Page 60 of Rejected Mate

CHAPTER NINETEEN

“Thisisahellof a first date.” Ares gazed at me over his dusty book.

I glanced down at mine. “This text isso romantic. ‘The Vampiric Council of 1885 does hereby decree that familiars shall be surveyed and names placed in the official record twice annually.’”

Ares smirked. “So sexy.”

I waggled my eyebrows. “Very.”

We were in the castle library, elbow deep in ancient scrolls and huge, leather-bound books. Don’t get me wrong, I loved a good book as much as the next person, but these were all dry as toast, and we hadn’t found anything of note in the last hour.

“So… The Mating Games, an interesting tradition,” Ares said.

I pushed my book aside and examined his face. His expression seemed a bit pinched, like someone who was curious but didn’t want to let on.

“Indeed.” My answer was curt, intended to make him ask what he wanted to know and, hopefully, reveal something about himself in the process.

“Were you looking forward to participating?”

“To be honest, no.”

He seemed surprised at this. “I thought you might have been.”

I quirked up an eyebrow. “What gave you that impression?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe it was your love for dresses and your compliant demeanor.” He smirked, mischief in the depths of his dark eyes.

I huffed a laugh. “Yep, you got me pegged.”

Ares pretended to go back to reading, but I sensed he hadn’t gotten to the heart of what he really wanted to know.

“Were you interested in any of the male shifters who were supposed to be here?” He asked, without making eye contact.

So this was what he was wondering about. Interesting.

I tucked a lock of hair behind my ear as I considered how truthful my answer should be. In the end, I found I wanted to trust him.

“I was not,” I said. “I didn’t really know any of them. I’ve heard of a few of them and their packs, but they live on the other side of the country. This might sound foolish to someone like you, but I always thought I would mate for love.”

“It might have sounded foolish before this started, but now…” He let the words hang and regarded me with a serious expression that made my breath catch.

We went back to reading for a few more minutes, an awkward feeling in the air.

“This seems like barking up the wrong tree.” Ares shut the book and stretched, looking as if he wanted to brush away his previous words.

I shot him a glance. “Barking? Was that a werewolf joke?”

He raised a dark eyebrow. “I don’t know. Did you like it?”

I smiled, unable to help myself. “Definitely not.”

“Then, no.” His mouth quirked up.

Despite completely failing at our task and the ache of my wound, I was having a good time. Ares was nice to talk to and seemed genuinely interested in me.

And he wasn’t half bad on the eyes, either. It was like winning the mate lottery.

I’d been stealing glances while he was reading, wondering why the way his dark hair fell over his eyes gave him a boyish vulnerability. His lips moved when he read, and he had a habit of stretching out his big shoulders occasionally, reminding me of his sculpted body beneath those clothes.

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