Page 7 of Snowed in with the Vampire Prince

He was gorgeous, of course. But so were lots of guys. And yes, he was a vampire. That was definitely new territory for me in terms of intimate partners. I had a healthy sex drive, and though I’m not usually into random encounters with strangers, I’ve also never had any problem with establishing a sexual relationship with guys that I find attractive. It’s usually friends with benefits, but still. I certainly found the vampire plenty attractive. He had short dark hair, pale skin, an angular face, and amber eyes, a color I didn’t even know was possible without contact lenses. And even without being a supernatural blood-sucking creature of the night, he looked strong enough and muscular enough to snap me in half, the exact kind of guy that had always given me a thrill of excitement.

But that wasn’t it either. Not really. There was something very strange about him. The moment I laid eyes on him, I felt like I had known him my entire life. And I knew, knew that he wouldn’t hurt me—couldn’t hurt me.

More than that, I knew that I wanted him in some visceral way. Like my very body and soul wanted him, even if my brain was still wondering what in the hell was going on.

Which had to be the blood loss talking. Or the shock. Or the something. Because that wasn’t how I operated, ever.

Besides, I had already shot my shot, and he wasn’t into it. And I was kind of coming off quite a bit easier than usual. And… well, what was I even looking for?

Sex, for sure. Which was, again, weird—I wasn’t usually so forward.

Even though I had that weird inner certainty that told me he wouldn’t hurt me, there was something dangerous about him. And not merely because he was a vampire. I was feeling strange, irrational things—impossible stirrings in my heart that definitely shouldn’t have been stirring. And it needed to be squashed immediately.

Love doesn’t exist, I reminded myself harshly. Love at first sight sure as hell doesn’t exist. And even if it did, you wouldn’t find it with a vampire. Nope. Ain’t gonna happen.

I couldn’t help remembering the stricken way my father had looked on the night my mother left us. The hollow wrecked look in his eyes was forever seared into my brain. I still don’t know what she said to him that night, but whatever it was, she had crushed him. He’d never been the same afterward. He’d tried to pretend he was for my sake, but he hadn’t been.

I couldn’t stop myself from hating her a little because of that. But I’d promised myself a long time ago that what had happened to my father would never happen to me. I was never going to give my heart over to anyone. Ever. Love is for suckers who were into courting pain, even if they didn't know it.

No way, no how.

I stopped scrubbing, letting the water beat down on me and swirl down the drain. I felt a strange mix of dismay and conviction as I realized what I needed to do next.

The vampire had saved me.

And if I wanted to be loyal and true, like my dad had always told me to be, it meant I needed to pay back that favor now. Because the vampire had saved my life without a second thought, and he’d clearly gotten himself into some sort of serious trouble as a result of that choice. I had read the look in his eyes when he had glanced at the door after I had told him all about the wolves. And I had known right then, from that one wary look at the door, that protecting me was going to be dangerous for him. He’d lied about it, but that didn’t matter. I’m a good judge of character, and I can read people extremely easily. Being hypervigilant about the people you love suddenly walking away from you without any kind of warning will do wonders for your powers of observation.

The wolves were going to come back for me—I felt certain of that. Which meant that the best thing I could offer to the vampire now was to leave.

But could I, on a purely practical level, do that?

I thought so. I’m in good shape. My coat is warm, made for the cold weather. And I felt fine now—not even a trace left of the bite. I didn’t even feel faint from the blood loss.

I could easily head back down the mountain. Though I didn’t want to pollute the forest with my gear, I could leave my campsite behind if I had to. It would be too dangerous to stop and pack anything up. Nothing there was crucial anyhow, except maybe my phone. But that was replaceable. I might even get away from the wolves.

Maybe.

And then I'd go home and forget about all of this. Or, more likely, I'd get attacked by the wolves again. But if I did, they’d just be trying to turn me into one of them. Though, I wasn’t looking forward to a repeat of the wolf bite. It hurt like hell.

Who knows? I told myself. Maybe being a werewolf would be fun. Maybe I’d learn to like it.

But I didn’t believe that for a second. The wolves had jumped me for no reason, without warning, without asking for my consent. That already told me everything I needed to know about them. I didn’t want to become a creature capable of something like that.

But the bloodsucker had already told me I would live through the experience.

I had no such assurances about the vampire, who would be horribly outnumbered once the wolves came back. And if I was here, they would surely come back for me. The vampire, at least, thought so. And, remembering how the Alpha had looked at me, standing on my chest with that strangely human expression plainly in his eyes, I couldn’t help but think so too. And then the outcome would be the same, except that I would have allowed the vampire’s kindness to be paid back with violence.

The thought of anything bad happening to the vampire was… unacceptable. It didn’t make any rational sense. It had to do with the unusual draw that I felt for him. It was all wrapped up in a strange protective impulse. I didn’t understand it one bit, but I sure as hell felt it.

You’re being ridiculous, I scolded myself halfheartedly. But really, I couldn’t bring myself to care.

Instead, I decided to rationalize.

I didn’t know if it was more or less healthy when you did it on purpose, but I knew that the vampire had already put himself out on a limb for me. I wasn’t selfish enough to stay if it meant getting him killed. My mother might have made that choice, but my father never would have.

And I sure as hell knew exactly who I preferred to take after.

That almost made a certain kind of sense if you squinted just right at it. But the truth was, I simply couldn’t allow the vampire to get caught in the crossfire if and when the wolves came back. I didn’t know why, but the idea of something happening to me seemed less awful than the idea of something happening to him.

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