CHAPTER 4 #4
The vampire who’d torn her dress loomed over her.
His dark gray business suit spoke of power and his tie was askew.
Lethal white fangs were elongated with thirst, his eyes glowing silver as he stared down at her.
He was middle-aged, older than the others, and looked somehow familiar, though in the harsh light and with her vision spotting, she couldn’t place him.
“Please.” Dani could barely breathe past the crushing pressure in her chest. “My blood is up for sale, that’s all.”
“You think any man actually pays the exorbitant fees this auction house charges just because your blood tastes good?” the older vampire sneered. “My, but you are na?ve, little girl.”
Tears streamed down Dani’s cheeks. She didn’t respond. Except, what had she expected? Somewhere in the back of her mind, she’d known this was how it worked. Zander had tried to warn her, and she hadn’t listened.
“You’re young and innocent,” he continued, the words making her skin crawl. “But don’t worry. I look forward to seeing to your education once I’ve purchased you.”
Her breathing quickened.
“That’s enough.”
The voice came from the dark shadows in the back of the room.
Not loud. Cold. Deadly. An order, absolutely certain that it would be obeyed.
Instantly, the hands released her. As one, the vampires shrank back as if pulled by invisible strings.
All except one.
Dani clutched at the ruined folds of her dress, barely daring to breathe as the male who meant to claim her balled his hand into a fist, clearly unwilling to relinquish his prize.
“We were just having a bit of fun.”
Now she knew where she’d recognized the older man. Lord Luciano Cavalieri was one of the wealthiest oligarchs, a man who’d risen to power following the pandemics and redistribution of wealth during the early war years. He controlled half the sectors, more by some estimations.
If he were to purchase her, she would truly be lost.
“And I said enough.” She blinked, head bowed, still unable to see the face of her rescuer in the blinding lights of the stage.
Dani’s heartbeat quickened. Somehow, she knew that voice… and yet, she didn’t.
Because… it couldn’t be. There was absolutely no reason why he would ever be here, at a blood auction.
And yet, her foolish, traitorous heart couldn’t help but hope, pounding in her chest so hard it began to hurt.
She was wrong. Of course she was wrong. Zander wasn’t here. It was her mind playing foolish tricks on her. He would never be caught in a place like this.
Even as she said it, her mind raced to think of plausible reasons why Zander Hunt could have been at the auction house.
She knew he did pro bono work, volunteered at the center.
Could he have been trying to stop the auctions from taking place?
Perhaps he had been on the premises trying to save another girl from a fate like hers when he realized she was there, saw what was happening and entered the auction room to try to stop it?
Confusion swirled through her. She clutched at the folds of her ruined dress, trying to cover herself. The back fastenings seemed irreparably damaged.
The other men had backed away so far that they were practically touching the walls.
Strangely, they were standing with their heads almost… bowed. Dani frowned at this. But before she could question it, a young vampire strode forward from the shadows into the light.
A shiver skated up her spine, followed by terror so cold she suddenly could barely feel her fingers.
Breathe, Dani.
Oh yes, she’d known that voice. How many times had she heard Cruel Prince Alexander addressing the sector in broadcasts? No, he hadn’t come to save her. More likely, he couldn’t allow another alpha male to win the prize he wanted.
“She’s been bought, Your Highness.”
“And I say she has not.” The prince tilted his head, all arrogant authority.
Slowly, Dani lifted her eyes, daring to look at him.
He wore a crisp dark suit with a pale blue button down. Thick dark wavy hair was cut short on the sides, longer on top. But most striking of all were his eyes, hazel eyes that held her gaze now, even as she tried to look away.
She’d seen the prince on television before, of course, countless times. But up close, there was something about Cruel Prince Alexander that was even more enticing, the angles of his face sharper, his lips more sculpted. A perfect predator designed to draw in his prey, just like all of them were.
Then his lips were moving, his voice saying low, urgent words that made no sense.
“Dani, are you hurt?”
That was when she was certain she would be sick, right there on that cold, stone floor.
No, she hadn’t been mistaken.
After all those hours they’d spent going over her files at the legal aid office, she would have known Zander Hunt’s voice anywhere.
And there was no mistaking the fact that she was indeed staring up at her attorney from the center, the one she’d been meeting with for years…
and who’d apparently been lying to her all that time.
Zander Hunt was Crown Prince Alexander Visconti, heir to the vampire throne.