Page 7 of Rejected Mate

CHAPTER THREE

“Everyone,followus.Let’sgo.”

As I watched Ares retreat back, the vampire henchmen got to work. They formed a line, corralling us like cattle into a room down the hall.

I wanted to fight them but had twice been defeated. Without my shifter powers, I was no match for this legion of bloodsuckers. It would be stupid to keep trying. Still, I had to find a way. Maybe my family was planning a rescue, but I wasn’t just giving up.

They shuffled us into a large waiting room furnished with cushioned settees. Ornate tables sat beside them, topped with food and drink. It seemed as though our captors were set on keeping up appearances, even though this was now our jail. A very pretty jail, but still. I didn’t trust that food any more than I trusted the blank-faced henchmen. My eyes landed on the scarred guard I’d fought earlier. I meant what I said. He would see me later.

The vampires pushed the females together in the center of the room and then blocked the doors on either side while they continued to watch us with hooded eyes. Ares was nowhere to be found, and neither were the other vampires he’d introduced as our “suitors.”

If this was a game, they were playing it well. Making us wait. Intimidating us with guards. Having us wear slips of fabric and flimsy shoes. Stopping us from shifting. In their scheme, we were the lambs, and they were the lions.

But I was no sheep.

My gaze shifted from the vampires to the females beside me. There were, in fact, ten, including me. Some looked scared. A few stood defiantly. Laurel Grimhowl looked like she was about to give them a one-star Yelp review. Somehow her teased blond hair was still perfect, no nails broken and false lashes still intact. Her perky boobs bounced as she flounced into one of the chairs, still throwing eye daggers at all the guards. I admired her spunk even if our families had never seen eye-to-eye.

The girl beside me, the doe-eyed brunette I’d noticed earlier, trembled as she hugged herself. She had somewhat stood her ground earlier, but it seemed it had cost her. A small cut on her forehead was trickling blood down one side of her face, yet she hadn’t made any effort to clean it up. Some of these girls were never trained to fight or, apparently, taught to take care of themselves. Some packs used females for breeding purposes only, never allowing them out on hunts or raids. I couldn’t imagine what it might be like if that had been my fate. The way they were treated was so unfair.

Fresh blood was likely a bad idea around all these vampires. Someone had to do something.

I leaned toward her and tried to offer a reassuring look. “Hi, I’m Wren. What’s your name?”

Her wet eyes peered up at me, a mask of fear tightening her features. “Oh. Um, I’m Violet.” She lifted thin shoulders up and down as if her name were of no consequence, and she wasn’t quite sure why I would want to know it. The strap of her purple dress slid off. Her hand shook as she pushed it up.

“Did you know you have a cut?” I pointed to her forehead, where the trickle of blood meandered. “It’s probably… We should maybe do something about that.”

Delicate fingers slid up and probed the spot, smearing blood. “Oh. Oh, my moons.” She stared at her bloody fingers and looked as though she might faint.

“Hey, it’s okay. It’s a small cut. It will heal really quick on its own. We just have to clean it.”

I grabbed her arms in case she did collapse and walked her to one of the fancy chairs nearby. Helping her sit down, I searched the room until I spotted a box of tissues on a side table. Quickly, I wiped up the blood and pressed a clean tissue to the wound.

“Hold this here until the bleeding stops.”

She placed trembling fingers on the tissue, doing as I instructed. “Thanks.”

“No problem. This is all pretty crazy.”

She nodded, eyes darting up at the vampires before she let them flick back to my face. “What is all this? What are they going to do with us?”

I shook my head. “Nothing good.” Violet bit her lip. Would she cry? What would I do if she did? I was more equipped to doctor wounds than fix emotional issues, but, to my relief, she kept the tears at bay.

“My parents are probably freaking out.” She blinked large brown eyes at me, reminding me of a lost puppy dog.

“Don’t worry,” I said, pointing at the cameras in the room’s corners. “I’m sure they can see that you’re alright.”

She leaned close, whispering in my ear. “Do you think they really want tomatewith us?”

I pondered this for the first time. It seemed ridiculous. Vampires were created, not mated. I grew up in a pack where we never mingled with vampires, and we called them bloodsuckers or worse. I listened at my grandfather’s feet as he told stories of their cruelty to our kind. For the better part of history, they had tried to exterminate us. The fighting had been brutal. Both our numbers were dwindling for many reasons, but our constant feuds were certainly one of the biggest factors. Lately, we had come to relative peace, but it was nothing to write home about. We still hated each other.

So no, I didn’t think they wanted to mate with us. Something else was up.

“Stick close to me,” I whispered to Violet. “Keep your head down and don’t draw attention to yourself. I’m going to figure out a way to get out of here.

Her doe eyes held mine. “Thank you,” she whispered.

I shook my head as I gazed at the vampire henchmen that stood between me and freedom.

---