Page 26 of Rejected Mate

When I was dressed and styled, I came out of the salon area and walked into Violet’s adjoining room to find her standing in her closet while one of the vampire maids zipped her into a red evening gown.

My friend’s eyes lit up when she saw me. “Va va va voom! Don’t you look sexy? Do a twirl.”

I batted a hand at her, embarrassed. “It’s for a reason.”

“Oh? Yeah, okay.” Violet dropped her eyes, suddenly really interested in her open-toed shoes.

I realized my words probably hurt her. She liked Callan, and here I was, dressing in a seductive way to go on a date with him. Worse, I couldn’t tell her why since it would bring up my grandfather’s illness and threaten to reveal more of our pack’s vulnerabilities.

The best I could do was change the subject.

“You look great,” I said, gesturing to her dress. “Red is your color.”

She stared down at her dress, brushing imaginary dust off it. “It’s okay. I prefer purple.” She paused and then said, “I was paired with Elon for a date.”

“Elon?”

“Yes, the big guy with the white-blond hair. He’s okay.” Her slim shoulders went up and down.

“Well, that sounds… great.”

She nodded, picking at a sequin.

I bit my lip, wishing I could say more. I hated keeping secrets from my friend, but I had no choice. My family had to be my priority.

I didn’t care one bit about Callan. He couldn’t help me. Ares was the one I needed to get close to. He was the one who seemed to make all the decisions. He was the one who could set me free so I could see my grandfather.

But why would he agree to that? Well, that’s where my plan came into play.

I knew Ares hated the idea of Callan having one over him. He would hate seeing me with his enemy. If he thought to spoil Callan’s fun, Ares might allow me to leave the castle just to piss Callan off. Jealousy could be a powerful weapon, and I planned to wield it. I just had to hope it would work.

“It’s time, ladies.” Two vampire guards stood in the doorway.

I took a deep breath and glanced across the room to the full-length mirror. I looked the part, but could Iplaythe part?

We walked out of the room and down the hall in a silent procession. Each click of our heels on the tile felt like a stake through the heart. Was I battle ready? I had to be because my enemy was waiting in the common room as soon as we stepped inside.

The minute the doors opened, I saw her. Laurel held court with the rest of the shifter females. She sat in an ornate armchair with four of the other girls clustered around her like a queen and her court. I wondered briefly where the other three were, but the thought evaporated as Laurel gave a high-pitched giggle and whispered something to the girl beside her. She certainly thought she was Queen Bee. She even wore a diamond tiara perched above her teased and sprayed hair.

Yet the moment we crossed the threshold, Laurel stopped talking. All eyes turned to us as we walked in. The cameras swiveled to take us in, and I thought of my family. Were they watching right now?

I stared Laurel down, sure that all along she’d known what her family was up to, just the reason she’d been willing to play to the vamps’ tune all along.

Bitch.

Either way, it didn’t matter.

It was game time.

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