming her black hair to raven feathers. It covered her eyes only, but did nothing to suppress that shrewd, assessing gaze. Her gown consisted of two panels of black lace that covered her breasts and joined at the waist to fall between her legs, allowing her toned legs to slide free with each movement. The wings of her cloak offered a little modesty, but not much.

She met my gaze for a moment, holding it, before her eyes dropped to my mouth and lingered. “You’re beautiful.”

I shook my head. My transformation paled compared to hers. My features feline under the mask’s magic, my gown silver white and specked with spots. Not a simple house cat. A leopard, swift and cunning, but perhaps no match for a raven.

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