Page 3 of Rejected Mate

Figures were descending from the balconies. Dark, hooded shapes dropped down, landing with a crunch of gravel as black capes billowed around them. More and more descended, circling us. My heart pounding, I shot a look over my shoulder to see more shadowy figures coming in from behind.

We were surrounded.

“Is this part of it?” I asked, positioning my body in front of my mother and grandfather as my eyes took in all threats. Seven hooded figures in front of me. Two to the side. More behind. I couldn’t fight that many, but if we ran…

“You’re surrounded,” a voice boomed. “No sense in running or doing anything foolish.”

“This doesn’t sound like part of the game,” the girl beside us whined.

The females were crumbling like flowers left in the hot sun. One appeared to have fainted. Others were cowering beside their parents. Some had scrambled back into limos, but the gates had been shut behind us.

Trapped.

I grabbed my mother’s wrist with one hand and grandfather’s with another. I had to get them out first. Then I could help the other girls…

A hooded figure stepped toward me, body tensed and in a crouch.

I let go of my family and fisted my hands. The heels would be an issue, but I’d have to make do. Or I could shift into my wolf form and fight that way. Whoever these shifters were—

The figure pushed his hood back and a male face—pale and angular—stared back at me. He opened his mouth and grinned as fangs slid past his lower lip.

Vampire.

“No!” a girl screamed.

I jolted as it all clicked into place. These weren’t our would-be mates. These were vampires.

Our enemies. This was an ambush.

“Get in the limo,” I shouted at my mother and grandfather as I readied for a fight. Ripping off the heels, I threw them at the vampire’s face. He dodged, hissing, and then started for me.

“Enough!” a voice boomed.

The vampires stopped as if frozen by this command. They glanced up, eyes locking on a solitary figure standing on the balcony above the main entrance.

The figure was godlike. A statue bathed in golden hues, standing alone on the parapet as he peered down on all of us. His dark hair was swept back and his eyes glittered. The tuxedo was a bit much, but he wore it like a runway model, despite the bulky muscle filling out every fiber of the bespoke suit.

The girl beside me gasped for an entirely different reason.

“Ares Raith,” my grandfather said. “It can’t be.”

Ares Raith? The most eligible vampire bachelor who was always plastered over every supernatural magazine? Despite being a vampire, everyone here knew who he was. Heir to the most powerful vampire family, the Raiths. They were rumored to be worth billions. Even shifter girls thought he was easy on the eyes. Didn’t he have some club in Mykonos to lurk around?

What washedoing here?

Before I could ask, Ares gave his final command. “Bring them inside, and no one gets hurt.”

Then he turned, jumped off the parapet as if it were the easiest thing in the world, and disappeared into the castle.

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