Page 18 of Rejected Mate

Wonderful?!Maybe she wasn’t only tipsy but flat-out drunk.

“What? No. He’s a vampire.” I felt Ares’s firm lips against mine and his hands against my back. Damn my traitorous body, I liked it!

Violet shrugged like this fact meant nothing. “He’s the best one. All the girls have been talking. They want Ares.” She leaned in closer. “Especially Laurel.”

Laurel. I’d forgotten about her. But now, as I glanced down the table, I saw she had a group of females gathered around her. I could hear their whispered chatter with my keen shifter sense. They were twittering about one thing—Ares and our kiss.

But what was going on here? How did they all “want” Ares? I thought they would fight, not fall in line with this charade. Something was terribly wrong with all these shifters. Had they been brainwashed?

“They can have him,” I said, loud enough to hear. “I’m not interested in this game.”

Violet frowned. “He’s so good-lookingandultra-rich, Wren. He’s the best one.”

I couldn’t believe they were all playing along so willingly. Were they so shallow that only position and money mattered to them, even if they came at the expense of partnering with a vamp? Did they truly think we could mate with them? Maybe they knew something I didn’t.

“The best what?” I asked, frustrated. “The best jailor? The best murderer? Remember those male shifters that disappeared? Who do you think is responsible for that?”

I still questioned Ares’s word that they hadn’t been harmed. Still, he appeared to be telling the truth. I simply didn’t know what to believe, other than the fact that I was pissed off.

The volume of my voice had risen higher, but that was fine. Let them all remember what was really going on here. This wasn’t some cute dating game. We’d been kidnapped by murderers, and no amount of money or glamor would make me overlook that.

One amazing kiss did not undo any of that, either.

But what about that threat William made against my family? The rage began to kindle in my chest. If anyone laid a finger on them, heavens help them.

Violet seemed to crumble with the weight of my words. “I hadn’t thought of it that way,” she said sadly. “And maybe I’m a little drunk?”

“A little? A lot. Drink water,” I said, giving her my goblet. “And we should eat. We need to keep up our strength for what’s ahead.”

It was hard to choke down food, even if it was delicious. The roasted pheasant and potatoes were amazing, but after the first bite, I hardly tasted them. I ate for sustenance so that if there was an opportunity to escape or a rescue attempt, I would be strong enough to do it. It was clear there was a fight ahead, and I had to be ready for it.

While I ate, I caught Laurel watching me. She met and held my gaze, letting her cool, blue eyes narrow and her lipstick-covered mouth harden into a frown. Her animosity was new, but not surprising for some reason. Though I’d already made it clear to everyone I wanted nothing to do with Ares, it seemed she still saw me as competition, a contender she had to eliminate. As much as it shocked me, she was playing this game. She wasn’t thinking of getting the hell out of here like I was.

Great. Another problem.

I was accumulating far too many of those for my tastes.

Taking a last bite and swig of water, I grabbed Violet’s hand. “Let’s go.”

“Where are we going?” she asked, looking sadly at the dessert we hadn’t touched—a giant slice of chocolate cake.

“Back to our room. I need to think.”

Reluctantly, she followed me to the door. It seemed she was willing to let me make the plans after all, which I was only doing for her own good. When I pushed the door open, a vampire guard waited on the other side.

“We want to go back to our room,” I said.

The guard nodded. “You have an hour before the next scheduled activity.”

“An hour?” It had to be close to one a.m. I needed my beauty sleep, but it appeared we would be expected to be nocturnal, like the vamps. Or maybe the idea was to keep us tired, so we were easier to control. Either way, the guard led us back to our shared suite. I was grateful when we got back to find it empty.

“These shoes kill my feet,” Violet said, falling into a chair by the fire in the sitting room and kicking off her heels.

I kicked mine off too, wishing I could punt them into the next county. Then I ran my hand through my hair before pulling it into a ponytail.

“Wren, what do you think they are going to have us do next?” Violet’s head slumped. She’d be fast asleep, or, rather, passed out in a few minutes if I didn’t keep her awake.

“I don’t know, but I’m sure it’ll be something designed to test which of us will make the most suitable mate. Some patriarchalbullshit,” I whispered under my breath, still unable to get my head around the vampires’ reasons for doing this.

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