“That was weird,” Gloriasaid.
“Yeah.”
“Did you knowher?”
“No.” She turned herattention to the woman standing on the other side of the table,holding a ten-dollar bill and grinning. “Sorry for thewait.”
“No problem, I can’tbelieve you’re here! I love the Alpha Mates. Veltris and Gemma aremy favorite couple ever.”
Pushing aside the nagging thoughtsthat the odd woman’s visit had brought to her mind, she focused onthe reader in front of her. “I’m so glad you enjoyed theirstory.”
Trinity signed the book for the readerand gave her some bookmarks and postcards. “Can I ask you aquestion?” the reader said.
“Sure,” Trinitysaid.
“In Veltris’s story, yousaid the alphas were going to get together to end Wrath. I mean, Iknow he’s a bad guy, but you’re not really going to kill him off,right? I like Cael, but he’s not ready to be alpha.”
Trinity smiled at the excited youngwoman. “Well, I can’t really discuss future plot lines, but trustthat I’ve got it all under control.”
“Okay awesome,” she said.“I used to read a series about mermaids and the author killed offthe main bad guy and brought in a new one, and it just wasn’t thesame. I don’t want that to happen to Alpha Mates. I want you tokeep on writing forever.”
“I plan to,” Trinity saidwith a smile. She thanked the woman for stopping by and turned herattention to the next in line. A handful of readers later,something caught her eye, and she realized that the strange womanfrom before hadn’t left the room but was standing near the door andstaring at Trinity. She frowned and was tempted to walk over andask her what her problem was, but she didn’t really want to talk toher again. There was something unsettling about her. If only shecould figure out where she’d seen her before.
Someone cleared a throat and Trinitystartled. “Sorry,” she said to the woman standing in front of her.“I can’t figure out where I know that woman from.”
“What woman?”
Trinity glanced toward the door. Theodd woman was gone.
Humming, Trinity said, “No one. Thanksso much for stopping by. How have you enjoyed theconference?”
“It’s been so much fun!”The woman launched into how much she enjoyed the Alpha Mates, andhad been a fan since book one, where Alpha Gregor found his mate ina human female named Starr.
Trinity smiled and pushed away thethoughts of the strange woman and focused on the people in line.This was why she’d come—to meet and talk with readers. Sheabsolutely wasn’t going to obsess over the strangewoman.
Not even a little bit.
* * *
By the time the last reader had boughta copy of her latest Alpha Mates book, Trinity was worn out fromhead to toe. Gloria yawned next to her as they closed down theirtables, boxing up the remaining swag items and rolling up thebanners. She was one hundred percent ready for bed.
“A few of us are going fordrinks,” Gloria said as she swiped a tape dispenser over a boxlid.
“Hard pass, babe,” Trinitysaid. “I’m so wiped out I can hardly keep my eyes open.”
“Aw. I’ll be quiet when Icome to bed.”
“Don’t worry about it,” shesaid. “I’ll put in my noise canceling earbuds, so I won’t hear youone way or the other.”
“Wake me for breakfast,”Gloria said. “But not, like, too early.”
“Promise.”
Trinity put her boxes on a small dollyand pulled it behind her, saying goodnight to the authors and staffshe passed on her way out. She rode to the fourth floor in theelevator and made her way to the room. Putting her dolly in thecorner, she set her things on the desk and grabbed her suitcase,rolling it into the bathroom. She put the water on as hot as shecould make it, letting it cascade over her aching shoulders. Afterdrying her hair, she put on a cotton tank and shorts and climbedunder the covers. She noticed the necklace the demanding woman hadgiven her. Trinity had set it on the nightstand next to theoutdated alarm clock with the bright red numbers. The small lamp onthe table illuminated the gemstones.
She couldn’t get over how pretty thelogo looked as a medallion.
Picking it up, she felt the urge toput it on. Normally she didn’t wear jewelry to bed, but she wasfeeling compelled. Yawning, she put the necklace on, feeling thecool medallion as it rested against her skin. Turning off the lamp,she settled deeper under the covers, putting her earbuds in herears, and turning her phone’s music app to a loop of white noisethat was certain to ensure she wasn’t woken when Gloria came tobed.
Her mind drifted to the woman who’dgiven her the necklace. She’d seemed so familiar. And how had sheguessed that Trinity actually did love her character Wrath? Shakingthe thoughts away with another jaw-cracking yawn, she felt herselffalling to sleep swiftly, Wrath the last thing on hermind.
Chapter Three
Wrath Valentine lifted his dark muzzleand inhaled, sorting through the scents that the night breezebrought. He was hungry, and the human female he’d compelled earlierthat day to provide blood for him hadn’t sated his need. So he wason the hunt with his pack for something else to devour. Hisbeta—Cael—stood next to him, muzzle lifted the same way, whole bodytense and quiet. Their pack of twelve males was considered small,but there weren’t a whole lot of their kind around ingeneral.
There were plenty of wolf shifters.Plenty of vampires.
But not Blood Wolves—the hybrid childof a wolf and vampire union. Wolf packs tended to kill the hybridbabies when they were born. Vampires just turned them away andhoped they died on their own. Wrath’s mother—a vampiress—had beenexiled from her kiss after he was born, and his biological fatherdied protecting them from his pack. She’d raised him until he wasold enough to shift and then attempted to return to her peoplewithout him. Her father had killed her on sight.
Wrath had gotten his revenge for hismother’s death. The male’s fangs were sitting on a ledge in thecavern he and his pack called home.
He caught the sound of a crackingbranch and suspected it was a deer or antelope.
