Page 31 of Sold to the Dark Vampire Prince

She tried not to think of the kindness in Alex’s voice as he’d leaned against the wall, how tender he’d been with her, gently talking her down. Her fingers traced over the fading puncture marks at her wrist. Vampire venom closed wounds. When she’d woken up, they’d been little more than faint pink marks on her skin. Now she could barely find them.

Tears sprang to her eyes as she brought her wrist to her mouth, pressing her lips to the last place Alex had touched before that last piece of him faded away entirely.

Suddenly, she felt dizzy, her heart beating so hard she couldn’t breathe.

What was wrong with her? She was being ridiculous, getting this wound up over a prince every girl in town probably had a crush on at one point or another. Surely this was just a side effect of feeding a vampire for the first time?

Drawing a deep breath, Dani swiped the tears from her eyes.

“Purposefully slowing production is just like those bastards,” Evan growled, drawing Dani’s attention from thoughts of the prince. “Still, if the engagement goes through, it should be a temporary shortage, and production will start back up.”

“And Prince Alexander sent all this food.” Ava’s eyes shone. “Oh, Dani. Don’t you think it’s romantic?”

Dani frowned. “Ava, you need to listen to me. It’s not like that. It was a blood auction. Nothing more.”

She was interrupted by yet another knock at the door.

“Maybe that’s the insulin?” Ava said hopefully, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind one ear. “I’ll bet he did find it after all. He was so dashing, Dani. And so smitten with you. I could see it in the way he looked at you.”

“Ava, help me put the food away, and then you need to get ready for school,” Evan said, returning to the small kitchen alcove with Sera.

“I came right away.” Sera’s long auburn hair was pulled back in a high ponytail. She wore a dark blue puffer coat and faded jeans. “How are you feeling?”

“Um, shaky. A bit of a headache. And I’m a little dizzy, too.”

“That’s entirely normal after donating blood.” Sera took out a blood pressure cuff and wrapped it around her arm. “You should drink some juice. Eat something with protein. Any other symptoms?”

Dani hesitated, debating whether to tell her about the strange emotional surges. No doubt she would be dismissed as yet another grasping commoner in tears because she couldn’t get her claws into the crown prince. No, there was no need to tell Alex’s sister about her silly crush. Whatever this was, it would pass.

“I’m sure I’ll be fine. Thank you for coming to check on me.”

Sera’s expression softened. “Alex was worried. He asked me to come. You need to make sure to hydrate extra over the next few days as your body replenishes your blood.” Dani didn’t miss the look exchanged between her and Evan. “Alex said he told you how we know each other?”

“Yes.” She glanced to Evan, who shrugged in Ava’s direction. “She’ll be fine.”

Sera removed her mask.

Ava, who had been eavesdropping closely while putting away canned vegetables in the pantry, hurried over. “Oh my gosh, Princess Serafina.” She dropped into the deepest curtsy she could manage while holding canned green beans. “And to think, you’ve been my healer this entire time?”

Sera laughed. “Well, I’m not much of a princess anymore. I left that life behind, so just Sera is fine.” She turned to Dani. “Let me know if you aren’t feeling better by tomorrow and I’ll give you a vitamin shot.”

And with that, she disappeared in a swirl of smoke.

There was a knock at the door, announcing another delivery.

“I’ll get it,” Ava said brightly, eyes sparkling at the thought of more presents.

A courier handed Dani a long garment bag containing the red silk dress she’d worn to the auction house. When she peeked inside, she saw the torn fastenings at the back had been expertly repaired. There was also a large white box from one of the boutique shops, housed on one of the fanciest streets in the sector. Ava reverently traced the scrolling gold script.

“Oh, Dani. It has to be from him. Open it, won’t you?”

She reached for the box, but now her stomach was starting to hurt. The food had been one thing. This was starting to feel like something… else. Something far more dangerous.

With trembling fingers, she lifted the lid and pulled back the layers of gold embossed tissue paper. Inside were three fine winter coats. Hers was a rich, sumptuous red wool.

“It’s beautiful,” Ava breathed. “Oh, I’ve never seen anything so gorgeous. Don’t you just love it?”

“It’s the finest coat I’ve ever seen.” Dani had to admit, the coat was sleekly elegant, with a silk lining and perfect tailoring.