Page 35 of Rejected Mate

CHAPTER TWELVE

Itdoesn’tmatter.Williamhas plans for us. You’re the Supreme Alpha’s granddaughter, and he thinks you and I are tied together, even if it was written long ago, even if it makes no sense.

“You aren’t eating,” Violet said.

I’d arrived back at our suite only moments after Ares kicked me out of his room. I hadn’t been able to get his words,or his touch,out of my head since.

I blinked up at my friend across the small table in the middle of our shared common suite. Violet gestured to the spread of food between us. “You need to eat, especially if you drank as much as me.” She giggled, gave a little hiccup, then giggled again.

“Drinkwater,” I said, gesturing to the cup.

But I couldn’t worry about Violet, not with what had just happened.

Ares. The kiss. The tapestry. William’s interest in me because my grandfather was the Supreme Alpha. Some foretold history between Ares and me?

The. Kiss.

I put my head in my hands, trying to trap the thoughts that were swirling around inside it.

“Ah, you broke your dress,” Violet pointed at my strap with a piece of half-eaten pizza.

I picked up the torn strap. Ares had ripped it when he licked my neck. A shiver ran through me.

“Oh, you’re cold. Let me get you a blanket.” Violet staggered up, nearly taking the table with her.

She was so sweet, but I didn’t need someone to take care of me right now. “I’m fine. You eat.” But she was already up, stumbling to the bed.

I turned away from watching her and gazed out the darkened window. The kiss I shared with Ares…dear gods.If those two vampire kisses before had been good, this had blown them both out of the water. I’d wanted Ares with every fiber of my being. I’d wanted to throw him on the bed, crawl on top of him and—

“Here you go.” Violet draped a blanket over my shoulders before sliding back into her seat and attacking her pizza.

“Thanks.” I smiled at her.

“Where did you go?” she said around a mouthful of pepperoni. “One minute you were kissing Callan, the next you were gone. Ares was gone. Callan went looking for you. Laurel was pissed and ranting.”

“Oh, I… went for a walk to clear my head.”

“A walk?” As she tilted her head, one of her drooping curls dislodged from its place in her updo. “Where did you walk to?”

“A part of the castle I’d never been to before.”

“Cool. I was surprised you left. Callan issohot. My suitor is a dud. He kept telling me how round and firm my boobs were. Do you want that cookie?”

I handed her the cookie. Drunk Violet could really pack it away.

People had noticed that Ares and I were missing. If Callan went looking for me, did he suspect? Did it matter? I didn’t know. I didn’t know much of anything anymore other than there was something else going on here, a mystery deeper than some mating games.

It seemed that William believed in some old prophecy, and this had Ares upset, but what if Ares had misunderstood something? What if it had absolutely nothing to do with either of us?

I racked my brain, trying to remember what had been on the tapestry, but I’d only glanced at it quickly. Embroidered images of wolves and pale men striding toward each other flashed through my memory. The tapestry had been old and faded, and that was all I could recall about it. But why did it depict shifters and vampires together? At worst, the history I’d been taught always portrayed us as mortal enemies. At best, as reluctant allies.

But now, here we were in a game meant to pair mates with the intention of producing strong offspring. Was that really what they wanted, though? There had only been rumors, never any evidence we could produce offspring together, but was that because no one had ever tried? Yeah, right! I could very well imagine some vampire Romeo and a shifter Juliette falling in love and getting it on. In centuries of history, it must have happened—no doubt. So it either worked or it didn’t. If it had, vampire/shifter babies were the best-kept secret in the entire world. Either way, all I knew about our past was that it consisted of fighting over land or resources, tearing each other to pieces, and then limping away to rebuild.

Was everything I’d been taught wrong?

No, it couldn’t be. If I had to bet, this was not about offspring but the same old thing as always: Power.

Still, a lot wasn’t making sense, especially my attraction to someone so smug, vile, and pompous. The dude was H-O-T, but I’d always been able to see past a male’s exterior to focus on the things that really mattered, and he didn’t possess one quality worth admiring—unless he was keeping them well hidden.

---