Page 19 of His Winter Wonderland

"Are you that shocked to meet a male who isn't attracted to you? Get over yourself."

"That's not. No. I..." She inhaled deeply and fought to keep her composure. She released the breath slowly before saying, "That's not the point. Normally, I'd be happy to meet a male who wasn't attracted to me. It makes my life a hundred times simpler when males don't find me attractive. But you..."

"But I'm a vampire and vampires are attracted to anyone, right? That's what you were going to say, right? You were going to spout that bullshit common misconception about the vampires of the Frostlands, right?" She was nothing like his Winter. He couldn’t believe that for a second, he’d been hoping she was the real deal.

"No. I was going to say..."

"Save it. Talking to you is irritating me."

"No. Talking to you is starting to irritate me," she shouted, causing the leaves in the trees to shake.

The rustling sound stirred up the woodland creatures in the forest. He could now hear them scurrying about.

"Are you trying to draw attention to us?" Rhen asked her. "Do you….

There was no longer any need for chitchat. He'd wasted enough time on this witch. He would have to take her by force. There was no way around it. Rhen flexed his hand, releasing his claws. The witch glance down and saw what he was doing. A brief expression of hurt flashed in her eyes.

There one second. Gone the next. He wasn’t even sure if he'd really saw it or just imagined it. What he did know was that another expression was crossing over her face. One that she hadn't shown until this moment. Something dark was taking over. She didn't just look upset. She didn't simply look angry. She looked pissed.

"I guess I was wrong. I've been wrong before. I'm not too haughty to admit when I've gotten something wrong. Your actions have proved that you're not who I thought you were, who I hoped you were."

Oh. That was why she'd hit him with the seductive grin. She'd confused him with someone else. Whoever that bastard was, he wasn't worthy of her. If he was, he would've been with her right now, protecting her from The Deciders. Protecting her from him.

"Sorry to disappoint you," Rhen told her.

"Don't worry about it. The fault lies with me. Just chalk it up to wishful thinking."

"Enough talking. Come with me or...."

"I choose the second option," she told him.

"You haven't heard it yet."

"Does it involve fighting?" She stretched her arm out and a sword appeared in her hand. She gripped the hilt and told him. "As long as it involves fighting, I choose it."

"I don't want to hurt you."

She grinned. “But, I do want to hurt you.”

She threw the sword. It flew through the air, moving almost too fast for his eyes to see. Not in his direction. What the hell was she aiming at? By the time he realized where it was going, it was already too late. Blood poured from the mouth of the vampire hiding in the bushes. The one that now had a sword lodged in his chest. Exactly where his heart should be. This motherfucker.

"You bitch!" Rhen yelled, seeing red.

"That's me." She motioned for the sword to return to her. It did. Blood dripped from the steel. The blood of his clan member. All around him, hisses filled the air. Eleven pissed off vampires were ready to go to war with this witch over their fallen brethren.

"Silence," Rhen called out. "Don't worry. I'll handle her."

Her grin became even sassier. "I've never been handled before."

"You've never come across a vampire like me before."

"Come on them, undead. Show me how you plan to handle me." She pointed the tip of her sword at him.

As if he was afraid of a damn sword. His claws and fangs were almost as sharp as the weapon she carried. Done talking, Rhen used his vampire speed to approach her. Though to her eyes, he was moving super-fast. For him, everything felt like it was in slow motion. He could see the snowflakes falling.

He could make out the differences in the shapes of each flake. He could see individual strands of her hair being picked up by the wind. He could smell the stench of the shredders that were racing toward the clearing where he and this witch were. Only one second had past yet, he'd picked up on all of that.

While in vamp speed, it still felt like time was moving normally to him. Luckily, that wasn't the case for those around him. The witch was slowly turning her head to the left, seeking him out, but he was already behind her. Too slow, witch. Rhen grabbed her by the neck. Touching her pulled him out of vamp speed.