The Reluctant Vampire Page 0,8

the thought that it just figured you'd finally encounter your life mate, and instead of it being easy like you'd expect finding an immortal life mate should be, it's going to be even more delicate than it would be were he mortal." She grimaced. "I know the feeling."

"Do you?" Drina asked quietly.

"Oh, yeah. Nothing lives up to your expecta ons," she mu ered, then grimaced and said, "Like, before

. . . when I was human, I used to fantasize what it would be like to be, you know, different. Special. I even once or twice fantasized about what it would be like to be a vampire. I thought it would be so cool. Strong, smart . . . no one would pick on you, no one could make you do anything you didn't want and all that bull." She sighed and shook her head. "It isn't like that at all. Sure, I'm stronger, and the kids at school couldn't pick on me, but I'm not in school, am I? And there seem to be even more problems than when I was human."

"You're s ll human, Steffie," Drina said quietly, feeling for the kid. Marguerite had told her all about the girl as part of her effort to convince her to accept the assignment. She knew that last summer Stephanie had been a happy, healthy mortal with her whole life ahead of her . . . un l she and her older sister, Dani, had been taken from a grocery-store parking lot in co age country by a group of no-fangers. The girl had been terrorized and turned against her will, and now her whole life had changed. While Lucian and his men had rescued her, she was now Edentate, immortal but without fangs, and she could not return to her previous life. Like Dorothy caught up in a tornado and dropped in Oz, Stephanie had lost her family and friends and been dropped in the middle of an en rely different life not of her choosing. She'd had a rough shake and didn't deserve what had happened to her. And Drina wasn't at all surprised this wasn't what the girl had envisioned when she'd imagined the impossible fantasy of being a vampire. Realizing that the girl was staring at her oddly, she asked uncertainly, "What?"

"My brothers and sisters always call me Steffie."

"Oh, sorry," Drina mu ered. Her brother's name was Stephano and she always called him Steff. She supposed she'd just automatically turned it feminine.

"Your brother's name is Stephano?" the girl asked with interest. S fling a yawn, she lay back in the bed.

"You'll have to tell me about him, but tomorrow. I'm really red now. Some mes, this reading-thoughts business is exhausting. Good night."

"Good night," Drina murmured, as the girl rolled onto her side away from her and se led into her bed. She then hesitated a moment, considering whether she should take the me to change now or just turn off the light so the girl could get to sleep.

"Go ahead. The light doesn't bother me," Stephanie mumbled. "Besides, while I know you don't think you'll sleep, you'll stand a better chance of doing so if you're more comfortable."

Drina shook her head and stood to grab her suitcase and toss it on the bed. She wasn't used to having someone reading her mind. She was old enough most people couldn't. And she definitely didn't like it. She would have to guard her thoughts more carefully, she supposed, and then stopped thinking altogether and just concentrated on quickly changing into a pair of white joggers and an equally white tank top.

"Good night," Stephanie mumbled, as Drina closed her suitcase and set it back on the floor.

"Good night," she whispered back and crawled into bed, then turned out the light and lay down. Even as she did, Drina knew she was about to spend a very long night fre ng over what to do about Harpernus Stoyan. She'd heard of reluctant mortal life mates, but this was really one for the record books. Only she could wind up with a reluctant vampire life mate.

Harper didn't think he'd been asleep long when he was suddenly awake again. Frowning, he peered toward the window, no ng the sliver of bright sunlight trying to creep around the edges of the blackout blinds. He listened for what might have disturbed him, but silence curled around him like a blanket. He was actually dozing off again when a muffled peel of laughter brought his eyes