Page 2 of Cinderella and Her Vampires (Dirty Paranormal Fairytale Haremlan 5)

He nodded once.

She sucked in a deep breath. “Growing up, I was told a story about an abandoned mansion nearby. No one from around here goes near the place. Especially at night.”

He stared at me. “That’s it?”

Cindy nodded. “Rumor is a monster lives within the decaying ruins. Might want to check that out. Still, I figure that to be a good place to start. The only place I would think where a ‘dark prince’ might lurk.”

He nodded, downed his drink, and stood from his stool. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a ten, and slammed it onto the bar’s top before rushing out of the door.

Cindy stared after him. A minute passed by, and Bobby approached her.

“Hey,” she said through a deep exhale.

“Another wierdo, huh?” he asked, voice deep.

She shrugged. “Don’t worry. I gave him his just deserts.”

He chuckled. “That’s my girl.”

She smiled. “I highly doubt he’ll be back.”

“Shame. We could have had more fun with him,” Bobby said.

Cindy sighed. “Yeah, well we have enough excitement here as it is. I, for one, won’t lose an ounce of sleep if I never see him again.”

“What did you tell him to make him up and leave like that anyway?” he asked.

She tried to play dumb, but Bobby wouldn’t let her get away with it. He wouldn’t drop the subject. Finally, she said, “I told him about the abandoned mansion.”

His eyes widened. Seconds later, he let out a deep breath and shook his head. “Remind me to never piss you off.”

She laughed. “You would never do that. Besides, he’s crazy. He probably won’t even remember this place come the morning.”

“I hope you’re right,” he said.

“We’ll find out soon enough.” She stared out the door for a few moments longer as a strange sense of curiosity overcame her. She shook her head and cleared her mind of the man.

She didn’t think about him again.

* * *

Silas

Silas was restless and took to strolling the darkened halls of his home. Often, the walk helped him think. Especially when things were troubling him. Much like now. The human, Collin, hadn’t left his thoughts since his little visit.

An invisible warmth pressed into him. He wasn’t alone. Though he normally would have bit the heads off whoever dared to disturb him. He didn’t mind the presence who joined him in his solitude.

“Hello, Xavier,” he said.

“Silas,” Xavier said. “I have news regarding the human.”

Silas nodded and turned around to face his closest and dearest friend. He was also his head guard. He trusted no one else with his protection details. He had sent Xavier out to do some digging into the background of the human who had come to demand that he and his vampires help him with starting a war, thus breaking a centuries-old peace treaty.

The human wasn’t telling the whole story, and Xavier was the only one that would be able to find out the details Silas needed.

“And what did you find?” he asked as he settled his eyes on the shadowy form of his friend.

“He had recently caused some trouble out west. Before that, he came from a river town on the other side.”

---