Page 12 of Snowed in with the Vampire Prince

“He made his choices, and he suffered his consequences accordingly,” Pierce replied coldly. “It’s interesting that she didn’t just feed on you, though.”

I gestured to him, letting out a little laugh. “I mean, is it? From where I’m sitting, vampires are kind of like superheroes with fangs. Like, you guys just kind of show up whenever I’m in danger, like I’m Lois Lane or something.”

He obviously understood the Superman reference, because he snorted, and his lips jerked into a smile. “So that’s why you’re not afraid of vampires. Because you’re Lois Lane.”

I sighed, suddenly recognizing that he was trying to distract me—and worse, that it was working. I did my best to cling to my annoyance, even if it was increasingly mingled with my relief at not having to face down the wolf pack again.

Yet, at least.

I crossed the room and sank onto the couch nonetheless. I hadn’t been lying about that part—I felt like a total idiot, standing there in his living room, arguing with him. Arguing with a vampire.

“I don’t know about ‘vampires’ in the plural,” I told him, thinking it over and assessing my reaction to him so far. “Who knows, maybe I’ll meet a vampire someday that will spook me. But look, here’s how it is. I already knew that vampires aren’t mindless killers—in fact, some of you, at least, clearly have a lot of compassion and restraint. I mean, you’re right. The one who saved me way back when could’ve totally snacked on me—I was covered in blood. But she chose not to.” I paused again, locking eyes with him. “And you’re obviously not planning on hurting me, so ergo, I’m not afraid of you. It’s as simple as that.”

Both of his eyebrows shot up at this, but he didn’t say anything aloud to contradict me.

I didn’t like his skeptical, disbelieving expression, so I started listing off my evidence, counting it off on my fingers. “First, you went out of your way to come and find me in the woods, which meant you’re selfless enough to value a stranger’s life over not-celebrating your vampire birthday. Second, you healed me—again, a total stranger—when you didn’t have to. Third, I was bleeding all over the place, and you didn’t feed on me. Which means you’re just like her. The one who saved me the first time. One of the good ones. And fourth, even though you’re being a jerk about it, you’re still actively trying to protect me from the fucking wolves outside that door.”

He rolled his eyes at that, but the corners of his mouth jerked up into what looked like another involuntary smile.

“If you add all that together, it means you’re trustworthy,” I concluded. I gave him a sideways look, then added, “Probably.”

“Probably,” he agreed, laughing like that was the funniest thing in the world.

Why on earth did he have to look so unfairly sexy when he laughed?

It had been a while since I’d had any gentleman callers, and apparently, I was extremely horny. If I lived through this without turning into a werewolf, I would need to rectify that situation immediately after I got back to town. Maybe I’d call up one of those friends with benefits I occasionally messed around with and put all this squarely behind me.

He eyed me warily, but he stepped away from the door, coming to sit down across from me on the chair to my right, next to where the abandoned glass of wine was still sitting on the floor, leaving me a clear path to the door.

A dare, maybe. Or a test. I didn’t take the bait, obviously. He had literally just demonstrated that in a test of speed, I’d lose in a heartbeat. I needed to bide my time.

Still, when I didn’t make a break for the door, he visibly relaxed.

“And you’re, what, unsurprised to have it confirmed for you that vampires are real?” he asked, still sounding genuinely curious and weirdly fixated on why I wasn’t quaking in my boots. “It doesn’t alarm you that monsters exist in the world?”

“Plenty of humans do some pretty evil shit to each other,” I shot back. “So, no. Just because you’re a vampire doesn’t necessarily make you a monster.” I paused. “Not in my book, at least. Again, you guys have been the heroes in my story so far.”

“Look, I’m trying very hard to understand you right now.”

“Yeah, I noticed. Why is that?” I frowned at him. Now that he mentioned it, he did seem awfully interested in me. I added, “Seriously. I’m just a regular guy. I’m nothing special.”

“Oh, I doubt that,” he said immediately. But then he grimaced slightly as if he hadn’t meant to say that aloud either. He added, “And stop dodging my questions.”

“Fine. Yes, I guess it’s maybe a little weird that vampires and werewolves exist. But you’re sitting right here, talking to me, so I know for a fact that vampires are real. And the wolves that jumped me tonight were way too deliberate to be wild animals. A regular wolf pack would have torn me apart. So, I’m trusting you when you say they were werewolves.”

“Right. And that doesn’t upset your worldview?”

“Not really,” I admitted. “Since the accident, I’ve known that the world was a more mysterious place than most people think. We—humans, I mean—well, we think we’ve got everything figured out. But we don’t. So, why not vampires?”

“And werewolves,” Pierce added.

I couldn’t stop the shudder that tore through my body again at the reminder. Not because they were werewolves, but because they were still out there, hunting me. I pictured the pack outside in the darkness, circling the cabin, biding their time, and waiting for the right moment to strike.

“And werewolves,” I agreed, grimacing.

“You’re a very strange human,” Pierce told me, his eyebrows drawing together slightly as though I still didn’t quite make sense to him. “But that’s probably just the lingering effects of my blood. You’re intoxicated. You don’t even know what you’re saying.”

“I’m fine!” I snapped. Indignation tore through me, lightning-fast, that he had automatically assumed that just because I wasn’t panicking, that meant I wasn’t in my right mind.

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